Reply #63: I beg to differ. I don't ascribe to the patently ridiculous doctrine

[The Velveteen Ocelot]

of American exceptionalism. We have not earned the right to stick our noses in other countries' business just because we're America and we "do the right thing no matter what." That's pure B.S.; we have often failed to do the right thing (see, e.g., Vietnam). The fact that we (along with a bunch of allies, by the way) won WWII does not exempt us from any prior or subsequent sin, of which we have committed many. We are not intrinsically better than any other country or society. The real estate that comprises the U.S. (which was stolen from the people who were already living on it) does not confer some magical goodness on those who occupy it.

This is a "good" or "moral" country only to the extent it actually complies with the ideals expressed in the Constitution, and that has, in fact, very rarely happened. And whatever good the U.S. has done in the past does not confer upon it the continuing right to dictate the conduct of any other sovereign nation.

The absurd notion that we are somehow better than other countries is what has gotten us into the mess we're in now. Bush and all the other exceptionalist idiots need to STFU, even when dealing with difficult characters like Chavez.