Let's be honest..."America and the world" is a phrase that suggests that America is separate from the rest of the world primarily when said phrase is heard by those who are already inclined to be suspicious of and critical of America...while it does not suggest that at all to most of those who are inclined to like America.

I know this, because I've always had a tendency to be highly suspicious and critical of America...and I'm well aware of that tendency...so much so that I can often stand back and observe this inborn prejudice acting in myself and see how it colours my reactions...and I am thus able sometimes to catch those reactions and control them before they catch me, so to speak.

So, Amos, I think your point is very well taken. The thread title you used was, I believe, intended to indicate the relationship of one part of the world (America) with the rest of the world in this case, and not to emphasize the separation.

That's the way I see it, anyhow.

One could just as well have a thread about "Canada and the world" or "Afghanistan and the world" without necessarily being zenophobic about it.

- LH