*ban
Top Dog Tips
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=TqKXemdnnUU

>> ^kulpims:
why do americans always have to think of themselves as basicaly good guys by default despite overwhelming evidence to the contrary?


Because I (as the average American) have never murdered anyone, I give money to charity, work hard (more hours per week than the average person in any other industrialized country), pay my taxes on time, love my children, am nice to my neighbors, am nice to my dog, tip my servers. I, along with more than 50% population, did not vote for George Bush. I, along with a huge majority, disapprove of the war in Iraq and our foreign policy in general.

I try to do what is right, even if it is a frequently misguided attempt.

I have faults, though. I don't always pay attention to world events, and I rarely know what's going on outside my country. But since it is 1000 miles to the nearest foreign country (which is largely similar, culturally), it never seems that big of an issue. And the American media doesn't really want to cover it, and I don't have time to go scouring the Internet everyday for the happenings of the world.

Besides, I have a lot of larger troubles. I'm in danger of losing my health coverage and my job. And now I owe more on my house than it's worth. Skyrocketing tuition means I'm barely going to be able to help my children go to college.

(This is mostly fiction for me: I'm a dirt-poor graduate student sans kids. But it's not far off the mark for millions and millions of people.)

That is, people think that they're generally good guys because they are. They're not villains out to rule the world, even if sometimes they do have a little too much faith and pride in their country and/or religion. They're mostly just trying to get by.

(Which doesn't make them better than people from other countries, just the same. Pick most any country and I'm sure the general consensus by the people will be that they're good guys. Because most of them probably are.)