Imagine you have a brother and he’s an alcoholic. He has his moments, but you keep your distance from him. You don’t mind him for the occasional family gathering or holiday. You still love him. But you don’t want to be around him. This is how I lovingly describe my current relationship with the United States. The United States is my alcoholic brother.
This is a great piece that sums it up.... Since living abroad, I've fielded so many questions/ comments like, "An American once asked me where I lived, I told them in Frankfurt Germany and he said, 'Great -- I've been there, I really enjoyed Belgium'", or asking why we seem to hate poor people, how we elected Bush twice, if people really pay attention to Fox News, and the list goes on. Most of the time, I just kind of have to shrug my shoulders and say, "yeah... that's why I wasn't sad to leave".
The greatest random compliment that I get from folks after just a conversation about the world is, "You're not like most Americans"... thank goodness.
