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Austinsmom and bob the builder take criticism as "hating America," apparently.
WE'RE CRITICIZING because we LOVE this country. We want improvement.
I grounded my son once. He asked "why do you hate me?" He could get away with that because he was only 7.
There is a difference between criticism and hatred. If one says he wants to leave the US and move to Canada because of an election result, that indicates more than just criticism. And if he says it and doesn't do it, then it says even more about that person.
If you say I hate you son. I hate the way you don't listen to me. I hate your friends. I think your stupid. I hate the way you cost me money. I think you are evil. All you want is money. I hate you so much that I'm going to leave you. That is plain hatred. That is not criticism. I know the difference.
Does your son still ask if you hate him?
Last edited by Bob The Builder; 02-16-2008 at 12:27 AM..
If the US is so bad, why does it seem like everyone wants to come here???? If other countries are so damn good, go there, please! This is why America is falling to pieces.
The problem is we have way too many "sheepified" people running around in this country.
Usual respone from a "sheep", "If you don't like it, leave!" which totally bypasses any acknowedgement of countries problems. I now know why this country is soooo divided.
America is falling to pieces because people are just way too comfortable in this country. Everyone is in a cocoon of comfort from reality. I guess everyone is waiting for Jesus to return and do nothing in the meantime.
The problem is we have way too many "sheepified" people running around in this country.
Usual respone from a "sheep", "If you don't like it, leave!" which totally bypasses any acknowedgement of countries problems. I now know why this country is soooo divided.
America is falling to pieces because people are just way too comfortable in this country. Everyone is in a cocoon of comfort from reality. I guess everyone is waiting for Jesus to return and do nothing in the meantime.
UGH yes! The "love it or leave it" thing: frankly I find it juvenile. It's just a form of "I don't have to listen to you: you're a 'them.'"
Kudos to BGF.
Bob the Builder: you had me until the last sentence in your post.
I'm still looking for a list of magical freedoms that only exist in the USA.
I want to know why people think that it's the best country in the world if they've experienced nothing else.
I'm not really being facetious, I'm interested in what they might be. I've lived all over the northern hemisphere, on several continents and in several more cultures. I don't see what the US have over any of them.
I'm still looking for a list of magical freedoms that only exist in the USA.
I want to know why people think that it's the best country in the world if they've experienced nothing else.
I'm not really being facetious, I'm interested in what they might be. I've lived all over the northern hemisphere, on several continents and in several more cultures. I don't see what the US have over any of them.
Chielgirl
Perhaps 20 years ago it was different. I don't know if there are ANY significant freedoms the US has over most other countries. I do think that since the fall of the Soviet Union, there has been a lot of New Freedoms in other countries.
I was in Moscow in 1984 and 1991. Big difference. For the ordinary guy, who is not a journalist anti Putin, I'm am very sure things have gotten much more free. In 83, you did not J Walk because there would be a guy here watching you. As a tourist, you are required to stay only at Government otels and eat only at Government restaurants. Oh, yu also got to pay 100 times what the Russians were paying for the same thing. In 91, it was the wild west. These were Government imposed restrictions on freedom.
I was in China in 83, 87, 89, 91 and 2000. In 1983, there were restricted areas where white people could not go on public transport. Chinese citizens could not get into the big hotels. These were Government imposed restrictions on freedom.
On the flip side, the US has gotten a bit less free. Not necessarily the hate Bush/Cheney/Republican Fascist stuff, but the "gotta paint your house this color, gotta drive this car, gotta go to this school, gotta wear this, gotta have that, gotta think what I think or you are ignorant" freedom. It is not a government restricted freedom, but a societal restricted freedom.
I just got off the phone with a friend of mine in Minnesota. He is an insurance executive from Venezuela and I met him here in Italy when he brought his family here to live for 5 months several years ago. His wife and kids insisted they move to the US so he went kicking and scratching. He said it took him a year to get used to how everyone insists he buy a BMW and have an uncomfortably large mortgage.
The problem is we have way too many "sheepified" people running around in this country.
Usual respone from a "sheep", "If you don't like it, leave!" which totally bypasses any acknowedgement of countries problems. I now know why this country is soooo divided.
America is falling to pieces because people are just way too comfortable in this country. Everyone is in a cocoon of comfort from reality. I guess everyone is waiting for Jesus to return and do nothing in the meantime.
had 2 wait before giving you another +.
The perspective- God will take care of it- maybe he will pay for the foreclosures as well??? Bush and Rove preyed on this type of denial. I see people in the south driving 40k trucks to mediocre jobs where they make less than 25k a year (I am their boss-lol) It's sad, really. Now they cant afford gas to get to work.
Bob, a lot of people are talking about these magical freedoms NOW, not 20 (more like 30-40) years ago.
I just don't see it, and they don't respond as to what these magical freedoms might be.
I have. I would have loved to move to Italy. Work to live rather than live to work.
Yeah, and they're not that good at working. LOL.
I have a dual citizenship (I think) with a Western European country by way of my parents. This now entitles me to be a citizen of the EU. That being said, if I didn't have to work, I would like to live in Portugal.
However, that's a dream and not very practical, so I don't pursue it. I think we should be happy to be living in the U.S., despite the problems we have.
Bob, a lot of people are talking about these magical freedoms NOW, not 20 (more like 30-40) years ago.
I just don't see it, and they don't respond as to what these magical freedoms might be.
Chielgirl
Perhaps it is just hard to put your finger on it. Like I said, perhaps the "magical" freedom is not government enacted, but maybe socially encouraged. It is the magical freedom that let the US create Google. It is the entrepreneurial risk taking.
The US has this "MYSTIQUE". At least that was what I was told and asked about by this very lovely Aussie I ran into in Istanbul back in 2001. Magical?
The British, according to a BBC segment I saw, are more willing to trust a person with an American accent than any other(including their own). Magical?
The US, being a relatively young nation, does not have 2000 years of someone saying XXXX cannot be done. This leads to FREEDOM to try things. Other countries tried to overcome that handicap with horrible results (Cultural evolution) in its drive toward the future. Magical?
But as the US ages and the world flattens, this magical freedom/ Cultural advantage gap will get smaller.
Last edited by Bob The Builder; 02-18-2008 at 01:35 AM..
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Bush and Rove preyed on this type of denial. I see people in the south driving 40k trucks to mediocre jobs where they make less than 25k a year (I am their boss-lol) It's sad, really. Now they cant afford gas to get to work.
