Oct 29th 2004, 19:05 GMT
The Descent of the American Empire | Acts of Volition:
[Quote] Growing up a couple hundred miles from the U.S. border in Canada’s smaller province, I’ve always had a sense that we in Canada have a unique vantage point on the United States of America. From here, we can see that America is a large beast, but we are too close to see the whole thing. Sleeping with an elephant, we sometimes say.I grew up with a feeling that America was the center of the world. There were people in the rest of the world, but that was just the backdrop to America. Maybe someday, the whole world would come to be like America. [Quote]
[via Bryan] Interesting read, really. I tend to agree to a certain degree, although I’m not really sure the US might become be irrelevant, it’ll always be big and powerful and influential. Still, at some point people just won’t care about them anymore.
Don’t get me wrong, I have a couple of friends in the US, intelligent, caring, passionate people. People I like. Still I refuse to visit the US. As long as the isolation and paranoia continues, as long as I’m forced to leave my fingerprints and a retina scan like a criminal, the only viable option for me is to not visit the country. (It’d be the same if it’d be UK or France or some country in Asia, the place doesn’t matter, the way I’m treated does.)
It’s just a small thing, but it’s a piece of a bigger, disturbing picture. A country I liked is isolating itself. On a global scale it’s like seeing a friend starting to go batshit crazy.
Look at me, it’s Friday night, and I’m rambling. Oh well. Off my lawn, you damn kids, off my lawn. mumblemumble
