To Don Firth:

I believe that your thoughtful statement is quite correct -- no "but."

It is very difficult to separate "America" or any other country into its components, however two components -- the national America, represented by government, and the cultural America, represented by films, magazines, television and other media etc. both display violence, in one form or another. Therefore, to be fair, people have a problem in distinguishing individual Americans from the national and cultural identities.

It's funny -- nearly all our friends in the city where we live are expatriate Americans, and we discuss the current US administration quite a bit, as you can imagine. They are reasoning, intelligent people who present thoughtful perspectives. Yet -- and this is an indication of how my previous paragraph applies -- we will be moving to the US in about six months for a temporary stay, and all I can think of is the violence shown in films, discussed in newspapers and magazines, and displayed by the present government. Logically and rationally, I recognize that our stay in the US will probably be delightful. But on a gut level, I am very apprehensive.

Do these comments help you to understand how and why outsiders feel the way this thread indicates about the US?