[Aurel]

There are always two ways to look at things, even when using facts that are real in both cases. Let me illustrate this by depicting a `bad` and a `good` picture of america.

The bad america:

1-Fact: america has the highest proportion of its population in jail of all democrtatic countries.
2-Fact: america has the highest rate of guncrime per 100,000 of all countries in the world
3-Fact: america has the highest consumer debt and domestic debt in the world. Indeed, america owes money to the rest of the world
4-Fact: america greatly contributes to pollution and green house effect, by refusing to adhere the Kyoto protocols and using 25% of the world energy for a population less than 5%.
5-Fact: america is loosing jobs at both ends: the lowly qualified maufacturing to china, the highly qualified IT and high-tech to India, Korea, etc...
6-The insurance system (health, etc...) is totally screwed up.


Now, the good america:

1-Fact: America has stood against dictature and freed the world of nazsim and communism.
2-Fact: America is a land of oportunity, that still attracts the brightest minds in the world, because they can find here the best conditions to express their potential.
3-Fact:There are no poor in America, just people who have a smaller TV, or bums who chose to be bums.
4-Fact: People are really free to express their opinion, even when it is offensive or stupid.
5-Fact: There are many opportunities to become rich here: hard work, smart work, or even no work (cf. Tabs !)
6-Only here could I own a Porsche, and for that I love america !

Bottom line is: america is the land of extremes, and the very worse cohabits with the very best. Seeing only one or the other would be erroneous. It surely has to with america being a melting pot. But things are definitely not black or white, and have to be watched constantly, and americans have to be critics of themsleves and not fall asleep to maintain excellence.

Aurel