Do you give a **** how other countries view America?

[WVUforREDSKINS]

I wanted this poll to be public because I wanted to see how dems and pubs were voting the same or if it was split.

Doesn't seem like its split.

[brandymac27]

what does that have to do with the amount of foreign aid we disperse?

Our country gives the most international support.

don't you think that's yet another reason why we should actually care what other countries think about us?

you're saying they don't want u.s. Monetary aid and support after a massive earthquake? Or a tsunami? Or to help prevent the spread of malaria? Or hiv/aids b/c we borrow money from other countries? That makes no sense. When countries need help, they turn to us. That might sound arrogant, but that's the truth.

first of all, i never said that. It's obvious we provide financial aid to countries whenever they call. I don't have a problem this. I would want the same from them, even if it doesn't happen in reality.

furthermore, i've never been treated badly in any of my travels b/c i was "american." you act like a jerk when you're traveling, you'll be treated like crap. You are polite and nice, you're treated in kind for the most part.

well i'm glad you've been treated kindly. But the treatment you received while abroad only proves my point even further that it is important how other countries view us and that they respect us. If they didn't, maybe you wouldn't have been as welcomed?

I'm not arguing that the polls are correct, i'm arguing that, imo, it is important what the world thinks about us.

[CliffBattles]

Regardless whether you are "too cool for school" and don't give a darn what anyone thinks of you (even though that sound immature, arrogant, pompous, and selfish) or not, at this point in civilization, diplomacy is extremely important to national security.

Bin Laden wanted to ruin opinion of the USA, unite Muslims, and make moderate Muslims into fanatical ones....he was really bad at doing that....but, we did it for him.

[WVUforREDSKINS]

What does that have to do with the amount of foreign aid we disperse?

Our country gives the most international support.

And we are criticized (maybe unfairly) because percentage wise, we give little compared to other countries.

[brandymac27]

What if this same question was asked to both Obama and McCain in a debate (for example) and they both said, "I don't give a rats ass what other countries think about us"? Personally, I'd have a serious problem with this. For the first time in my life, I'd be looking for a 3rd party candidate or packing my crap and heading for the hills.

[PokerPacker]

I sure don't care what the world thinks of us. If we're doing our thing and the world doesn't like it, they can go to hell. I care about how I view America.

[WVUforREDSKINS]

Regardless whether you are "too cool for school" and don't give a darn what anyone thinks of you (even though that sound immature, arrogant, pompous, and selfish) or not, at this point in civilization, diplomacy is extremely important to national security.

Bin Laden wanted to ruin opinion of the USA, unite Muslims, and make moderate Muslims into fanatical ones....he was really bad at doing that....but, we did it for him.

:rubeyes:

:munchout:

[nuposse87]

I'm a human before I'm an American, and I'm better for it IMO.

I absolutely detest blind patriotism.

[Special K]

And we are criticized (maybe unfairly) because percentage wise, we give little compared to other countries.

Percentage of what? This graph means absolutely nothing if you can't evaluate how the percentages are calculated.

[twa]

seriously, we likely do view the world from different perspectives,and everyone has different priority's and experiences that effect their world view.

It's part of what makes this country great in that we can freely express them and vote for our leaders w/o oppression.

The rest of the world should be so blessed.:2cents:

I get the chance to speak with foreigners and immigrants quite often and the value of our freedoms is made plain.

[Midnight Judges]

It's irrational to not care what the rest of the world thinks about us.

Good diplomacy could very well be the difference on whether or not allies support us in Afghanistan and Iraq. In some cases the lives of American troops could depend on this support.

Close ties and trust with our traditional allies is also extremely important in the global war on terrorism. Our intelligence agencies will be more able to prevent future terrorist attacks if we have the full resources of European Intelligence agencies to draw on. American lives depend on that.

There is also the possibility that someday we might need some help if we are in trouble be it economic, natural disaster, or war. Lives could be at stake.

There are reasons why you don't hear leaders from either party expressing the nonsensical opinions voiced in this thread.

[Special K]

What if this same question was asked to both Obama and McCain in a debate (for example) and they both said, "I don't give a rats ass what other countries think about us"? Personally, I'd have a serious problem with this. For the first time in my life, I'd be looking for a 3rd party candidate or packing my crap and heading for the hills.

And this is the problem. People are absolutely way too hung up on how the other world "perceives" us. I'd much rather go around and actually experience how we are treated in other cultures than looks at these stupid polls.

And by the way, I've done all my traveling during or after Sept. 11, 2001, and the bulk of it after the Iraq invasion in 2003. I've been in the countries that supposedly "hate" us and I've been treated just fine. That may not be the case all the time, but that shows me that these polls and all these reports are absolutely ridiculous and don't describe the reality of the situation when you are actually IN that country, or how that country's government WORKS with our government.

Sure, Venezuela hates us. Who cares? The Iran government hates us...WHO CARES?? It's interesting to note the explosion of the westernization and Americanization among Iran's younger population. Syria hates us...and WHO CARES? Do you get my point? There are always going to be certain countries who hate the US; I'm sure Hilter's Germany hated us too, doesn't mean I want to act in a manner to placate them.

Sure, we need to be diplomatic with our allied governments, but I don't really care what some report says about Joe Blow's feelings about our country.

[Special K]

It's irrational to not care what the rest of the world thinks about us.

Good diplomacy could very well be the difference on whether or not allies support us in Afghanistan and Iraq. In some cases the lives of American troops could depend on this support.

Close ties and trust with our traditional allies is also extremely important in the global war on terrorism. Our intelligence agencies will be more able to prevent future terrorist attacks if we have the full resources of European Intelligence agencies to draw on. American lives depend on that.

There is also the possibility that someday we might need some help if we are in trouble be it economic, natural disaster, or war. Lives could be at stake.

There are reasons why you don't hear leaders from either party expressing the nonsensical opinions voiced in this thread.

Um, there's a difference in how our government interacts with other countries governments. I took this question to mean if we care what random people on the street think about our country. I don't lose much sleep over what they supposedly think of us.

[WVUforREDSKINS]

It is shown as percent of the Gross National Income, so it includes both aid given by corporations and by individuals.

We give twice as much as other countries but give less percentage wise. I'm not saying we should be giving more, just saying that is one reason we get criticized.

[brandymac27]

And this is the problem. People are absolutely way too hung up on how the other world "perceives" us. I'd much rather go around and actually experience how we are treated in other cultures than looks at these stupid polls.

Well, as far as how the world perceives us, I guess we'll just have to agree to disagree.

[brandymac27]

Um, there's a difference in how our government interacts with other countries governments. I took this question to mean if we care what random people on the street think about our country. I don't lose much sleep over what they supposedly think of us.

I think that's what information the poll provided. But personally, I'm speaking about the actual governments of these foreign countries. I don't think any of us will lose sleep over what some random person in Zimbabwe thinks about us.

[Special K]

It is shown as percent of the Gross National Income, so it includes both aid given by corporations and by individuals.

We give twice as much as other countries but give less percentage wise. I'm not saying we should be giving more, just saying that is one reason we get criticized.

That's what I figured, it was percentage of GDP.

And as I also figured, we give 2x as much as any other country.

I'm also not surprised some people have found something to criticize about our foreign aid.

[mjah]

I've been fortunate enough to travel through Africa, Southeast Asia, Europe, Central America, Mexico, Carribbean, and a few other places and trust me, the "hate" for America is not as prevalent as the media likes to make it out to be. And I've not stayed in "high end" touristy resorts for the most part either. My family, friends, colleagues, and I have never had problems.

Sure, there are some areas of the world that it's probably not smart for ANY westerner to travel to, and you have to be smart when you travel, but this BS about how "everyone" hates America is totally ridiculous.

I don't remember anyone saying "everyone" hates America.

There are two ways to be liked:

1) By everyday foreign citizens

2) By foreign governments

These are two very different things, especially in countries where the government does not at all represent the views of the people.

With the exception of places that are heavily indoctrinated with anti-Western sentiment, everyday people are generally pretty forgiving. They don't "hate" us. I want their imaginations to run thick with the notion of opportunity in America, because that's the kind of thing that brings foreign visionaries (and/or their parents) to the US in the first place. We need that long-term, and acting like decadent incurious simpletons won't get it done.

Short-term, I don't care whether foreign governments like us, as long as they're willing to see our government as reasonable and respectable -- not just powerful -- and be willing to see things our way much of the time because we push just the right amount. With no Soviet Union to serve as the always-worse option and China not quite in the same ballpark yet, foreign governments can just say no to us without the same dynamic that used to be in play. We can't strong-arm countries the way we once could by being the nicer bully. Right now, globally we're the only bully. We need to use more honey and less vinegar with our allies, even as we keep setting the screws to the baddies.

I think people will quickly forgive us for lapses in awesomeness, as they want to believe that we're awesome. But there's no government on Earth that does anything except act in its own general interest, so we need to be in their general interest. We can throw our weight around, but there's a limit. Among those limits is elective, unilateral war that distracts us and the world from the actual threats to our physical safety. Not to mention torture as a matter of public policy, etc. That's a pretty reasonable limit -- another reason why people's opinions on our behavior can't be dismissed just because they live beyond the edge of our country. There are some irrational people out there, but most folks are pretty damned reasonable.

[Johnny Punani]

I could care less what the world thinks of the US.

I'm assuming this subject was brought up because of the recent news stories about polling done on the US election in other countries. I for one don't care about the opinion of non-US citizens on our presidential elections and the media orgs who run these types of stories should have a nice warm cup of STFU because trying to effect a US national election with foreign public opinion is WRONG and smacks of Social Globalism/One World Order crap.

[Special K]

I don't remember anyone saying "everyone" hates America.

My bad, the "majority" of people in these other countries hate America is what some of these news articles are insinuating. The everyday citizen is what these articles are based on, NOT on their country's government. People like to automatically link the citizens opinions with the government's opinions, two different things.

Whereas everyday citizens might interject more emotion into their opinions of America, government officials are a little more pragmatic about their decisions in choosing to work with or against our government. Bottom line is, when these governments are in a bind, they are coming to the U.S. for help. Our government's decisions might not always be "popular" among a country's general pop. or as cool among Hollywood stars as the hip Venezuelan pres. Chavez, but I don't think that is something that we should be worried about whatsoever.

When you're in charge (which like it or not, we are still looked at as the leading country in the free world), you are not going to make everyone happy. Sorry, but that's life.

[Ax]

No.

And I believe it should read, I couldn't care less.

Most weaklings hate the tough guy in the room, but wish they were half as tough.

[BigMike619]

there are a handful of countries that i care about if they are on board with us or not. England, Israel to name a few. The rest though will fall right in to line with us as soon as they need us. Its always that way when you are the most powerful and enforcing nation.

[GibbsFactor]

I'm telling you.

Back off, get our house in order, let the rest of the world WANT to emulate us and we would get our way, have our pie and eat it too.

Our current system (last 50 years) isn't working.

Government to government aid doesn't work anyways as the aid never trickles down to who needs it. Get real with those GDP graphs. That's completely irrelevant.

Do you know how the rest of the world thinks of us?

In times of crisis, we are still the most trusted country in the world, even over others own government. Who would have thought our dollar would fight back while having it's supply increased. Want to know why? Because deep down, the rest of the world knows who will succeed at the end of the day.

[Mad Mike]

The correct answer is that we do our best to do what is right because that is what we should do. If that isn't good enough for the rest of the world, F them.

[mjah]

My bad, the "majority" of people in these other countries hate America is what some of these news articles are insinuating. The everyday citizen is what these articles are based on, NOT on their country's government. People like to automatically link the citizens opinions with the government's opinions, two different things.

Well, if an article is claiming that we're hated by the majority of people on Earth, I'm pretty comfortable saying the author of that article is nuts. People want to like us. It's up to us to either let that ride, or give them a reason to change their minds.

And I believe it should read, I couldn't care less.

I was originally going to point that out. Both poll options are suggesting that the respondent does care.

I'm telling you.

Back off, get our house in order, let the rest of the world WANT to emulate us and we would get our way, have our pie and eat it too.

Pretty much. Being benevolent conquerors is what set us up for the past 50 years of prosperity in the first place.

Turning large-scale humanitarian acts into cultural/economic/military dominance, and doing it over and over, would set an example not only for other countries now, but future superpowers too. And I think the trite cliche of "It's not the easiest way, but it's the right way" is false. I think long-term, being the benevolent bully is the easiest way to stay on top.

It sure beats dealing with second-rate dictators by threatening to weaken ourselves with a giant, insanely expensive war every time they refuse to do what we say.