Ask500

If you think about it, there are some interpretations that can justify saying "George Bush", and Plawler's loophole is one of them. Another is, we have to define, worst WHAT. In that regard, Bush is the "worst example of a tyrant" in that unlike all the others, he is/was willing to quietly step aside in favor of a freely elected replacement in a regularly scheduled election. Can't see Pol Pot doing that! Bush also fails at tyranting for having none of his domestic political opponents put to death, etc, etc.

From some points of view I am already living in one.

What do you mean by "like"?

Like in an erotic way?

Or like in a general, practical way? I like feet because they are much more useful than wheels. I would not want to give up my feet!

OR as an entree?

What do you mean, do we "Know" Romania?

Do you mean:

1) Are we aware that Romania exists?

2) Do we know facts about Romania?

3) Are we very familiar with Romania?

In American English, the way you phrased your question indicates 3.

They should celebrate everything they can.

But when you think about it, everyone should.

Seconded!

This wasn;t actually true, Dukakis had in fact been to Greece. The media has a strange habit of inventing things about US politicians, and not only Americans but people around the world have a habit of believing them.

10 years from now, people will "remember" that Sarah Palin said "I can see Russia from my house", when in fact the line came from comedian Tina Fey. Palin had commented on Russia being close enough to Alaska to be visible from a few Alaskan islands, which is true. But the Tina Fey quote is what people remember. Same with poor Dukakis. (who, btw, had not only been to Greece, but Korea as well. How many Greeks have visited Korea?)

Ben

Asroc,

You make a few very European and very outmoded assumptions. When a person with parents from India or Trinidad but UK citizenship looks at the 1000 year old castles what does he feel? Does that person "feel" like he hasn't been invaded in 1000 years? (not true, by the way, the North American Gray Squirrel continues its conquest of the British isles all but unopposed by the feckless resistance of the native red squirrels, also, see note below*)

People do not have 1000 year memories- they have what they learn. There really is no national memory, anywhere, people do not "remember" events that took place centuries before their birth.

You didn't build Stonehenge, you may or may not have some DNA inherited from those that did. Well, I can say the same. Why should you feel prouder of it or more connected to it than I? Proximity?

Now this will get a few brain cells buzzing: let's assume the hypothetical person of Trinidadian descent in paragraph one is a proud and patriotic citizen of the UK. Heck, say he's an officer in the Royal Air Force. Now, me, with my partially Scottish DNA, I can say that my ancestors were in all probability more involved in building "your" castles than our RAF officer was. If nothing else, they were taxed to pay for them! So, if he and I were standing shoulder to shoulder looking at some ancient wall in Scotland, which one of us can claim them as heritage?

Pride is pride- unless it is your own achievement, it's all in the mind. You can have pride in a castle- an American can have pride in the Grand Canyon, and its a million years old. We didn't build it, and you didn't build the castles: the people who built those castles are long, long dead. The pride you feel is pride of belonging to a group, and thereby taking some personal satisfaction in the accomplishments of that group, even though you yourself didn't contribute. It's not a logical thing.

Better to have pride in what you and your nation are today- and there's plenty of worthy stuff there. But it's today, and not a thousand years old.

*Technically, it will be 2066 before you can say Britain hasn't been invaded successfully in 1000 years. What was it they called that Norman thing? Convention? Contest? Ah, yes, Conquest. If you really want to claim some national connection to this event, then on behalf of the people of the United States, I hold you responsible for letting the Francophones overrun England, inject their absurd language into ours, and leave us to this day with some of the most ridiculous spelling and grammar imaginable.

LOC Kargill.

Only in Bollywood does a war movie require singing.

We give both parties equal opportunities in ruining the nation. The Democrats did it, the Republicans did it. I remember the Carter years... eechhh.

That's what they do. Then the private citizens have to roll up the sleeves, build it up again.