Quote Originally Posted by JMA View Post
...Americans... In a group though they can get a little... tribal
At a minimum...
A great nation with (possibly) the worst political system in the world. This through the calamitous effect its foreign policy has had on the world post the 1940's.
I'd go with large and fairly good, not "great." I disagree on the political system, though I fully acknowledge it is terribly cumbersome and produces effects that resonate outside the US, often adversely for others. I agree that our post 1945 foreign policy has been quite poor (that's my weekly understatement)...
Many Americans accept that their system is fatally flawed but few will take responsibility for the damage they have caused in the past 60 odd years.
Most are aware and would change it if they could but that political system intrudes. They are willing to internally take full responsibility and will and do work to change it albeit very slowly due to the nature of the beast; externally that tribal thing takes over...
How things have changed from the days of Washington, Jefferson and Lincoln where the low point has now been reached where the defining moment in a presidency is making a 50:50 call to send in a small team after a HVT
Function of the times and our pethetic media who are too many with too little to do and thus will grasp any straw to fill the vacuum. Not indicative of the nation at large, really.
It was not America who handed the country to Mugabe it was Carter. And you need to know that it was all about the possible recognition of Bishop Muzorewa's Zimbabwe Rhodesian government. The Brits would recognise it if Carter would. But Carter owed the Congressional Black Caucus for their support in getting him elected so he refused to recognise Muzorewa and demanded new elections (as what was wanted by the CBC)
All true but in total it was a bit more complicated.
Of course neither Carter... Happened many times in the last 60 years under different US Presidents.
All true, but I try to eschew US dometic politics on this board. A side benefit from that is that I have to replace fewer keyboard damaged by spluttering.
The only thing worse than incompetent civilian politicians are soldiers taking over and trying to run a country.

As I have said here before small countries with the usual incompetent politicians have less scope for creating international mayhem than the US does. Here lies the problem. With the US, Russia and China starring in a Charlie Chaplin/Laurel & Hardy/Keystone Cops show the prognosis is not good.
We can agree on all that. The inmates are indeed in charge of the institution(s)...