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Ugh! I cringed reading that.

We wear blue jeans, drink Coke & eat McDonalds. We favor American companies (hands down) when we make purchases

Well, thanks, but as an American I'd rather if people didn't have this subservient attachment to the U.S.

Yeah, the article could have done without that part and still stood upon its core argument. I think the author intended to start out with a little flattery to soften the blow, but it just comes across as patronizing and/or a bit outdated.

My sentiment exactly. I cringed at the thought of an argument based entirely on that. The last part, however

> George Bush famously proclaimed: “You’re either with us, or against us”. He asked foreigners the world over to choose. The wholesale spying on “foreigners” says how we chose made little difference at all..

redeemed the views to me.

Neither flattering nor patronizing, I can see, merely a description of what the author saw. However a bit of condescension might well be in order from some quarters.

A lot of American companies make high quality, often cheaper-than-domestic goods. Favouring them is hardly a matter of subservience.

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