American Exceptionalism

[NC325iC]

well who the hell cares what the wto has to say about it. our priorities should be with our own businesses first

[Ral]

The WTO trade regime is set up to specifically bar this. We put a tariff on steel imports in the early 2000s to help ailing U.S. Steel producers, and dropped it at the end of the "grace period" specified by the WTO.

Placing tariffs does nothing except inhibit a globalized, free-market economy for all actors.

tell the chinese that.

[Ral]

well who the hell cares what the wto has to say about it. our priorities should be with our own businesses first

the problem with saying "fuck them, gotta take care of ourselves first" is that taking care of ourselves relies on being friends with other countries. Particularly now, each country leans on a lot of other countries to support itself. It's kinda like a fucked-up game of pick-up sticks. We might be the biggest stick, but because of that we also touch/lean on the most other sticks, even though they might be smaller. And now there's a lot of other sticks (China, Russia's coming back, India, some countries in South America such as Brazil, etc) that are getting bigger, and as that happens they all rely on one another to help support themselves.

This is why the "I'm american, I gotta look out for me first" philosophy doesn't work. And if the stick pile (read- developed world) ever gets violently disrupted there's a good chance some of the biggest "sticks" won't like where they end up.

[etxxz]

^^ you are right on target!

and that is what the average american doesnt understand. their perception of the rest of the world is REAAALY far from reality and have trouble (wanting to) understanding how things really work.

[MattE30]

well who the hell cares what the wto has to say about it. our priorities should be with our own businesses first

Ignorance is bliss, I guess.

[joshh]

America WAS once a great nation.
Unfortunately we have made some very unwise choices in regards to our politics and foreign affairs. Which almost always stems from the horrible attitude of "America first".

[NC325iC]

hypothetical, 100% will never happen and i understand that

[rwh11385]

Very good post!

I have been overseas for 3 years. And there have been times where I've seen Americans act like dumb asses. But at the same time, I see quite a few (the majority) of Americans embracing the culture. Military members are taught customs and basic language skills when they arrive to other countries. These are things I wont ever forget, and use them whenever I can. One example was yesterday when I went to a Korean restaurant here in Germany. I spoke the little Korean that I knew, and our waitress smiled ear to ear.

Anyways, we're not hated everywhere. And the best advice I can give to everyone when traveling is to be one of the good guys, an ambassador for our country.

When I was over in Germany, we were on the way back from the bars and lost, asking for directions. They asked if we were Americans in a negative attitude, so my friend said he was aussie in an accent.

Their main thing against Americans was "too much flag", i.e. pride and arrogance that they find annoying.