Grass is no greener on other side of the Atlantic

Once more, Professor John Haldane finds Britain wanting in comparison to the United States (Opinion, 6 May). He asserts that the Americans will recover sooner than us from the present economic crisis, due to their attachment to "values", and because, unlike the British, they are not habituated to living beyond their means. The US is apparently ready to repeat its 19th-century expansion, in metaphorical terms, "through the mountains and across the plains", towards its "

This time there will not be any Native Americans to impede its progress.

It is unlikely Prof Haldane's unalloyed enthusiasm for the US way of life is shared by the 40 million US citizens who are excluded from the healthcare system, or the poor of New Orleans, or those who have spent decades on Death Row, or the victims of the subprime mortgage scandal, or the inhabitants of various countries who have come to fear the arrival of the Americans or their surrogates, bearing weapons.

It is undoubtedly true that Americans have made major contributions in many spheres to the betterment of mankind, and continue to do so, but that is no excuse for disregarding the darker side of the actions of US governments, at home and abroad.

MALCOLM G KELLY

Grinnan Road

Braco, Perthshire