Why do they hate us?

[BadgerAle]

Every country has shameful things in the history of its foreign policy, mine as much as any. However, i think that what really gets to a lot of people in Europe (and i suppose elsewhere)is the way in which you would believe, from the language of American leaders (and the rest of them), that America is especially virtueous and all round wonderfull 'defender of the free world'.

If i hear the word "freedom" much more i may well throw up.

This doesn't always hold with its foreign policy which is (like all other countries) largely selfish, and at times genocidal.

This is made more frustrating by the export dominance of US media (films, TV even news) in which the Americans and american history are overwhelmingly shown as positive. This must be even worst in contries adversly effected by american intervention.

Also frustrating is the sense that most americans are happy to buy in to the proud but selective myth of the history of the 'land of the free'.

Sorry if i'm going on a bit but i have been reading some history on the american war of independance and discovered that the moral highground could be seen as going to the british on many issues (I admit it was an english author). The way that the US media had made me assume the worst about my own country upset me a little.

Don't get me wrong, the US has a proud history, its just that you are led to believe in the comic book hero style america so much that i wonder if americans haven't been seduced by their own myth.