Poll: American sentiment

[Woodsey]

Hate the people, hate the system. The people[footnote]Read: most, not everyone.[/footnote] because of their *cough* beliefs, wilful ignorance and sometimes outright stupidity, and the system, well, lobbyists, business interests and such are what's wrong.

Big words from a country that was occupied first by the Soviet Union and then by Nazi Germany.

I didn't realise that his post was an official statement from the Lithuanian government, on behalf of all the Lithuanian people.

By that logic it's perfectly sound for me to call your country and it's people (I'm assuming America and Americans, given the defensiveness of your pissy little reply) dicks because of your one post.

Of course, I know doing so is illogical and stupid.

OT: The only real thing I dislike is the "God's greatest nation" attitude some of them seem to have. You'd think that if it was "God's greatest nation" he'd have had it properly settled for more than a few hundred years. I'm aware that that's probably a bit of a stereotype though.

As for the people and the system? Mostly indifferent.

 

[Chelsea O'shea]

have a car?use light bulbs?have a pc or xbox?(and even though i hate apple) a mac or ipod?enjoying the internet?like ant comic from DC or MARVEL?stop bashing America cause we made those

 

[Irridium]

America is dipshit. The only reason they even came to help us in WWII was because a Nazi Submarine was stupid enough to attack one of their vessels. And they were pissed as hell about that.

But before that they didnt care at all. Sounds pretty egocentric to me.

What? We got into WW2 because Japan bombed the shit out of Pearl Harbor, and because Japan, Italy, and Germany had a military agreement, they then declared war on us after we declared it on Japan.

 

[Booze Zombie]

Most systems are broken, they just slowly get less broken over time. Not like that's any sort of excuse, though...

 

[Blitzwarp]

I like Americans. I've seldom met any who were as extreme as the media often portrays them in religion or politics - in fact, my most friendly and open-minded friends are States-side.

I don't like the American system. I don't like the healthcare, I don't like the policy on firearms, I don't like that Fox News can broadcast whatever the hell they like without penalty (although the Daily Mail over here does that as well), I don't like that the State won't stand up to various religions in matters of education (Creationism being taught in some Science classrooms, Westboro Baptist Church being allowed to picket wherever they want no matter who they hurt). Although I do like the political system, from what little I understand of it. Seems like it's almost a fail-safe against a power-hungry nutjob coming in and doing whatever he wants (George W. excluded...).

 

[michael87cn]

There will never be a perfect person, so there will never be a perfect country.

All nations are places on earth that men inhabit and place names upon. Your rock is worse than my rock. My rock is bigger. Your rock looks different than mine, etc.

We're all the same truth be told(human), but we dislike each other for our differences, when in reality it's our differences that allow us to compliment each others failures and downsides.

In the end all you need is love, to live a happy life. Love your fellow man. Forgive people when they do wrong. Defend yourself when evil arises. Try to not point fingers at others and shift blame. You'll never be able to say that you're without blame yourself.

It doesn't really matter what rock you belong to, you're still a human being on planet earth. Might as well start learning to share.

 

[Chelsea O'shea]

finally a post i can say is right.

 

[Owlslayer]

I think America's pretty decent. Sure, i don't like the "my country is the best and immortal" over-patriotism, but I'm sure it's quite rare. Even if it acutally exists, since, well, i actually HAVEN'T been in America nor spoken to an American irl.
But as a country, sure they've made some mistakes, but haven't we all? i know my country has. Nobody's perfect.

And also: these threads bring a lot of hate...not that great of an idea, even if your original goal differed from that :S

And also also, wtf is shakaar9267 on about? Seriously, cool down.

 

[Fearzone]

This is an overly simplified all-or-none question that only a non-American with an cartoonish view of America could answer. There are things to like and dislike both about Americans and the American system.

 

[CarpathianMuffin]

I don't care for people anywhere I go, and the system's extremely bloated and unwieldy.

 

[Peteron]

snip

What the hell...

First off, where did you pick up me representing my country from my post? I was stating my opinion on the US.

Second, where did you pick up I even like my country and support its leadership/whatever?

Third, what do I have to do with stuff that's happened before I was ever born?

"Hate the people, hate the system"
That is all I need.

Anyways,
Since 1992, the United States has committed more than $100 million in Lithuania to economic and political transformation and to humanitarian needs. Since you "Hate" us, can we stop paying you?

You tell him man! Anyway, being an American, I am not completely happy with our system, however, I can't think of a better way to do things. Its not perfect, but i don't see any other choices. As for the people, I don't like to judge people by their countries. Like any other, we have the people we dislike and the people we like.

 

[Combined]

I dislike only the relative, very visible minority of Americans on both sides of the Great Line of the Political Spectrum, however I dislike the political system quite a bit. It's unnecessarily complicated and gives too much power to the government, along with too many chances for the Commies to come up again. Or so I think, anyway.

Same goes for our political system, really. Except that it's already filled to the very brim with communists, former communists and other scum that are serving only to bring this entire nation down and to serve some foreign power's interests.

Snip

Can anyone support our leadership, really? Oh, and, good for you. Not being sarcastic here.

"Hate the people, hate the system"
That is all I need.

Anyways,
Since 1992, the United States has committed more than $100 million in Lithuania to economic and political transformation and to humanitarian needs. Since you "Hate" us, can we stop paying you?

Trolling or just looking for a fight? Or do you generally dislike us filthy foreigners that get small donations in return for our government's and our military support?

Now, you must understand that the general populace does not dislike America. They may view them as slightly foolish, too selfish and perhaps a bit too arrogant, but they still like the USA. Because when presented with the Soviet Union again, almost everyone would pick the better alternative.

For my part, I'd be happy if you took your aid and went away to fund some other nation to further your interests, so we can remain in the company of nations that try slightly not treat us as some "buffer state" between a big, red threat and NATO.

 

[CrazyCapnMorgan]

"We love the American people, we don't love the American system." (Sadly, I don't have a link to this and I could not find the article again, so if anyone else verifies this, it would be greatly appreciated.)

I can't help but wonder what the person meant by that... When I visited Turkey and talked to a few people, their idea of 'Americans' was the sexy women that were on the sides of the Pepsi vending machines. So, of course they loved 'Americans.'

Just an thought...

When I went to college, there were some people from out of country that held a similar view. Not many, but it did strike me as kind of odd. I imagine it was either uneasy, or enlightening, to see a point of view that was once held to be somewhat flawed and then re-examined. Certainly broadens the mind, imo.

 

[Neverhoodian]

America is dipshit. The only reason they even came to help us in WWII was because a Nazi Submarine was stupid enough to attack one of their vessels. And they were pissed as hell about that.

But before that they didnt care at all. Sounds pretty egocentric to me.

This History major is desperately resisting the urge to bang his head against the keyboard right now.

You are probably referring to the Lusitania incident, which took place during World War I. In 1915, a German submarine (and it was Imperial Germany at the time, not Nazi Germany) sunk the British Liner Lusitania because they thought she was carrying war material to England (and indeed she was). Most of the people on board were passengers, including several Americans. Though the incident soured relations considerably between the United States and Germany, the two nations did not go to war with each other until 1917. The reason why America entered World War II is because their naval base at Pearl Harbor was bombed in a surprise attack by Japan via carrier-based aircraft.

Also, bear in mind that America followed an isolationist policy for the majority of its history. It wasn't until the World Wars that it became an active participant in world politics. I'm not saying it's good or bad, just that those were the policies of the day.

*Exhales*

Okay, now that I dealt with that, back on-topic.

Speaking as an American citizen, I tend to like the people, but not the politics. Personally, I think we should adopt a parliamentary form of government. Our family was thoroughly impressed with the system when we took a vacation in Europe for a month.

 

[EightGaugeHippo]

Still pissed that you made the league of nations, but couldnt be arsed joining it (WTF?)
When Hitler remilitarised the Rhineland, The one time we all needed the world police? Where were you? WHERE WERE YOU?
Oh... the depression. Ok, Yeah that kinda seems reasonable. Fair enough.

I dont have anything to hate on now.

 

[El Poncho]

We cover your whole continent with our military and political clout so you can afford all those fancy health care systems (that you can't actually afford.) Don't bite that hand that feeds you.

Source please.

Because by the looks of it your head seems so far up your arse.

 

[fundayz]

Dislike the people and the system. Now, there are lots of great American people but ON AVERAGE their population is waaay too ignorant. This is reflected in their government as well; corruption is rampant and many of their leaders choose inappropriate (re)actions out of ignorance or selfishness.

America has been on a downward slope for almost a decade, and unless the people and government are willing to admit that their own actions are causing their(and others') problems this trend is likely to continue.


Edit: Almost forgot about their freaking self-entitlement

 

[DarkRyter]

I'm neutral on people as a whole, and I hate all systems.

Systems suck.

 

[emeraldrafael]

The people are relatively good, but the system is flawed. We need a revamping on pretty much every level (or at least a refresher, I rather do like our three main governmental documents that allows the country to be alive, ina sense). But Americans are all right people, at least no worse then any other countries' individuals.

 

[Korolev]

The american system is fine. The constitution, bill of rights and most of the voting system is just fine. I don't like the "first-past-the-post" style system, and I would prefer if the US adopted a preferences system like we have in Australia, but apart from that I've got no real problem with the American government, as it is supposed to theoretically operate.

What I have a problem with, and this goes for just about every single nation out there, is the people. I include myself in that group as well (so this is also self-criticism).

The US population could demand genuine bipartisanship. It could reward politicians for reaching across the aisle, for passionately pushing his or her principles, informing the general public as well as for making sensible legislation.

But no. That doesn't happen. If you reach across the aisle, you're a traitor. If you compromise, it means you're weak-willed. If you try to pass legislation that will hurt any group of people, even if it's unavoidable, they will complain.

But at the same time, if you TELL the people that you are doing what they want you to do, if you say the sound-bites and repeat the lines at the appropriate times, the vast majority of the American people will vote for you.

It's remarkable - you Americans have a wonderful system of government. The US government has to, by law, put forward all its policies for the people to scrutinize. You genuinely have the power to punish or reward officials for their behaviour. And you don't. You can't be bothered. It's too much EFFORT to drag yourself to the voting booth ONCE every FOUR YEARS (or once very two years if you count mid-terms). It's too much effort to actually do research on what your politicians are saying.

But its easy to demonize the opposition, so you do that. It's easy to make issues BLACK OR WHITE so you do that. It's easy to demand that politicians obey your every whim, even when it's impossible, because YOU don't have to make the policy. It's easy to demand, when you don't know, or don't CARE to know, the constraints your government works under.

The problem is with the People - loud, angry, ignorant, impatient, hyper-critical, and selfish. This isn't just Americans - this is the general population of every major nation.

But don't let this get you down - it's ALWAYS been like this. And despite it all, the US has thrived, and time and time again it's been your system that has saved you, you didn't save your system. I gather the majority of Americans, throughout your history, would eagerly elected a dictatorship if your laws allowed it. Thankfully, they don't. Your laws force you to be free and civil to each other, and you can thank your founding fathers for that. They made such a great system that even human nature has trouble destroying it.