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Nice to have an editor. Kind of like a personal art critic..."You know Oleg...that last one was nice- but this painting...well it does not talk to me" - You are correct my friend- sometime I toss so much crap against the wall that I know some of it will stick...It might be volume verses quality?
Getting a stream of consciousness going can lead to some great stuff- also- it can lead you right into the toilet.
Will make an effort to please next time- Looks like you guys are wise to pandering....
Exactly my point- Stereotyping....emotionalism mixed with sensationalism - posturing and empty bravdo...along with cheese ball rhetoric...is what gives America a bad name- This is all media driven..like I said...You need a new PR department..
The international pubic relations that America has stinks. What's wrong with presenting the nation for what it is...a huge land mass that has a whole spectrum of all sorts of inhabitants- the good- the bad- the rich- the poor- the beautiful and of course THE UGLY AMERICAN....OOOPS....I could not help being rhetorical- I guess it's just fun.
The difficulty is that media's job isn't PR, it is selling something that people want. People around teh world want "crazy", so company that develops media for profit will make crazy. How the US became the for profit media capital of the world, I don't know, but would be an interesting bit of research.
Looking at some of the earlier threads in this forum, lots of people (especially people who don't live in the U.S. or never been here) think it sucks living here, that we have low minimum wages, expensive or no health care, that the poor have it bad, lack of vacation, poor housing, etc.....
Probably for exactly the same reason that many U.S. participants on C-D constantly slag other nations around the world, even though they have never lived in these places or been there.
You seem to have missed the fact that these types are spread evenly around the world, and America is not a special victim of this kind of non-thinking on C-D forums.
As an American living in Europe, I would say that Europeans get a horrendous impression about the U.S. from media such as Fox News and the statements of U.S. conservative politicians who present a picture of an American nation in the sewer; when, as you point out, it most certainly is not. Thus, I think you need to reprove these sources for seriously misrepresenting the greatness of the U.S., which you have eloquently summarized.
You hit the nail on the head with this post. I can't rep you enough for it. Most people who've never been to America would be shocked to experience how different it actually is from what the popular media and news sell.
The funny thing is that a lot of people often don't admit they haven't been to America or haven't seen much of it to know what it's like.
I disagree. I don't think going on holiday somewhere and visiting all the tourist hotspots gives you a representative image of a country so I don't see why this is necessary in order to have an informed opinion about it. Most Americans have not been to every single region of their country either, they learn about it the same way I do so why should their opinion be more authoritative than mine?
I also think it's way too easy to dismiss any criticism of your country as "oh well, they just believe anything the media say". There are objective reasons to believe America is not the abolute #1 in everything and not everyone who points this out is jealous or brainwashed by the media.
- get married (maybe he will leave me),
- buy a house (maybe a tornado will blow it away)
- have kids (maybe one will kill me in my sleep)
There are no guarantees in life, but for the most part, past predicts future.
Not a good analogy. Oleg is right, the economic sphere has become so unstable, people can't even count on getting their social security checks, let alone work bonuses. I know someone who worked his way up to Manager at Wal-Mart, drawn to that by the big bonuses the managers get every year. But the year he finally made manager, the entire company nation-wide changed its profit-sharing structure, and the bonuses were radically down-sized (the company has been on shaky ground for years, but it manages to hide that from the public and its shareholders). So Oleg makes a valid point. Someone may work hard for a company, and in a few years find himself out of a job, 6 years away from collecting Social Security, at an age when no one will hire him.
I think we can safely say that people who dislike the US are definitely not jealous of it, especially if they're from Europe, they have no reason to be jealous.
There are PLENTY of cities, anywhere from large to small, that offers plenty of things to see and do. More than any other European/Asian cities. Have you been to NYC, Boston, LA, Chicago, SF and many many more big cities? They have excellent public transportation, very walkable and no need of any car at all!
Not all cities in Asia/Europe are that walkable either, and not all of them has public transportation. BTW many Americans hate using it anyway, and love having cars because we could afford them It's higher status and much better and more convinence to drive than taking the bus or train. Using public transportation outside of big US cities is only for the poor people in America.
America is unique and has it's charm of the suburbs, something that Europe/Asian almost lack off.
BTW I would NEVER ever want to live in Japan, an atheistic country that's extremely crowded on an isolated island that get hit by tsunamis frequently. The weather is bad too. Quality of life is not that great either, Japanese overwork along with high suicide rate!
You say that like it is a bad thing. The U.S. would be a much greater nation if it had that characteristic.
Nice to have an editor. Kind of like a personal art critic..."You know Oleg...that last one was nice- but this painting...well it does not talk to me" - You are correct my friend- sometime I toss so much crap against the wall that I know some of it will stick...It might be volume verses quality?
Getting a stream of consciousness going can lead to some great stuff- also- it can lead you right into the toilet.
Will make an effort to please next time- Looks like you guys are wise to pandering....
Yep, just wasn't feeling you there
During tough economic times, the rich keep a lot of contractors and retailers afloat through their spending. At least that's my experience and it is the experience of other people I know as well.
Well, it's probably true for you than. It depends on what a person likes.
For me, I like living near a million amenities that I can walk to. In the US, it costs an enormous amount of money or a compromise in safety to live in American cities.
I also like safe large cities, which are rare to come by in the States.
I also like paying much less for healthcare needs. My wife had a kid here in Japan, and 5-days of round-the-clock care, plus the birth, plus private room with nursing staff, only cost me $2,000. Probably would have charged me $50,000 for that in the U.S. So, I like having affordable healthcare.
I like drinking a beer with friends at the beach, but it's illegal in the U.S. I also like meeting people for a few drinks once in awhile. Can't do that in the U.S. as all the bars are places you generally have to drive to. Etc. I'd never drink-and-drive, so I wouldn't be able to socialize there, etc.
On and on and on...it's all relevant to what a person's situation in life is. Your life and priorities are probably different than mine, so maybe none of those things matter to you though.
Interesting point of view, but you seem to be basing your view of America off of a narrow viewpoint. I live around Chicago and I was thinking about your dislikes and applying them here...
-I feel safe walking around Chicago at night, although there are areas I don't go to, but that is my experience from around the world, too
-There are tons of activities/amenities that are accessible easily without a car (walking or El)
-Don't need to drive to access tons of bars here, but we don't drink on the beach, at least legally
-Housing in Chicago is mostly quite affordable, although there are definitely more expensive areas
-For my wife's second time giving birth she was in the hospital, in a private room, for at least 5 days, and the post-insurance cost was amazingly cheap. Yes, the full cost was probably close to your $50K number, but the insurance I pay for covered the vast majority of that.
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Hmmm, I don't see it. 
It's higher status and much better and more convinence to drive than taking the bus or train. Using public transportation outside of big US cities is only for the poor people in America.
