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Originally Posted by Catwoman
I am only going on contact I have had with Americans here and elsewhere, the prevailing attitude seems to be exceedingly retaliatory, and I refer to the death penalty, the 'eye-for-an-eye' mentality, response to terrorism, and war.
There is an overwhelming tendency to respond to hatred with hatred, violence with violence...
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I think you are painting with too broad a brush, Catwoman. You admit that the North Americans you have actually met in person are nothing like the "typical" American you are talking about.
You also say that your opinions are being formed in part by the discussion forums like this one. It is possible that people are playing devils advocate just a little? For example, in the thread about the teacher, even you were arguing a position that you later admitted you didn't hold.
Sure, some people believe in the death penalty, and post tiring repetitive messages about it. Don't let repetitive posts by one or two people skew your perception of what many other people think. There are a lot of americans opposed to the death penalty, and support for it has been declining steadily in recent years.
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The US is a pretty evenly divided country. The last presidential election was split 50/50.
I disagree with many of the specific actions taken by Bush, but the underlying theory he has about fighting terrorism is a good one. We can't defend against terrorists, so if we are going to fight them, we have to take the battle to them. Attack them first in their countries. The problem is that we have to be careful to not cause resentment against us and create more terrorism as a result. It's a delicate balancing act, and Bush has failed at it.
We should also have a carrot-stick approach. Bush is using a stick, but not providing a carrot. That's a mistake too.