Alex,



>>Not much has changed (in our Political methods) since Benjamin Franklin negotiated a treaty of alliance between the French and the united colonies and secured loans from the French government which helped finance the American revolution against the British. (Not to mention the French participation at Yorktown).
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>>What did the colonies do later? Even though France was the first superpower to recognize the united colonies as a Sovereign Nation, we turned around and negotiated a treaty with Britain directly (behind France's back) that gave us more than we had hoped for (including land all the way to the Mississippi).
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>Right, and then we saved their beans from the fire in both WWI and WWII and they still hate Americans. De Gaulle wasn't too happy with us and almost all of their governments since did the same.

This goes way back (as I'm sure you know). IMO the 'root' of it all is the fundamental difference between the Renaissance and the Reformation, The absolutely fundamental differencees in their basic presumptions tells the tale.

The Renaissance was, at its core, man-centered while the Reformation was God-centered. France and Italy was where the Renaissance was basically happening whereas England and Germany )and the US a little later, but more of a 2nd wave.) was where the Reformation happened.

You can see the impact of the two philosophies most clearly in the application of the constitutions on civil life.

I also think that in Europe there is (sadly) all too often a large amount of envy directed towards the US. We're not seen as being as 'civilized' and cultured and so forth. Truth is, by their definition, we're not. <g> But, one should, I suppose, then ask what makes for a healthy and vibrant cultural life?

Best,

DD