18 Days in August, an Olympic Blog

It's been twenty years since I was last in Greece. At that time one definitely picked up on a negative vibe from some Greeks, more so than anyplace else I've been before or since. Americans often talk about their chilly reception in Paris. This has never happened to me there but I would liken my experience in Greece to those oft told stories. I suppose memories were much more fresh in those days, hopefully things have improved. I'm sure there are far more hostile places, but I'm not going to visit them.

People who like to criticize "America" like to make the distinction between the American people and their government. I don't think most Americans really buy it. In a representative democracy the government reflects the will of the people. The people accept that on occassion the government must do things that the people wouldn't necessarily support but that's the way it is. It's a cold cruel world. Cold war support for Greece's military dictatorship probably falls into this category. Given the same conditions I'm sure the US government would do the same all over again and the American people would accept it as a necessary evil. The same goes for Iraq. Bush had the support of 70% of the people when he took us to war. Most people still support the effort and in this respect Americans and Europeans certainly part company.

It's easy to avoid the controversial issues of the day when you are just checking into a hotel, ordering a meal in a restaurant, or souvenir shopping. One doesn't tend to get into lively debate about foreign policy. I'm sure that if these people who bitch about the US government would just take the time to really get to know the American people they'd probably dislike many of us as much as they do Uncle Sam.
 

Hey,

All these prudent blog on the net why this fuss about? Posting on yours is a fuss though and have benn placed on my Bookmarks folder :)

Good Luck! Keep it up...

Regards,
prudent blog