[toyg]

In a way, it's a mindset that, sometimes, I get to admire. It's the supreme confidence in your own right: that everyone else in the world is equal (or, more often than not, inferior) to you.

The UK used to have something similar; British law specifically said that no power on Earth could be superior to (English/British) Parliament in any case. Albeit originally meant to nullify papal (and aristocratic...) claims, so to speak, that provision came to define the UK approach to foreign policy for centuries. Nowadays there are umpteen exceptions for EU, UN and whatnot, the British Empire is gone and with it the hubris, but coming from a much "weaker" country, I feel that approach can be quite beneficial in many ways.

[ludflu]

> The UK used to have something similar;

British imperialism didn't work well for anyone. I certainly hope America abandons its imperial pretensions. As an American, it doesn't make me proud.