I never claimed America, or any other nation for that matter, was perfect. And I dont remember mentioning anything about slavery. My point was merely that, the people I have met and talked to since I came to England, a lot of them very smart people, don’t seem to hve been thought a balanced view of England’s colonial past.

And, like I said I am only here two years, but the BBC coverage of the situation in Northern Ireland is very poor compared to the coverage it receives in the Republic of Ireland.

Jon.

p.s. I haven’t read common sense. I didn’t think my response required that much research but I will read next.

* I’ve never been anti-American. I’m anti-US foreign policy, the Republican party and a lot of the obvious problems with modern day isolationism/lack of awareness about the wider world. But I’m not anti the founding principals nor what the country is supposed to stand for.

* I am currently reading Common Sense (it’s available online too, you know…). Slavery was a giant blot on the whole Independence thing. In fact, an original draft of the US constitution called for it to be more or less abolished, but that didn’t happen. Some ideas just take a long time to really effect change – but eventually that did happen. I don’t think the UK really offered a system of equality until recent decades either.

Jon.

Don’t forget that most blacks were fighting on the British side in the War of Independence – and that America was still segregated until the late 1960s. Not exactly whiter than white, if you’ll excuse the pun, and that’s the recent history of an apparently civilised nation.

One thing that really does bug me is the way the British media seems to completely ignore everything that happens in Northern Ireland. When I want to see what is happening there I have to read an Irish newspaper or website. I can’t ever remember seeing decent BBC coverage of an event in Northern Ireland whereas RTE news seems to have at least one item on every news bulletin. Granted, I have only been in the UK for two years.

Jon.