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the nation should be doing infrastructure repair inc public education, health, transportation, job development, and citizenship. its not. it creating a bunch of war debt right now i think this part, war debt, will come to an end soon.
as to me personally, i am doing great, early retirement, never thought it would get this good. i thought last year they would carry me out dead on a gurney b4 i retired. did not happen. however -----
so i am all set to be carried for the next 30 years right?, but if the horse dies, that will affect my plans of riding it, won't it? so i am as concerned as you are.
thanks for the good post you got rep.
Before everyone goes off opining that the USA is past its prime: maybe what we need to do is read some vintage news stories about how we felt during the Great Depression.
That was a very nasty era for most Americans aside from the ultra rich.
American society like others and all before it are cyclical in nature. Like the changing from day and night or the seasons. How good or bad the times look depends a great deal on where you are on the waxing or the wane.
Quote:
Originally Posted by lionking
this is true economically.Spiritually America seems in decline and I don't just mean religious spirit but the overall American spirit of ruggedness,individualism,and moral respect for each other.
I suspect people who are spiritually devout that it would not matter if they are the only person left in the world, their faith would still hold firm. Hence the whole nature of faith.
As to the rest, I might be able to give a basic summary. Vast collective consumerism where individuality loses out to the Jones's across the street. People may say otherwise but look at how and what they invest their time and money in literally.
Location: Sitting on a bar stool. Guinness in hand.
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Depends on where your at.
Quote:
Originally Posted by junkman18
Listening to some old Christmas music tonight (Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, etc) it hit me that America is beyond its prime and is on the decline. We are not mom and pop, apple pie, baseball, good ole America anymore. We are now sterile politically correct, strip mall, cookie cutter home, and corporation America. Whatever once made the United States unique is now dead.
Take this as an example. Remember when Christmas time was "Christmas season" and not "Holiday season"? When we had Christmas plays and such at schools and it had nothing to do with religion, just a great time of year with a great holiday. Now we cannot even have a Christmas tree in a tax dollar paid building as it may offend someone? I am not Christian, but I miss the Christmas Season!!!
Look I'm about 15 mins outside of NYC as of current. And Yeah your right about it being cookie cutter here. Actually you could put label on a lot places in this country. But there is still some place in this country where is not by your words "We are not mom and pop, apple pie, baseball, good ole America anymore." I have visited some places in my birth state (always my home state) Massachusetts that still have some of that old tyme feeling. (I know. I know. The bastion of pinko commie leftist thought and way of life)This is especially true on some of the towns on cape and out in western mass. There are still some mom and pop stores and kids play baseball in the spring/summer, And you want to talk about houses that have character. Alot of them were built way before the turn of the century.
Also I have see these places in Vermont, Maine, Michigan, Texas, Florida, Maryland, and Virginia. So don't threat America as you remember it is still out there. You just have to get in you car and drive and drive and drive. Eventually you find good old America alive and kicking.
As with the Christmas season.
Look an agnostic/atheist (I fluctuate between the two.)
And I love Christmas time as well. And though I take measure to whom I say merry Xmas to because I live in a area that very multicultural area. I still do say it and a lot of people say it me. As for you not being able to put of a tree well look it just the times we live in. If if bothers you enough put one up at home Christian or not. Actually the whole tree came out of Scandinavian ritual. They cut down a tree and put it in there home to celebrate life in the cold dark days of winter. (believe it was a history channel program that I saw it on.) So actually put up a tree in you home to and celebrate life.
Also Xmas is really (at least to me) being around loves one for a day and enjoying each other company. The greatest gift all I guess not matter what religion or not you prescribe to.
Oh on last thing junkman18 and I know it a little early and though your not a Christian. But.........................MERRY CHRISTMAS BROTHER!!!!!!!!!
Last edited by baystater; 12-01-2007 at 05:24 PM..
Look I'm about 15 mins outside of NYC as of current. And Yeah your right about it being cookie cutter here. Actually you could put label on a lot places in this country. But there is still some place in this country where is not by your words "We are not mom and pop, apple pie, baseball, good ole America anymore." I have visited some places in my birth state (always my home state) Massachusetts that still have some of that old tyme feeling. (I know. I know. The bastion of pinko commie leftist thought and way of life)This is especially true on some of the towns on cape and out in western mass. There are still some mom and pop stores and kids play baseball in the spring/summer, And you want to talk about houses that have character. Alot of them were built way before the turn of the century.
Also I have see these places in Vermont, Maine, Michigan, Texas, Florida, Maryland, and Virginia. So don't threat America as you remember it is still out there. You just have to get in you car and drive and drive and drive. Eventually you find good old America alive and kicking.
As with the Christmas season.
Look an agnostic/atheist (I fluctuate between the two.)
And I love Christmas time as well. And though I take measure to whom I say merry Xmas to because I live in a area that very multicultural area. I still do say it and a lot of people say it me. As for you not being able to put of a tree well look it just the times we live in. If if bothers you enough put one up at home Christian or not. Actually the whole tree came out of Scandinavian ritual. They cut down a tree and put it in there home to celebrate life in the cold dark days of winter. (believe it was a history channel program that I saw it on.) So actually put up a tree in you home to and celebrate life.
Also Xmas is really (at least to me) being around loves one for a day and enjoying each other company. The greatest gift all I guess not matter what religion or not you prescribe to.
Oh on last thing junkman18 and I know it a little early and though your not a Christian. But.........................MERRY CHRISTMAS BROTHER!!!!!!!!!
And a BIG MERRY CHRISTMAS to you to.. And a happy new year..
Listening to some old Christmas music tonight (Bing Crosby, Dean Martin, etc) it hit me that America is beyond its prime and is on the decline. We are not mom and pop, apple pie, baseball, good ole America anymore. We are now sterile politically correct, strip mall, cookie cutter home, and corporation America. Whatever once made the United States unique is now dead.
Your observations are astute. If we go back to having more mom & pop operated businesses, less middle-class squeeze, less outsourcing and h1b visa granting, bring back manufacturing onshore, balanced budgeting by fed, state & local governments, immigration reform, and in general more focus upon the issues that the US has vs those of other nations... well I think we would see a major revival. I believe the heart of America still beats strongly and all we're missing are the liberties we all once had, government acting responsibly, and signs that all is not going to hell in a hand-basket.
Merry Christmas to both of you guys........this coming from a Unitarian Witch.
To me; Christmas is for everybody of all faiths
Christmas as a commercialized holiday of gift-giving and cheer is a holiday for all to celebrate and enjoy. I just don't like the religious nuts that shove the religious form of Christmas down the throats of everyone - and demonize people like ourselves.
Oh, and a humorous note about cookie cutter houses. My dad lives in a development. A silly little townhouse (I personally can't stand them!). I went over to my friend Elijah's house which is on the other side of the city. Same exact style as the one next to my dad's. Everything from the outside to the layout was the exact same. Same square footage.
I was like
America is not past its prime, IMHO. It's just been hijacked, hopefully only temporarily. When our politicians start actually doing things to help out the average Joe instead of just his lobbyists is when we'll see change happen.
However, it's taken quite a while to reach these sad state of affairs. Any changes in the government are not going to change things tomorrow. Change takes time. There is no easy fix for what decades of mis-management and CRAP have done to this nation.
Your observations are astute. If we go back to having more mom & pop operated businesses, less middle-class squeeze, less outsourcing and h1b visa granting, bring back manufacturing onshore, balanced budgeting by fed, state & local governments, immigration reform, and in general more focus upon the issues that the US has vs those of other nations... well I think we would see a major revival. I believe the heart of America still beats strongly and all we're missing are the liberties we all once had, government acting responsibly, and signs that all is not going to hell in a hand-basket.
I agree, and hope that we as a nation can actually hang in there, get some more good blue-collar jobs, less money to foreign companies/countries, be more resourceful with our resources, protect that which is within our beautiful borders, while getting the government to let us have more freedoms and less oversight. Its like, how many toys, etc this Christmas season will have 'made in China' labels? There really needs to be more stuff made here in the USA - money stays then w/in our borders, and Americans need the income - to me that is a big key.
the nation should be doing infrastructure repair inc public education, health, transportation, job development, and citizenship..
I agree. I wouldn't use Christmas as an example of how people get anything wrong, if anything the commercialization of Christmas is just getting worse, it woud do the country alot of good if we got a little less Christmas.
The main reason I'd say the US is on the decline is we have gone from a nation of producers to a nation of consumers. Over the long term that is not sustainable and results in negative worth (liabilities outweigh assets). It also leads to an erosion of the middle class here, where low-skilled but high paying jobs flee. America at its greatest from the turn of the last century to the 1970's produced an unprecedented array of scientific discoveries and new consumer goods, and lead the way in culture and entertainment. Today, what are we creating that is new? Aside from a few tech companies, not much.
The U.S. is changing for the worse in a lot of areas. Just yesterday the news was showing people in congress, and I swear, they look like total wimps and dorks. And to think they make decisions for this country. What we need is a president with a strong mind, who doesn't take crap from foreigners, and doesn't ship all of our jobs to foreign countries.
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Depends on where your at.
There really needs to be more stuff made here in the USA - money stays then w/in our borders, and Americans need the income - to me that is a big key.
