Well said, TAC.
To the "ugly americans":
One think i understand talking with my RL american friends (yes i have american friends, i'm not a racist like the "ugly US man"), is that the medium US citizen have a small knowledge of the rest of the world, even if related with US interests, and this knowledge is in some way distorted in favour of the "we are the best, the rest is toejam" way of thinking.
I know, this is necessary when you need to control a nation (Mussolini and Hitler do the same at their times), and prepare it to wage war for your interests.
USA is a nation always in war, even now, and the government need to have citizen firmly believing they are right and that god is on their side, and the education system and more generally the culture orientation have to work in that direction.
I want to share some information with people that wish to use the brain by themself, regarding my country, and believe me, these are facts.
Just after the WWI, the economy in Italy was really knocked down, and many of poor people, mostly from southern region, move out from Italy to search for survival, most of them move to the "America" (as WE called it, talking 'bout ancestors
), contributing greatly for rising of your economy with low price workers and exporting in the process a social phenomenon called "mafia" (see later in the post).
Our country was on the knees, when a strange man whitout hairs, but with a strong personality took the power in 1923 and start a new government, based on a particulary form called "fascismo", he start saying we can be strong enough to walk on our feet and try to isolate our economy to avoid foreign influence, and strange to say, this worked!!.
The price was freedom.
I mean, in that time you can do everithink you want but to opposite in real terms to the government and the dominant culture.
At the same time, the fascism push the attention to expantion of the country, concentrating to the military issues and a colonial foreign policy.
As a medium citizen of that time knew, we colonize Libya and Etiopia to "share our civilization", and we conquer Albania because the "legitimate government" ask for our help.
A little study of the propaganda techniques will help you to understand the thinks you see and listen and read on mass media.
This recall me in some way the actual situation of USA, think:
you have the fascists and defend theyr rights to think, but you still attack and forbid the communism, right or wrong it will be.
you go and wage war in well selected nations because they "need" your help.Naturally the best friend of this fascist nation was the nation where a political leader mutuate some ideas from fascism, creating a new type, called "Nationalsocialism", in fact they become soon allied, founding the "Axis Rome-Berlin" (is from this the name now common Axis).
The "Society of nations" started a blockade of the Axis economy, trying to avoid the expantion policy both nations acted.
So what we have?
Two large economies, one expanding the other stagnating coming to a crunch.
Soon or later war will explode.
And did.
Meanwhile in Italy the people was convinced that the powers of West countryes where pushing for destroy our freedom and was almost ready to follow Mussolini where he want to go, he bring some richness and wellfare, confrontating to the past, so he worked well.
When Hitler started the game, Mussolini after a while, with doubt (cause he know we was'nt ready to war), follow.
The guys in uniform found themselves fighting a war they believe was a right war, but with old tools, and poor commanders.
They act well, in Africa and in Russia, even with they pityful armament.
And i repeat, they believe was right, because theyr culture said this was right (this for the "Luftwaffe question").
The morality it's always relative of the culture.
We fight, we was losing, people was starving, and start thinking somethink was wrong, maybe waging war is'nt so good.
When Allied forces (Allied forces, not only US forces, baby) entered Sicily, we feel war was lost, and Germans take in forces (for theyr interest, of course) the defence of the country.
One of the best allies of the Allied Forces was mafia (here they appear again), helping with intelligence and civilian control, and taking in this way big control over the later political local government.
When 8 september 1943, the king come to terms and sign the armistice with the allied, Germans take control of the entire country, and start to act as they used to do in occupied countrys.
This push the northern citizen to organize themselfs to resist the Germans, and to found the "Resistenza", civilian forces that fight the Germans.
Meanwhile the Germans put Mussolini on chief of a new founded government, called "Repubblica di Salò", from the small town where it formed, followed from people still believing in Mussolini.
This was the darkest hour we live, fighting brother vs brother in a civil war we are still remembering with pain.
And we had two armies too, fighting on both sides.
Meanwhile in the resistenza two souls show up:
one near to liberalism, the other near to the comunism (before Mussolini we had a strong communist party).
When war finished our country was destroyed, the economy was non-existent.
In the south the control was granted by mafia, but in the north the thinks where different, the communist party was strong, helped from Russia.
Italy was on the edge of the West block, extending in mediterranean, in few words: strategic.
This meant, in change to be "defended" from the child-eaters communists, we had to reserve spaces for US (i said US, not Nato) bases, like the one near my house.
We decided to have a new government, a republic.
Near to the elections of the new founded government, the USA start giving hide help to the liberalist partyes, and with help of the mafia-controlled votes of the south part, a US friendly government was founded.
And here start a new colonialism, the economical-cultural one.
We become the best allies of the States, our loved friend.
This situation lasted for 40 years, with government changing in appareance, but doing the same, just like a South American "Democracy".
We become rich, but we develope an economical debt, really scaring, and an economical dipendence from States, like a knife in our neck.
In the sixties, like in the rest of the western countryes, a new thinking started, youngs and factory workers start to ask for theyr rights, and when the government react violently, start to fight.
In the early '70s we was near to a revolution, but somethink happen...
Bombs.
In the middle of the people, with lot of deaths.
Since then we knew the more "Hot" left guys, the "brigate rosse" terrorist organization (self called revolutionary, but they lost, you know?
), used to shot precisely to political targets, killing precise key persons, why they now start killing innocent people?.
As we know now, was'nt the brigate rosse, was the right, fascist terrorist organization, with help of Italian secret services, and CIA (another nice gift from USA, always active in Italy since the war ended) that put the bombs.
But at that time we ignore it, so the brigate rosse and generally the left pushing was disbanded, and the government gain other 15 years of "stability".
Then the wall falls...
Mafia is still strong...
CIA is still here...
Bases are still active...
Do you still think your nation do this to save us?
Or maybe was to save herself ass?
Maybe we cut be grateful to have been liberated by the Germans and the fascists, but do you think we have to payback for more generations?
It's not enough?
Cant we start to be equals, in a community of equals, or we have to be controlled and occupied forever?
And you think we have to like it?
There are two other thinks i want recall:
one has happened in 1980 when a civilian aircraft was downed by a missile fired suspectly by an US fighter (81 deads).
The USA denyed responsability, and with help of Italian airforce they delete proves of their operations and the fight occurred with a Lybian fighter in the same moment in the same zone, in fact the US forces where trying to down the Geddhafi's airplane, similar to the DC-9 of Itavia.
The other is more recent in Cermis, when an amazinhunk pilot of marines play low level flight, 20 people died in the process, but who care, they where european.
An "ugly american" is more important than 20 europeans, in fact he believed to be an hero, "for bringing back the plane to base he deserve a medal".
Being an "ugly american", nationalist, arrogant and ignorant, gain hate to you and your nation, and soon or later you will be presented the bill.
Try to be gentle, respectful, open minded to different cultures and history, and you will gain respect and an honorable name.
The world is bigger than you think, open your eyes and look around, the entire world is OUR nation, mine and yours, and is beatiful in his differences, there is no place better than another.
Cya
