>Why, you sound like a political science student.

Growing up in a country where you have to play politics unless you want to allow the politics to play you... does get you there. It's more regular reading of newsmagazines and long memory, though, than any study per se.

>Are you really so cynical about the morality of your adopted country? ;-)

It wasn't like this when I came here. I liked it a lot - and whatever they said about the rat race and the hectic pace of life, wasn't true, at least not where I lived.

It's the development in the last few years that I don't like, and that reminds me too much of what I disliked in my own country. Sometimes I feel like I brought it along.

One thing has changed drastically: six years ago, the church was separate from the state.

>We all know the American Hegemony has enormous power and projects it. However, at a time when there is no non-spiritual power on earth that could deny the USA anything physical it desires, one might equally observe that the USA is remarkably restrained in its use of power.

I beg to differ on the last one. Or, being cynical, I could take it as "it's amazing they aren't doing more of the stuff".

But then, why would it use the power at all? All the answers that I can think of are just more cynical than those I already wrote about.