As it should you and every American.

Most of us are operating in a fairyland, and the American press fosters the fantasy. How many Americans believe there were no antecedents to 9-11, that WTC occurred because the infidels hate our way of life and America is an innocent victim of half-crazed fanatics acting without any provocation?

There's a harsh reality out there which is forgotten and/or ignored because Americans have been fed from birth the vision of Norman Rockwell and Reader's Digest. Those are fine visions, wonderful to have and are certainly part of the story. But not the whole story.

I don't know about ostriches, but I do know that Americans bury their heads in the sand and are proud of it. Life is more comfortable as a victim than as a perpetrator.

Pray tell, what is the CIA for? Did they finance and foster the overthrow of Mossadegh? Allende? Other democratically elected governments in Central America? Do you read about it, or did you read about it in the American press?

And you are right. It is easier to view one's country not as a huge predatory commercial enterprise but as a benevolent Uncle, full of goodwill, candy bars and nylons for the underprivileged of the world. One sleeps better believing they are part of this noble enterprise, even if one doesn't stop dreaming after awakening.