my humble opinon here... america kinda sucks as a grop but the individuals seem to be the best we have. so which is the better question; what do you think of the country, or what do you think of the citizens. I kinda think the main reason 9/11 was made such a big deal is because, as a country, we felt invincible. Did the same think round december in the 40's. back then a whole country attacked the nation but this time... a tiny fraction of a small group of a percentage of the population of a foreign country. this whole "war on terrorism" seems dumb to me. you cannot fight an idea. its like the Red Scare of the 50's. I don't think the U.S. has learned from history too much. We seem to be repeating it. I am an american citizen and I do think the U.S. is nice but not the best. politics and media tend to makes us look bad... none more so than our own. It seems we created our own problems. I am a patriot and I love my country but to claim to be superior is a sure sigh of inferiority, wouldn't you all agree?
Non-Americans: How do you view us?
- Thread starter retyopy
- Start date
I have two issues with America, alot of you actually believe that America is the "greatest country in the world" and your country is run by complete morons, otherwise, you're okay. Just get over the "free healthcare is socialism!" thing. You may not realise this, but after USAs credit thing dropped from AAA to AA+, the only countries left in AAA, are countires that America would call "socialist". And government regulation is not a bad thing either, you let corporations ruin your nation! How is that good?
TANK,
I am home and I know my history very well. Im not altering any facts and In alot of the 14 European countries ive traveled to or been stationed in there are cemetaries full of american servicemen who have died fighting for the liberation of a people not thier own.
I am home and I know my history very well. Im not altering any facts and In alot of the 14 European countries ive traveled to or been stationed in there are cemetaries full of american servicemen who have died fighting for the liberation of a people not thier own.
Sadly the cynical reactions of a lot of people in that thread (mine along with them) aren't entirely unjustified (again, remember what a lot of American Facebook user's statuses were upon hearing about the earthquakes in Japan?).retyopy said:
Not all Americans are like this, I know, but unfortuneatly it isn't nessercarily a vocal minority either, sorry to have to tell you this but you aren't particularly well liked as a country and it isn't all irrational hatred or secretly being jealous of you either (more than a few people have legitimate and well thought out reasons as to why they dislike America, quite a few of them being Americans themselves).
Not bashing the states here, but if you want really nice people, come and join us up in Canada sometime. Preferably Vancouver or Edmonton.Rawne1980 said:
OT: Americans aren't bad people in general, but there are more dicks there than many other places (not per capita, just because there are more people). There are some very nice people and some very dickish people, just like everywhere else.
I'm an American, and I commend you for this. Thank you very much. There are a lot of Americans that think the same thing, but there's really nothing we can do about it. Whoever listens to what our media says is an idiot, and our country is apparently full of them.questionnairebot said:
Normally I don't like to respond to topics that are asked every other week. However I enjoy taking something that I agree with and then adding my viewpoint.
This forum topic represents one of the major problems with America. There are too many self-conscious brats who aren't content with the fact that our ancestors have worked hard to do well for themselves and their descendants and need to ask the rest of the world "How are we today?" Seriously, grow up, get out of the high school mentality and quit asking the same question over and over again.
Post script, I'm not saying it's OK to be an egotistical patriot who is so obsessed with our country that we think that no one can even match us in anything we do. I'm just saying that we should just be be more mature, less self-conscious, and more respectful to others.
This sums up my viewpoint. I've counted this same question asked in our forums way too much. Here's a question that I have for the OT, why does it matter? Do Brits sit around asking "Hmm... I wonder if the Belgians like me today?" No! They aren't so egotistical to continuously ask about themselves like a bunch of children.Valkyr71 said:
This forum topic represents one of the major problems with America. There are too many self-conscious brats who aren't content with the fact that our ancestors have worked hard to do well for themselves and their descendants and need to ask the rest of the world "How are we today?" Seriously, grow up, get out of the high school mentality and quit asking the same question over and over again.
Post script, I'm not saying it's OK to be an egotistical patriot who is so obsessed with our country that we think that no one can even match us in anything we do. I'm just saying that we should just be be more mature, less self-conscious, and more respectful to others.
As a general population, I'm ok with Americans.
Sadly, it's not your average American international viewers see on the TV. It's the wingnuts and extremists. People who talk about how the Mid-East needs to be bombed back to the stone age, that the rich are "taxed too much" (while the USA enjoys one of the lowest levels of taxation in the world). The blowhards and absolutists who think that "If you're not with us, you're against us!" and that the only possible way to do something is the *exact* same way it's been done in the USA. The politicians who are so bought and paid for they should be wearing sponsor logos and look like a NASCAR when they step out.
It's those people who are your frontline PR for the USA. Is it any wonder that the US tends to suffer from an image problem abroad?
Sadly, it's not your average American international viewers see on the TV. It's the wingnuts and extremists. People who talk about how the Mid-East needs to be bombed back to the stone age, that the rich are "taxed too much" (while the USA enjoys one of the lowest levels of taxation in the world). The blowhards and absolutists who think that "If you're not with us, you're against us!" and that the only possible way to do something is the *exact* same way it's been done in the USA. The politicians who are so bought and paid for they should be wearing sponsor logos and look like a NASCAR when they step out.
It's those people who are your frontline PR for the USA. Is it any wonder that the US tends to suffer from an image problem abroad?
My wife has her heart set on going to Canada at some point. She even mentioned moving there and we've never been.Apprentice1994 said:
All that was sparked by one picture she saw. We were looking at holiday places for when she has some time off and she found this picture....
She's had her heart set on that since.
Nice people, backwards politics, pretty country, bad education system, interesting history, awful media and state sanctioned propaganda, good weather, bad food, great personalities, too big to be judged as a whole. I used to live there, and kinda hated it, but that's because the place is born and bred xenophobic. When people got used to the fact I was English, they were very friendly, although the men resented that the girls liked me so much. Shit happens. I enjoy visiting, very thankful I don't live there.
Oh, and sort out this "anti-socialist" thing you guys have going on. No healthcare, public transport of welfare worth a damn! What are they spending your taxes on exactly??
Oh, and sort out this "anti-socialist" thing you guys have going on. No healthcare, public transport of welfare worth a damn! What are they spending your taxes on exactly??
I've met alot of American tourists, sure, plenty of them have been really nice folks, and then you have the ignorant and arrogant ones, sure, you find arrogant and ignorant people in every country, but only Americans keep saying that their country is the greatest country in the world.retyopy said:
And goddamn it, Escapist, make your captcha readable.
This. The large usage of the collective "you" in this thread sort is somewhat disheartening. I know that I, personally, don't treat all people from a certain country the same nor do I conform to many of the stereotypes that people have about my own country. Yet, I'm put into some larger category with little reasoning or individual knowledge about myself individually.floobie said:
People are people. That's where it ends, I think.
I (an American Atheist who really thinks the government needs a complete overhaul) totally agree with every point you made and hope my one third canadian heritage allows me to take refuge up there when everything falls apart here (even though the canadians I meet at my family reunions are kind of all dicks, but that says more about my family than canada).jeremysaint said:
The governments only focus on the short-term, that's true anywhere. Since elections role around annually they only focus on what can make the most benefits in the shortest amount of time. That way when the elections come up again, they just go LOOK AT HOW GREAT WE WERE and get re-elected again.thanassisk said: