Is America really that bad?

Question

My theory...

Britain is a whole lot more pro-American than the media portrays it. Oh sure, they may not be fully, wholly on board with the war in Iraq, but, fundamentally, we are still friends and allies.

But of course you can prove me wrong....

Answer 1

I speak to people in the UK every day. I love people from the UK and anyone I talk to likes Americans. We have a lot in common.

Answer 2

The same old same old, with this question, US citizens are so pumped with football cheer-leader style propaganda that they take any criticism of their country as a personal assault on each individual Yank ! One can dislike, even intensely so, the manner and style of the government of a country without hating the people.

I first visited the US in 1964 ( I'm a Brit ) and thought that I had died and gone to heaven. I have spent much time there since, including living in Florida for five years in the 90's. Sad to say much has gone the dogs since the 60's, the food is garbage, chemicals and bio-hazards in everything, so much so that one wonders if it can really be just coincidence. That old saw 'Freedom' has become a joke, " You;re either with us or you're against us " ! What B*llsh#*t, There is no finer police state in the world, and as for 'foreign policy', how many Yanks realise that their leaders have invaded over 50 countries since the end of WW II ???!!!???

The thing is this, US citizens individually are still some of the finest people in the world, generous, caring, romantic, and imaginative. Their governments suck....BIG TIME !

Living in the USA one can easily forget that there is any more to the world than the good old US of A, but in reality Yanks only amount to 5 % of the total world population, that's a really tiny minority, maybe that should be remembered a little more ?

Answer 3

There's nothing to really prove Chris, after all a good chunk of Americans are Anglo-Saxons.
Most of the people criticize America for the war in Iraq and I ask you, what if the Afghan and Iraqi wars would not have taken place, what would Afghanistan be like under the Taliban rule and what would Iraq be like under Saddam's rule, and under what pressure would the neighboring countries be? America was called to intervene in Serbia and with NATO and Russia on its side it put an end to a devastating slaughter, yet, the world recognizes only America as fighting the Serbs, and no mention of NATO and Russia is made; that is unfortunately, how it is with us ugly Americans!

Answer 4

I think 99% of British people are pro american except in areas of political game playing, the war agenda, and most everything else.
As someone pointed out, America is made up of mostly Anglo Saxons, and at the least, Britian views America as an independent child, much disagreement, but both countries step up for one another in the real clinches.
The old saying that the two together will stand mightily holds today as it ever has.

--That Cheeky Lad

Answer 5

I am a Brit now living in the States and I think that the general public of both countries are much the same. They support their troops but not necesserally their govenments policies. They support freedom but not war and we would all like to find a way to help the world live together without such hatred.
We are not so different from what I see.
There will always be the extremists, but they are in every walk of life and we have to get by them..

Answer 6

It would so much better if it split up into several different countries. Then the bigots could have their own hell hole and the enlightened could make a paradise out of their bit.
Having said that, I think the country has a magic that you can't find anywhere else on earth. A sense of irrepressible optimism that the rest of the world has forgotten can exist.

Answer 7

We have a war monger president,extreme racism,ignorance about other cultures,inner city children not getting properly educated,nauseating materialism,the view that the USA is the 'only' nation on the planet,etc...
Other than that things are just peachy keen on this side of the big pond.

Answer 8

America and it,s people are not bad, just the politics are bad, and the american people are now trying to change that. If i had to live anyplace elsa in the free world America would not be a bad place to live. Providing i had a wage living job. and a home .

Answer 9

America. I live here and HATE IT. HEre are 5 reasons why:

No. 5: America has good prices for nearly everything, but goods and services are usually of low quality. Think of the great number Americans who receive a free "cell phone" for signing up for a mobile plan. But, then the "phone" doesn't receive service everywhere it is supposed to or you drop the thing once and it doesn't work anymore. Is it really a cell phone then? No, it's just a piece of junk from Korea that's an illusion of a cell phone. But hey, at least you got it for free.


Europe may be expensive, but most goods and services are of much better quality. Garbage Kyocera "cell phones" from Korea can't penetrate European markets because the people demand and expect quality. Even McDonald's tastes better in Holland. And in most cases, the Dutch cashiers speak better English! Now that fact, which I have found from my own experiences, proves how America can be "disgustingly disagreeable or offensive," and therefore sucks.


The No. 4 reason why America sucks is that the United States is environmentally unfriendly. The rest of the rich world looks toward the future with the Kyoto treaty and gasoline taxes to become more sustainable. However, President George W. Bush, along with most Americans, refuses to change. Everyone is terrified of having to pay more for energy and gasoline. I could continue, but most people know about this problem, including how it results in America's addiction to foreign oil.
As the list heats up we get to No. 3 - in the United States, sex is unmentionable and any amount of nudity is taboo. We all remember the Janet Jackson ordeal at last year's Super Bowl. Our fanatical attitude toward sex and nudity is precisely why she did it. She knew it would get her a lot of publicity. I'm not saying we should all be able to walk around naked, but come on, we've all seen a naked breast before. It's no big deal.


Continuing on the subject of sex, the fact that children need sexual education classes in fourth grade proves that sex is unmentionable in America for most people. Even parents cannot mention anything about the subject and need the school to teach their kids about the birds and the bees instead. It's quite offensive.


Let me tell you a story about the urinal that changed my life. It helped me further realize America's disagreeable attitude toward sex. Walking the crowded streets of Holland during Carnival two weeks ago, I came across a four-sided urinal in the middle of the street. Guys could just walk up, pee in one of the quadrants and just walk on. It was an efficient, beautiful thing that would never be allowed in the United States.


Much of America's attitude toward sex is due to No. 2 - America is too religious and is controlled by the rabid, Evangelical Christians of the south. Everyone knows this fact from the last election, so let me point out some examples of how Europe is much different on the matter of religion.


Though Europe is scattered with thousands of huge churches and other religious icons, it is a very secular region. Europeans know that religion has caused nothing but problems in the past, so they have found other uses for their beautiful churches.


The cathedrals of Italy and other parts of Europe are huge tourist attractions. In Cuijk, Holland where my family lives, the local hooligans, my cousin and I use the church stoop as a spot to hang out, drink beer and partake in other more elicit activities because it is conveniently located next to our favorite pub. It also has a nice nook for concealing yourself while urinating.


In the city of Utrecht, where I am currently staying, one of the cathedrals was turned into an apartment building! Maybe doing the same on the UConn campus could help alleviate the housing shortage. Oh wait, never mind, that would never happen in the United States because spending money on more churches takes priority.


And finally, drum roll please. The No. 1 reason why America sucks - the most disgustingly disagreeable and offensive feature to the American way of life - is that the drinking age is 21.


This stupid law rips the social fabric of our nation into halves. On one side are those who are 21 along with those who are willing to risk using a fake ID. On the other side of the divide are the majority of college students who are under 21. At UConn, this group of students is forced, yes, forced, to risk their lives by walking down dark roads or trails to get a drink at a party.


In Europe, a drink at the pub follows nearly every college event or club meeting because the drinking age is only 16. Three days of orientation activities at the university is boring, right? Not when everyday ends with a relaxing drink and a chance to get to know your fellow students. Think how much of a better orientation UConn could have if a little drinking were allowed at the end of the day.


I'm not saying the drinking age should be 16. The age of 18 is more reasonable in America so nearly all college students can go to the pub, thus dissipating the social divide.


Well folks, that's the end of the list. I hope you all, like me, have thought about how we can make America a better place by first learning how it sucks.

Answer 10

If America is so bad why are so many people trying to leave whatever country they live in and come here? Because what the
Media would have us believe is as lot of BS and political hype.
America is a great place and the Media should try spouting their garbage about the country in a country without freedom of the press and see what happens.

Answer 11

America is the best most free country on the planet frequently slurred by other envious countries and by the news media to make a buck. I can't imagine a better place to live and can only hope that we don't succumb to socialist policies like socialized medicine which is a disaster where ever it is attempted..