Martyrdom and the American Empire - Rick Steves

[NixonisLord]

How about disestabllishing the churches-one of America's greatest ideas is the separation of church and state.  How about Scandinavia and Germany and the Netherlands and Britain stop subsidizing their clergy? We should get rid of the tax break for clergy here-Iran is a theocracy but that doesn't mean we have to be one.

[salmonme241]

fabulous. thanks so much for posting this.

[georgio941]

@darusdei Out of all the years I have spoken to Europeans on my travels I have never met a non-socialist... not to say socialism is bad or wrong but I have never heard a conservative or libertarian point of view. I would love to see all US military bases removed from Europe but it's not in American or European interest. There would be no way Europeans could afford universal healthcare if the US pulled out which is precisely why we Americans still don't have healthcare for ourselves.

[slashingraven]

@georgio941 How would removing U.S. military bases in European countries render them unable to pay for their own universal healthcare? I'm genuinely curious and would like this explained.

[georgio941]

@slashingraven European military spending is very small compared to the US. As it is the EU is up the same debt creek that the US is with all the bailouts they need to do for the PIIGS (Portugal, Ireland, Italy, Greece, and Spain). If the US pulled out everything in a totally hypothetical situation, every Eurpean nation would have to cut funds on healthcare and other social benefits just to fill the vacuum that the US has left behind.

[nonbarbari]

Americans moooost save America from the american gov. or soon everybody will be agains them, and soon all the world will turn to terrorists hate americans and not only america (Gov.)

[christopherc70]

It is exactly as Rick states. I live here in America and see firsthand why we are not popular anywhere. As for saving Haiti with our military; it sure didn't help the people in New Orleans with katrina. 90% of the relief to Haiti is privately funded, not US military funded. If we become the isolationist state we are heading towards we will be no better than the terrorists we inspire.Take a look at the changes in your local police in the last 20 years if you doubt it.

[gydytojas]

Steves is a typical Seattle area granola head liberal. He is quick to demonize the military and to start dribbling about global warming. Just because he has made travel videos does not make him an authority on the world's geopolitical situation. His videos are littered with mistakes and many a time he looks like a stupid American tourist. It is our "imperialistic military" that will help the thousands in Haiti. Why don't you make a video about that, Rick Steves.

[georgio941]

Tell me this Rick, did the peoples of Europe living under the Roman Empire live better or worse than the years that followed it? I believe they called that later time period the Dark Ages. Doesn't sound pleasant to me. Secondly, if you want less military spending, how about we make Europe finance their protection? The only way they can afford all of their socialist programs that you praise is because they are getting a free ride via minimal defence spending.

[Darusdei]

Mate... finance our protection? lol do you know how much money you owe to china, europe and japan? :D

nobody need your "protection" there isnt so great military threat from ANYWHERE

[georgio941]

Ah, Europeans are such tools. They don't even realise that the EU is just the Soviet Union in guise with Europol being the future Gulag and political correctness being the mechanism that suppresses political and social opposition.

[Darusdei]

@georgio941, soviet union in disguise? do you know even what they do?

arguing about how a curved cucumber should be, yeah big threat there

[georgio941]

Every "developed" country has a lot of debt... including the many struggling nations within the EU like the PIIGS (Portugal, Italy, Ireland, Greece, and Spain). That is not even including all of the eastern European nations and Iceland that are in worse shape. This will ultimately lead to the collapse of the EU.

[georgio941]

Europeans needed U.S. protection in the past and while there may not be a culminating military threat within Europe today there certainly is a significant demographic change. Europe is becoming aging society and to compensate for that, Muslims have been making up for the children Europeans don't want... once they become immersed into the political arena, it won't be long before Europe will be an Islamic state. They will either breed you out or vote you out once they are the major demographic.

[Darusdei]

@georgio941, Europeans as a whole never needed protection

and also it seems that you've watched that christian fundie clip where they show birthrate numbers and immigration, which are shown completely false...

[georgio941]

I guess you can't argue with a multiculturalist... I bring up facts and the counterargument is simply denial. Whenever someone says something that is contradictory to the European one-sided brainwash -that is regurgitated within schools, TV, and newspapers- it labeled as a social construct that can be so easily challenged by asserting "fallacy".

[Darusdei]

@georgio941, Your facts just seem to be straight out of a hollywood movie so...

"european point of view" you might be surprised how many points of view there are since europe isnt really one country...

[gaiter83]

Great video!!! Fairly simple explanation by someone who has traveled the World... When you travel and interact with the rest of the World as he has, you simply cannot support America's foreign policy.

[worldunification]

SPEAK UP!!! All war is controlled by an economic power.. WE THE HUMAN RACE!!! must stand together to promote peace and END ALL WAR!!! PROMOTE WORLD PEACE!! If don't agree with me, please study! educate yourself DEEPER about what is happening in the world today!

The AMERICAN PEOPLE do NOT WANT WAR! ANYWHERE!

We are all being controlled by an ECONOMIC SYSTEM! Look to the Big Corporations!

A Very Concerned American Citizen

[l1011l]

typical leftist blowhard...what about the drive for global Islamic domination?

[sdmikev]

And how's that working out? Did you even hear one thing he said?

[LoveAmericaStyle]

To the WORLD

Yesterday I sat down in five hotels writing about GOD,LOVE & WORLD PEACE in 11 languages & handing my works over to 10 glorious individuals representing 7 nations.

4 of them were in the investment sector & adore my partners Albert Arnold Gore Jr (Al Gore) & Sir Richard Branson. Google those names with World Peace.

I shall continue for PEACE is what most of the world desires.

I enjoy Manhattan for its diversity & being wired to the internet & google.

Jante Degaul

[southboston7]

LoveAmericanStyle,You are full of shit!!!!!!!

[characterdefect]

take a look into whats going on in mercosur now, and the bush purchase, as is being reported all over south america, of roughly 100,000 acres in paraguay.

[lliverpoolarab]

Americans are welcome to hold their values dear and prefer it to any other value package. Those values though should not include killing, burning, raping, and torturing other nations. And if they do, well, those at the receiving end of these "values" do certainly have every right to defend themselves any which way they can.

[milfrie]

you know what? they don't care that some Americans want to embrace them.. the stronger among them want to destroy us and it runs very deep. If we don't recognize this, they will win and not shed a tear.

[buddhabreath]

Wow! You don't get do you? Sad, stupid American igorant little snot. Grow up.

[john123wayne]

and this weekend when sir god rick steves is at the la convention center speaking at the travel show....count me out.

sure the usa is not perfect but...we help many poor people, the vietnam war was because we feared communism, and what? does steve think sadam hussein, castro, putin or hitler should be the ruling empire? steve, the usa is not perfect but we do much good. so go eff yourself.

[milfrie]

I agree, would anyone rather trust the values of Iran or China than our own?

[flinx]

how did you jerk-knees taste? Way to miss his larger points.

[Romania4trutine]

@john123wayne just like every other american......you believe yourself above everyone else, and can criticize anyone in the world, but throw a little mud back in their face, and they can't take it....

[john123wayne]

i will no longer buy his products.hey, i have been to 14 countries, 32 international cities (all personal travel and not business) and i have talked to many people. i have iranian friends.

people are jealous of america, they want to come to america, they dont like our gun laws or our go to war mentality.

if the american empire was not present, the soviet union or chinese would be.

do u think those govts give monehy like the usa to poor countries. how about the marshall plan steve? f steve.

[flinx]

The Soviet Union is gone. Russia cannot afford 130 bases. If we cut back to half of those bases we'd still rule the world and China couldn't gain any ground without military excuses to do so, which we wouldn't let them get away with. So we don't need all the bases and military spending.

[Romania4trutine]

@john123wayne i must say, you are the epitome of arrogant american. "people are jealous of america?" have you read the news???

every country is now trying to stay as far away as possible. america has lost so much respect in the eyes of almost every other countries, and don't be so sure if the american "empire" wasn't present, the soviet union or chinese would be. buddy, have you done your history? with anything

[Romania4trutine]

America is one of the youngest countries in the world (if not the youngest "empire"). All the other territories, have fought their wars, crawled out of rubble, and been fine even before you.

marshall plan? so what has it done in the last few years that is worth mentioning that actually helps people? lets see, crashed stock market, iraq war, imposing own arrogant "liberties" on nations that do not want them there, corrupt politicians, corrupt judges, more failed and corrupt money grubbing neocons

[john123wayne]

@Romania4trutine u are a fucking moron. go to bed.

[Romania4trutine]

@john123wayne that was so eloquent and well put. i mean, beautiful come back.....

i seriously hope for your sake you are under the age of 14. if not, at least lie about it to save yourself the embarrassment.

go read a book

Good day!

[Aaberg123]

You people need to view the talk in its entirety. It is merely a talk to counter the heavy propaganda, and to show what the Iranian people really are: Humans like you and I.

Stop calling deaths casualties, and stop calling civilian killings collateral damage.

[GeeWeezzz]

I love how he dances around the point that America's foreign policy really is the cause of suicide bombing, and that suicide bombers are merely patriots dying for their country -- but he's not defending terrorism!

Even if America's foreign policy was completely different, how would it change the fact that the Qur'an and the hadith mandate jihad? That Ahmadinejad, quoting said hadith, claims Islam will eventually reach the highest mountain tops?

This dickwad is a tool for the mujahideen.

[GreenDesert]

So what if we're an Empire? Better than Russia or China being the sole superpower.

[italianchappy]

Right on, and better than Germany, Japan and Italy that without the USA would have surely succeeded. And better than islamism dictating the ultimate fight until everyone in the world is under sharia. We're lucky the Empire is the american one....

[Slug99]

So what makes you better than everyone else?

[ModernSurvivor]

Nothing, people should hold the truth above all else. As an American I find it insulting that there are those among us who believe running an empire constitutes "patriotism."

[Hesam0000]

Idiots.

When did Iran support suicide-bombing???

When?

Can't you differenciate between giving one's life for a defensive purpose or patriotism and suicide bombing or terrorism?

[lliverpoolarab]

Empire or not the US has invaded countries from Vietnam to Iraq and has brought death and distruction on massive scale to many nations.

It is strange that view points like Steves' don't make to the so called free media.

[cat00012000]

Alert Dick Cheney! This man is giving aid and comfort to terrorists. Finally a man not in denial. I think it fair is to say things will be getting really bad. World economic collapse is always followed by armed conflict. As a disabled vietnam vet I know losing isn't pretty. We made our bed. Now we are going to have a nightmare in it

[billionaireby16]

Give em' Hell Rick!!!

[2009hoya]

we aren't necessarily just world police.... one could say we are security exporters. we provide security for a lot of countries that spend less on their militaries than they otherwise would have to... this may or may not make economic or political sense.. and it may or may not be morally justifiable... but i think its at least a more accurate way of describing the arrangement of things.

[ferrozm]

He should have voted for Ron Paul.

[WhoRonPaul]

its not america's responsibility to stop world injustice and fix everybodys problems

[nicolibri]

Right, but vetoing measures for the common well-being of mankind in is not exactly neutral behavior.

[justforwatchingcraps]

give it time...pretty soon this video will be stormed with comments of people rationalizing the actions of their own "heroes."

"huh? islamic family values?? they're all terrorists who kill people!...we don't kill people, we only kill terrorists! thats why the world loves us!"

[7tCinema]

You Go Steve

[GOPsithlord]

And as usual, someone who shouldn't be talking about geopolitical matters in any context makes the same brazenly moronic comparisons about American "Empire" without understanding exactly what an American colonial Empire would look like. Why must we suffer these latter day Chomskyites?

[GeeKayKayGee]

Who are the people who *should* talk about geopolitical matters? It would seem that you GOPsithlord *are* one of people who should be talking about geopolitical matters as clearly you know who should and who should not speak to these questions.

So please enlighten me by stating your credentials. By what measure are you fit to judge who should and who should not comment on geopolitical matters?

Surely we should all offer our opinions up for debate?

[Chrisnoscrub047]

I like how you equated American Empire to American colonial Empire. NOT. He said American Empire, not American colonial Empire. They are different. He said one, not the other.

[ferrozm]

The US is an empire. Pat Buchanan Agrees Ron Paul agrees many paleo-conservatives agree as well as leftist ass holes.

[cat00012000]

I can't tell if you're serious or not. Are you?

[CharBroiled04]

Wow, the speaker is brilliant.

[italianchappy]

The day the USA will not have a strong military, that is the day Americans will be really poor people. Indeed other countries and cultures and ideologies tried to be imperial, but they couldn't.

[ZankDigiTrash]

"tried to be imperial, but they couldn't. " LOL learn some history before you start typing on here

[italianchappy]

> LOL learn some history before...

Risus abundat in ore stultorum,

you should revise WWI, WWII, URSS history, and islamist  mandate to put the world under sharia rule.

[ZankDigiTrash]

ah Zionists already controls most of the world including most of the Arabic countries and now than ever they got hold of Arabic necks really tight so any LoOk ArOunD by the Arabs and umm CRACK ...that neck is GONE!!!

[italianchappy]

Right on. I forgot zionists and reptiles from the Hollow Earth conspiring through their wanton chemtrials nets. Anyhow, as you see, everyone wants to take over the world. Some can, others can't. Inshallah, isn't it ?

[ZankDigiTrash]

Imperial is a term that is used to describe something that relates to an empire, emperor, or the concept of imperialism.

Assyrians, Persians, ..., Romans, Mongolians, Germans, French, English...etc all done that

America is well can be considered to be an Empire but if you look closer guess who holds the dice? yep the Zionists

[Aaberg123]

Thank you.