UK and US Special Relationship- Ali Mazzulo

In the UK/US "special" relationship lecture I learned great detail of this distinct relationship between our two countries. I learned (and was already aware of most of these) the reasons for this special relationship with the US and UK's similarities in : language, shared history and blood, literature and films, economic cycles and investments (invest in each others' cultures), military intelligence (and alliance to each other) and finally in our legal systems.  I learned how Winston Churchill articulated the phrase "special relationship" about the two countries in 1946. He even stated that the US and UK need to stick together to maintain peace in the world. I have always thought of the US being linked to the UK and vice versa, but this lecture really reiterated just how linked our countries are. 

What I found the most interesting were the pairs of UK Prime Ministers and US Presidents who got on so famously well.  PM Churchill and President Roosevelt, PM Margaret Thatcher and President Reagan,  PM Rogers and President Clinton, PM Blair and President Bush, and now PM Brown and President Obama! It is really quite comical just how well these world leaders got along, starting of course with Churchill and Roosevelt who seemingly had the "most special" relationship. Learning about these special relationships between Presidents and Prime Ministers makes it even more clear why and how our countries are so linked.

Refreshing my memory on WW2, I was also reminded and found it interesting just how closely the US and UK worked together during the war. This was likely the closest intelligence ever between to countries and it does not surprise me that it was between the US and UK.

This lecture could tie into my major because of its link to culture, with both the US and the UK influencing one another. When two countries work together as closely as these two it is inevitable for this influence to happen, whether it is through ideologies, pop culture such as fashion and entertainment or our democratic legal systems, we will likely be forever linked.