From Another Perspective

"You Americans pay taxes and want the government to leave you alone. In the UK we pay taxes and expect service."

I listened to her statement and thought "She's right! We do want to be left alone."

This summer we had a surprise visit from a young couple who are former neighbors. The wife is from England but has lived in South America, Mexico and Arizona. Currently the couple live in Missouri. During their visit she made the above eye-opening statement.

Today I was reading a BBC news article when I found this statement. "One of the big problems he sees is that Americans have been taught to believe that government is the problem, not the solution." (http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/7657473.stm)

The BBC article was an introduction to a four-part broadcast about the United States. The episodes will look at the subjects of US history, war, faith, and immigration. The listing for tomorrow night's first episode: "Simon Schama travels through America to dig deep into the conflicts of its history as a way to understand the country's contemporary political situation."

I'd like to see this BBC series and listen to more people from other countries talk openly about the US. It's always enlightening and refreshing to see myself and my world from another perspective.