Oh, I think American citizens in general still rate a fair amount of world sympathy - but my dear friends: your government!

When I look at US people posting on Mudcat, f'rinstance, it is only one or two who personify the paranoid, ultra-nationalist, isolationist sort. I think there's one on every niche message board. They do congregate at some sites made special for 'em, where they no doubt create great quote mines for opposing extremists of whatever country.

When I think of 9/11, I think of the tourists from Iowa I met, here on vacation, kind of sad and lost, yet still able to pause and compliment us on our beautiful province, and admire the way every home had a garden and flowering bushes. They were nice people, and we felt deeply for them. That kind of memory can't be erased by the likes of George Bush.