No, I did not think it was unhelpful, neither did I class the tone as aggressive or insulting.

The message gets across a fact, that many Americans, will never step foot out of the US.

There is a big wide world out there and so much history and culture to experience.

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Just google:

Mexican Swine Flu Outbreak 2009: SPECIAL REPORT by Dr Leonard Horowitz

or

TERRORSTORM

Please get me out of this vile , soul-less nation.

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I am more apathetic towards America as I travel more, and I can honestly say that come the day I finally get my degree, I will be off and settling somewhere else.

I am engaged to a Chinese national and we have unanimously agreed that to raise our family in America would be a mistake, for we do not want them to have such a materialistic upbringing, and yeah I recognize that we can choose to raise them differently, but that is not the point.

The environment is terrible and full of selfish love and egotism.

Too many peasants in king’s clothing here….

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We are American, so yes, we are who we are, we are raised and cultured in our history, and the greatness which made us the ideal around the world. In fact, our ideals have been adopted by many nations, so that we no longer hold those ideal principles exclusively. Other nations are now way ahead of us, while we have been degenerating into a mean, cruel, hard place to live with people scrapping for the scraps while a small but powerful elite has risen similary to the royalty of the past, The new lords of the corporate executive class and the aristocracy of these new princes and kinds once again control most of the resourses, while the working people are similar to serfs.

We are mainly “owned” by our corporate masters. When a corporation is sold, we are “sold” along with the company, and how many really have a choice about leaving? We need the paycheck. It is nonsense to call ourselves free when we are slaves to those who “allow” us to draw a paycheck in order to live? We have become slaves because we have no health care and cannot afford to leave; cannot afford to retire, and cannot afford to chance starting a business without fear of a major illness (or even one small trip to the emergency room) destroying everything we have worked for.

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Jeff
motionPHR the travelers health record for the iPhone

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I remember living in Nepal and pretending not to be American when encountering a tourist because of the crass behavior and the disrespect to the ways of other cultures. i think that it is important to read something about the country that u are to visit, if the women do not wear short shorts then please do everything in your power to dress accordingly so as not to insult. When tourist come to our country we expect them to follow our rules, so have the same curtacy. i have lived most of my adult life overseas and that is the reputation that we Americans have.

Of course not all American tourist are this way there is always the exception.

As for Americans being spoilt and all that, well there is nothing wrong with it if that is the way u want to live your live, i know many spoiled Americans who give if not of their time at least of their wallets to help others less fortunate all over the world. I have notice that the more we travel the more compassionate and tolerant we are towards others. I have seen way to much poverty and intolerance in my life time and this is one of the best countries in the world.
Do i want to live here right now? No, but i will always be greatful to be able to return when ever i want. There are people in other country that don’t have a choice but to stay where they were born. I am glad that I am an American there aren’t many other countries that give u the right to travel to just about any where in the world and all u need is the ability to buy a plane ticket, without the hustle of having to spend hours in a line if not years waiting for “permission” from your government.

Remember that The United States is a very young country compared with the rest of the world and we have a long ways to go but we are getting there one step at a time.

So as a traveler i thank my parents for having the foresight of making me a US citizen, and giving me a passport with a visa to experience this wonderful planet that we are very fortunate to live in.

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Do you think his aggressive, insulting tone is unhelpful regardless of the quality of his arguments?

the fact that the author has to resort to ad homenims actually deflates his arguments. However, i think the point he is trying to make is. Americans can benefit from what the rest of the world as appose to the other way around.

I can see where the author is coming from and partially agree.
I recall many times where i have close friends and family that can be described as the people that spout what the author is talking about. i do at times find it rather annoying. they can have such negative views of the rest of the world. yet if someone does the opposite they are anti-american. with this logic they can viewed as anti-world. The devalue the worth of the rest of the world, alot of times overlook facts as well. once, i become so frustrated with a friend that couldn’t even consider the wealth of experience you can obtain from going to mexico or any other country, that i had to attack him with factual data, that really pokes holes in his beliefs. I rarely do that. but anyway this is a tangent.

Overall i have traveled mainly threw out the US ( 30 states) and i have plans to visit the rest of the world, learning cultures and langauges of others, during and after college. I generally like america, its not really much i find objectionable about this place, however i feel that experience life in completely different setting, can be very enriching, a once in a lifetime moment or a true life changing event.

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Terry

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