[eriksank]

"Liberals tend to believe that other countries cooperate with the United States because American ideals are attractive."

In the ongoing debate between politically-controlled versus theocratically-controlled law, the majority of the world population finds the "American" ideal (rather French-revolutionary, no?) of politically-controlled law not particularly attractive at all. The system amounts to asking the population to vote every few years for politicians who will invent new laws. The question then becomes: How many new laws do we need before all our needs for new laws are finally and entirely satisfied? The theocratically-controlled alternative on its side says: The only one who can create new laws and further restrict your freedom, may not even exist. So, my question becomes: What exactly would be wrong with that?

[saraid216]

Yeah, that line confused me too. I've actually never heard anyone make the claim that people cooperate with the United States because our ideals are attractive.

I've heard that immigrants immigrate here because of that, and I've heard patriotism justified by this, and I've heard that our culture is seductive, but I've never heard that governments find our ideals attractive or anything remotely like it.