Carol - the culture of your country is all pervasive. Everybody all over the world sings your songs, dances to your music, watches your TV programmes, drinks Budweiser, coca cola and America's favourite coffee.

Poll the people of the world and most of them would want to be American - and that includes kids in this country.

With it comes responsibilities. because people are looking at you for an example. Both lifestyle and moral. It matters when you do something despicable like retain capital punishment in your legal system.

Its not a case of being the world's policeman - more a case of being the guarantor or for some unfotunates at least a distant hope of the freedoms that you have told everybody are important. When the Chinese demonstrated in Tianamen Square - they didn't erect a likeness of the Eiffel Tower, or the English houses of Parliament - they chose as a symbol the Statue of Liberty.

You don't get to choose in these matters - history chooses you. And its a better and prouder role than being the representative of evil and oppression.

Ask yourself in which other home of philosophies opposing America ......here Moscow, Beijing, Tehran .... where else could Ellsberg be having this debate with views so diametrically opposed to the administration? that's the freedom you have to try and preserve.