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> Living and traveling outside the US (Europe, Middle East, Asia) for ~15 years convinced me of the inherent superiority of the US (culturally, economically, et

> Living and traveling outside the US (Europe, Middle East, Asia) for ~15 years convinced me of the inherent superiority of the US (culturally, economically, etc.). You say this without any qualifications, when what you seem to mean is "superior for starting a tech business". That's a pretty major qualification to leave out. It's obvious that most of the computer revolution was driven by the US. The dotcom boom was enabled by the very large American stock markets, and would not have been quite so possible elsewhere. That's undeniable, and I think the world is thankful to the leading lights in the US behind the innovations we enjoy today. I went to the US as an undergrad hoping to experience the promises of its culture and energy. I learnt a lot from my time there, but in fact my opinion of the US moderated somewhat. Previously I thought it was the land of opportunity, creativity and liberty; after, I realised it also had deep problems with the way things ran (healthcare system, inequality and social distrust, deadlocked government). (I never lived on the West Coast - only visited.) After returning to Asia from the US, I thought I'd prefer living in Canada, for easy access to the American market as well the Canadian healthcare system. Another aspect is, it's simply not "done" in my home country (and I assume most other countries) to publicly label yourself as "the best". That's something I noticed among some Americans, and I can't agree with it. Where I'm from, there's always something to learn from someone else, and someone to build better relationships with. Calling yourself "the greatest nation on Earth" or the like smacks of arrogance, even if it could be argued to be true for some value of "greatest". Arrogance is, I suspect, why much anti-American sentiment exists.

rdl 14y ago
I think most anti-US sentiment exists (at least, outside the US...) due to actual US actions, mainly actions due to the cold war. If you go to Africa, >90% of the people love the US, and would consider the US by far the best country in the world. We were never a colonial power there (well, basically), and have done huge amounts of good for them. The exceptions are a few people in Angola (who may feel we betrayed them), Libya (most of whom are now dead), Somalia (well, whatever, I'll accept that), and Egypt (where pan-Arab anti-US sentiments over Israel, also largely due to the cold war, predominate over Africa). Countries like France, Australia, etc. might dislike the US due to arrogance, but that's more like relatives fighting -- the US and France have a lot in common, and are ultimately allies, and aligned on most issues. It's not open opposition. The big areas which have substantial anti-US sentiment are Islamic or Arab countries (largely due effects of US+Israel and US v USSR, and US actions to secure oil), and Central/South America (where we were colonialists, and where the drug war is causing huge problems). Venezuela is the only new anti-US place there (Cuba is a legacy of communism), and that's mostly due to us being allied with the previous regime and with Chavez's populism -- basically the same as US+Shah leading to US v Iran now).

rdl 14y ago

I think most anti-US sentiment exists (at least, outside the US...) due to actual US actions, mainly actions due to the cold war. If you go to Africa, >90% of the people love the US, and would consider the US by far the best country in the world. We were never a colonial power there (well, basically), and have done huge amounts of good for them. The exceptions are a few people in Angola (who may feel we betrayed them), Libya (most of whom are now dead), Somalia (well, whatever, I'll accept that), and Egypt (where pan-Arab anti-US sentiments over Israel, also largely due to the cold war, predominate over Africa). Countries like France, Australia, etc. might dislike the US due to arrogance, but that's more like relatives fighting -- the US and France have a lot in common, and are ultimately allies, and aligned on most issues. It's not open opposition. The big areas which have substantial anti-US sentiment are Islamic or Arab countries (largely due effects of US+Israel and US v USSR, and US actions to secure oil), and Central/South America (where we were colonialists, and where the drug war is causing huge problems). Venezuela is the only new anti-US place there (Cuba is a legacy of communism), and that's mostly due to us being allied with the previous regime and with Chavez's populism -- basically the same as US+Shah leading to US v Iran now).