> But if you go to the heavy stuff, like the fundamental goodness of
> the USA, you're really getting to some bedrock stuff. You can recite
> a long list of American crimes, and the likely response from most
> Americans would be: you're lying, or they concede the truth of the
> bill of particulars, these were rogue elements, or mistakes, or
> youthful indiscretions.
Too true. I've encountered this since I became politicized in the Army. Many Americans simply don't want to hear about war crimes and exploitation. We are so isolated from the realities of imperialism and corporatism (though less and less so as time drags on) that it's relatively easy to tune it all out, especially with so many diversions at hand. And if you can get someone to concede the truth, they usually dismiss it soon after, since acknowledgement means having to do something about it. And too many Americans have no interest in changing the system, so long as they have their toys and are "left alone."
Dennis