Our country's culture appears to be dominant because it's ubiquitous. But what we don't see is the everyday reaction to the symbols of our culture unless there is a demonstration somewhere.

Our country is a great country precisely because it is made up of people from around the world--and it appears ludicrous to the rest of the world for us to thump our chests about being the greatest and the best while conveniently omitting that beautiful, simple fact.

And yes, we did try to take over Canada once, and got our butts kicked. There's an historical museum on Canada's St. Joseph Island (Ontario) where you can view a documentary about it.

Jaime,

I know this post will be a little off-topic, and I apologize for it. I want to answer Abs about his question on immigration in European countries.

I will talk only about what I know here, since we went through the process to grant my wife her Pass of Staying.

When you're part of the EU, you only have to make a declaration of residence at the prefecture (that's the head of administration of the county). Then, you're free to settle down, buy a house, live your life, pay taxes, get healthcare or start your own company if you wish. You can even participate in the local elections if you want to (you can't vote to elect the local deputy or the president though).

If you're a foreigner outside of the EU, you have to prove that you have a valuable reason to want to stay more than 6 weeks in the country. After that time, you can be deported to the border at any time by the police, or worse to the country you came from. To be entitled your carte de séjour (Pass of Staying if you wish), you have to prove that they are either related to a French citizen by family or marriage, or work for a company located in France, or be a scientist, or a student.

You have to gather quite a huge amount of papers (birth certificate, criminal records, marriage certificate, salary sheet, certificate of household...etc.) and then queue up at the prefecture with the hundreds others like you. If everything is okay with your case, it's being processed for a few months and they'll give you a date for a convocation for a medical ckeck-up. In the meantime, you can stay in the country but you can't work yet.

Finally, when the ordeal is over, you'll get your pass, which they'll put in your passport. Bear in mind that it's only valid for a year. After that time, the process starts again!

And I won't be talking about how to become a resident or become a French citizen, which we're currently working on. It is much, much more complicated!

We've toughened the immigration procedures in the last ten years, to try and decrease the flow of migrants (mostly from Northern Africa and Eastern Europe). Quite frankly, the rise of terrorism has only made things worse.

Horyok - you really should have taken it up in a new thread.

Let's get back on topic:

Like I said, I was simply trying to bring some external information into the discussion. That post was the answer to Abs like Jesus question and I hope he found it useful.

Now, let's answer the topic properly...



That's something I've heard from some Americans. It's sometimes hard for me to tell if these Americans are deeply patriotic or profound arrogants instead.



America's economy relies on hundreds of millions of customers, therefore it has a considerable power to develop itself and a stability to endure the worse crisis at the same time.



It's true that many people out in the world aren't happy about America's foreign policies. In simpler terms, they don't like what America does outside of its borders. However, many see America inside as a haven for liberty. That's why they want to come in. They think to themselves : "At least, I'll have a chance there." I'm quite certain that the media (especially TV) relays a positive image of the US to foreigners.

The same happens with Europe and we are confronted with immigration too.