Quote:
Originally Posted by Drolefille
Which is why people should take these things for what they are, announced preferences. However people allow them to sway their opinions both for and against.
I think the United States should want to be respected by the rest of the world, and the fact that we're not suggests very strongly that we're doing something wrong. That doesn't mean that we change policy on the whims of Luxembourg, just that we respect the world's opinion.
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I avidly disagree with this sentiment, and find it pretty dangerous. I think EU countries are going to experience some very problematic times over the next couple of decades, and much of it is by their own doing. Thus, I'm not sure their opinion about us should really impact our course of action.
Of course I think it is fine when people argue the same points that the international community is arguing, but when they start saying "the international community's tenor about our actions indicates..." I think it gets a bit frightening when used as an appeal to authority.