Since you were concentrating on the west, I will list some of the countries I have spent time in (I'll leave out Asia, Africa, and the Middle East):

Germany
East Berlin
The Netherlands
France
Spain
Austria
Switzerland
Canada
Mexico
Panama
Guatemala
Honduras
Costa Rica
Columbia
El Salvador
Venezuela
...

Of all the places I've been (including those not listed), my favorite place, believe it or not, was probably the Netherlands and specifically Holland and The Hague, although my time spent there was short each time (once for work, twice for fun). But you are correct, 1991 was the last time I was overseas. I have not been overseas since my daughter was born (other than one trip). Frankly, I had become quite weary of travel.


>>>I'm rather sick of comments of people who never left the US or only visited europe as a tourist. Also keep in mind that europe has change significantly the last decade or two.
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>>Isn't that the pot calling the kettle black? I too have spent a LOT of time in other countries, not just as a tourist.
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>I was not refering to you tracy... you just jumped in between. I know that you have a more realistic view.
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>>Walter, I don't doubt your sincerity or your conviction that you know all about America and Americans. I doubt the reality of it. Your description is typical of only a very small portion of the populace, not the majority, good and bad.
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>I'm not pretending I know all, but I know what I know. My description is mainly about your government and the politics. I think I've been exposed to the american people enough to conclude they know they are living in a imperfect world, but lets face it: Most americans do not have any significant exposure to life outside of the US.
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>>As to sex, regardless of what you hear in person or on the news, we are not a closed-minded right-wing society. Sex education does exist. We do not rely solely on abstinence for protection nor is that all we teach our children. If that were true, then the majority of Americans would have babies as teens, not the percentage we have now (although it is too high). Because as we all know, whether every parent wants to admit it or not, the majority of teens are having sex.
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>Exactly my point. Too many young parents and single parent households which leads to significant problems. It is like put your head into the sand. Lets ojectively look at how to solve that problem. It might be worth looking at how other countries solve the problem ....
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>>I have mentioned here on this forum many times the faults of my country. Believe me Walter, I know them better than most. I have witnessed firsthand the damage this country has done overseas and been an unwilling participant or observer at times. I have also witnessed firsthand the greatness this country has done (and never publicized on the news here or overseas) and its people.
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>I'm sure you had this experience as you wrote about it many times up here. You were located in Germany in the 80's right? But don't forget as well that is about two decades ago.
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>>That is why, I believe strongly in pulling American troops and American involvement OUT from everyone. Other than previous commitments and agreements (we must abide by those). Other than that, no more. Get our money and our soldiers and our politics out of everywhere. PERIOD. Unless we are completely sure of an imminent threat, stay out. Unless the threat is within our borders, stay out. That includes Canada and Mexico. They can handle their own security. No military participation ANY PLACE unless it is part of a multi-national PEACE KEEPING force. No MONEY period outside of this country unless it is for a national disaster and NOT politics and not business. Then everyone can hate us for not doing enough rather than for doing the wrong thing and our tax dollars can be used here at home.
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>The US simply cannot afford to do that. It has to protect it empire. Don't forget that the trade deficit is huge and if the US chooses to continue in isolation it would be the end of its economical empire. You'll be thrown back 60 years back in time.
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>As I wrote to John, the US currently is protecting its economical status. If you read that link you will understand its recent politics. The war in Iraq is about protecting the dollar as a reserve currency. Iraq was the first country which choose to use the Euro as a trading currency and payed the ultimate price. Why do you think the US views Iran and Venezuala as enemies? (They have long expressed the desire to switch to the euro). Why was iraq invaded for believed development of WDM and North Korea probably allready possesses them? read the link.. it will answer those questions. As it is stating, Iran already has the lethal weapon to destroy the american empire. It is called "trade oil in euro's". If Iran starts, it is likely others will follow. When that happens the dollar will devaluate further which makes the euro even more interesting to the remaining countries.
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>The fact of the matter is that the US has to protect the dollar with all costs. It has to convince the world that they have to use the dollar for trading (and Iraq was the message) because if the dollar falls, the US has to declare bankruptcy. Reading that article put everything into a very different spotlight.