Americans lets solve some rumours about the USA ok ?

Question

The US has become more or less a police state - a survienlance state - Check points and free speech zones

True of false?

The US has over gloriied war and soldiers to the point that the average American is war obbsessed
True or false

The US has allowed torture and rendition and the average citezen believes torture is necesary
True of false?

The US is on the verge of economic collapse

True or false?

The US military might refuse to invade Iran because they think it is a suicide mission for America and know they will end up fighting the Russians and the Chinese

True or false ?

I am not saying any of the above is true close to true or false -

I do not live in the US and haven't been there for a decade or so and my clearest memory of the US ten years ago was the strong cigs and the weak coffee and the size of the guns the cops were carrying .At the time , Cdn cops were carrying 38's not the huge 45's the US cops had


So these are things I have heard said or implied or outrightly stated as fact

Again I have no idea what life is like in the US

So I am asking -

Want to know what life is like in Canada - I can tell you - want to know what life is in the US I need you to tell me

Answer 1

True

Half truth - people are waking up. If we showed war on tv people would be more sick of war

True 100%

True

Unconfirmed

Answer 2

The US has become more or less a police state - a survienlance state - Check points and free speech zones

False. GOP will not be questioned by media and public in a police state. Further more, people won't be able to hold anti-war rallies at D.C if the US were a police state.

The US has over gloriied war and soldiers to the point that the average American is war obbsessed
False. As a matter of fact, the Americans today are more war weary than ever in the last 6 years.

The US has allowed torture and rendition and the average citezen believes torture is necesary
False. If this were the case, then Attorney General to be Mr. Mukasey would not have faced so much flak over waterboarding.

The US is on the verge of economic collapse

False. Yes the US economy is weak for the past 3 months or so but it was doing really well for 18 month period before that. This is just cyclical changes and if managed well by the Feds, we will see economic upswing by mid to late 2008 at the latest. If not, the economy will go up once the the results of the presidential elections are declared.

The US military might refuse to invade Iran because they think it is a suicide mission for America and know they will end up fighting the Russians and the Chinese
False. The US military will give their advice to the commander in chief but in the end they are firmly in control of the civilian leader and will follow his orders, eventhough they are against the military's opinion. That said, there will not be an outright open war with Iran. At most, there might be air strikes or limited cruise missile strikes on some nuclear sites, but that's about it. Iran is way to big to occupy.

Answer 3

> Americans lets solve some rumours about the USA ok ?

Sure, fire away :)

? The US has become more or less a police state - a survienlance state - Check points and free speech zone. True of false?

False. Not even close. You want a police state, look at places like China, Myanmar, Pakistan, Cuba, increasingly Venezuela, etc. Compare and contrast :)

> The US has over gloriied war and soldiers to the point that the average American is war obbsessed. True or false

No, but we do have hundreds of thousands of our solider actively fighting a war, plus millions of others in support roles back home. Even if you discount al of them from "average America", you still have a lot going on that is important news to the rest of us.


> The US has allowed torture and rendition and the average citezen believes torture is necesary. True of false?

First part is only speculated on, no one really knows for sure, but lots of people fear the worst. I would say the average citizen is strongly set against torture, and if you take a subset of educated and thoughtful people, nearly 100% understand and support the reasons against it.

> The US is on the verge of economic collapse. True or false?

Nonsense. This is a very large and complex economy, without any achilles heels, and it is fully integrated into the economy of the rest of of the world, not independent of it. The entire world economy would have to collapse simultaneous with a US collapse, but that would require a failure of trust worldwide, and no one is close to that, let alone on the verge of it.

> The US military might refuse to invade Iran because they think it is a suicide mission for America and know they will end up fighting the Russians and the Chinese. True or false ?

The military in the US, unlike most of the rest of the world, works at the direction of civilians, and there is no history of military leaders not understanding that.

There are lots of ways to work things out without force. Force is always a last doctrine. We stared down both countries int eh Cold war for decades without force. all sides no that diplomacy, backed up with a threat of force, is the way things work.

Answer 4

1. Overall false. Although, there are compromises that have taken place that I completely disagree with. Things like protest zones and the wiretapping program leave me very concerned about precedents being left for the future. A police state is an extremely strong statement and by no means fits, but I am really hoping that particularly the wiretapping issue resolves with a strong backlash.

2. Once again, overall false. Someone above made the very valid point that the media really marketed it up, but this is all about ratings and "covering it in style." I think the whole "support the troops" concept is even misunderstood by some Americans. Personally, I wish for the health and safety of our troops and completely disagree with the war. In fact, I see disagreeing with the war as supporting the troops as I feel that you should go to war and put your troops in harms way only as a last resort. I think overwhelmingly that Americans just want their soldiers to come home, and poll statistics that I have seen support that.

3. The first part I believe to be true, I'm not really sure that there is any debate about that. I know that I for one, and a very large portion of the population, I would hope the majority, completely see the second part of the statement as false. I think that we are supposed to set a high standard of principle. We preach fairness and a sense of morality, we have to play by the rules we try to impose on others. Plain and simple, we know it's wrong, whenever we hear about Americans being treated in such a way there is a huge outcry (and rightfully so) we have to honor that in return. Just follow the golden rule, or I suppose the silver rule would be more apt.

4. False. Things are not good now, in fact they are very bad, but the ship can be righted. We just need to be far more responsible, and find our way out of Iraq which is just draining us and puting us in the pockets of other nations. It's pretty bad, but I believe it can be turned around.

5. False, but only because, like someone above mentioned, they really don't have the ability to refuse without some sort of a coup. I DO believe that they would recommend against it emphatically, but there really is no basis for refusal.

Answer 5

Ahhhhhh...There is SOME truth in all of the accusations/assumptions above. Our 'freedoms' have gradually been eroded and are continuing to be attacked for quite some time now. 30 years ago, our nation adapted a 'zero tolerance' policy against drug trafficers and made it 'legal' for law enforcement agents to seize private property of criminals, WITHOUT a court order to do so. Since that time, our court system has turned into a 'revenue enhancement' scheme, and justice has all but been obliverated. The hysteria and frenzy that followed the terrorist attacks on 9/11 has only made it worse. Still we enjoy a great deal of freedom within our borders. Why else would millions of illegal immigrants want to come here?...We have it made in America...Our economy ( despite the liberal left doomsayers ) is ROBUST with the GNP growing yearly by 3.8%...Oil prices are putting a damper on the economy, and a strain on the average American, but we were warned about this back in the 70's and did NOTHING about it. Despite this, we will survive and MAINTAIN our position as the strongest economy on earth.

No, we do NOT think torture is a NORMAL thing, but some of us think it is a NECESSARY evil.

Americans are NOT war obsessed, however PATRIOTIC Americans, like myself beieve that in SOME instances, war is necessary to preserve our way of life. Again, a necessary evil. There are factions in the world that WANT US DEAD!!...We MUST be able to defend ourselves.

True, invading Iran would be a SERIOUS mistake, in my opinion. Especially since Iranian citizens at large ( not the mullahs or prez ) are quite MODERATE.

I have traveled extensively, and can honestly say I know of no other place on earth where a 'common man' can so easily finance and succeed in a business , even with the TERRIBLE ( and probably illegal ) tax codes we have. I can go pretty much where I please, WHEN I please...I can spout 'anti-government' rhetoric on any street corner I choose, and can show my anger at the polls every election day.

My gun collection is quite extensive, in good working condition, and sufficient ammunition is in my stock.

I truly subscribe to Ben Franklin's assertion that " He who will trade freedom for security deserves neither..."

Answer 6

-Americans are sheltered from the realities of war, and our media got excited about it and advertised it like an action movie adventure.

-Nobody I know thinks the US is becoming a police state. Thats hype.

-Republicans continuously pretend that they love the soldiers more than everyone else. It's merely their way of trying to outcast those who don't agree with Bush policies and doctrine.

-In polls, religious people think torture is ok more than atheists and agnostics. What have we become?

-The U.S. may be on the verge of economic collapse. Some experts think so, but we don't know. How long can we borrow and spend? How long will the middle class allow the filthy rich to keep getting richer while they stay the same?

-We won't invade Iran because our military is tied up elsewhere and it is not feasible.

Answer 7

1. False. I travel freely throughout the country, and to foreign countries with complete ease.

2. False, the average American is survival obsessed. The will to survive is in almost every human.

3. The US does not allow torture, and most of us do not believe that torture is necessary. I'm one of the minority that thinks that it should be employed in certain situations.

4. False. I'm living very good here, in the country you imagine is on the verge of economic collapse. In fact, people from all over the planet dream of living in America.

5. False. We'll invade Iran if they are an imminent risk to our national security, and we don't fear the Russians or the Chinese, they fear us.

Answer 8

1. False - I haven't noticed any change in the levels of my right to Free Speech.
2. False - Americans are rightfully proud of the military, but I would hardly call us a war obsessed nation.
3. False - Americans do not condone the use of torture, but also realize that those who want to cause harm to us are not going to give up information voluntarily. Therefore, we may have to come close to the line of torture.
4. False - the debt is a big concern, and our trade policies need to be reviewed. I don't think collapse is imminent, though.
5. False - If the US had plans to attack Iraq, my guess is that it would have done so already. I think it is more likely that Israel may launch a 'surgical strike' than us. Hopefully, it won't come to that.

Answer 9

police state-no, not in the truest sense of the honest definition of such...most of us citizens would not identify with that due to its connotations....in a true police state control would have to be far more rigid than exists here and the distinction between actual law and the President's actions would be quite pronounced...there are pockets of americans that certainly do believe that we are moving towards a police state, but dissatisfaction with leadership and criticism of it by some, does not mean that the entire country has shifted...i often am dissatisfied, and i can be one of those taht say liberties are being trampled upon, however, whether one agrees with it or not, we are in a time of war, and possible targets of terrorisms, due caution must be heeded, though no one person or branch should run unchecked....i dont agree with everything, or maybe even most of it, but to say its a police state is a disservice, and disrespect to all the human living,or have lived in a true police state. americans arent victims of this sort by any strectch of the imagination...think of South Africa, think of Nazi-occupied territories

war obsessed?-well we are at war, whether we like it or not, we are concerned, some more than others, we are affected some more than others, and in a nation with millions ofpeople, people are polarized at opposite ends of the spectrum, naturally....but war obsessed? as in loving it, wanting it? needing it? i cant say thats the vibe i get....some are for, some are against, same as ever in all wars, because it takes 2

necessary torture? i think the majority of people are disgusted by this, but again, naturally, some people feel that we are at war and possible targets of terrorism, so to get information they believe that it should be obtained by any means necessary to protect the public safety, however, view this as a last resort...these sins are quite public..many atrocities are committed worl-wide in the name of protecting the citizenry, some are known, some are not, some are more publicized than others, nuff said

the miliary cannot refuse to invade anything...it acts under orders of the government, and im sure if they were ordered to wear pink uniforms with ruffles they would do that too....its not a free choice behavior sort of environment

economic collapse...there is definitely some strain, and some strategizing is needed, but total collapse, as in the Depression, i dont see that happeninig

i understand the questions you are asking on some level however the way in which they were put seems to be totally to one side--things are hardly ever so black and white...and seemingly accusatory as opposed to inquisitive, its all in how one says it sometimes, i think, but i hope you find te answers you are seeking

One Love

Answer 10

Allrighty...here we go.....

false- non police state, no check points

false- we are not war obsessed

true - if you are want to blow us up, will we torture you to find out about it

true- we are in HUGE economic trouble...

false- we don't have the resources to go after Iran right now and the risk of it escalating to a world war and a nuclear war is very very real.

Answer 11

1. False but under Bush heading in that direction.
2. True
3. Partly true. The first part is true. Second part substitute conservative for citizen and it's true.
4. False. But heading toward recession.
5. Don't know.