Fourth downside: there are exceptions but most of the US educated foreign students who go back home tend to have a good opinion of the US and also tend to make a good career at home. This is a very powerful form of soft power.
It did. You don't see Kim Jong Un threatening Switzerland.
Maybe limit number of downvotes people can cast. I feel that this behavior is restricting normal discussion.
No one is opposed to wit, but this comment didn't explain anything about the context. I needed to Google to know what the point was. It still seems more like a snarky comment than a serious argument.
I could have just responded with some lazy remark saying "Want short witty comments? Twitter this way." but I'd be a jerk for that.