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Despite being an American, I honestly have a hard time thinking of a single positive thing about the U.S. Just compared with European countries, we have:
No universal health care
Lower levels of educational attainment (i.e., lower average test scores, especially in science and math)
Minimal support for people in need (much smaller social safety net)
Limited (if any) knowledge of what goes on outside our country
Limited knowledge of what goes on inside our country
Abandoned most of our cities
Built new housing in the form of endless sprawl
exploited and dominated other countries for our own gain
etc.
The list could go on endlessly where we fall behind every other industrialized nation on earth. I'm not talking about our history, but our present. Is there anything positive about the U.S. currently?
Positive for ALL people that live here : Maybe certain freedoms and opportunities AS COMPARED to the majority of other countries.
Positive for ME personally given where im at in life : My family lives nearby , I can afford to be semi-retired by making some lifestyle and financial adjustements , have made a couple of great Friends, I dont have to pay any Income Tax since i dont make enough , and I enjoy going to a new U.S. destination each year via a small RV . Despite the things you listed in your original post, Id have to say that America is still the best for me personally but i really havent considered any other Countries for permanent residency. Maybe I should in case the bottom falls out of America in full. (?)
From a European (Dutch) perspective, there are many positive things about the US:
Nature & Climate: The US has a great diversity of landscapes and climates, probably more than any other country in the world. No matter what your preference is, you are likely to find it in the US! Also, it is far less densely populated and crowded than Europe.
Multicultural society: The US is a genuine "melting pot" of many different cultures, which makes it a very interesting country. It is probably much easier to integrate into American society compared to most European societies.
Cuisine: America is not really recognized for its cuisine but I do love some of the "typical" American food, like muffins, doughnuts, milkshakes, brownies, chocolate cookies, popcorn, etc. Also, McDonalds is my guilty pleasure
Entertainment: Some of the best music and movies come from US! Granted, there's a lot of rubbish too but the good outweighs the bad imo, especially from a historical perspective. I love Stevie Wonder, Michael Jackson, Prince, etc. and they have one thing in common Besides, most of the crappy music that's out today is similar to 1990s Europop/Eurodance and is made by Scandinavian producers, so we Europeans carry some blame for that too.
Barack Obama: I don't care what anyone says, I love that man! He's a much cooler politician than we ever had in my country, lol. This is our former PM:
As a Canadian I am well aware of the many faults of the US. As the saying goes, Canada has 3 national pastimes...........1} Bitching about the Amercians 2} Bitching about the weather and 3} Bitching about the Americans.
That said I get very tired about attitudes towards the US. For all it's faults it's a great nation, a free cosmopolitan society, increibly beautiful country and so are many of it's cities. I have always found Americans very, very welcoming and friendly.
I get tired of absolutly everything wrong on this planet always being blamed on the Americans. Nobody seems to like the Americans until there is a catasropy or political situation and the world's says "someone should do something about it". The word "someone" also means Americans but then they are at the same time lambasted for meddling in other nation's affairs.
The US has many faults and I can honestly say I would not want to live there but it is still a great nation, with warm, welcoming people, and deserves more respect than it gets and certainly a lot less scorn.
As a Canadian I am well aware of the many faults of the US. As the saying goes, Canada has 3 national pastimes...........1} Bitching about the Amercians 2} Bitching about the weather and 3} Bitching about the Americans.
That said I get very tired about attitudes towards the US. For all it's faults it's a great nation, a free cosmopolitan society, increibly beautiful country and so are many of it's cities. I have always found Americans very, very welcoming and friendly.
I get tired of absolutly everything wrong on this planet always being blamed on the Americans. Nobody seems to like the Americans until there is a catasropy or political situation and the world's says "someone should do something about it". The word "someone" also means Americans but then they are at the same time lambasted for meddling in other nation's affairs.
The US has many faults and I can honestly say I would not want to live there but it is still a great nation, with warm, welcoming people, and deserves more respect than it gets and certainly a lot less scorn.
Thank you for this post. I am an American and I do not see my country or any other country, for that matter, with blinders on. But, I do know this is a great country, among many, and I just wish people that can find nothing to be proud of about America, would stop reaping the benefits and go away or work to change the perceived ills.......my gosh ! people are pouring across the borders daily, illegal aliens now number better than 20,000,000.....legal immigrates are begging to get in....something must be good. So, to the OP, shutup already.
As a teacher I use the "judge" shows to illustrate how civil cases work. Are they sometimes strange, hilarious, etc.? Yes. When one of the judges explains how US civil procedure works are they educational? Yes.
A suggestion to the OP: visit China someday. Deal with their government. Check out the environmental quality. Try going off the beaten path and exploring freely. For that matter, just try something as simple as logging onto the internet and Googling the words "freedom", "Tibet", or "Taiwan."
You want a country about which it is difficult to find anything positive? Try the PRC. You'll beg to come back to Uncle Sammy and all his warts...
I have often thought how restrained America is in the use of it's
military power. A lot of people complain around the world about this power and how it's
used. My answer is what do people think would happen if a country like North Korea for
example had this amount of military power? It does'nt bear thinking about.
Last edited by TheViking85; 08-17-2011 at 10:18 AM..
Reason: Edit due to previous post delete.
I have often thought how restrained America is in the use of it's
military power. A lot of people complain around the world about this power and how it's
used. My answer is what do people think would happen if a country like North Korea for
example had this amount of military power? It does'nt bear thinking about.
So true, so true. If the coming century is really going to witness the ascendancy of China, the world is in for one helluva rude surprise. Big bad America will seem like Goldilocks compared to the amoral appetites of the Middle Kingdom, whose foreign policy seems to consist of little more than the worst excesses of 19th century mercantilism combined with settling old scores from grudges lovingly nursed by a paranoid and geriatric leadership of unelected apparatchiks.
Hello, world. China is coming. And she's gonna eat you raw.
So true, so true. If the coming century is really going to witness the ascendancy of China, the world is in for one helluva rude surprise. Big bad America will seem like Goldilocks compared to the amoral appetites of the Middle Kingdom, whose foreign policy seems to consist of little more than the worst excesses of 19th century mercantilism combined with settling old scores from grudges lovingly nursed by a paranoid and geriatric leadership of unelected apparatchiks.
Hello, world. China is coming. And she's gonna eat you raw.
One thing my father told me back in the 50s when America was worried about The Soviet Union......
"Don't worry about the Soviet Union. What we need to keep an eye on is China." Dad was right.
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Besides, most of the crappy music that's out today is similar to 1990s Europop/Eurodance and is made by Scandinavian producers, so we Europeans carry some blame for that too. 
