"Well, that made me suspicious right away, because it went against my cultural grain, so I wasn't about to buy it."

Little Hawk, that one statement shows that you too are "brainwashed". Your comments are reflecting what you consider to be a better way of life due to your upbringing in Canada. It is a bias, just like the rest of us have to our homes. There is nothing different here. The folks from the UK speak with an air of superiority as well - it is cultural bias that none of us can esacpe from.

As for the U.S. being a superpower - yes it is. It is also a country that other nations seem to turn to for support as well. Yes, there are extremists like our current regime that feels it gives us carte blanche to be the boss of the world - but don't let you bias fool you into thinking that the entire country is like that. You aren't the only one who feels the way you do.

It should also be remembered that when we were known as isolationists, the world's view of us was just as bad.