If it weren't for us, YOU'D all be speaking GERMAN!

Europeans in general see themselves as being ruled by their governments. We Americans tend to see ourselves as willing and committed partners in the system. We may or may not support the current administration, but we (most of us, anyway) support the system itself. We may not have voted for the most recent President, but we still vote in our hearts for the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. We may vociferously disagree with one another about particular issues, but we deeply and silently agree that we should all be able to speak. And we see ourselves as being actively involved with a government that exists to lead us and serve us but not to rule us. We believe that in the final analysis our government is an expression of what we are, and what we stand for. That's a deep and crucial difference, and I think that it's one of the sources of our strength.