I've noticed a common denominator among those who are most highly critical of the American way of life, political system, etc: Many of them don't live here.

Some of them do, sure enough, but those that do aren't as quick to criticize EVERYTHING we believe and do, and deride all of our values.

What gets me is that otherwise intelligent people can be such sheep for the propaganda machines in their own countries (we do it too -- the fact that it doesn't occur to us that the majority of Iraqi insurgents might just be ordinary folks who are scared to death of living in an occupied country seems never to occur to us, for one, so this isn't a "we're better than you" article). It could have a lot to do with poor presentations of one's intellectual position, it could have a lot to do with stereotypes that are given by folks who have had a bad experience with Americans, it could be a lot of things. But whatever it is, it becomes clear that the folks who speak out against us the loudest are those that haven't taken a lot of time to get to know us as individuals.

Stereotypes hurt and divide at a time when we need to unite and heal. They come from misunderstandings that result from a lack of communication. One such misunderstanding, I believe, is the perception many have oif our support for the war in Iraq. First things first: the victory of George W. Bush was NOT because we support the war in Iraq; it was because our two party system leaves us with only two viable candidates most of the time, and the majority of Americans did not feel that John Kerry could effectively lead us, for one reason or other (the issue of "gay rights" came up in numerous exit polls, for instance). We are a country that values our freedom, and if you understand our history, you know why that is so. We are one of few nations to have beaten Great Britain on the field of battle to win our independence, and our independence was won over the rights to individual freedoms.

I submit, in closing, that an automatic hatred and criticism of America without knowing the facts is as baseless as a criticism of any racial group lacking the same facts. If you truly value unity and peace, perhaps you might want to start by making peace with some of US.