So, a NYT [buzz] journalist [buzz] who has lived in Europe [buzz] for four years writes: "The blue-state-red-state dichotomy is a real and enduring one, and it is reflected in fierce and angry polemics about matters like gay rights and abortion that, for the most part, were settled in Europe years ago. It is not wrong to see the United States as a place where, far more than in Europe, a lot of basic issues are up for grabs."

But I thought we were supposed to be a bunch of cattle mindlessly herded whatever direction they want by our stale media and those evil Republicans.

I'm sorry, both myths about us can't be true at once.

Now what must this wanna-be Euro mean? He has one o' them magical things - a passport, right? That's one o' them PC codewords, right? In Eurospeak that makes him not a stupid, stuck-in-his-own-little-provincial-world hick, right? That makes him more like a Euro.

Yep, we Americans, or at least us red-state Americans, are kinda slow, right? We are so stupid we debate such "basic" issues, issues you advanced and sophisticated Euros (yawn)settled decades ago.

But, I'm just a stupid yank, so I don't understand why groupthink is something for Europeans to pride themselves in.

In fact, ifn' I scratch my head and pnder it a bit, it seems to me that the minority have the courage of their convictions. So they're more likely to be in the right than those in the majority on an issue - many of whom have weathervanes for minds.

How were these issues "settled" there Europe? When did Euros have this debate? Never.

They were never debated in Europe, because in Europe nobody says or does a thing without looking around first to see what everybody else does. I mean that literally.

Little pieces of Europe have colonized America. On the coast of New England and the coast of California.

As in too-densely populated Europe, in these too-densely populated places here, political correctness rules under the tyranny of the majority. Hence, you get 93% of New Yorkers belonging to the same political party. Kinda like cattle. You will always find about the same percentage of them all always facing the same direction, too.

Which is why a few cowboys (like Chirac) can herd them so easily.

Us hicks here in the flyover states have, and give, each other room. So here you don't get sneered at or viewed as an inferior being for your opinions and beliefs. You will surely get argued with, though. But we are free to have minds of our own. So, trying to herd us is like trying to herd cats. Which is a big part of the reason why we've never bestowed a Hitler or a Stalin on the world. For example, getting 60% of a vote is considered a "landslide." There are very few issues where you find up to 80% of us in agreement, and that happens only near the beginning and/or near the end of the national debate.

And so I thank Bernstein for his unintended praise of us. It's priceless.

"Maybe we stopped discussing every basic issue here for a reason: More often than not, leaving such issues up to experts is considered to be more efficient."

Less strain on the brain, right? But, hey, if you don't use it, won't you lose it?

So, you prefer the "efficiency" of letting others do your thinking for you. Like I said, I'm just a stupid Yank, so I don't quite get why you would view that as something to be proud of.

Because it seems to me that if you let others make up your mind, you're granting them ownership rights to it.

Pardon us stupid Yanks for thinking it's better to have a mind of your own. For, it seems to us that if it's prostitution to let others do that with your body, why would it be anything else if you let them do it with your mind?

But then, we hicks just don't get "nuance" like you guys do.

Not illegal. The ones who violated International Law are Chirac and Schroeder.

We do know how the American people would have voted. All polls showed overwhelming support. Also, our legislators find out what the people want before voting, and they voted overwhelmingly to authorize the invasion. You see, here our elected officials answer directly to their constituency, not to a party list as in Europe. Here, we call and write our representatives over important issues - they get a ton of our feedback every day. They religiously keep track of constituent-contact "for" and "against." And they poll on their own, as well. They survive in office by knowing what we think and voting accordingly. That's the way it works here. We really do control our government.

You guys should try it, you might like it.

"Just image we would be talking about Germany not the U.S.A. ---- =D"

Yes, I bet you'd like that too. Just why are Europeans so fixated on America? It's a very strange obsession. You put us under a microscope finding no end of fault. Very unwholesome pastime. It tempts one to advise Europeans to "get a life."