freedom of press in europe

[Jester]

So, just as I would not expect the average informed citizen of Europe to be familiar with the issues of the State of Washington, of King County, of the city of Kent, you should not fault an American for his ignorance of the internal politics of any country. Your interest in our national politics is justified in that what we do as the remaining superpower influences the whole world. The reverse is not true.

With the creation of the EU, is it really true that the US is the world´s only superpower? The EU´s economy is larger than the US´s, although at a much lower level per capita. They certainly have the nuclear arsenal and military force to be a major player, if not quite to the extraordinary level of the US. Their currency is widely used internationally, and may come to rival the US dollar as the world currency. European culture exports may not have the sheer scope of the US, but they still carries quite a lot of influence.

People talk a lot about China as the up and coming superpower, but I think the EU will be deserving of that title much sooner, especially if there´s a trend towards increasing control by the European Parliament, acting as a unified diplomatic entity.

So, maybe we´d all better study up. I should know more than I do, considering I´m now a resident. But it´s a very large shift, trying to get a handle on the politics of such a huge and diverse area. Plus, being a US politics junkie as well, I only have so many hours in a day to waste. :P

-Jester