West Coast Connection Forum
Lifestyle => Train of Thought => Topic started by: CWalker187 on October 25, 2002, 01:47:49 PM
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Why America Is Great
Top 10 Reasons that Thinking Americans Love Their Country
By Dan Flynn
FrontPageMagazine.com | October 25, 2002
Despite the intellectual pretensions of those who practice it, anti-Americanism is reflexive and mindless. Patriotism, despite its bad reputation amongst the intelligentsia, is a rational sentiment for an American to hold. This is the thesis I prove in my new book, Why the Left Hates America.
No one is obligated to love their country. Yet Americans do-overwhelmingly. Why are Americans, despite the national self-hatred expressed by so many elites, still patriotic? Because America is a force for good in the world as no country has ever been.
Here are ten good reasons why thinking Americans should love their country:
10. Entertainment
The movies the world watches, the television shows they tune into, and the music they listen to are, for the most part, produced in the United States. For instance, the U.S. exports more than 25 times the number of movies and television shows than it consumes from abroad, a fact that causes Ben Wattenberg to observe quite correctly that America is "the most culturally potent nation in the world." Even the virulent America-hater Saddam Hussein reportedly spends a good portion of his time watching American-made movies such as The Godfather and Enemy of the State.
9. Immigration
During the hundred years ending in the 1920s, a majority of the world's immigrants came to one lone country: the United States. Today, the U.S. takes in more immigrants than at any point in its history. Yet, the Left portrays America as a bastion of xenophobia and bigotry. Alexander Hamilton (the first Secretary of the Treasury), John Jacob Astor (America's first multimillionaire), Alexander Graham Bell (invented the telephone), Louis B. Mayer (Hollywood pioneer), Selman Waksman (cured tuberculosis), and Ralph Baer (invented the video game) are among the immigrants to America whose lives belie the Left's premise. Just as those who complain about "oppression" in the U.S. would never entertain the idea of living anywhere else, the people around the world we allegedly oppress flock to come here. This contradiction between leftist theory and real-world practice illustrates just how delusional the central tenets of leftist thought really are.
8. Technology
Nothing disproves the Leftist mantra that "all cultures are equal" more than technology does. Americans have given the world motion pictures, the telephone, the television, the computer, the Internet, the airplane, the VCR, and a host of other machines and devices that have vastly improved the quality of life on the planet. Ironically, the terrorists who hate the U.S. give America a tacit endorsement every time they turn on a light, escape the heat through air conditioning, monitor their exploits on television or the internet, or communicate via telephone.
7. Creating Wealth
America is the sun around which the world economy revolves. The typical creator of wealth in the world is an American. Foreigners benefit from buying better products from American companies and working better jobs manufacturing such products. Take America's $9 trillion dollar economy out of the picture, and the economic well being of the rest of the world nose-dives.
6. Generosity
With great wealth comes great generosity. In 2000, Americans gave more than $200 billion in charity, dwarfing the amount donated elsewhere. Since World War II, the U.S. government has given well in excess of $500 billion (not adjusted for inflation) in foreign aid. Last year, our government distributed more than $20 billion to 130 countries. While American taxpayers have a right to gripe, what are we to make of foreign beneficiaries who return our favor by burning U.S. flags and chanting "death to America"?
5. Human Achievement
Americans have stretched the bounds of the possible. The first transatlantic flight, putting a man on the moon, breaking the speed of sound, constructing the Hoover Dam, and building the Panama Canal serve as testimony to American courage and ingenuity. It wasn't Danes or Bolivians or Iranians or Koreans who achieved these feats. It was Americans. This is significant.
4. Enlightened Power
The Soviet Empire ruled over Eastern Europe. The Ottoman Empire claimed dominion over vast stretches of the Islamic world. The Empire of the Sun sought dominion over the Orient. The American Empire rules...only Americans. America is an historical curiosity. It is the most powerful country in the world, yet it eschews imperialism. Instead, it has used its military might to liberate. Nazi Germany, North Korea, Soviet Russia, Hussein's Iraq, and Communist Vietnam are among the nefarious states we sought to prevent from increasing their totalitarian control over others. The world is a better place because America, and not some other country, is the sole superpower.
3. Medicine
Will Nigerian doctors make the blind see? Will Cambodians cure AIDS? Will Pakistanis eradicate cancer? The answer is probably not. Why? The reason is that non-Westerners have had no discernable impact on modern medicine. This year, like 45 of the last 60, an American won a share of the Nobel Prize in the field of medicine. Americans cured polio and tuberculosis, developed vaccines for hepatitis B and yellow fever, pioneered modern chemotherapy, and produced the CAT scan and MRI. What's there to hate about that?
2. Democracy
Leftists harp that American democracy is tainted because not everyone possessed the right to vote at the Founding. Denial of the vote in the 18th century, however, was universal. What made America unique was not that some people could not vote, but that anybody could. More than 215 years after the Constitutional Convention, most people on the planet still do not have a right to vote. Every Arab country, more than three-fourths of African nations, and many of the most populous nations in the Orient still deny their citizens the right to choose their own leaders. Despite the continued rejection by many foreign leaders, the ideals of the American Founding became contagious. Our example served to topple regimes far from our shores. Pro-democracy activists don't quote the founding documents of Saudi Arabia or appropriate the cultural symbols of China. They cite passages from the Declaration of Independence and hoist replicas of the Statue of Liberty.
1. Freedom
America has shined as a beacon of freedom in an unfree world for more than two centuries. To this day, for instance, most people living outside our borders reside in countries where the private practice of broadcast journalism is illegal and where the state is the dominant banker. Americans can say anything they want, worship any god they choose, and associate with any motley crew around. Our legacy is not slave chains, Wounded Knee, and the murder of James B
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You are right. Our nation does many great things. We are the leader in many thinks. Some people though blindly follow a leader that right now is ruining our reputation.
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although most is true...
the telephone, scottish guy who ended up in canada then america
the television, russian guy who ended up in america :)
the computer, english guy alan turing
the Internet, english guy - who lives in america now :)
the airplane, america.. hurrah!
the VCR, i dunno
so a lot of these people werent raised americans... but america made it possible... but it would have happened anyways. maybe in some casees a bit later.
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Posted by: M Dogg The Lost Angel Posted on: Today at 02:53:34pm
You are right. Our nation does many great things. We are the leader in many thinks. Some people though blindly follow a leader that right now is ruining our reputation.
Ruinin' our reputation? If we wanna talk about Presidents ruining our reputation let's talk about Clinton.
Oh, and CWalker...Excellent post. I agree 100%.
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Ruinin' our reputation? If we wanna talk about Presidents ruining our reputation let's talk about Clinton.
Oh, and CWalker...Excellent post. I agree 100%.
Lets talk Clinton. He actually tried to talk with both sides of Palestinian, he was well liked in the international communities, he did bomb Taliban Terriorist camps after they bombed American Embassies, he tried to avoid war, he tried to get a health care that poor people could afford, but Republicans said no, but he still got Senior Citizens free medication, something that G.Dub got rid of almost as soon as he got into office, and now my grandma, who ain't got much money, is paying for that. I will say Clinton should have lifted the Embargo with Iraq, but the Republicans, who ruled the House and Senate, would have fucken kittens, and smear his name all over the place.
So what if he got his dicked suck, his the fucken president, it's a very stressful and pressure fullied job. Shit, that should be included with the pay, 'cause I know if the president is relaxing with an intern, he will be good for the next day, instead of all stressed out and saying crazy ass shit about getting revenge for his father. Shit, ruin our reputation, lots of men cheat, it's not against the law, against religion, but not the law, and the United States is not religious in terms of law. Now killing many innocent people is not as bad getting a dick sucking and lying about it so he would get in trouble with his wife. Muthaphukka, I guess Clinton was worst than Bush, though Bush is about to start World War III if he gets his way with that law that allows us to invade countries without the U.N., 'cause other nations will do as us, and then everyone is invading each other, and Bush started, and can't say shit.
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id agree with entertainment and technology... (even though id aruge some of the best films arent american, it does have the biggest entertainment industry)
in your rhetorical questions within the medience section, the reason non of the countries are making great developments in the medical world is mainly funding, nothing to do with ability. the countries you mentioned are all poor, mainly due to exploitation by the west, im sure if they had as much funding as america they could make just as many developments.
in the creating wealth system, wasnt it america's economy that collapsed thus leading to the rest of the world, thus giving hitler a chance to sezie power in germany.
in human achievements, granted achievements were made but this are just put down for all the bad shit america has done. the only reason america put a man on the moon in 1969 was because the soviet union was going to beat them
foriegn aid is the less America can do following world war 2 after the fucked up shit they did.
I really doubt freedom, i mean thats just bullshit. maybe in some areas like film and tv where they dont actually have a censorship board like other nations. but consider for a moment the years leading up to the Vietnam war. They supported this bloke called Diem as the Democratic South Vietnam President right? to stop communism from spreading. But Diem wasnt democratic, he rigged elections, eliminated all political oppenents, placed peasents into Strategic Hamlets or concertration camps to seperate them from communism, surpressed buddhists so much they started burning themselves as america watched with a smile. diem was a dictator, not as extreme as hitler but still a dictator. so the line "Communist Vietnam are among the nefarious states we sought to prevent from increasing their totalitarian control over others" is fuckin bullshit. and this was before all the protesting shit, 3 years before. So tell me America was all about freedom then.
and communist north vietnam only seek unification with south vietnam. the communist were gonna allow a election to decide on democracy or communism as the Geneva Conference said. but it was the democratic south that knock the elections back. Communist vietnam never wanted to control others. get your facts right. a terriost group started the civil war that america got involved with. get your facts right
as for america liberating nazi germany. i believe if u check ur historical books, though america contributed, the soviet union's red army achieved that task.
you cant just consider the positives without noting america's negatives
- dropping a nuke on civillians in japan
- dropping napalm on vietnam peasents
- illegal bombing of cambodia that eventually resulted, not directly but eventually, pol pot coming to power and killing 1.3 million people.
- killing of civillians during war. e.g. My Lai Massacre
- capital punishment
- racism and homophobia in southern states, some states still make homosexuality against the law.
- pressing their ideology on any nation they can, believeing that it is the the ideology, instead of just an ideology.
- motivating and breeding some of the worst criminals our world has seen.
i dont want no beef, this is just why i dont think america isnt all that great, just one view point
if ur going to talk about Presidents ruining your reputation
talk about nixon (illegal bombing of cambodia, laos), johnson (for going into vietnam at all), bush (for just being a redneck). clinton is no where as embarrassing as these three.
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one of the better posts from C walker. america is a great country
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id agree with entertainment and technology... (even though id aruge some of the best films arent american, it does have the biggest entertainment industry)
in your rhetorical questions within the medience section, the reason non of the countries are making great developments in the medical world is mainly funding, nothing to do with ability. the countries you mentioned are all poor, mainly due to exploitation by the west, im sure if they had as much funding as america they could make just as many developments.
in the creating wealth system, wasnt it america's economy that collapsed thus leading to the rest of the world, thus giving hitler a chance to sezie power in germany.
in human achievements, granted achievements were made but this are just put down for all the bad shit america has done. the only reason america put a man on the moon in 1969 was because the soviet union was going to beat them
foriegn aid is the less America can do following world war 2 after the fucked up shit they did.
I really doubt freedom, i mean thats just bullshit. maybe in some areas like film and tv where they dont actually have a censorship board like other nations. but consider for a moment the years leading up to the Vietnam war. They supported this bloke called Diem as the Democratic South Vietnam right? to stop communism from spreading. But Diem wasnt democratic, he rigged elections, eliminated all political oppenents, placed peasents into Strategic Hamlets or concertration camps to seperate them from communism, surpressed buddhists so much they started burning themselves as america watched with a smile. diem was a dictator, not as extreme as hitler but still a dictator. so the line "Communist Vietnam are among the nefarious states we sought to prevent from increasing their totalitarian control over others" is fuckin bullshit. and this was before all the protesting shit, 3 years before. So tell me America was all about freedom then.
and communist north vietnam only seek unification with south vietnam. the communist were gonna allow a election to decide on democracy or communism as the Geneva Conference. but it was the democratic south that knock the elections back. Communist vietnam never wanted to control others. get your facts right. a terriost group started the civil war that america got involved with. get your facts right
as for america liberating nazi germany. i believe if u check ur historical books, though america contributed, the soviet union's red army achieved that task.
you cant just consider the positives without noting america's negatives
- dropping a nuke on civillians in japan
- dropping napalm on vietnam peasents
- illegal bombing of cambodia that eventually resulted, not directly but eventually, pol pot coming to power and killing 1.3 million people.
- killing of civillians during war. e.g. My Lai Massacre
- capital punishment
- racism and homophobia in southern states, some states still make homosexuality against the law.
- pressing their ideology on any nation they can, believeing that it is the the ideology, instead of just an ideology.
- motivating and breeding some of the worst criminals our world has seen.
i dont want no beef, this is just why i dont think america isnt all that great, just one view point
if ur going to talk about Presidents ruining your reputation
talk about nixon (illegal bombing of cambodia, laos), johnson (for going into vietnam at all), bush (for just being a redneck). clinton is no where as embarrassing as these three.
Good post, I agree
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Overall a good post. America is the greatest country, thats pretty clear. But the author was blinded by his patriotism and I see alotta holes in the post. In every section. Let me break it down:
10. Despite Scent of a Woman, The Godfather, Forrest Gump etc., most of American movie pictures are dumb, promoting violence, bad sense of humor, pornography or hate towards other nations. I don't know about other places, but here in Russia our own movies take almost the same percentage in movie theatres as American.
9. Immigrants come to USA not because they love America, they just need more money. Immigrants are mot a subject of pride, they're a problem in America, I think.
8. The television, the airplane and the radio were invented by Russians. So the author operates with some bullshit, too.
7. The only American product popular here in Russia is Coca Cola. An American manufacturer has never been a stereotype of a perfect one. It's usually a German or a Japanese.
6. Death to America is chanted by those who are being bombed by the USA. They dont actually think about the help USA did to them before.
5. Well now, Russians put the first man in space, built the Volgo-Baltic and Volgo-Don Canals (a lot longer than the Panama Canal), invented the hydrogen bomb, so at least Americans are not the only ones.
4. Pure bullshit. Nazis were defeated by Soviet Union. Soviet Union dissolved by itself. And American empire rules the whole world, becuz it can bomb any country at any time without asking anybody.
3. Transplantology was started by Russian doctor Dorokhov. The immunity was discovered by Russian scientist Mechnikov. Conditional reflexes were discovered by Russian scientis Pavlov. You're not the only ones here, too.
2. Democracy, huh? So you say George W Bush was elected by the majority of your citizens? I highly doubt that. In democracy, Al Gore should have become a president.
1. Freedom, huh? Who made reservations for Indians? Who made ghettoes for blacks? Freedom in America is not for everybody.
All in all, Dan Flynn is right. It's a great pleasure to be an American. But Americans dont' know anything positive about the rest of the world, and they dont really want to.
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most people outside usa knows the truth.... americans are trapped in a glasshouse and have no opportunity to cee how the rest of the world is..
most of yall who claims that america, the country were you cant enter a hospital unless you got money, the country that nukes 2 cities with innocent in japan, the country who slaughtered men, kids and women (after raping them) in Vietnam, the country that kills crimimal as punishment, the country that doesnt allow people to vist cuba and iraq, the country that killed malcom x and other leaders, the country that freezed the bank accounts of 2 totaly innocent men in sweden during 1 year because their bank had connections with al quaida, the country enslaved millions of black muslims from afrrica and forced them to chance religion and name, the country, the country that have george bush as president... ... ... ...
have probably not seen much of the outside world
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most people outside usa knows the truth.... americans are trapped in a glasshouse and have no opportunity to cee how the rest of the world is..
most of yall who claims that america, the country were you cant enter a hospital unless you got money, the country that nukes 2 cities with innocent in japan, the country who slaughtered men, kids and women (after raping them) in Vietnam, the country that kills crimimal as punishment, the country that doesnt allow people to vist cuba and iraq, the country that killed malcom x and other leaders, the country that freezed the bank accounts of 2 totaly innocent men in sweden during 1 year because their bank had connections with al quaida, the country enslaved millions of black muslims from afrrica and forced them to chance religion and name, the country, the country that have george bush as president... ... ... ...
have probably not seen much of the outside world
That was about the lamest attempt to diparage America that I have seen so far.
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Hooooray 4 America.....lol
WORD on Siberian Wolf's post.....I waz feelin dat all da way.
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most people outside usa knows the truth.... americans are trapped in a glasshouse and have no opportunity to cee how the rest of the world is..
most of yall who claims that america, the country were you cant enter a hospital unless you got money, the country that nukes 2 cities with innocent in japan, the country who slaughtered men, kids and women (after raping them) in Vietnam, the country that kills crimimal as punishment, the country that doesnt allow people to vist cuba and iraq, the country that killed malcom x and other leaders, the country that freezed the bank accounts of 2 totaly innocent men in sweden during 1 year because their bank had connections with al quaida, the country enslaved millions of black muslims from afrrica and forced them to chance religion and name, the country, the country that have george bush as president... ... ... ...
have probably not seen much of the outside world
That was about the lamest attempt to diparage America that I have seen so far.
lol.. aight
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i feel bad for people who live in other countries...
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i feel bad for people who live in other countries...
hahahaha ... sorry but this has me rolling..
you ever even been to another country? fools sound brainwashed... it aint much different everywhere else... its a damn site more peaceful and full of less ignorant and brainwashed people if i were to be honest. just because you've been *told* you're free etc.. doesnt mean you are... i'm not claiming where i am is perfect... but if you havent even seen anything else you shouldnt even speak because it has no basis in fact.
i agree these things I-BO (wampuka) said above...
the country were you cant enter a hospital unless you got money
the country that kills crimimal as punishment
the country that doesnt allow people to vist cuba and iraq --- and you call yourselves free!!!
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God bless America!!!!
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agreed, America has done many great things,
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It makes me sad to read this post. All I can say is america is hypocritical to the bone.
We need guns to protect ourselves. What other country has serial snipers?schoolyard shooters, and daily murders in the ghettos?
We are free...yet communist partys are banned
We give foreign aid...yet we dont give access to our markets to let these economies grown. giving less than half aid per head of population as ireland
We have forests so we should be allowed discard the kyoto agreement and go on using a third of the worlds energy and while we're at it, promote global warming, we could all do with a nice summer.
Not to mention the palestinians...how dare they want their territory back...how unreasonable....
God Bless America!!!
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i feel bad for people who live in other countries...
the country that kills crimimal as punishment
The fact that we have the death penalty makes America great, in my opinion. The overwhlming majority of Americans support it, and I have a hard time understanding why the rest do not.
Take this DC sniper for instance. He went out an brutally murdered 10 innocent people, including a child, who were guilty of nothing more than doing everyday things like shopping or pumping gas. We are talking about sick, col blooded calculted murder. And now you mean to tell me that you think this guy should continue to live? You want him to live in some cozy prison, eating 3 square meals a day, shooting hoops, lifting weights, watching cable tv......while the victims families will never see their loved ones again? That is outrageous. Justice needs to be served....he needs to meet the same fate as his victims.
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God bless America!!!!
As the son of an immigrant, I agree wholeheartedly.
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Posted by: Siberian Wolf Posted on: October 27, 2002, 02:37:15 PM
2. Democracy, huh? So you say George W Bush was elected by the majority of your citizens? I highly doubt that. In democracy, Al Gore should have become a president.
If you are referring to the vote counts in Florida, it was STILL in George Bush's favor. Several separate sets of journalists sat down and counted the ballots and Al Gore still lost.
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Fuck anyone who criticizes America.
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What I meant was.....Fuck anyone who criticizes America, who isn't American. And anyone who doesn't vote has no right to criticize government either.
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F*ck anyone who criticizes America.
LOL I'll bet he was heated when he wrote that.
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What I meant was.....Fuck anyone who criticizes America, who isn't American. And anyone who doesn't vote has no right to criticize government either.
Let's be honest, there is alot of jealously towards the US.
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F*ck anyone who criticizes America.
LOL I'll bet he was heated when he wrote that.
LMFAO@Trauma bleeping out Cracka_J's quote...
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Hell yeah I was
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CWalker, may i suggest u retract all the historical mistakes u made in your post.
also critcism is just me excersisng the freedom American supposedly gave me isnt it? so bless those who critcize anything, exercise your rights.
and if u only let American's critcize America isnt that just gonna be biased? its like letting directors review their own movies.
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Does that mean i'm allowed to criticise the US or not, as i (fortunatly) don't live there anymore, but at one point did. How about if i say the things i like about it first, its freedom of infromation act (for any british peeps who faught in the gulf war or dads who did OUR govt still refuses to admit there is such a thing as gulf war syndrome while in the US because of F of I Act they admitted there is ages ago) and its seperation of powers. And all Europeans who think America has the worst politicians in the world then read up on Ralph Nader as what he did in the US probably made your life better as well.
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I was gonna write the things i don't like about the USA now, but really can't be fucked as i can't be bothered to write it. I'mma go smoke a blunt instead.
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^^ AMOTIVATION SYNDROME right there LOL peace
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man I wish I was in the UK so I could walk down my street smoking a joint like I could do in India
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LOL @ Rapquake, you're exactly right, LOL. I hope everybody saw that, lol Rapquake just properly diagnosed a pothead, HAHAHAHHAA
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no i am not a pothead its just that i think there are a lot of things that make America not great, and to write it all up would take me ages. And my friend just phoned me up to go for a smoke. I used to be a pothead though and it ain't no joke, it really fucked up my life for a bit. But now i got it under control, in part thanks to America (when i went over there i just went cold turkey so i managed to clear my head up). Being a pothead is as bad as an alcoholic.
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"Let's be honest, there is alot of jealously towards the US."
What exactly are we jealous of? I'm finding it hard to think of anything...
Obesity in 1 in 4 children???.......not so jealous about that...
Able to buy guns easier than beer .... i'd rather be a drunk that riddled with bullets
Government putting corporations before people ... unless your rich, thats nothing to be jealous of
Freedom of Speech .... Did that american fighting for the taliban get arrested for fighting against the american government?
Democracy ... you've got it, but then again so do most western countrys..nothing to be jealous of
Wealth...no safety net for the poor as compared to other countrys where a decent social welfare system is in place.
Safety....i'd rather be in this former war torn country, where we're neutral and dont carry guns
If anything the only thing I'd be jealous of is the POWER to CHANGE the world for the better, the ability to help third world countrys and help save the environment.
Unfortunately that doesnt sit in your table of values, unless there is some kind of reward for yourself...dare i mention the "o" word........
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^ another great post to counter act that ridicolous "we are jealous of u" statement
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man I wish I was in the UK so I could walk down my street smoking a joint like I could do in India
u can't get away with that shit there?
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FUCK NO, we gotta keep our marijuana consumptionrelatively discreet, cuz if cops see u or even smell u ur done for...usa has gay ass fuckin ganja policies..well i guess thats one reason America is not a great country, lol
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Oh please, we help those fuckin' pethodic third world countries out and ask for nothing in return--no praise, no money, no recognition, no shit! I have a suggestion: If America is so bad, you know what I'd do? Stop listen to music that comes from America! Ha, put that in your pipe and smoke it!
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Oh please, we help those fuckin' pethodic third world countries out and ask for nothing in return--no praise, no money, no recognition, no shit! I have a suggestion: If America is so bad, you know what I'd do? Stop listen to music that comes from America! Ha, put that in your pipe and smoke it!
that makes no sense - no one on here is attacking american people, just america and it's government and their world policies.
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No one is attacking American PEOPLE...just AMERICA? Hmmm...yeah, that makes sense.
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im against america the state - see u can attack the state of america without attacking americans. the state of america means the government and the policies they have. general americans dont write government's policies? half of y'all dont even vote. i got nothing against the individual people - for example you can hate a genre of music without actually hating the people that play it.
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I think some of you bring up good points about our faults, but many are misguided.
Im not going to preach like i know all, but if you were to be more educated on a few topics you may think differently.
Before going any further lets explain this.
The American government's responsibility is first to the welfare of its own people. When considering such things you have to take aggregate statistics into mind. For the common person, individual relatoinships are important, actually for all people individual relationships are important. However, when running a country much like when running a company you have to try to do what is best for the whole.
Many criticize america for not having benefit packages for the poor population. Employment insurance programs are proven to raise the rate of unemployment. This is one reason america is hesitant to strongly support such programs. Raised unemployment has a number of economic reprocussions. Most obvious is that those on unemployment are in effect an unused resource. This means a source of economic ineffciency is unused. Secondly, if we want to create benefit programs then we have to either 1) divert a higher portion current government funds towards these programs 2) raise taxes on the whole population 3) raise taxes on the rich and on corporations. All of these have negative reprocussions and slow economic growth. In fact, it is understood that even the relatively small amount of employment insurance we provide negetively impacts the economic in the long run.
Because the US economy is capitalistic and encourages economic growth and strives to maximize it we enjoy a number of benefits other countries do not. AMERICAN's enjoy THE HIGHEST standard of living in the world on average. In fact a poor american has a higher standard of living than the average person in some other coutnries enjoys.
Politics is a difficult task. Consider how hard it is to run a company of 100 people. There are constant in company problems.
People get upset at their bosses. (The President)
There are intercompany relationships... different employees favor different managers and vice versa. (Politicans... different parts of the population have allegiance to different political groups)
There are 100 unique personalities that all are pleased in different ways. (same in the country. Consider what would make C Walker proud of america, and what it would take to make infinite or prince tech proud of america.. yet who should we please.. if you please one u upset the other)
Different policies have to be set, and revised. (same in the country just on a larger level)
How can the company create an enjoyable work environment for all employees and still remain profitable?(how can the government please its people and maintain the US position as the worlds strongest economy)
Whats going on with the competition? (whats going on in the rest of the world?)
How can we keep our costs low and not pollute the environment? (how can we avoid creating environmental disasters without sacrificing jobs, or overall economic performance)
and so on...
so consider this.. for those of you so bent on criticizing the country or any country for that matter. think of yourself as president of a small business 50 to 100 people. Pick one in your town even, go visit it perhaps. Could you walk in today and run that company? Make every employee happy? Be profitable so you can continue to grow? Constantly ward off competition? Run your factories (if you have them) such that a minimum amount of pollutions is produced, and no natural resources are wasted? Create a positive reputation for yourself in the community? Motivate a workforce of 50 people all with seperate beliefs, and agendas to work for the good of the company AND society (since just like we expect the government to improve society on an international basis your company should have to improve society on a community basis without upsetting any one party)? and so on...
in conclusion i again say... hold off on the harsh criticisms unless you're really invovled and have a comprehensive knowledge of what is going on. Running a country is not an easy thing to do becuz no matter what ur actions some people will like them and some won't... how do determine who you should work for?
if the american government has to make a choice who should it please.. its loyal citizens that take pride in the country.. or people that live in foreign countries, and people in the US that do nothing but slander us... why would it pick the latter?
be real... who are you gonna help more ur friend that has always supported you through think and thin.... or the guy that calls u a fuck up every step of the way?
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In fact a poor american has a higher standard of living than the average person in some other coutnries enjoys.
thats bullshit.. and you know that... a poor american is really POOOOOR with no roof over the head... thats not the case with many european countries
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In fact a poor american has a higher standard of living than the average person in some other coutnries enjoys.
thats bullshit.. and you know that... a poor american is really POOOOOR with no roof over the head... thats not the case with many european countries
If you read that statement it is correct you missed a few important words... i wrote "In fact, a POOR american has a higher standard of living than the AVERAGE person in SOME (notice i did not say european countries, also notice you said "many" and not all) other countries enjoys"
This statement is correct.
A poor american does not have no roof over their head. What you are referring to is homelessness which exists in ALL countries There are homeless shelters for these people. A person that is poor in america still recieves benefits from subsidized housing otherwise known as the projects or rent controlled living. They also receive welfare.
The average standard of living in all other countries is lower than the average standard of living of living in the US.
Many european countries have decent standard of living certainly higher than the "poor" population in the US, but in many countries outside europe specifically in 3rd world countries the average person's standard of living is actualy below that of a poor american.
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In fact a poor american has a higher standard of living than the average person in some other coutnries enjoys.
thats bullshit.. and you know that... a poor american is really POOOOOR with no roof over the head... thats not the case with many european countries
If you read that statement it is correct you missed a few important words... i wrote "In fact, a POOR american has a higher standard of living than the AVERAGE person in SOME (notice i did not say european countries, also notice you said "many" and not all) other countries enjoys"
This statement is correct.
A poor american does not have no roof over their head. What you are referring to is homelessness which exists in ALL countries There are homeless shelters for these people. A person that is poor in america still recieves benefits from subsidized housing otherwise known as the projects or rent controlled living. They also receive welfare.
The average standard of living in all other countries is lower than the average standard of living of living in the US.
Many european countries have decent standard of living certainly higher than the "poor" population in the US, but in many countries outside europe specifically in 3rd world countries the average person's standard of living is actualy below that of a poor american.
you cant compare usa wit poor countries, usa aint a poor country, so its obvious that some of the poor in usa may have a higher living standard than avreage people in poor countries.....
usa should be compare to countries like great britain, france, germany, sweden, japan, ... ... and the fact is that all the countries i just mentioned have a much higher avreage than usa when it comes to money, when it comes to the way of living... ... but usa do have like a higher bnp than many other countries, but thats because of the few very rich person (bill gates, oprah, 100 other actors and actress, 1000 singers...)... if you remove less than 1 perent of americas richest people, the bnp dives dramaticy... and thats a fact, you can check them stats in your neares library...
and usa have one of the highest % of homeless people when being compared to other rich countries...
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Many good points were made by Ant.
However there was a lot of extreme right thinking involved and I suppose a different set of morals.
It came across to me that you believe economic growth is more important than the welfare of poorer people. I believe until there are major work training programs for the poor to integrate them into the work force, a safety net should be in place. This is the case because the fact is, even if there's a jobs surplus, the workers may not have the skills to fill them. Also, the long term unemployed who are permently a "waste of resourses" still have the fundamental right to a decent standard of living.
However, I prefer not to discuss your internal affairs. Your foreign policies are what bother me. You say that the environment is one unfortunate loss due to economic growth.We may have growth in the short term, but what kind of lives will the next generation have....
Now, as for the american "company", i think it is illegal in business law (not to mention international law) to launch a preemptive strike, in anticipation of one. A good business will do what it does best and handle its business. The dirty ones will try and influence other rivals and use its power to the detrement of those without a vested interest.
oh, and Cracka_J ... most of the american music you listen to is sampled from oriental middle eastern, african and irish music....
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Not true. A company can launch a preemptive strike in anticipation. Even the best companys use ploys as tactics.
Consider when you are in business other company's are attempting to deceive you, if you demand to stick to your morals and never use the same tactics you will be at a severe disadvantage.
The same holds true in world politics. Look at what OPEC constantly does to the world economy when they change prices around. I think i just caught onto a double standard in that comment. It would be nice if the world was perfect but its not.
Again, America's first responsibilty is to its citizens. Just like your countries first responsibility is to its citizens. What kind of government would we be if over the years we sent out our armies to fight and die for their country if in the end we chose to show favor on the outsider and neglect our loyal citiczens.
Like i said, who woud you support the friend that was with you all the way or the guy constantly criticizing?
You can say America neglects its people but my point with the whole economic thing was that it does not. America imposes some of the strictest environmental regulations in the world, we have a lower tax rate than a good amount of european countries if i remembering correctly, and as far as the "wasted resources" that was a positive comment. If we have our workers being unemployeed they are not helping the economy, because we have such low unemployment we enjoy a high standard of living on average. What people often neglect to realize is that our poor population shifts. It is not the same group of people every year, some remain but many improve while new people take their place. Coming from a moral stand point yes it sucks, but when you run a country you cannot look at individual problems, you have to look at the whole. The same holds true in business, if you run it at the individual level and make sacrfices to help certain groups. Say by overemploying people with no talent to give them a job you lose in the long run, because eventually rather than continuing to grow and improve you regress and may even close down.
The same holds true in america. We can focus on our poor population but that requires sacrifices elsewhere. Its a tough decision to be made and i don't know the correct one. Im just attempting to explain another side to the story.
In terms of foreign affairs. It would be nice if we could be honest, fair and just. But the rest of the world isn't always and we have to protect our own asses. Its my belief that the people who deserve america's support are those that love and serve their country. As a country we do a good job of providing for those people, and a decent job at providing for the rest. But you can't make everyone happy. Sacrifices must be made.
On that basis i don't feel any of us have a right to criticize. Well maybe thats a little extreme, we all have a right to criticize but what bothers me more is the hatred expressed by many people that really don't truly understand everything that comes into play when running a coutry.
I used to criticize and complain but slowly as i learned more i sort of felt ignorant for all my criticism. I now take the stance of what I don't understand i can't criticize since i dont know the best answer unless i have all the facts. Also, what i can't change i tend not to criticize. Rather if my life ever reachs a point where I can make a positive impact then i will wait until that time comes and pursue it. But being outspoken and inconsiderate in my belief will not help me get to that point.
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America also just came 17th in the world rankings of press freedom.. freedom of speach my arse, hell the UKs even worse than the US here's the run down.
1 Finland 0,50
- Iceland 0,50
- Norway 0,50
- Netherlands 0,50
5 Canada 0,75
6 Ireland 1,00
7 Germany 1,50
- Portugal 1,50
- Sweden 1,50
10 Denmark 3,00
11 France 3,25
12 Australia 3,50
- Belgium 3,50
14 Slovenia 4,00
15 Costa Rica 4,25
- Switzerland 4,25
17 United States 4,75
18 Hong Kong 4,83
19 Greece 5,00
20 Ecuador 5,50
21 Benin 6,00
- United Kingdom 6,00
- Uruguay 6,00
from http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/europe/2354077.stm
the organisation that made the list http://www.rsf.fr/content.php3
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Ant you say America's first interest is that of it's people, then you say America doesn't do that much for the poor, which makes up a larger percentage of the USA's population than the rich. So by carrying it's policies of giving tax breaks to the rich and then not returning that money back to those that need it they are not looking out for it's peoples interests (unless your rich). Thus that point is irrelevent or your a hypocrit.
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The "poor" in the US are infiinitely better off then the middle class in most other countries. That is a fact.
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The "poor" in the US are infiinitely better off then the middle class in most other countries. That is a fact.
lol.... i just have to belive that you're kidding, you cant really mean that poor people in usa are reacher than middle class in for example, japan, sweden, norway, denmark, finland, portugal, spain, england, ... ... .... thats just a foolish comment
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Many good points were made by Ant.
However, I prefer not to discuss your internal affairs. Your foreign policies are what bother me.
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Ant you say America's first interest is that of it's people, then you say America doesn't do that much for the poor, which makes up a larger percentage of the USA's population than the rich. So by carrying it's policies of giving tax breaks to the rich and then not returning that money back to those that need it they are not looking out for it's peoples interests (unless your rich). Thus that point is irrelevent or your a hypocrit.
Here is the problem. If we focus on the poor the overall economy suffers. That means everyone. I also showed America does provide for its poor at the expense of society as a whole. Subsidized living, welfare, and social security (which is not directed at poor) hurt economic efficiency.
So by doing less for the poor we do more for everyone. If we redirected our efforts to help the poor, in the short run the poor would benefit but in the long run the whole american economy would not be as better off. That includes the poor.
Get the point? I'm not a hypocrite its just that if you look at the big picture things become more complicated than just right and wrong.
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Many good points made by Ant.