Okay, my bad...I checked back and you did say "per capita" to begin with. I went off on the wrong track a bit. Frankly, I have found no numbers to show where America stands on per capita charity (I found one number that gives about $500 per capita back in 1997) compared to the rest of the world. Apparently, since you said we are "not even in the running," you've got numbers. Any links?

As for the rest, I certainly do not approve of everything America or its government does, or I wouldn't be constantly harping on the tendency to drift into socialism. There are Bush policies on education, spending, and other things that I have posted against in the past.

Maybe you don't get exposed as much as I do to the raw loathing for America, its economic system, and system of values, expressed by people who are in positions of influence in this country. Calling their opinions "criticism" is like calling hitting a kid with a board with nails in it "spanking." Given their motivational foundations--at best making America into a collectivist hellhole, at worst total nihilism--why should I consider their opinions valid?

Remember, not one--ONE--out of millions of protesters organized by these groups carried a sign calling on Saddam to help bring peace to Iraq and its people. Where are the protesters now against the crackdowns and murders in Cuba and Zimbabwe? Do we see any signs or Hollywood types calling on North Korea to stop building nuclear weapons? Yet I could raise a crowd in five minutes to call on America to get rid of its nuclear weapons.

Certainly you do not fall into these extreme categories, nor do most others on this board, but even here I find a tendency to automatically assume the worst about America in almost any situation. Do you even wonder why the proposition that America has been overall a force for benevolence in the world rubs you the wrong way? Is it really just the pride that bothers you?