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I don't think so. What would it be?
To me the US is one big illusion. Politically, the US is considered a flawed democracy by the renowned Economist magazine. Culturally (music, movies etc.) the US is also a shadow of what it used to be. Not to mention the gun and violence culture, the hateful society, racism, rampant inequality, etc.
There is nothing to emulate, nothing that could serve as an example for other countries, except for those that are even worse, but frankly there are better examples for those to follow.
Have you ever been to the US? Europe, especially France, the UK, Germany and Italy, are infinitely more racist cultures than the US. Europeans talk a good game about tolerance, but it's a load of horse dung. In their hearts, they truly imagine themselves to be superior.
Location: New Albany, Indiana (Greater Louisville)
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Quote:
Originally Posted by ABQConvict
Have you checked out life expectancy, infant mortality, personal debt, and our atrocious social mobility which just 30 years ago was the best in the word but now lags behind every other developed nation in the world?
We do have a s- ton of money in this country. but only one in a hundred come anywhere close to enjoying the fruits of that awsome stock market.
I love this country, but it is really squandering its potential to the detriment of the common working man and woman.
It's shocking to see so many rural and inner city American places with life expectancy comparable to the poorest nations in the world. Exclude infant mortality and it's nearing sub Saharan African levels in places like Appalachia. I really think immigration might prevent the USA from total collapse. Immigrants generally have better work ethic, in tact families, and healthier diets than most Americans. When's the last time you saw an Asian or Hispanic person in a homeless camp?
Nowadays, the people working menial jobs in the United States are largely unskilled immigrants from 3rd world countries who came here in the last 30 years or their children. This is especially true in the larger metropolitan areas.
You will not find that many people whose families have been in the United states more than 2 generations doing menial jobs in large metropolitan areas. They have moved up into the middle class or higher pretty much across the board with few exceptions.
That may be true in major metro areas, but in most small towns I have been to in PA, MD, DE, including the one I live in, at least 95% of those menial job workers have been in the USA for many, many generations.
Have you ever been to the US? Europe, especially France, the UK, Germany and Italy, are infinitely more racist cultures than the US. Europeans talk a good game about tolerance, but it's a load of horse dung. In their hearts, they truly imagine themselves to be superior.
No they are not. London is a very open city to everyone and has been for a very long time. Europeans talk tolerance because at the end of the day they are generally so. At least in cities. Of course racism exits, but many countries are not exposed to the racial diversity as The States is. Why large numbers of Americans are racist is more the point, coming from a nation of long ingrained diversity.
I'm sure Europeans do regard themselves as some what superior. Why does that surprise you?
Have you ever been to the US? Europe, especially France, the UK, Germany and Italy, are infinitely more racist cultures than the US. Europeans talk a good game about tolerance, but it's a load of horse dung. In their hearts, they truly imagine themselves to be superior.
Here in the UK we are not nearly as 'race obsessed' as the US, not saying that racism doesn't exist it just doesn't feature in everything as much, black people in the UK don't refer to themselves as 'African Englishans', English people with Italian ancestry don't consider themselves 'Italian' and Latino isn't considered as a 'race'.
I don't think so. What would it be?
To me the US is one big illusion. Politically, the US is considered a flawed democracy by the renowned Economist magazine. Culturally (music, movies etc.) the US is also a shadow of what it used to be. Not to mention the gun and violence culture, the hateful society, racism, rampant inequality, etc.
There is nothing to emulate, nothing that could serve as an example for other countries, except for those that are even worse, but frankly there are better examples for those to follow.
I was going to disagree with you until I read this post. Music-wise, the US hasn't really innovated since the 90's. Even our movies and TV shows have gotten to a point that we're now just remaking old classics with few new original ideas.
Here in the UK we are not nearly as 'race obsessed' as the US, not saying that racism doesn't exist it just doesn't feature in everything as much, black people in the UK don't refer to themselves as 'African Englishans', English people with Italian ancestry don't consider themselves 'Italian' and Latino isn't considered as a 'race'.
LOL To back up what you're saying, when you speak to someone from the UK, you cannot tell what race they are by simply hearing them. In the US many people can be identified by voice alone. Of course, not always but if a person is like me, Black who speaks standard English, we are frequently told that we "sound white". It's the oddest thing to me.
LOL To back up what you're saying, when you speak to someone from the UK, you cannot tell what race they are by simply hearing them. In the US many people can be identified by voice alone. Of course, not always but if a person is like me, Black who speaks standard English, we are frequently told that we "sound white". It's the oddest thing to me.
Yes, I think many black Americans like to separate themselves from whites by the way they pronounce words. I am not even a native speaker, but I can usually tell whether an American is black or not just by listening to them. And I am not sure they are doing themselves a favor with that diverging pronunciation. Even to me it sounds negative and exaggerated in a way. Maybe it is the same with white Americans.
Here in Portugal it is different. Those blacks that have ancestors from former African colonies (and that was just a view decades ago, not centuries like with many African-Americans in the US) but grow up in Portugal, they speak just like white Portuguese.
Yes, I think many black Americans like to separate themselves from whites by the way they pronounce words. I am not even a native speaker, but I can usually tell whether an American is black or not just by listening to them. And I am not sure they are doing themselves a favor with that diverging pronunciation. Even to me it sounds negative and exaggerated in a way. Maybe it is the same with white Americans.
Here in Portugal it is different. Those blacks that have ancestors from former African colonies (and that was just a view decades ago, not centuries like with many African-Americans in the US) but grow up in Portugal, they speak just like white Portuguese.
I think it's like that pretty much everywhere else. Here in Southern California, you can tell Blacks, Whites, Blacks, Latinos, and even Asians at times just by listening to them. I think it's an American thing.
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