Ramblings Of An Old Man

[Dutch-NJ]

I've got to break down and get a high speed connection so I can view these videos.

**********************edit

Well it took 30 minutes with dial-up, but it brought tears to my eyes (seriously)................ How true.

I'll pass it on.

 

[Dutch-NJ]

Can anyone with a heart look at these with a dry eye?

 

[jdwilson44]

Every time I read a thread that gets into this topic it eventually devolves into a " who lost more people in the war " type of argument. This isn't to say that lives lost is not a good measure of the sacrifice given by a country but just using the body count as a measure of how much a country contributed does not tell the whole story. If you take the Soviet Union during WWII for instance - they lost many many lives in their military for the most part because of their tactics. Basically the Soviets treated their own men as expendable - after all could you expect less from a leadership that had killed 20 million or more of it's own citizens before the war had even started?

Patton once said: "it is not your job to die for your country - it is your job to make the other poor dump bastard die for his country". Using the numbers on this page: http://users.erols.com/mwhite28/ww2stats.htm
it says that Germany lost about 3.5 million military dead - this would include dead fighting both the US and Britain as well as the Soviet Union. According to the same page the Soviet Union lost about 10 million dead. This would mean that the average German soldier on the Eastern Front probably killed about 5 Soviet soldiers for every German soldier KIA.

The US lost about 405,399 KIA - in the end is it really "sacrifice" or is it just military stupidity that got huge numbers of Russians killed? From what I know of the fighting philosophies behind WWII armies on a sliding scale the Soviets are at the bottom as far as caring about the welfare of the common soldier, the Germans are in the middle, and the Brits and the US are at the top. The casualty numbers bear this out.

Don't confuse statistics with skill and "sacrifice".

 

[Av8r3400]

Don't confuse statistics with skill and "sacrifice".

There you go messing up someone's opinion with logic again...

 

[jdwilson44]

Vin,


But the FACTS are that without the US the allies would have LOST. With the very STRONG isolationist feelings in the US during the 30s and 40s its very likey the US would NOT have entered into WWII much later if ever in the war. If Japan had not attacked Pearl Harbor and if Hitler had been smart enough to not declare war on the US its very hard to see how FDR could have entered the US into WWII.

Without the behind the scenes machinations of our own goverment the US might have never gotten involved in WWI ( we got involved because Woodrow Wilson wanted to make the US into a world power). Without US involvement in WWI there might have never been a WWII. And we got involved in that war because Roosevelt had the same grand ambitions as Wilson ( remember Wilson's idea was the "League of Nations" - Roosevelt has a lot of responsibility for the United Nations). The commonly accepted history of WWII is that the Japanese took us by surprise - the reality is that military leaders and goverment officials knew that there was a good chance that the Japanese might attack Pearl Harbor. The US Navy was also involved in the Atlantic with escorting convoys carrying war supplies to the British. US Navy destroyers had engaged German submarines a number of times before war was actually declared and all the evidence frankly makes it look like Roosevelt was maneuvering to get the US involved in the war. Remember - the US instituted the first peacetime draft on October 16, 1940 - more than a year before the attack on Pearl Harbor. Roosevelt had pledged to keep the US out of any more "European wars" and sentiment in the US was strongly against getting the US involved again because memories were still fresh about the amount of US casualties during WWI ( about 116,000 in little over 1 year of involvement) . Remember also - the time elapsed from the end of WWI til 1940 was 22 years - the same difference between now and 1984 - we all remember 1984 pretty well don't we.

If you want to read a great book that has some of these little known facts I recommend this book:

http://www.amazon.com/gp/product/0895260476/qid=1147050695/sr=2-1/ref=pd_bbs_b_2_1/104-3104266-9967931?s=books&v=glance&n=283155

 

[jdwilson44]

There you go messing up someone's opinion with logic again...

I realize that facts and logic don't really matter when you are dealing with opinions but that fact that it aggravates people amuses me so it is my perverse way of amusing myself.

 

[mtntopper]

I am trying to understand why and how the rest of the world sees the US as being arrogant and the world bully. It is hard for me to understand the world, and again it may be my own American patriotism that prevents me from seeing the same view as many of our allied countries citizens such as Daedong does of our country.

The world today is not the world of yesterday. It may be time for the US to start looking towards the future and not trying to make the past history the future. Wars are fought, won, lost, and in reality what changes? We still have wars and probably always will.

We as Americans must realize that the rest of the world, allies and adversaries alike are cynical of our patriotic dedication as they do not have the same feelings toward their own country as US citizens do to our country. Our patriotism becomes an obsession too much of the world, and they begin to resent our views and attitudes as it is not what they themselves feel toward their own country. I am not saying our patriotism is bad, only that it is not the norm of the world. We then become extremists to other countries because of our own deep patriotic views are seen as just as bad as the rest of the bad guys in the world

Daedong, are my perceptions of the US and the world some of what you see as the problems with the US or am I missing the point also? I am not agreeing, but trying to clarify and understand why you are saying that we are the bad guys to so many in the world today!!!

 

[daedong]

mtntopper

Your post is pretty much on the mark

I must say that I and most English speaking folks do not say you are bad guys. If that were the case I would not be here on FF.
On topics of this vain I have enormous difficulty in even expressing myself often with fear of offending all and sundry Unless I say the USA is great, saved the world on your pat Malone and you can blow the rest of the world sky high.

You have pretty much hit it on the head. I do think there is a cultural difference between most English speaking countries and the USA particularly with patriotism. We are all patriotic to some extent, there is no denying that, but what I find and I am sure Mith will agree with me on this. It is fine to be patriotic but many Americans (not All) take their patriotism to such an extreme that it becomes offensive to those outside the USA. One must wonder if blind patriotic extremes are to blame for so many posts here, continually twisting what I have said.


I have never denied the USA lost many lives, yet all I have heard is how many lives you have lost with little or any consideration to the lives lost by the Brits and others including Australia’s and that some how we all owe the USA for freedom. Just for a moment think about this. The Brits in particular took a hell of a bashing on their homeland, massive bombing raids from the Germans well before the USA came with any tangible help. Germany was a threat not to just Brittain but the whole world. Now to be crude for a minute every German killed or infrastructure destroyed by the Brits was one less for the USA. It sort of reminds me of my wife and the Jam (jelly) jar lid, I must have loosened it for you. Now lets be realistic if you were a Brit and you read some of the crap here how do you think you would feel. On one hand the USA want allies and on the other treat the allies like all-time losers, by claming you continue to bail them out, (or what ever words you may use to choose) go figure that.


Many Americans don't seem to understand that you can't rave about how good you are and how everyone owes you, then expect others to like you. You need to choose one or the other. This appears to me to be what sets Americans aside from the most English speaking countries(you can’t have your cake and eat)

 

[daedong]

I have been doing some reseach on this of patriotism and come across this and had to share it

http://www.convictcreations.com/culture/yankaussie.htm



"But like an accent and dialect, there are some commonalities that bind Americans just as there are commonalities that bind Australians. Although not every individual in each country can be defined by these characteristics, there are some things about Australians and Americans alike that can be predicted with some certainty. For example, the author of this article was once giving a presentation to an Australian post-graduate marketing class. To explain the difficulty of building a patriotic image for a brand in Australia, he draped an Australian flag over his shoulders and struck a pose as if looking at the sunset in an aftershave commercial. Noting that the class looked unimpressed, he took the flag off his shoulders, and enthusiastically polished his arse with it. The class started laughing. He then asked if anyone was offended. A chorus of nos went up. A lone voice said that although he wasn't offended, he was disappointed. The lecturer, who had previously worked for the defence forces, gave the presentation a distinction. If the an American had done the same thing in an America, a trip to Guntanemo Bay Cuba may have followed, or the threat of expulsion would have been hung over his head."

 

[Dutch-NJ]

I have been doing some reseach on this of patriotism and come across this and had to share it

http://www.convictcreations.com/culture/yankaussie.htm

Hey Vin:

Thanks for finally expanding on your views of Americans, and for the link.

I looked at the link very briefly and found it quite interesting.

My initial thoughts are that others focus much more on Americans than Americans focus on others. That could be interpreted as Americans being self centered. Perhaps we are, or perhaps Americans just don't care that much about what others think of us. Either way I can see where it's insulting.

Kind of reminds me of a commercial that is currently on American TV. A wife enters a room and asks her husband, "Do I look fat in this dress?" The husband has his back turned to her and is pre-occupied. The husband answers, "You betcha.'" (Which means - Yes you do) The wife becomes infuriated.

That type of situation happens to me quite frequently. I don't pay attention to many things people say and do because I have very little interest. My wife acusses me of "Not caring." She's right. I don't care about many things that others seem to dwell on.

I want to read the link more carefully and comment on it, but I won't have time today.

Later...........................

 

[beds]

I agree with mtntopper and Vin. It's hard to be in an underpopulated (piss ant) nation and criticize the U.S.. All criticisms should start with "the U.S. is great and we are only free because of you". And this is okay, it is a fine line between the respect of your nation and the population willing to sacrifice their lives and tax dollars and questioning any decisions made by your government.

Some thoughts.
The U.S. contributed to the European WW II effort long before Pearl Harbour.
From the little I know of the U.S. civil war, the winning side was bolstered (bailed out?) by Europe.
As a Canadian, if I felt that my government had spent thousands of lives on an unjust war, I would never agree to die for my government and enlist. Perhaps that's part of the patriotic difference. Or maybe it's the U.S. view of themselves as the world's peacekeeper.

Again, respecting the U.S. contribution.

 

[Melensdad]

From the little I know of the U.S. civil war, the winning side was bolstered (bailed out?) by Europe.

This web page will give you a good overview of the foreign contribution in the Civil War.

 

[Durwood RIP]

I think our american arrogance is partly because we consider ourselves to be such a rightous nation that we feel no one should be able to conquer us. When 9/11 happened it was like "how dare you attack us, we are a Christian nation and God will make us victors". At one time this was true but look how far our morals have come in the last 40 years. God has been taken out of the public school, God is not allowed in public government displays, Murder is now legal only we call it birth control. Homosexiality is not only rampant, but we throw it in Gods face like it is normal. Read what happened in Sodom and Gomorrah in the bible and see if judgment isn't gonna come here too. We are only a Christian nation by name anymore, not by deed. and we are fooling ourselves to think God's judgement won't come upon us. It has already started and it's gonna get worse. There seems to be no more humility in Americas attitude anymore and now we are just arrogant. I think we are in a much more dangerous position than most countries because we have known the truth of God and are rejecting it.

Dur

 

[jdwilson44]

This web page will give you a good overview of the foreign contribution in the Civil War.

I read thru a good portion of the web page you reference - very interesting because it is something I had never quite thought of before. I have read some Civil War history and one of the points many historians make is that the South by and large did not fight to defend slavery but fought to defend states rights and individual freedom from what they thought was an overreaching federal goverment. The page you reference mentions that most of these immigrants went to the North - and the South by and large as far as I know was made up of people who had been in this country (and could be said to understand it's reason for being and traditions) for a generation or more.

What I took away from this is the thought that if not for immigrants serving in the Union Army the North might have lost the war - and furthermore those immigrants served out of patriotic duty and loyalty to their new countrym an admirable thing - BUT, they maybe did not fully understand the reasons why the Revolution was really fought - and that the Southerners were in essence fighting for the original reasons behind this country - individual and states rights over the rights of a central goverment.

Those immigrants who fought for the North probably did not fully appreciate the reasonings behind the way things are here because they came from countries which had much more powerful centralized goverments. Something to think about as our current politicians banter about admitting millions of illegal aliens into this country thru amnesty or whatever other bizarre bs they might think up.

 

[jdwilson44]

I agree with mtntopper and Vin. It's hard to be in an underpopulated (piss ant) nation and criticize the U.S.. All criticisms should start with "the U.S. is great and we are only free because of you". And this is okay, it is a fine line between the respect of your nation and the population willing to sacrifice their lives and tax dollars and questioning any decisions made by your government.

Some thoughts.
The U.S. contributed to the European WW II effort long before Pearl Harbour.
From the little I know of the U.S. civil war, the winning side was bolstered (bailed out?) by Europe.
As a Canadian, if I felt that my government had spent thousands of lives on an unjust war, I would never agree to die for my government and enlist. Perhaps that's part of the patriotic difference. Or maybe it's the U.S. view of themselves as the world's peacekeeper.

Again, respecting the U.S. contribution.

Actually Britain and France attempted to support the South during the Civil War - Britain mostly because it got a lot of it's cotton imports from the southern states. This was a big worry of the North at the time and a couple of more Confederate military victories might have brought Britain in on the side of the south. The North was not bailed out by Europe and Britain and France stayed out of helping the south for the most part because they did not want to anger the north once it looked like it might be winning. If you have ever watched the movie "Gettysburg" there are a couple of scenes where there is a British military officer on the battlefield with the Southern generals.

There are people of certain social and political persuasions in this country who see the US as the worlds' peacekeeper. These people hate George Bush not because he goes off invading other countries but because his not from the "correct" political party and he does not invade for the "correct' reasons. There are many more people who are sick and tired of certain social and political classes who want to use the power of the US for their own agendas and grandiose dreams. Many of these people would be perfectly happy if the US stopped interfering in almost all international affairs and concentrated on fixing it's own problems and taking care of it's own citizens.

 

[Dutch-NJ]

I am trying to understand why and how the rest of the world sees the US as being arrogant and the world bully. It is hard for me to understand the world, and again it may be my own American patriotism that prevents me from seeing the same view as many of our allied countries citizens such as Daedong does of our country.

The world today is not the world of yesterday. It may be time for the US to start looking towards the future and not trying to make the past history the future. Wars are fought, won, lost, and in reality what changes? We still have wars and probably always will.

We as Americans must realize that the rest of the world, allies and adversaries alike are cynical of our patriotic dedication as they do not have the same feelings toward their own country as US citizens do to our country. Our patriotism becomes an obsession too much of the world, and they begin to resent our views and attitudes as it is not what they themselves feel toward their own country. I am not saying our patriotism is bad, only that it is not the norm of the world. We then become extremists to other countries because of our own deep patriotic views are seen as just as bad as the rest of the bad guys in the world

Daedong, are my perceptions of the US and the world some of what you see as the problems with the US or am I missing the point also? I am not agreeing, but trying to clarify and understand why you are saying that we are the bad guys to so many in the world today!!!

mtntopper:

I did a lot of thinking today about how and why our Allies view us. I am especially shocked at how Australians view us. I always believed that Australians were very similar to Americans. I think I have been mistaken all my life.

This is what I have concluded.

Patriot: “a person who vigorously supports their country and is prepared to defend it.”
Patriotism: “loyalty to your own country.”

As Americans we never hear of Wyoming or New Jersey patriots (we don’t even hear of Texas patriots). We are all AMERICAN patriots. Our patriotism is to the United States.

Australians and Canadians may view themselves as “subjects” of the Royal Crown, and Australia and Canada as members of the “Commonwealth” more than sovereign nations. Their patriotism may be toward the United Kingdom.

We fought England to become a sovereign nation. The Australians and Canadians never did. The difference in our views seems to be coming into focus for me.

 

[daedong]

mtntopper:
Australians and Canadians may view themselves as “subjects” of the Royal Crown, and Australia and Canada as members of the “Commonwealth” more than sovereign nations. Their patriotism may be toward the United Kingdom.

You could be no further from the truth.

 

[Melensdad]

You could be no further from the truth.

Heck, Vin I'm in agreement with you on this and I don't even think I have ever been THAT wrong

 

[daedong]

Heck, Vin I'm in agreement with you on this and I don't even think I have ever been THAT wrong

Give me a glass of water please and let me sit down

This comment may be a bit cryptic

 

[Dutch-NJ]

You could be no further from the truth.

Heck, Vin I'm in agreement with you on this and I don't even think I have ever been THAT wrong

Then how come when WWII broke out Australia troops were called to fight in the European Theatre to defend Mother England? The Aussies just about left Australia defenseless.

America, and Americas ONLY were left to do the heavy lifting and push the Japs out of the Pacific. The U.S.S.R. wasn’t even in the Pacific War until a few weeks before the end.

How many Aussies fought on Okinawa? How many Aussies fought on Iwo Jima?

Why are Americans the only troops depicted in the famous photo of the flag raising on Mount Suribachi? It’s not because of American arrogance. It’s because Americans were the only troops fighting there.

How many bombs did the Australian Air Force drop on Japan?

How many battleships did the Australian Navy have fighting in the Pacific? Zero.

How many carriers did the Australian Navy have patrolling the Pacific? Zero again.

Americans DID win the Pacific War virtually single handed. Just like the Lone Ranger.

Let’s never forget that FACT.

 

[daedong]

Then how come when WWII broke out Australia troops were called to fight in the European Theatre to defend Mother England? The Aussies just about left Australia defenseless.

If you do your homework you will find that Australia early in the war did not believe that Japan would declare war in the pacific.

America, and Americas ONLY were left to do the heavy lifting and push the Japs out of the Pacific. The U.S.S.R. wasn’t even in the Pacific War until a few weeks before the end.
Untrue most Australian troops came back to the pacific and fought, many under the guidance of General MacArthur
How many Aussies fought on Okinawa? How many Aussies fought on Iwo Jima?
General MacArthur obviously did not want us there

Why are Americans the only troops depicted in the famous photo of the flag raising on Mount Suribachi? It’s not because of American arrogance. It’s because Americans were the only troops fighting there.
Good for you

How many bombs did the Australian Air Force drop on Japan?
Don’t know, blew many Japanese ships out the water

How many battleships did the Australian Navy have fighting in the Pacific? Zero.
Don’t know but many

How many carriers did the Australian Navy have patrolling the Pacific? Zero again.
1 or 2 I think

Americans DID win the Pacific War virtually single handed. Just like the Lone Ranger.

We declared war on Japan within one hour of pearl harbour of being bombed, not because we were attacked, we came to your aid. We contributed 1 million troops in the aid to fight for freedom for our allies around the world, with only a population at the time of less than 6 million. We more often than not are the first nation to ever offer our services to other nations almost without question. You do not know the facts,you are arrogant and full of crap on this topic

[FONT=&quot]AND ONCE AGAIN YOU PROVE MY POINT[/FONT]

 

[Dutch-NJ]

From the little I know of the U.S. civil war, the winning side was bolstered (bailed out?) by Europe.

Your knowledge of the Amercian Civil War is obviously very little.

The winning side was the Union (the north).

European governments were supporting the Confederacy (the south). But they didn't have the balls to do much........... as usual.

Click here and check the facts.

As a Canadian, if I felt that my government had spent thousands of lives on an unjust war, I would never agree to die for my government and enlist. Perhaps that's part of the patriotic difference. Or maybe it's the U.S. view of themselves as the world's peacekeeper.

There are some so-called American citizens that share your view.

Some of those yellow, draft dodging, deserters are living in Canada with you.

Many of them ran back to the United States after the brave Americans did their fightling, and as soon as they received amnesty for their cowardice.

 

[daedong]

Save your time searching the facts, I have. Has nothing to do with the thread though

How many carriers did the Australian Navy have patrolling the Pacific? Zero again.
1 or 2 I think PROBABLY NON

 

[Dutch-NJ]

Then how come when WWII broke out Australia troops were called to fight in the European Theatre to defend Mother England? The Aussies just about left Australia defenseless.

If you do your homework you will find that Australia early in the war did not believe that Japan would declare war in the pacific.

So what? Sounds like an excuse. America bashers claim America was supposed to even know details about Pearl Harbor.

America, and Americas ONLY were left to do the heavy lifting and push the Japs out of the Pacific. The U.S.S.R. wasn’t even in the Pacific War until a few weeks before the end.
Untrue most Australian troops came back to the pacific and fought, many under the guidance of General MacArthur
How many Aussies fought on Okinawa? How many Aussies fought on Iwo Jima?
General MacArthur obviously did not want us there

Does that even sound logical?
Better check YOUR facts from YOUR Australian War Memorial.

Why are Americans the only troops depicted in the famous photo of the flag raising on Mount Suribachi? It’s not because of American arrogance. It’s because Americans were the only troops fighting there.

Good for you

No, no, that’s good for Australia ...... Americans and only Americans had many casualties in that battle.

How many bombs did the Australian Air Force drop on Japan?

Don’t know, blew many Japanese ships out the water

The answer is, *NONE* ....
Better check YOUR facts from YOUR Australian War Memorial.

How many battleships did the Australian Navy have fighting in the Pacific? Zero.

Don’t know but many

Many? You’re WRONG. How about *NONE* ..... Australia has never had a battleship.
Better check YOUR facts from YOUR Australian War Memorial.

How many carriers did the Australian Navy have patrolling the Pacific? Zero again.

1 or 2 I think

1 or 2 you think? You’re WRONG again. How about *NONE* ..... Australia has NEVER had a carrier.
Better check YOUR facts from YOUR Australian War Memorial.

Americans DID win the Pacific War virtually single handed. Just like the Lone Ranger.

We declared war on Japan within one hour of pearl harbour of being bombed, not because we were attacked, we came to your aid. We contributed 1 million troops in the aid to fight for freedom for our allies around the world, with only a population at the time of less than 6 million. We more often than not are the first nation to ever offer our services to other nations almost without question. You do not know the facts,you are arrogant and full of crap on this topic

You’re the one who doesn’t know the facts. This whole America bashing thing has obviously caused you to create legends in your own mind. Better check YOUR facts from YOUR Australian War Memorial.

[FONT=&quot]AND ONCE AGAIN YOU PROVE MY POINT[/FONT][/QUOTE]

You don’t need any help. You’ve proven that you wear your cap on your point.

 

[mtntopper]

Dutch-NJ

Australians and Canadians may view themselves as “subjects” of the Royal Crown, and Australia and Canada as members of the “Commonwealth” more than sovereign nations. Their patriotism may be toward the United Kingdom.

I think Australians and Canadians would view themselves more the "subjects" of Crown Royal than the royal crown.

daedong

Many Americans don't seem to understand that you can't rave about how good you are and how everyone owes you, then expect others to like you. You need to choose one or the other. This appears to me to be what sets Americans aside from the most English speaking countries

The above statement is relevant to everyday life as much as the problems we are discussing. A person that can only "rave about how good they are and how everyone owes them" will be considered an arrogant person and become a social outcast. This applies to nations as much as individuals.

 

[Dutch-NJ]

Save your time searching the facts, I have. Has nothing to do with the thread though

Suddenly your mis-statement of facts has nothing to do with this thread?

The original post was about the “Ramblings Of An Old Man” who happens to be Joseph L. Galloway who wrote about the REAL AMERICAN hero Lieutenant General Harold G. "Hal" Moore

It had nothing to do about your views on your perceived American arrogance or Australia.

But that didn't stop you from coming right out of the chute with:

Writings like this are nothing short of provocative to all those outside the US

You then told us how arrogant Americans are.

You’re the one who is arrogant. Who do you think you are coming on an American website and telling Americans they are arrogant. That’s TRUE ARROGANCE.

You weren’t only wrong about the carriers Australia never had (no "probably" about it), you are wrong about almost every one of your beliefs.

 

[daedong]

If you study my answers you can easy see that I did not give a rats to the points not related to the issue at hand.
The issue at hand was you arrogance about saving the world and everyone owes you.
The only relevant point in the post was the last. That is why I answered the rest of them in a flippant manner. You continue to display language that most outside your country dislike, you obviously will never comprehend it though.
I am through with your crap.

And if it is the wish of the majority here I am quite willing to leave FF

Please post a poll Doc

BTW if I feel I am wrong on a point of relevance I am very quick to admit it.

 

[Dutch-NJ]

If you study my answers you can easy see that I did not give a rats to the points not related to the issue at hand.

I don’t see any such thing. You were called on your arrogant, insulting bullshit.

The issue at hand was you arrogance about saving the world and everyone owes you.

For those in the “rest of the world” that think America is arrogant:

Stop trying to immigrate to America.
Stop violating America's borders.
Stop accepting America’s foreign aid.
Stop hiding behind America’s military protection.​

The only relevant point in the post was the last. That is why I answered the rest of them in a flippant manner. You continue to display language that most outside your country dislike, you obviously will never comprehend it though.

Guess what........... I don’t give a damn what most outside America dislike. That’s their problem. They don’t butter my bread.
I don’t intend on leaving the good old USA or trying to please anyone except myself, my family, and Uncle Sam.

I am through with your crap.

Now that really breaks my heart. What will I do if I don’t have you telling me how arrogant Americans are.

And if it is the wish of the majority here I am quite willing to leave FF

Please post a poll Doc

That’s quite cricket of you.

There’s another difference between our cultures. In America, most hosts doesn’t care if a guest is willing to leave. We just throw them out.

BTW if I feel I am wrong on a point of relevance I am very quick to admit it.

If you're honest, you better get started.............. You have a lot of admitting to do.

 

[daedong]

post deleted was not called for

 

[Dutch-NJ]

Is it good port, or the medication

You really think you're clever, don't you.

Sort of like, "Do you still beat your wife?"

Maybe you do, but I don't need booze or drugs to get the courage to speak my mind.

It's another American trait............ from my heart with a clear head.