Do you like our American culture?
- Thread starter HighStickHarry
- Start date
Yes and no.
America is an amazing country with a lot to be proud of. The arts, the 'American spirit', the natural beauty of the land, the great diversity that somehow works, the freedom of expression, etc. etc. However, incessant violent crimes and the insane cost of healthcare is not something to like at all. No culture is perfect.
As for the people, it's case by case. I think most Americans are good people. But there are way too many people that have the attitude that they can do whatever they want regardless of how their actions affect others. People that bring toddlers into movie theaters, intentionally take up several parking spaces, use profanity in front of kids at public events, throw parties at 3am in hotel rooms knowing people around them are trying to sleep, etc. The 'it's a free country' line and 'I paid for my ticket' gives people the green light to impose their happiness onto others despite the irritation. But this is a very minor complaint.
One small observation, I find Americans complain about 'fairness' more than any other group of people I've been around by far. One interesting result of Equal Rights could be that we've created a citizenry of people that actually believe that true fairness exists. It's at the core of so many arguments.
- 'They hired that black guy for the fire department because he's black even though I had a higher score. That's not fair.'
- 'I'm sick of my tax dollars going towards starving kids in Africa when we have poor kids here. That's not fair.'
- 'I'm sick of my tax dollars going towards people on welfare/illegal immigrants when I work my butt off all day. That's not fair.'
- 'Why do they get 'Miss Black UCO' and BET? If we had 'Miss White UCO' and white entertainment TV, that would be racist. That's not fair'.
You wanna talk about fair? How bout that kid sleeping in a cardboard box in the mud outside Manila? How about those kids sleeping against the sewage pipes under the road in Ulanbator to keep warm in the winter? How about the folks working all day in the fields in Burma for maybe $3 a day? Hey buddy, you won the God-damned passport lottery at birth. LIFE AIN'T FAIR!
Sorry to go off on an irrelevant rant....but this is a pet peeve I have with some people in the States. Nice folks....but out of touch with the overall big picture.
America is an amazing country with a lot to be proud of. The arts, the 'American spirit', the natural beauty of the land, the great diversity that somehow works, the freedom of expression, etc. etc. However, incessant violent crimes and the insane cost of healthcare is not something to like at all. No culture is perfect.
As for the people, it's case by case. I think most Americans are good people. But there are way too many people that have the attitude that they can do whatever they want regardless of how their actions affect others. People that bring toddlers into movie theaters, intentionally take up several parking spaces, use profanity in front of kids at public events, throw parties at 3am in hotel rooms knowing people around them are trying to sleep, etc. The 'it's a free country' line and 'I paid for my ticket' gives people the green light to impose their happiness onto others despite the irritation. But this is a very minor complaint.
One small observation, I find Americans complain about 'fairness' more than any other group of people I've been around by far. One interesting result of Equal Rights could be that we've created a citizenry of people that actually believe that true fairness exists. It's at the core of so many arguments.
- 'They hired that black guy for the fire department because he's black even though I had a higher score. That's not fair.'
- 'I'm sick of my tax dollars going towards starving kids in Africa when we have poor kids here. That's not fair.'
- 'I'm sick of my tax dollars going towards people on welfare/illegal immigrants when I work my butt off all day. That's not fair.'
- 'Why do they get 'Miss Black UCO' and BET? If we had 'Miss White UCO' and white entertainment TV, that would be racist. That's not fair'.
You wanna talk about fair? How bout that kid sleeping in a cardboard box in the mud outside Manila? How about those kids sleeping against the sewage pipes under the road in Ulanbator to keep warm in the winter? How about the folks working all day in the fields in Burma for maybe $3 a day? Hey buddy, you won the God-damned passport lottery at birth. LIFE AIN'T FAIR!
Sorry to go off on an irrelevant rant....but this is a pet peeve I have with some people in the States. Nice folks....but out of touch with the overall big picture.
Interesting take Nippon with your four examples. I would guess that a vast majority of people would agree with your statement of being not-fair for the first three examples listed. And you know what, they would have a legitimate point.
I love the diversity of American culture, but I dislike that every group thinks their culture and beliefs should be the law.
This culture is the zenith of civilization. I would change some things, but it's still the best ever.
WTH? There's "fair" so much we don't even think about it. That's why unfairness sticks out.
Fairness and justice and opportunity overlap a great deal. Demanding and seeking fairness, that ideal that everybody oughta get their opportunity, is what makes us great. Entitled dukes and sociopaths don't get too whipped up about fairness. Other than that, who's against some equal opportunity and a level playing field? It's unfair that many people just aren't ever getting a shot at real opportunity and that's probably what offends me most about conservatives. They're more interested in protecting built-in entitlements and could care less about other people also getting their shot. Getting a shot is what makes this country different.
I think I'm beginning to see where some of your disconnects originate.
Which, then, sheds light on the motivation of your behavior on this board.
For the OP question....
I like pockets.
On the whole, people's consideration of others seems to have taken a hit. Or, maybe, I'm just more aware of inconsideration now.
I like pockets.
On the whole, people's consideration of others seems to have taken a hit. Or, maybe, I'm just more aware of inconsideration now.
That's some good trolling right there. It's a good thing you don't really think this way.
I figured you'd hate the idea of little guys getting the same opportunity as trust fund babies.
How so? What other politician in the history of the USA has received more money from investement bankers? The types of people who work so hard to make it so "unfair" to the little guys.
So does taking money from Goldman Sachs make it unfair for the little guys? How so?
Oh wow. The epitome of the liberal mind right there. As long as it benefits Democrats it's a great thing.
Do you liberals have any individual sand boxes you put your heads in or is it a giant collective one?
I agree, and they would have a point.
The point I was trying to make is that I don't hear foreigners - particularly third-world citizens - complaining about fairness like we do. The day they're born, they realize life isn't fair. This concept seems to not be part of the American experience. We live better than 98% of every person that has ever lived on this planet and we're complaining about some bad break we've gotten in life.
Our definition of "poor" is really messed up here. On,y country in the world where the supposedly "poor" have IPhones and are obese.
I'm curious as to why you think we dont have equal opportunity, sys?
I'm curious as to why you think we dont have equal opportunity, sys?
How true. I was in Walmart recently and a man showed me a clipboard with the logos for 8-10 different programs (food stamps, AFDC, WIC, etc.) listed on it. He said if I was receiving any one of these programs I could get a free cell phone.
I asked if I could get a free cell phone since I was already paying for those programs. Both he and the cashier (minorities) gave me "Go to Hell" looks.
I work on the "front lines" so to speak. The overwhelmingly majority of the "poor" here are "poor" due to their own life decisions, namely drug usage. I saw a breakdown of benefits available to these folks (section 8, food stamps, welfare, subsidized day care) and the yearly value of these entitlements was over $40,000. And yet the Democrats, I mean quasi-Marxists, want to give more money away. Total madness.
You're not telling me anything new. One of my companies is a vendor to Sec 8 housing. It's amazing the waste, fraud and abuse those people get away with. The biggest problem is all these programs can be applied for online via the honor system. Once approved, there is no verification of eligibility or change in economic status. Once on the programs there is no mechanism to remove anyone.
Just out of curiosity I went online for the Lone Star Card (food stamps) and made up stuff to see how much I could get. In the entire application there was nothing mentioned about showing proof of income (or lack thereof). All I had to do was click ENTER and I could be on the tit too.
Lots of wisdom here. Screw the poor, as usual.
@BIGOSUFAN what do you do? I'd live to see the breakdown of the $40k.
We're the kids drug abusers too? You didn't segregate them out in your broadside. Just wondering if you demonize poor kids too or only their parents and whether you only bitch or actually have a proposal.
@BIGOSUFAN what do you do? I'd live to see the breakdown of the $40k.
We're the kids drug abusers too? You didn't segregate them out in your broadside. Just wondering if you demonize poor kids too or only their parents and whether you only bitch or actually have a proposal.
PS. @BIGOSUFAN ive seen you rip people for getting something for nothing on here quite a bit.
Incidentally were you brought up poor? Tell me how the kids of these lazy, poor drug abusers have equal opportunity and then I'll answer your question.
Incidentally were you brought up poor? Tell me how the kids of these lazy, poor drug abusers have equal opportunity and then I'll answer your question.
Do you acknowledge that fraud and blatant misuse is rampant in the welfare system?
Define "welfare" please. What is welfare?
For the sake of argument, sure, like in our military, road construction system, electrical generation system, air traffic control, social security, medicare, space exploration, ag subsidies.... the computers alone that they buy and leave mothballed at Tinker AFB just because it's in the budget is insane. That's one little tiny example.
My question is why does it keep conservatives up at night but other "waste" just generates a collective yawn?
You must have been the shit playing Frogger. You tried hard not to, but you did answer my question.
You know the reason Dems don't like the thought of clamping down on professional welfare recipients. They make up a decent percentage of the votes. The low information single issue voter is the spine of the Democratic Party and they have to be kept on the tit by any means possible to keep them coming to the polls. You know it's true. You're just not honest enough to admit it.
Rush isn't hear to think for you -- the other side also gets to make points and shift narratives outside of what you've heard, and sometimes they bring up facts that aren't worldview dependent -- they're just facts. At least, that's how it works outside of the right wing helmet. Most democrats dislike welfare dependency as much as you do. They just focus on real life solutions instead of bitching and getting livid about it. I still haven't heard a real world solution from you, fwiw.
I didn't avoid your question, I asked for clarification and then answered it to avoid you whining that your question wasn't answered. Again, what specifically is the "welfare" that you're referring to? This is obviously a big issue to you, I'm assuming you can identify the specific programs you find so objectionable.
A whole lot of drivel with no substance. Why I expected more I have no idea.
You know exactly what I'm talking about. Your allegiance to party above all is very apparent. Not once did I mention anything about welfare dependence. I posted about fraud and misuse of welfare. I'm not at all surprised that you refuse to answer yet another simple question. Being intentionally obtuse is your thing to keep from acknowledging certain facts. I get it now. Good day.
Sounds like you've really thought it out. I'm sorry for taking tou off Rush and Hannity's script.
You'd think eventually you'd inform yourself about the topic you're so passionate about.
Oooooooo, burn? You'd think eventually you would step outside of the usual liberal "blame Bush, blame Fox News, blame Limbaugh" liberal talking points and actually post something substantive.
It's really OK to think outside of the liberal box. Maybe you'll figure that out when you gain some maturity.
@syskatine All 50 states have an agency called child protective services which will rescue and remove kids from the home if the parents use drugs. Do these kids have it harder in life than say a kid from Baltimore prep who attends St. Paul's and has a trust fund kick in at age 18? Yes, absolutely. Do these kids have every opportunity in life to make it big here in America? Yes, absolutely. Upward mobility is very possible here. It's not possible in much of the world.
This video was used by the Omaha PD as a training example of how poverty is generational. Giving the feral animals in this video (apologies to animals, as they provide for their offspring) more entitlements is not going to change anything. Thankfully the child was quickly removed from the home after this video went viral.
And yes, I was brought up "poor" by our standards.
This video was used by the Omaha PD as a training example of how poverty is generational. Giving the feral animals in this video (apologies to animals, as they provide for their offspring) more entitlements is not going to change anything. Thankfully the child was quickly removed from the home after this video went viral.
And yes, I was brought up "poor" by our standards.
One of the main cultures that takes away any shot at improving yourself is the inner city one. Poor schools, no dads, gangs, disproportionate drugs, violence and when they do need help they get a public defender lawyer who is just juicing time for one more degenerate in his mind. It's white, black and Latino inner city neighborhoods that have developed a culture of screwing themselves and now they want less police presence in top of that. There have been poor people since we came out of the trees but the inner city culture today stands out as the most self defeating to me.
