reminds me of the old "have you stopped beating your wife".

There is a relatively small percentage of people that choose to heap themselves with guilt for every mistake we have made. The good that we have done far outweighs the bad. Not that we shouldn't look back at our mistakes but we are right to celebrate the fact that we have created a great nation of free, optimistic people.

No more than two generations ago nationalism was not a bad word and the goal of every country was to look after their own before giving a thought to world problems.

Mao was a ruthless leader that slaughtered and imprisoned millions. Whether he did this for the greater good is immaterial. If you compare this with our worst 19th century mistake (native americans) we still come out looking better. Why speak out in his behalf instead of Musselini? Do the Rosenbergs belong on the list? If so, why not Hanssen? There are many iffy inclusions but Mao is not one of them.

In Alabama there is a highly charged issue of public display of the Ten Commandments at the State Supreme Court. We can take pride in the fact that the issue is being settled in the courts. Religious fundamentalist are involved but suicide belts give way to civil disobediance and nobody is dying over this issue.

Western culture in general and America in particular has produced the best that this planet has seen. We are not perfect but we are getting better and as a people we are good regardless of which political party is in power.

Don't let your guilt over GWII jade you. Believe and speak out as you wish and when you wish but remember that there will be a historical perspective that will be far more accurate that any current opinion.