When you get right down to it there are pleasant people and unpleasant people. Some people will go out of their way to help you and others will turn their backs or worse. It isn't a blanket reaction to be found in any location.

Still, in talking about service in the USA we are getting away from the central point I was asking about. Can we continue calling ourselves the greatest nation if our cities are dirty and running with crime, the police are not given the funding (i.e., equipment & training) they need, the schools are also underfunded, we cannot handle a major disaster like Huricane Katrina, there is no health care for a huge number of our people, and the leadership acts as though all is well and we are the best? It isn't enough to be rich. It isn't enough to have the largest military. If you want to grandstand you have to be ready to put your money where your mouth is. Otherwise you become the laughingstock.