Mrs Hoyt was the first person I remember who said that to criticize a specific American president was not anti-American; that to criticize a specific American policy was not antipatriotic; and that to disapprove of our involvement in a particular war against the communists was not the same as taking the communists' side. But these distinctions were lost on most citizens of Gravesend; they are lost on many of my former fellow Americans today.
Every American should be forced to live outside the United States for a year or two. Americans should be forced to see how ridiculous they appear to the rest of the world! They should listen to someone else's version of themselves - to anyone else's version! Every country knows more about America than Americans know about themselves! And Americans know absolutely nothing about any other country!