My thoughts exactly about higher education. There used to be a time when you could work at a diner and pay for college. No student loans or financial aid, just a few years at an average job and you can pay your way to a fancy degree.derob said:
How Does America Fare to You?
- Thread starter xXAsherahXx
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7.5
America is the punchline to a great many jokes around the world, from their ignorance of other nations to their public education system. They are, and throughout history been the human zerg factor. Every war/event that has made America great comes from throwing numbers at it, sports, media, war etc. They poach the world talent and claim their successes at their own. It's what inevitably happens when you discover a vastly plentiful, untouched piece of land.
When it comes down to it though, their cutthroat politics and warmongering is one of the reasons why I can sit around on my ass in front of my computer eating mac and cheese and not have to worry about starvation or being attacked or oppressed. I wouldnt change much about America save this.. adopt the f@#$ing metric system.
America is the punchline to a great many jokes around the world, from their ignorance of other nations to their public education system. They are, and throughout history been the human zerg factor. Every war/event that has made America great comes from throwing numbers at it, sports, media, war etc. They poach the world talent and claim their successes at their own. It's what inevitably happens when you discover a vastly plentiful, untouched piece of land.
When it comes down to it though, their cutthroat politics and warmongering is one of the reasons why I can sit around on my ass in front of my computer eating mac and cheese and not have to worry about starvation or being attacked or oppressed. I wouldnt change much about America save this.. adopt the f@#$ing metric system.
Well, I cant really score it. What I like most about the country though, is that it was intended to be extremely malliable. If sometihng doesnt work, or is no longer relevent to the times, its supposed to be able to be changed to match better to today's needs. The problem though, is the people with that power (ie the American people) dont realize either that they can, or that they should.
Haha those things don't actually move unless a tornado throws them.Harkonnen64 said:Gosh-dang, man, that's a good-looking four-wheeler. Bet that'd really blaze some trails down here in Missoura'.ChildofGallifrey said:Things here are pretty fucked, but a good deal of the world is in a similar state (or worse).
This image is actually not much of a stretch from my hometown. I think I'll go cry myself to sleep...
OT:
Well we have a TON of complete idiot in Congress.
And wellfare (the portion of the budget that goes to old people), gets roughly 5 times more money than our schools.
And those same idiots in Congress think our shitty schools are because of over paid "bad teachers"
I'm sorry but is this about the gay marriage thing, or the piracy on the internet thing?Firehound said:
Compared to whom? And by what measure?
As developed first world countries go...I'd much rather live in Australia, New Zealand, Britain or Canada, somewhere in Scandinavia. Or maybe Ireland.
However, cross those off the list, and that still leaves plenty of room for the US to find someone to look down upon. There are entire continents of places I'd choose the US over.
As developed first world countries go...I'd much rather live in Australia, New Zealand, Britain or Canada, somewhere in Scandinavia. Or maybe Ireland.
However, cross those off the list, and that still leaves plenty of room for the US to find someone to look down upon. There are entire continents of places I'd choose the US over.
triggrhappy94 said:
It's about the decision of whether games get equal rights under the 1st amendment. Didn't you get the memo?
Couldn't resist that last sentence. Sorry
Why, exactly, was the U.S undeniably the greatest nation on the planet? When? By what criteria exactly?xXAsherahXx said:
xXAsherahXx said:
Hold on, you do know that your Hefty Military and warmongering is why a lot of people hate you guys?
I myself have not been the biggest supporter of America these past few years, mainly because of things like Fox News, and your previous President, making your country look like a bunch of retarded people.
I also dislike the thought of "defending your country" by fighting faceless enemies half a planet away to be a pretty wrong statement... at least considering how much more hate for america it builds in the middle east
Positive things to comeo ut of america I would state the Entertainment industry; games, tv series, movies... most of it comes from the US, for better or for worse
All in all your post builds up my view of Americans as thinking themselves better than the rest of the world, considering how you present it
Not to bore people with a wall of text, that statement is prettymuch the main problem I have with it, blowing your own horn is doing it wrong because you simply become oblivious to what you're actually doing.xXAsherahXx said:
Hate its vocal idiots, hate its governments policies, hate the populations waving of their rights without considering if they should or not. Hate its medical care being corrupt as hell and dependant on whether or not your insurance company has decided you have lived long enough and not giving you overpriced medication is just no profitable any more. Also i hate american accents. Any i have come across. *Waves a union jack*. Also. The US cant brew for shit. Have i missed anything?
Resounding...0.
Resounding...0.
Well, from an Australian perspective, I'm not exactly a fan of the US. Plenty of folks over here detest America for its military aggression, double-standards on human rights, embarassingly poor education standards, and tendency to produce tourists whose loud mouths are only matched by the sheer amount of idiocy coming out of them.
Having said that, some of those criticisms can also be applied to Australia, what with our near-genocide and continuing impoverishment of Aboriginal Australians and all. But we're not so silly as to lower our tax base to unsustainable levels while complaining about paying too much tax, and we at least have a good idea about the world outside our borders (e.g. we'd never be so silly as to make a post on a global forum that assumes the readership are entirely from the US).
Personally, I actually hope that the US manages to hold together longer than expected (our most conservative, pro-US, foreign policy experts, are expecting that the US will be eclipsed by China around the year 2050 - the less conservative commentators are expecting that to occur much sooner). The reason is that however awful the US is, they're likely to be better than China - not that I have any animosity towards China (culturally, and on a social level when travelling, I've always found the Chinese exceedingly pleasant people to spend time with), but their foreign policy is unmitigated, shameless imperialistic power-grabbing (as opposed to the US's mitigated, half-embarassed and hence comparatively restrained power-grabbing). Also, as a democracy, the US has one more check on military aggression that China won't have to face (though its expansion thus far has been entirely economic rather than military, and their government seems sensible enough to avoid another full-blown cold war).
Having said that, some of those criticisms can also be applied to Australia, what with our near-genocide and continuing impoverishment of Aboriginal Australians and all. But we're not so silly as to lower our tax base to unsustainable levels while complaining about paying too much tax, and we at least have a good idea about the world outside our borders (e.g. we'd never be so silly as to make a post on a global forum that assumes the readership are entirely from the US).
Personally, I actually hope that the US manages to hold together longer than expected (our most conservative, pro-US, foreign policy experts, are expecting that the US will be eclipsed by China around the year 2050 - the less conservative commentators are expecting that to occur much sooner). The reason is that however awful the US is, they're likely to be better than China - not that I have any animosity towards China (culturally, and on a social level when travelling, I've always found the Chinese exceedingly pleasant people to spend time with), but their foreign policy is unmitigated, shameless imperialistic power-grabbing (as opposed to the US's mitigated, half-embarassed and hence comparatively restrained power-grabbing). Also, as a democracy, the US has one more check on military aggression that China won't have to face (though its expansion thus far has been entirely economic rather than military, and their government seems sensible enough to avoid another full-blown cold war).
I get how big cities is a plus, but citites in the States are just sprawling networks of roads. There is no city centre, no central business district which from a geo economical standpoint is really dumb. You have a severly outdated electoral model, as well as a desperate need for a seperate head of state, your welfare system is a joke, the massive economy is only so because of huge government subsidies (and still claiming that it's a system influenced by Adam Smith, who was against subsidization...) and the ideology that it's all about personal freedom, which then makes it silly when people rally for "their community" or "their neighbourhood" when not willing to take part in federal systems that will ensure the protection of these other people you apparently care so muhc about. Oh, and a two party system. 40% voter turnout isn't strange when the choice is "either/or" These are just my thoughts though, and several other countries are just as bad as well as worse off, but I'd give it a 4/10.xXAsherahXx said:
Americans seem to have an irritating habit of very loudly considering themselves a beacon of hope for almost the entire world for more than 100 years when in fact the rest of the world just wants them to shut up, other than that I don't have a problem with them. 7/10 I guess, though since I've never rated any other country it's difficult to really compare it to anything.
I don't really have anything against the USA. It's only a country, after all. Pretty good entertainment (gaming industry, music industry etc.) and even some very good writers. Friend of mine went on a business trip for a month and said he actually had some good fun.
What does annoy me, however, is when I see Americans talk about their country like it's literally the Holy land and we should all be grateful and humble for allowing us to share the same planet. Beacon of hope? I mean, seriously? Hefty military? When was the last time your opposition had a tank?
What does annoy me, however, is when I see Americans talk about their country like it's literally the Holy land and we should all be grateful and humble for allowing us to share the same planet. Beacon of hope? I mean, seriously? Hefty military? When was the last time your opposition had a tank?