No, I'm not Scottish, Bandolin! I'm Korwegian... Close, though, just opposite sides of the world! I was merely being sarcastic in my references to democracy and capitalism. In America, they are the same thing. This country is ruled by money, and greed, and pride. The whole place reeks of malfeasance, to me. Which is why I never refer to myself as an American, even though I've lived by Seattle for twenty years. I personally don't care one way or another about Europe, America, or government. The reason I stay here is because the trees are lovely! And it's a great place to raise my family, while the tides of war sweep us by, for a time... "When I set out to lead humankind along my Golden Path, I promised them a lesson their bones would remember. I know a profound pattern which humans deny with their words even while their actions affirm it. They say they seek security and quiet, the condition they call peace. Even as they speak, they create the seeds of turmoil and violence. If they find their quiet security, they squirm in it. How boring they find it. Look at them now. Look at what they do while I record these words. Hah! I give them enduring eons of enforced tranquillity which plods on and on despite their every effort to escape into chaos. Believe me, the memory of Leto's Peace shall abide with them forever. They will seek their quiet security thereafter only with extreme caution and steadfast preparation." --The Stolen Journals (Frank Herbert, "God Emperor of Dune")