Protector of the free world deserves better
Anti-Americanism has a long pedigree, but that only makes it more irrational
Janet Albrechtsen (Hat tip: R J Del Vecchio)

BY all means unfurl the banners, dust off the placards and prop up the distorted effigies of George W. Bush. Start practising those chants of "Down with America" and "America, the Great Satan" and stop bathing and brushing your hair (a less commented on pre-requisite for some protesters) for another anti-American protest. With US Vice-President Dick Cheney in Australia next week, it's not an opportunity to be missed for those who hate the US.

But before the crowd tail-gates Cheney as he meets Australian political leaders, maybe it's time to check what it is that drives animosity towards the US. It is not anti-American to disagree about US policies in Iraq or on Kyoto or in Guantanamo Bay; reasonable people can differ over how the Bush administration handles critical issues. And if protesting in the streets is your thing, go ahead. Ain't democracy grand? ...

***

You Want It? You Got It.
Jules Crittenden

Here’s one of my ancestral countrywomen, Janet Albrechtsen, who draws on a couple of sources, putting very well what myself and others, notably P.J. O’Rourke, have been saying for years. 

The real reason they hate us is because our … I mean, we’re … bigger than they are. It’s all bigger, and that’s what they just can’t stand it.    Our cars. Our houses. Our parking lots. Our supermarkets.  Our highways. Our crap and our beauty. Bigger. Our urban sprawl and our wide-open spaces. Our country. Don’t forget what they really love to hate, but can’t keep away from. Our McDonalds and Starbucks and Microsoft.  Our Coca-Cola culture. Our space program. Pretty much everything we do. All bigger.

But that’s just some of the stuff we have and the things we do for fun and money. Then, there’s the stuff that matters. Our ideas and ideals.  None of that Euro shoebox socialism over here.  There are actually people here who want to shove us into that, but it ain’t happening. Our stuff is too big.  The good, the bad and the ugly, all bigger. Not only bigger. Better. ...