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I have to say my favorite thing is the diplomatic immunity that gets passed on from generation to generation in my family because my great-grandfather was an ambassador to the US from Ecuador in the late 19th century.
I like the fact that there's plenty to see and do here in the US. If you never in your life get a chance to travel outside the country, then you'll still be fine because there's plenty of places you can go to within the country.
I like how it's a country built for cars. I like driving and hate walking (running and triathlons are ok though). I'm the guy who circles the gym looking for the front parking spaces.
Also the food portions. To most people they are too big, but for an athlete like me, they are nice.
Wide open spaces, we have pretty much everything, party cities like Miami and Vegas, global cities like NYC and LA, and a bunch of medium sized cities, grand canyon, yellowstone, river valleys, mountains, oceans, beaches, lakes, swamps, etc... pretty cool if you ask me, no reason to really leave the country... my passport expires soon and i ain't in a rush to renew it.
Without a doubt, I would say climate and landscape (the U.S. is a beautiful country, and almost every climate known to man can be found within the U.S. states and territories,) demographic diversity, the economy, people (in general,) big cities (we have the urban jungle cities, the sprawly cities, the small farm towns,) shopping, food, entertainment, and the English language are the things I love about the U.S. the most.
Everything else varies:
- Freedom: I'm not sure. In some respects, I don't think I'm as "free" now as I was in 2000 (see: PATRIOT Act, TSA, NSA, regulatory capture, etc.). We are a lot more "free" in this country than most others, however, and in non-security aspects of life, we are free to do almost anything we wish to.
- Everything LARGE: Bigger isn't always better. I'm more of a fan of the fact that in this country, there are options for everyone; we have the cities with dense public transit networks and walkability, the wide open roads, the lofts, the large houses, the farms, and so on. I wouldn't say I love the U.S. because "everything is large," but because I have freedom of choice.
- U.S. measurement system: I don't like this about the U.S. at all; I'm a supporter of metrication. I don't know why we didn't go the whole ten meters as the rest of the world did in the 60s, 70s, and 80s. We were close (We are a signatory to the original Metric Convention, we approved usage of metric in 1866, and the Metric Conversion Act was passed in 1975,) but the switch was made voluntary, the "Metric Board" was dismantled by Reagan, and there hasn't been any serious effort at metrication since the mid 1990s, when the U.S. DOT was planning to gradually convert the road system to metric until they were stopped by Congress. I support a gradual transition of all public institutions to metric; that includes roads, schools, and all other government services.
- Being the "most powerful & famous" country: It sounds good to say that, and there are a few perks (i.e. the US$ as the primary global reserve currency,) but all I see is hundreds of military bases worldwide and using our military as a global police. I'm a non-interventionist; let's engage the world economically, not militarily.
- Road system: The signage is good (aside from the lack of metric,) but road conditions vary DRAMATICALLY state by state. Our road system is very extensive, though.
- Low/no taxes: It depends. On one hand, our "low-ish tax" reputation gives us a slight edge economically over our developed allies; businesses love their low taxes, and so do the people. On the other hand, many of the perks they get (universal health care, free tertiary education, etc.) we don't have, mainly because we'd have to raise taxes to have that stuff, a proposition that is unpopular as hell in much of the country.
- Suburban life: I like parts of the "suburban" life: it's quiet, calm, peaceful...then there's the traffic congestion and lack of walkability. However, not all suburbs are like this, I just happen to live in a suburb that does.
- Healthcare: Again, it depends. We have very good doctors, nurses, and medical technology in this country, never mind the occasional slip up. However, we pay out the wazoo for it.
- Politics: No. I hate this about America the most: the political system. We're stuck in a two-party stranglehold, everyone who says "Congress sucks!" proceeds to go and re-elect the very same Congress, with few exceptions, apathy levels are sky high, our voting system locks third parties out of the loop, corporations are "people", politicians vote based on who lines their pockets...I could go on, but I'll leave it there. Sure, our country isn't a dictatorship, but for a republic, it could be better.
- Career/jobs: We've got a pretty good crop of jobs and careers here. Sure, there isn't much union labor in parts of the country (whether that's good or not depends on your political views,) and we don't get the same perks other countries have (4-week vacations standard, paid maternity leave, etc.), but there is a fairly good amount of economic opportunity here. Unless you're in a market with a fair amount of regulatory capture (such as telecommunications,) the sky's the limit.
- American sports: Pretty good. I wish soccer (association football) was more popular, though.
- Christian culture: I have no problems with Christian culture in and of itself. We have freedom of religion in this country (a plus,) and Christianity makes up a key part of society. That being said, I find the use of religious scripture and dogma to justify political power plays to be disgusting and unacceptable.
In general, the U.S. is a great country for many different reasons, but we also have to address its faults to make it even better.
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