Hamas endorses Obama

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by epchick

From what i've been told, a lot of the "admiration" (for a lack of a better term) for Obama is mainly because his father was/is Muslim.

But, I think any president that doesn't have a George W. Bush mentality might be able to change the way the int'l community views us.

I don't think it's simply because his father's Muslim, but what it means that America could elect a President with that heritage. There is certainly a tendancy to support the person "like" you, especially when you don't have as much of a stake in the winner.

Originally Posted by Educatingblue

Exactly! Everytime I watch international news reports, I am astounded by the Anti-American sentiment on various political issues. EVERY American obviously does not share the same views nor feel superior to the rest of the world.

*nod*
There are some people who should get the lesson from that and apply it to their own perceptions. Like those who think that all Muslims think the same way *cough hint cough*

And as for the media, as much as I like the BBC for example, they have their own bias too.

[epchick]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

I don't think it's simply because his father's Muslim, but what it means that America could elect a President with that heritage. There is certainly a tendancy to support the person "like" you, especially when you don't have as much of a stake in the winner.

That's true as well. My professor made that comment when I asked her opinion about Hamas endorsing Obama (my professor's Palestinian).

But your last sentence is totally true--its just like the president of BET said (i'm pretty sure there is already a thread about that so i wont go into it).

[shinerbock]

While I don't think it is a bad thing to be admired because we're open to electing people from varying backgrounds...I'm not sure I care what those countries think.

Sure, I want the United States to be respected, but do I want the Netherlands to respect us because we're being destroyed by political correctness just like they are? Not really. Simply because something garners respect doesn't mean it is good for America.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

While I don't think it is a bad thing to be admired because we're open to electing people from varying backgrounds...I'm not sure I care what those countries think.

Sure, I want the United States to be respected, but do I want the Netherlands to respect us because we're being destroyed by political correctness just like they are? Not really. Simply because something garners respect doesn't mean it is good for America.

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.

[shinerbock]

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.

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.

[Drolefille]

Originally Posted by shinerbock

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.

If everyone hates you, at some point it's not everyone else.

However, I said clearly that we should NOT necessarily change our policies based on the whims of everyone else. I think we should change the course the country is on, but not because of Europe, because the population of this country is unhappy with our course and because I don't think it's in the best interest of our country. My complaint is with the disregarding of other countries' opinions simply because they're European and "liberal" or poor or whatever and only caring about the countries that agree with us. That's a stupid idea and leads to self-delusion in individuals and in nations.

[UGAalum94]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

If everyone hates you, at some point it's not everyone else.

However, I said clearly that we should NOT necessarily change our policies based on the whims of everyone else. I think we should change the course the country is on, but not because of Europe, because the population of this country is unhappy with our course and because I don't think it's in the best interest of our country. My complaint is with the disregarding of other countries' opinions simply because they're European and "liberal" or poor or whatever and only caring about the countries that agree with us. That's a stupid idea and leads to self-delusion in individuals and in nations.

I think when a country is as powerful as the US is that we're going to be disliked by a lot of the international community for that reason alone.

Global popularity as an end in itself isn't really a worthwhile goal; we should concern ourselves with doing what's right while we look out for our own interests. Ideally, we would could do this in a cooperative spirit with others, but it's not essential.

And, I don't really mean you Drolefille, but a lot of the folks who concern themselves with the rest of the world hating us conveniently assume that they hate us for the same reasons that they are dissatisfied with our government or foreign policy.

A some of the world hates us because we pollute the world with porn and radical ideas about women's rights. Others hate us because we have protectionist trade policies and promote a much higher standard of living for our own citizens than we do for the rest of the world.

Our foreign policy may not be helping, but life isn't going to be rosy with the rest of the world because we elect Obama, unless of course, we're willing to change the way we live for the sake of making the international community happy. I'm not particularly interested.

[shinerbock]

Originally Posted by Drolefille

My complaint is with the disregarding of other countries' opinions simply because they're European and "liberal" or poor or whatever and only caring about the countries that agree with us. That's a stupid idea and leads to self-delusion in individuals and in nations.

Why? If I want investment advice, I don't go to a guy who has filed bankruptcy 3 times in his life. If I want advice on how to combat terrorism, I'm not gonna look to the Netherlands or France where Islamic extremism is likely to erupt in a big way in the next few decades.

I'm not saying that all opinions are worthless, but a majority of countries saying something in unison doesn't mean much unless those countries have credibility on the subject matter.