Only America could piss off its greatest ally: Great Britain. At least they can see it like it is; too many Americans are blind to the disaster that is the United States.
LONDON (AFP) – People in Britain view the United States as a vulgar, crime-ridden society obsessed with money and led by an incompetent president whose Iraq policy is failing, according to a newspaper poll.
Want some highlights? I knew you would.
Most “no longer have confidence in their transatlantic cousins to lead global affairs”.
77 percent no longer see America as “a beacon of hope for the world”.
A mere 12 percent trust us “to act wisely on the global stage”. Considering we haven’t and don’t…
83 percent said “the United States doesn’t care what the rest of the world thinks”. Can anyone offer of a reason why Britons should feel otherwise?
One percent rated Dubya a “great leader”. They don’t get out much. On the other hand, “77 percent … deemed him a ‘pretty poor’ or ‘terrible” leader'”. I can relate.
“More than two-thirds who offered an opinion said America is essentially an imperial power seeking world domination.” If it quacks like a duck and waddles like a duck…
81 percent said “President George W. Bush hypocritically championed democracy as a cover for the pursuit of American self-interests”. Uh huh.
Only 24 percent said “they felt that the US military action [in Iraq] was helping to bring democracy to the country”. How can you tell either way with the cloud of death and mayhem obstructing the view?
“[A] majority of the Britons … described Americans as uncaring, divided by class, awash in violent crime, vulgar, preoccupied with money, ignorant of the outside world, racially divided, uncultured and in the most overwhelming result (90 percent of respondents) dominated by big business.” There’s a disturbing amount of truth in that list; likewise, there is a significant number of Americans who are vastly different, but they are serially marginalized by our public persona acted out by those driving agenda and activities.
The one saving grace? “70 percent of Britons like Americans a lot or a little”. At least there’s that, but I suspect more were at the “little” end of the spectrum than we’d care to admit. I suppose it’s better than a majority who don’t like us at all.