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I always imagine what outsiders think when they come here and see all the flags, we are used to it because we live here but if you pay attention one day and start counting how many flags you see while out and about you will be surprised.
If you ever come to the states i would suggest to not come around the 4th or July
I come to the states annually. I'm American. I saw the difference between when 2000 and post 9/11. There was never so many flags before then. EVERYWHERE. Every vehicle. I'm fine with flags on the 4th, but these massively gigantic flags on every damn pole is too much!
Because Americans can be very arrogant about it. Post 9/11 everybody went nuts for flags. On their cars, the xmas decorations on their homes, car dealerships with massive flags on every single pole, flags EVERYWHERE! I own an American flag. But this is just too much. It's patriotism ad nauseum.
You're kidding, right? Tell me, ever been in Brazil or Germany during a World Cup run? (hint - no, you haven't)
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ll the OTT cheering crowds when Bin Laden was killed was too much. Yeah, he deserved it and then some, but the rest of the world was disgusted by all that celebration over someone's death.
Again, WT? Outside of a few bits here & there, there were no "cheering crowds" or "celebrations" anywhere. Of course, the televised celebrations @ 9/12 from parts of the Eastern world didn't disturb your delicate sensibilities...
People go on like that here with the Union Jack. Its a bit annoying and false.
No idea, why anyone would do that. Like i'm proud to be Northern Irish but i'm not going on about it.
Not many Union Jacks in Scotland except on the flagpoles of English 'immigrants'. Scots do love their St. Andrews flag though and they are on many cars and on flagpoles. They aren't as massive as the ones you see in the US though.
I think it was 2007. But, um the prices haven't went up that much.
You can travel to PBI for £2,050 for 4 ADULTS. Last time we went it was 2 adults and 2 children.
Oh yes they have! They've gone up a lot since 2007. We travel 2 or 3 times a year - internationally.
For 2007 that price sounds about right. We used to fly to the US for £400, then £500, now £600-650.
But you are still talking about ££, not $$. It's a good deal for us to go the US, everything is cheaper with the exchange rate. It's the other way around for Americans visiting Europe.
Because Americans can be very arrogant about it. Post 9/11 everybody went nuts for flags. On their cars, the xmas decorations on their homes, car dealerships with massive flags on every single pole, flags EVERYWHERE! I own an American flag. But this is just too much. It's patriotism ad nauseum.
For pete's sake, we were at WAR. The war has dragged on now and as a people we are past ready for it to end, but in the year after three thousand civilians were attacked and killed, please excuse our expressions of love and loyalty for our country and fellow citizens.
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All the OTT cheering crowds when Bin Laden was killed was too much. Yeah, he deserved it and then some, but the rest of the world was disgusted by all that celebration over someone's death.
I never saw or met anyone who was any part of a cheering crowd that gathered to "celebrate" Bin Laden's death. I never heard a single person rejoicing over it for that matter, and at the time I worked in a very public job with lots of interaction with the general public. Surely you don't believe that a news clip of some isolated (and possibly staged) "celebration" on television represents the general attitude or demeanor of most of the American people!
I am an American and a "southern belle." I love my country and I love the region I live in.
I know full well that the United States isn't perfect. I've also traveled enough across this wide world to say with certainty that no perfect utopias or countries exist. We could throw stones back and forth at each other into infinity and every insult might be true - but it would also be a very incomplete picture.
I will never apologize for loving my country, and my home. I am eternally grateful to have been born in the United States, specifically the southern United States, though I love every inch of this country. I am so grateful for my openminded, well rounded and nurturing upbringing, and for the excellent health that I enjoy, thanks in part to the terrific healthcare that I've been blessed to receive throughout my fifty years, most of which was in the US. I am grateful for the education I received (and still receive), mostly in public schools - 10 of them in 12 years, across 6 southern states.
I am grateful for every sturdy, structurally sound home I've lived in - I've lost count at this point, because we're a military family and we've moved a lot. Some of them were humble and some of them were rather grand, but every one of them was clean and neat and pleasant.
I'm thankful for affordable housing that would be considered luxurious by most people in this world.
I'm thankful for local and state and federal infrastructure that helps keep my family safe, healthy, and comfortable.
I'm thankful for the healthcare I received when I was pregnant and when my kids were born, thanks to the US military healthcare system. My kids are all strappingly healthy and received an excellent public school education, and now as young adults they are all settling very nicely into careers and marriages, and having more healthy babies, even though two of the four are still so young that they don't have much money or many material goods. They have opportunity, education, and a good work ethic so I am sure they will continue to build their lives in a positive direction.
I'm grateful that I had the freedom and the financial means to have and raise four children, and that they how have the freedom and ability to choose their own family size.
I'm thankful for the beautiful, beautiful places I've lived and visited across this country - full of historical sites, interesting traditions, breathtaking natural scenery, friendly people, and great food.
I'm thankful for the variety of jobs I've held over my lifetime - and the great bosses and mentors that I've known over the years, as well as my coworkers, many of whom became good friends.
I'm thankful for terrific southern weather - and air conditioning when it's not so terrific (July, August, and September!). I'm grateful for instance for today - brisk weather, a deep blue sky, and fresh air and sunshine.
I'm grateful for all the various ethnicities that have combined to make my country so diverse, unique, interesting, and so chock full of overlapping cultures, traditions, and expressions of faith. Not to mention the wide variety of cuisines!
Let's talk about food - I'm grateful that I can walk into just about any grocery store in just about any town or city across the US and buy fresh vegetables, fresh meat, and fresh bread and dairy, and know that the goods are safe to consume, clean, and well packaged. I'm grateful that even in my small town, I have access to a wide range of ethnic food products, great cheeses, wines and beers from all over the world, and locally grown organic produce.
I'm grateful that I can worship as I please. I can leave my bible out on my nightstand or in my living room and not worry about who sees it. I can put up a "Christmas flag" on my front porch that has a religious theme. I can choose to go to church, or not go to church. I have literally hundreds of religious expressions to choose from (or reject) within 20 miles of my house.
I'm grateful that I have so many options when it comes to so many things - housing, vehicles, religion, food, schools, shopping, TV channels, sports events, art venues, vacations, you name it.
I know that some of these things are available in most places in the world, and that MOST of these things are available in SOME other places in the world - but I have it all right here and I know I am blessed.
I thank God every day for all His blessings for my family and for me -and that He placed us in the United States, in the 20th and 21st century. I show this gratitude by continuing to work to make my home, my town, my state, and my country an even better place for others - and for myself.
It's great to travel, and I often see things that other countries or cultures do better - and I use that information to try to make improvements in my own life, and in my country's culture and politics.
But I also know that in spite of it's flaws, the United States is a unique and fascinating country with much to offer it's citizens.
Oh yes they have! They've gone up a lot since 2007. We travel 2 or 3 times a year - internationally.
For 2007 that price sounds about right. We used to fly to the US for £400, then £500, now £600-650.
But you are still talking about ££, not $$. It's a good deal for us to go the US, everything is cheaper with the exchange rate. It's the other way around for Americans visiting Europe.
Yes, I agree with the exchange rate.
But prices have actually fallen because the Tax has been cut to £0 from belfast.
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