Now,
I live in the best country in the world, which is the USA. I believe that this country has the most potential regardless of a 5hitstained history and tense foreign relations. But really, that's just my opinion, and it has nothing to do with the point of this rant. Except that I would expect that many people would have similar feelings for their own country.
My real point is this: I find all those anti American and anti US jokes on the show to be hilarious, and have no problem sitting on my fat American a55 watching them berate my peoples' cars while I eat a hamburger. It's entertaining, and I'm also very safe here in my cozy California apartment. The problem was this: I was explaining this whole thing to a friend of mine (one of those Limbagh sheeple who says they don't like republicans because they're too liberal, but votes party lines - no accusations of right and wrong here....). He is very intelligent, so as I was ranting on people who still argue like children over which country did more in WWII and those who are serious (rather than joking) when they berate another country, I was surprised and very disappointed to hear him go off about English people.
He educated me:
-English people are rude (that's what they say about us!)
-They think we are pigs
-They think their country is better than ours, which is obviously wrong
-Their country is just a small pathetic button of a thing on a huge planet
-They oppress people (
)-THEIR cars suck (no, YOU'RE stupid!#$)
Rather than write out a conclusion, I'm gonna let my emotions flesh out the end:
To the english and american bickerers: World War 2! WE WON!! GET OVER IT!! The GOOD side won, and the bad side lost, and really (contrary to many popular current fiction books), it's unlikely that things would have happened otherwise regardless of details. Lots of people died, many who would still be living and there was a tragic loss of life. But the US and the Brits were on the SAME goddamned side, and that's really how we got it done.
PATRIOTISM IS GOOD, NATIONALISM IS BAD!! AMERICAN CARS MAY NOT BE AS GOOD AS EUROPEAN CARS BUT THEIR PRICE USUALLY JUSTIFIES IT!!!
It's incredibly easy to be put on the defensive of your country when being pecked on by ignorant natives of other countries when you visit ("your country does this and this wrong" etc etc...not realizing many people don't support those acts), but for someone to have such ingrained and unjoking beliefs about the measurable ineptitude and superiority of a country is pathetic in this day and age.
For the love of God, I really thought that we were good enough to joke with one another. But I'm serious.
Mike 
When I lived in Vancouver, at *least* once a day I would have to listen to people berate America/Americans, and then turn to me and go "but not you, you're OK." Like sweeping generalizations are OK as long as you say something like that. Heh.