In case you haven't seen this already, you soon will: confronting the relentless advance of the police state in the USA, all in the name of "protecting the American people", this guy has hit the nail right on the head with You see, the trouble is, I'm not an American. It brings into focus and scathingly mocks the hysteria and over-reaction currently going on within the American government in response to their belated, horrified realisation that nobody likes them anymore. What they haven't got their head around is the fact that sometimes un-American behaviour is okay, because not everybody is American, and more importantly, not everyone should or wants to be.

It reminds me of something I read in a book by Bill Bryson once: the prevailing American attitude is that not only is America the best place in the world, but that everyone agrees with this idea. He recounted a story about a German girl he spoke to who was visiting the states. Paraphrasing liberally, she said "People keep asking me, 'So, which do you prefer, Germany or America?' and I have to respond that America is nice, but Germany is my home. But they never understand.'" Because an American expects the answer to be "Ooh, America is so much better! I want to move here!" And if that's your attitude, then the anything-to-protect-American-security attitude makes sense, because of course no one could possibly mind having their fingerprints taken to protect America -- everybody loves America!

We don't like everything about you. We don't all want to move over to your country. We're not particularly enamoured with the "American way". Sometimes -- listen carefully -- sometimes, you get things entirely wrong. Obvious statements, but ones which it seems the American public has yet to hear.