Mad Ivan left - see his about page; got a bit miffed by the anti-Brit threads!
I would not move to America - but not because I don't like it. I do plan to holiday/vacation in the near future though.
I don't like everything about America; I don't like everything about Britain either.
A lot of people who don't like America (such as the BBC)here in the UK don't like Israel either and after that they don't like Britain or anything it stands for depending on how much to the left they are; they will tend to support our enemies - whatever they do its our fault for something we're doing at the moment (Iraq) (George Galloway anyone?)or 200 years ago whatever.
People such as this tend to be vocal and express their opinions at every opportunity as opposed to the silent majority who tend to be conservative in their outlook. The reality might be shocking - see the re-election (3 times)of Thatcher who at one point was the most unpopular prime minister since the war.
The way some of the crowd on here react you would think that we were enemies rather than allies fighting in both Iraq and Afghanistan.
Mac1 and tonycavanagh:
Your replies were well considered and written. Thank you. I agree with you both about media influences on readers. We've seen some of those influences affect portions of populations over the past few decades.
We gather information from various points of view, and also, hopefully, statistics and demographics from a few fairly objective research reports. My personal assessments of Britain are not based on solely negative news.
I've been posting news (intended only for a limited time) about negative western European trends that most Americans don't see. Few Americans know, for example, that France does not have the highest percentage of anti-American sentiment in western Europe. We do know that the percentage is not the lowest. Few Americans are aware of majority Spanish and Italian mindsets toward them.
Have you considered that nearly all Americans are fond of Britons? That's common knowledge here, in the USA.
Most of the articles that I've posted over the past few months, BTW, have been on the topic of Iran.
The hope behind the information effort is that we can effect more understanding and change. Solely positive news about any one country can encourage antagonistic influences in that country against other countries to grow. Solely positive news can also lend to lethargy in concerned citizens who would otherwise try to correct one-sided national opinions of foreign countries.
What if the only view that we Americans had of England were from travel agencies and public relations promoters? Many visitors would likely come back to the USA unhappy and having expected something like a generalized perfection.
What if the only view that we Americans had of England were or from the television soap opera, EastEnders (from cable and satellite feeds here)? ...or of Trafalgar Square only during protests? If all of our knowledge came from either, most potential visitors would avoid European vacations. But that's not the case, because nearly all of the news here from England is positive.
Tony, without opinions from writers like Mark Steyn and Melanie Phillips, what would happen regarding sentiments toward Israel? Would negative sentiments increase, or would they decrease without public criticism?
I deeply appreciate what so many British soldiers and other troops are doing in our allied effort against terrorist regimes. I also understand that with so many in Afghanistan and Iraq, that likely few or none will be sent to accompany our forces in Iran (if that probability happens). We know that a large percentage (even if not majority on some issues, at times) of the English population is pro-American. Many of them are related to us. News and opinions about negative issues do not cloud our knowledge of that, and even I wouldn't intentionally allow it to happen.
I'll post more positive news about Britain, if that will help with understanding (and, of course, if it will keep me from appearing to have the intent of some sort of villain). You'll receive pings to those postings, if you like.
And if you visit the United States, consider avoiding large cities on our coasts. You might have a nicer time in the Rocky Mountains.
I spent 3 1/2 years at RAF Upper Heyford and thoroughly enjoyed my time in England (and Wales and Scotland on visits).
Frankly, if what I knew about GWB & the US came from the BBC & TV, I'd despise us too!