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Once again, the comments made by my countrymen make me ashamed to be American. At least I can take solace in the fact that I have nearly nothing in common with most of them.


Right, because you are so OBVIOUSLY better than those people who responded.


Actually, no. I just don't share most American's taste for childish attacks towards people that don't fit nicely into their ethnocentric worldview.

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Take any cross-section of any society and you will get comments with just as varying amounts of wisdom/eloquence. Being dumb, ignorant, racist or imperialistic is not the sole realm of Americans.


You're correct. But Americans sure can corner the market on taking belligerent pride in being all those things, can't they?

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Accept the fact that you live in a society that is free to express their opinion, if you agree with it or not.


Hrm... I think I made reference to the "comments of my countrymen", not their right to make said comments. I agree 100% with the right to express one's opinion. I, however, think that with that right comes a modicum of responsibility.

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You do not know the content of the e-mail that was sent to those people.


Nor do you...

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As I understand it, the e-mail content sent to a person from Clark county (45 minutes from my house, and where my wife graduated from college) was left up to the individual who requested an e-mail address from the Guardian's webpage. I would imagine some letters sent could have been just as nasty.


You should have spent more time reading the article that you did getting mad at my comment.

The only email came from Americans. The Guardian set up a program where Brits could sign up to get the "name and address" of a Clark county voter. They could then send a snail mail letter to the voter in question. I find nothing in any of the responses from Americans shown on the Guardian website that even hint at the possibility that anyone has even received a letter from a Brit yet.

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I think the vast majority of people who recieved e-mails from across the pond either a) ignored them, b) politely declined the advice given (this is what I would do), or c) the e-mail was caught in their spam filter and deleted. The people who responded with offensive comments are going to be the loudmouth redneck types who are not representative of Americans as a whole.


I think we've already covered the whole "email" issue. If nothing else, one should question how the Guardian would have gotten the email address for all registered voters in Clark county.

And, sadly, I do think that the loudmouth redneck is somewhat representative of America's global image. Are all Americans like that? Of course not. Are many? Yes. Even our president puts forth the "good ol' boy" image.

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Which ones do you think the Guardian would have printed?


Was this a rhetorical question? Of course they're going to print the ones that make it seem that they're correct in their views. Just as the American media spins everything to be positive for the US, or at least as positive as possible.
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This letter is not exactly a polite request, it is more: "Your administration sucks, here's how to vote in November".


Actually, your paraphrase sounds more like most of the emails the Guardian received. The letter you link to, while definitly biased, is at least coherent, not ALL IN CAPS, and uses proper grammar. Is it a bit preachy? You bet. But at least it's thoughtfully written.

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Americans, above all, hate being told what to do or how to think. This is especially true when it comes to politics.


I have to disagree. I think most people in America love to be told how to think. Especially when it comes to politics. I don't know about you, but I've been assaulted by political ads on TV telling me how to think for the past couple of months.

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We in the US at least are able to respect others who do not share the same views as we do. I get the feeling that this is not true in other countries.


Sadly, you're right. The poor girl had to lie so she wouldn't be hassled. I can only speak for myself, but I find it hard to feel sorry for someone who not only is proud of being partisan to the bone, but doesn't even have the intestinal fortitude to stand up for what she believes in. Not to mention how reassuring it is to have her point out that it's ok to lie in politics. Do I think we can ever get rid of lies in politics? No. But it's a sad state of affairs when we just accept it out of habit.
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Dave