What can I do to help?

Question

The U.S. is a superpower. We have the largest economy, greatest global influence, powerful military, vast diversity, the world's longest surviving federation, the source of remarkable literature and art. That list could go on forever.

So how is it, considering all of this, that our currency is quickly losing value, our government has lost the people's trust, our health care system is one of the worst in the world, citizen's can't earn a proper education, homelessness persists through some of the world's most lavish cities, and to top it off we are not as beloved around the world as we think we are?

Does this depress you as much as it does me?

What can I do to make the United States the country that it ought to be? The land of the free and home of the brave.

Please answer that question. Don't tell me the benefits of the dollars falling value or tell me I'm reciting liberal talking points. I usually vote for conservative candidates and I understand the economics of devalued currency.

Answer 1

What depresses me is how conceited and insular you people really are.

You are right you are not only not 'beloved' you are despised. Why you may innocently ask yourself.... for the very reason of the diatribe you spout in your question.

You can help your country by keeping your misguided and condescending views to yourself, in that way you may earn some respect!

Mongrel!

Answer 2

Become a pen pal with someone in another nation, such as a relatively new Democracy. Get several pen pals in different nations. Include nations that are currently on the potential "enemies list" of USA. Talk frankly with your pen pals about these problems, and our responsibilities to try to do something about it.

I had a pen pal in Poland for a while. I sent him books on Capitalism, and books he wanted but could not get, and in exchange he educated me about some topics where I felt our educational and political system communicated a whole bunch of conflicting stories & I did not know which to trust. I was being very diplomatic ... personally, I think the Pope's secret service had a lot more to do with the downfall of communism in Poland than other areas that usually get credit, but I wanted to hear what my pen pal thought about the topic.

A lot of what he told me I kind of expected, but I was amazed at how entrenched the mafia was in the former communist nations.

Read newspapers in English that are published in other nations. There's several ways you can get at them. There's the Internet, and there's Newspaper stores in major cities. Compare what they have to say about major issues with what we see in the US media. I have been amazed at the depth of stories that the US media does not cover.

Over time, I have found some foreign sites that I am very impressed with, such as the Economist of Britain.

A third area is private research to figure out how come "they" hate us so much that we are inundated by suicide bombers.

I make an effort to read books where I do not neccessarily share the author's political viewpoint, but I want to see different views. I recently read a history of regime change & was amazed at how many times the US has done this, and that 95% of the time the results are contrary to what was desired by the people doing it.

Probably the worst in history was Germany doing regime change in Russia to foment the Communist revolution ... look at the damage to Germany in WW II that might never have happened if Russia was still a Tsarist state.

I think one of the reasons the USA is hated is because of its record of doing regime changes all over the place throughout history. Then there's the people who get rendered.

Very few people in the USA are aware of the guy who had both Canadian and Syrian citizenship who was sent to Syria to be tortured for a year, because he was suspected of being a person of interest in the anti-terrorism investigations. The Chief Justice of the Canadian Supreme Court led an investigation into this guy and found there was absolutely no evidence to substantiate any suspicion that they guy has anything to do with terrorism. Everyone in Canada knows about this, but where is the US coverage?

This is an important reason to be reading news media from other nations. I wish there was some kind of search engine criteria
* List for me the stories getting lots of coverage around the world, but not in the USA

Answer 3

Hmm...

Okay, let me begin by stating that my comments to follow are in no way intended as condecending, snarky or rude, but are meant as a way to put your question into perspective. I have devoted my life (literally) to finding the solutions to these issues, and I commend you for being able to recognize that something is amiss.

First, what you posit in the opening statement is not absolute truth. Yes, the US is a global powerhouse, but the issue in this is that our influence is waining. I broach this issue simply for the fact that I really feel that viewing our status in this manner is a large contributor to the impediment of the progress that you are seeking. I do not disagree that we wield an enormous amount of influence and have achieved a sort of intellectual and cultural tapestry that is modeled by many other nations, but there has been a contextual shift that must be addressed. We no longer exist in a climate that allows us to be a lone influence. The trend of globalization, not only economically but personally, has given the world citizenry the ability to instantaniously connect with anyone, anywhere, in real time. Understanding the importance of this, and its ramifications on our society, must occour before we can examine the issue at hand.

We have been witness to a profound alteration in the way we conduct ourselves, as a nation and as individuals. No longer can we assume that our choices affect only ourselves. The economic issue is just one symptom of our struggle to adapt to this new global paradigm, of which we are in our infancy. Try to view this in the context of the Industrial Revolution of the late 19th/early 20th century. There was a massive upheval in the stratum of society, and in the light of little regulation or proceedure, the opportunity existed for those with the means to exploit the situation to their sole advantage. This is analogous to what we are witnessing today. Between the deregulation of industry (banking, media, health care, consumer protection, trade, etc.) over the last 30 odd years and the introduction of emerging markets, there exists a window for similiar profiteering.

So, what options do you have? Be aware that every decision that you make, no matter how minute, is a statement of who you are and what you believe. Now, I am not pushing the hippie agenda here, saying that you must buy organic, drive a hybrid and save the whales. If you can, great. If not, then know that you have options beyond that.

Look at how you are viewed by the powers that be...as a consumer, nothing more, nothing less. Think about what you buy. If you are concerned with the economic and trade policies that are weakening us financially, then do your best not to support them. This ties in with our reputation as unconcerned with the human costs that allow us to buy a $3 DVD player at Wal-Mart. Free trade goods are more expensive, and if you have the means to go that route, I would urge you to do so. But if, like many of us, you do not have that option, find goods that are not or are less harmful. The main thing is to do your homework. Do not patronize those who exploit resources. Stay away from products made by sweatshop labor. Be informed of your place as a global citizen, and do what you can to promote the well-being of your worldly bretheren.

Identify issues that you feel are important and vocally stand up for them. Write your legislators, write your local papers (I work for a non-profit, and this is a large-and highly effective-portion of our member-driven activity). Seek out groups that work to advance these causes and get involved with them however you can, be it through donations, volunteering, or simply word-of-mouth promotion. Educate yourself so that you may educate others, but do not preach. Realize that people have differing views for a myriad of reasons, and as you would as them to respect your positions you must do the same in kind.

Yes, it is highly disheartening. I wish that I could say that we the people can defnitely change the system, but I can't. What I can say is that my work on political and social justice issues has given me solace in the fact that I do what I can to try to resolve the situation. Be the voice for change that you wish to see, but know that this is all that you can do. Justice knows no party, religion or ideological line.

Good luck, and godspeed.

Answer 4

When to country starts caring for its own and we as people stop act better than everyone because were not. Another thing is everyone one is so offended anymore grow up .. We have no pride. Then we take felons that have did there time and only use them for what we want.I really cannot go on . You are asking the impossible.

Answer 5

But you are reciting liberal talking points. The dollar had a more precipitous fall under the Carter administration than now. I myself witnessed the dollar go from 300 yen to a dollar to 210 to a dollar in a period of one year under the Carter administration. We have more men and women in universities than ever before, even when expressed as a percentage of total population. Most homelessness is a result of people making bad personal choices in their lives ( did a year as a VISTA volunteer dealing with the homeless). Our health care system continues to treat patients from other lands whose health care systems cannot meet their needs. This has included the mother of a former Prime Minister of Canada and many others. The Provincial Health Care system in Quebec Province Canada relies heavily on elective surgery being performed in upstate New York hospitals. Norway, with a population of about seven million and awash in money from oil revenues, has almost a quarter million people on waiting lists for elective surgery.
As for being "beloved" our alliances with our European partners couldn't be stronger. NATO is actively engaged in Afghanistan. France, Germany and others are cooperating with our intelligence agencies and terrorists are being rounded up, almost on a daily basis. Our military bases remain throughout Europe and Asia, with no hue and cry to close them up. What closures and realigments are occurring are the result of our initiative. Not theirs.
As for our government losing the people's trust, that is based on polling and polling alone. Polls involving less than two thousand respondents and heavily weighted by population distribution. And, even though that weighing is heavily tilted towards the folks on both coasts, the low numbers for the Congress are even lower than those for President Bush. I can recall a President who left office with about a 25% approval rating. Even large chunks of his party's rank and file despised him because of his stance on certain civil rights issues. So much so that they left the party and launched a strong third party movement against him when he ran for a term in his own right. Now he is looked upon as one of the best post-World War Two presidents. His name was Harry S. Truman.
My advice is to step away from the "conventional media" and start doing some web surfing among daily newspapers published abroad. Maybe invest in a short wave radio receiver or listen to some international broadcasters via live-streaming on the web. Because the "mainstream media" only represent a certain philosophical "creek" running from Boston to Washington DC.

Answer 6

The United States must stop interfering in the affairs of other countries but concentrate on its economy so that the US dollar will improve its value.