I did not downvote, but I can explain some of the reasons: > Much of what makes Europe very livable these days results from returned would-be Americans promot

I did not downvote, but I can explain some of the reasons: > Much of what makes Europe very livable these days results from returned would-be Americans promoting the democratization of Europe. First time I ever heard this argument, so without solid arguments, I will continue believing that democratization in Europe is the expected result of the Age of Enligthement[1]. > Much of the rest of what makes Europe very livable these days results from the United States rescuing Europe from central European tyranny twice during the world wars Well, this is a cute one, but work in Europe was mostly done by the Soviet Union and Britain in WW2, US just dealing the last blow to an already moribund opponent. (That is, for Europe, the US actions in others operative theaters at the time was huge, but we are talking about Europe here). US was quite late in WWI too, but I have no idea who would have won without them. They sure helped, but your comment make it look like a single country saving the day. > and following the second rescue with the Marshall Plan and the Bretton-Woods agreement. Marshall plan sure helped Europe economically, but saying it was pure goodwill instead of a political move isn't fair, it being devised by a military give some hints on the 'real' objectives[2]. I won't complain about that, since american supremacy was way more tolerable than USSR (Or so I was told, but winners write history, right?). I don't know enough about Bretton-Woods agreement effect to comment on it, so I will abstain. Last point: > Many, many, many people want to immigrate to the United States. Yup, Hollywood did a nice job selling the american dream. Though that is changing, US/USSR is going from 'good guys/bad guys' to 'bad guys west/bad guys east' pretty quickly these days. * [1] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Age_of_Enlightenment * [2] http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan#Criticism http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Marshall_Plan#Criticism