And the Strongest Ally Award Goes to...

[Fisherking]

Are they practicing to work on nuclear reactors, or what?

Nah, right it is a game show...while you show the advantages of alliance with Frenchwomen I remain unconvinced about Frenchmen.

Political rhetoric aside, France has always been a good ally, except for the times they weren’t.

[Strike For The South]

I was trailblazing this alliance when everyone was still on about freedom fries

ROAYLTIES DAMNIT

[Askthepizzaguy]

I don't see why we are still sitting around talking as if it is 1800 all over again and we must choose either France or England. Friendships wax and wane, same goes for countries. England has been with us through thick and thin for the past 10+ years and they still are, just preoccupied with their own budget problems at the moment. Our relationship was weakened with France because they disagreed with our foreign policy, it doesn't mean that they are not still our ally. You don't have to sign an aggression pact in order to be allies. Now Obama is repairing our relationship with them because it should be repaired after all of us Americans acted like little children about France. Freedom fries? Really? Talk about pettiness. I'm glad he is strengthening our ties.

Indeed.

This isn't a zero sum game where only England gets to be the recipient of American love.

Frankly we should treat every single nation on Earth this way, provided they aren't terrorizing other countries. I think America could do a lot with its standing in the world if it acted like a gentleman, and not such an ass sometimes.

All that money we give to foreign countries and charities is nice, but it's almost offset by the fact that there's no shortage of people who insist that the American way is the only way, the superior way, the best way, and who the heck are those other countries anyway, and who cares.

It's not like nice words even have a negative effect. Are we giving away billions of dollars by being nice? Are we disarming? Are we surrendering and going home? Are we begging the terrorists for mercy? No.... it's called being nice. Maybe we should do it more often. Maybe we shouldn't just presume on our friendship with the French that they will act like a puppet state. That's insulting.

[Centurion1]

im quite content with americas standing in the world and legitimately dont give a damn what some punks in argentina or sweden think of me. We have done a lot of good for the world even in the last ten years but we are never ever thasnked for it. America is the worlds punching bag so im going to at least present a middle finger to the world while im being hit.

[Strike For The South]

im quite content with americas standing in the world and legitimately dont give a damn what some punks in argentina or sweden think of me. We have done a lot of good for the world even in the last ten years but we are never ever thasnked for it. America is the worlds punching bag so im going to at least present a middle finger to the world while im being hit.

How to make friends and influence people

[HoreTore]

im quite content with americas standing in the world and legitimately dont give a damn what some punks in argentina or sweden think of me. We have done a lot of good for the world even in the last ten years but we are never ever thasnked for it. America is the worlds punching bag so im going to at least present a middle finger to the world while im being hit.

Plenty of countries do a lot of good to the world all the time, is anyone of them "thanked"?

Nope. But one does such things because they are just, not for recognition.

[Askthepizzaguy]

im quite content with americas standing in the world and legitimately dont give a damn what some punks in argentina or sweden think of me. We have done a lot of good for the world even in the last ten years but we are never ever thasnked for it. America is the worlds punching bag so im going to at least present a middle finger to the world while im being hit.

A lot of good, and we've also made a lot of errors. I don't think the reasons for war with Iraq were considered very legitimate, and the civilian casualties are very real and hard to forgive.

Viewing the world from a USA-centric viewpoint may feel patriotic, but alienating other nations doesn't really help America.

This feels like a rich, popular girl in high school whining that after being elected class president and after selling cookies to raise money for the soccer team, not everyone in school likes her. Just because she totally trashed the reputation of someone else and wrote horrible things on her locker, I mean like who cares.

Only conceited people really think America has done no wrong. And if we don't care what others think of us, it's kind of hard to blame them if they don't want to go to war every time we do.

[Centurion1]

are those countries used as the worlds punching bag? i dont see people lining up to bash norway all day long. of course a side effect of being a superpower interested in foreign affairs but that makes it no less annoying.

How to make friends and influence people

allies do not have to be your friends.

A lot of good, and we've also made a lot of errors. I don't think the reasons for war with Iraq were considered very legitimate, and the civilian casualties are very real and hard to forgive.

Viewing the world from a USA-centric viewpoint may feel patriotic, but alienating other nations doesn't really help America.

This feels like a rich, popular girl in high school whining that after being elected class president and after selling cookies to raise money for the soccer team, not everyone in school likes her. Just because she totally trashed the reputation of someone else and wrote horrible things on her locker, I mean like who cares.

Only conceited people really think America has done no wrong. And if we don't care what others think of us, it's kind of hard to blame them if they don't want to go to war every time we do.

im not asking them to go to war with me. legitimately their necessity in our current conflicts is....... questionable though certain nations have been of immense help. Yeah america has done terrible things as well as good things and sure you can talk about how questionable the incursion into iraq and Afghanistan were but it gets tiresome to hear all the double talk. friends when they want our money and hostile when they dont.

to carry the high school metaphor, its like being the otherwise girl who gets the new "thing" or something. Everyone wants to be her friend until something else comes out and she isnt top dog again.

The world is a pack of hyenas and i dont intend on grinning while they devour me alive.

[Strike For The South]

Comparing a global hegemon to a girl with 34DDs and a wild animal is really a disservice to that global hegemon

[Askthepizzaguy]

Comparing a global hegemon to a girl with 34DDs and a wild animal is really a disservice to that global hegemon

Figurative speech isn't meant to make literal sense; they aren't direct comparisons, but showing similarities in vastly different situations.

[Strike For The South]

Figurative speech isn't meant to make literal sense; they aren't direct comparisons, but showing similarities in vastly different situations.

Global realtions can't be compared with such things though because you lose so much of the subtle nuance of diplomacy. The other countries are not jelaous of us because of ANY of the reasons why the other kids are jelaous of the girl.

Painting it in such simple terms no doubt will lead to frustration

[Centurion1]

and large breasts really had nothing to do with either.

Edit: jealousy also has nothing to do with this

[Centurion1]

jealousy is also not at play here.

Edit: delete ill just edit into last post

[drone]

And why shouldn't France be our "strongest ally"? They tried to keep us out of Iraq, giving us good advice and sticking to their guns to let us know we were wrong. Not like those sycophantic enablers, the Brits...

[HoreTore]

Why indeed?

There's a lot of talk of the founding fathers these days. Who influenced them? Who did they influence? Who was their ideological brothers in arms? It certainly wasn't the British monarchist; no, it was the French revolutionary.

Frqnce and the US have shared a common philosophy and a common goal ever since. That France is USA's spritual brother is beyond doubt.

England is nothing more than USA's bullied little brother. France is USA's soulmate.

[rory_20_uk]

They were influenced by the French Revolution, not the French. Nice to have one's Hero a thousand miles away and several months cruise.

They may have had a schoolboy crush on some ideals from afar, but they were British.

[HoreTore]

British by flesh, French in spirit.

Like the young lad who moves to the big city to escape his abusive parent and realize his intellectual potential, the US moved away from its British roots and was saved by the warm embrace of French philosophy and culture.

[rory_20_uk]

Ah yes. The clear separation between church and state, the widespread Catholicism, good food, good wine...

[HoreTore]

Yes.

The complete lack of a state church, the lack of a hereditary dictatorship, the democratic ideals, the multiple religious groupings...

[rory_20_uk]

They gave up segregation in the 1950's.
They've just had a black President, yet no chance of having an Atheist one.
Britain has had multiple religious groupings for easily as long as America was.
Hereditary Dictatorship... France has had one a lot more recently than the UK has.

[Greyblades]

...You do realise our "dictators" couldnt actually do anything that our parliment, a democracy by the way, didn't aprove of?

[Centurion1]

british law is apparent in america. we are anglo saxon in our founding and share much more with the islanders than the french.

its all rather muddled in america however because of the plethora of cultures and lifestyles.

[Shaka_Khan]

They did sell the U.S. a giant block of land and my ancestors for dirt cheep, and Americans are really proud of their consumerist nature...

The money was used to help Napoleon so it helped both ways.

[a completely inoffensive name]

The Founding Father's liked some ideals, the French also liked those same ideals. That was really as far as it went. There was admiration by some individuals towards France like Jefferson, but there was divisions among the Founding Fathers regarding the French Revolution and it's goals. Hence, why there was split between choosing France and choosing England in the first place.

[PershsNhpios]

France? The strongest ally?

This calls for a cheap immitation of Tribesman:

America can have it! We all know why the road to Paris is lined with trees.

[Husar]

What are you people talking about? We are jealous of America?
Are you so completely detached from the world that you think Europe hates America?
I know like 5 people who have been or are in America now and I'm one of the jealous ones who wants to go, too.
Europe views America as the white knight in shining armour that saves the world from the evil of communism.
It's only because America (see? that's also hubris because you don't really mean Canada but the USA) doesn't live up to it and too often it shows through that America only cares about itself while claiming that it cares about justice that Europeans are angry at America.
If we truly hated America we wouldn't have all kinds of american brands, prefer american movies over our own ones etc. etc.
There are some who may truly hate America but I'd say they're a minority, perhaps a loud one, or perhaps you just never notice that because you don't even know where Europe is.

By the way, so many Americans give their location as "Vancouver, BC" or "Darlington, SC" which strongly appears to me that they either assume that USA is a given, as though everyone on the internet had to be from the USA anyway or else they don't count. If that's really how many Americans see the internet, it's no surprise that they are shocked and appalled when they nottice that there is a world outside America, where people give their location as "Hamburg, GER" for example, which also has access to the internet and doesn't worship America, willing to do everything it demands. Unwilling to see the internet as American-exclusive territory as well.

[Vladimir]

On the location thing remember that technically, each state is a, well, state. Just as Germany is a part of Europe, South Carolina is part of the United States. That's centuries old cultural tradition.

We're also somewhat isolationist in our culture and outlook. That affects our perceptions of the world. Most (U.S) Americans want to visit Europe, but things are more comfy and more affordable here.

Now, the Obamer thing: I have no idea why he despises the British so much. It's almost a personal vendetta and not an organized policy.

[Fisherking]

A lot of the problem can be attributed to the news media.

Americans get little substantive news from Europe and European news coverage of America usually leads to bigger misunderstandings.

The result:
Americans now little about Europe beyond a few facts and Europeans think they know America but only have a slanted view.

Canada has a clearer picture of both because for the most part both places ignore them.

[HoreTore]

European news coverage of America usually leads to bigger misunderstandings.

How?

[Fisherking]

That can’t be summed up quite so easy.

Lemur and Rabbit are both Americans, and they may actually agree on more points than they disagree on. Sometimes their differences point up the similarities.

Most Europeans find it hard to understand why there are Republican when they must be clearly evil, but it is not that simple. Most likely they vote that way because they think it is the lesser of two evils.

When in actual fact they are both pretty much a wash.

How would you sum up the worlds misconceptions about Norway?