Views on America

Italian_Buju

We are not perfect all you have to do is look at the government assisstance programs and how easy it is to get this assisstance in many states and to live off of it. All you have to do is walk into any grocery store at the beginning of the month where I live and watch people fill their carts pay with a benefit card then walk outside and load their groceries in a new vehicle. Or buy steaks for their dogs because dog food is not covered (True story I was behind this in line one time) . It just shows how easy governments can be manipulated.

Seen this too many times in line, I have my cart filled with generic food. The lady in front of me buys food with her money. Then does a separate purchase of name brand name juices and bread using her WIC card. Or, they buy their food with Food Stamps. Then a separate purchase by cigarettes with their own money. Or paying for their food with Food Stamp, meanwhile they and their kids have smart phones and I have a crap phone and I paying for all of my generic label food for my family of 8!!

It's really not that simple. Look at society, look at the media. Constantly being told what to buy, what to strive for, "if you don't have this item then you aren't cool". These pressures are still put on kids regardless if they are under class, working class, middle class or upper class.

That last statement is VERY true....

With that said, I am VERY sad that I have to leave now and go to work, this thread is moving so fast I can barely keep up and now I am gonna be hours behind when I get home......

MaraDiaz

I live in America, and frankly I hate living here.

I work my butt off monday through friday for pay that barely covers my bills and groceries.
I go to college monday through thursday nights, for which I pay out of pocket for. (yes full time school and work leaves me tired all the time!)
I don't have any health insurance, so I just try to keep myself as healthy as possible.
I only get 1 week, yes 1 week of vacation a year - and it's not even paid vacation.
The political system scares the *kitten* out of me.
And the way people here view the gay community, and people of other cultures/skin color/etc is just horrific.

The boyfriend and I are just trying to get through college, and then we're looking to gain citizenship elsewhere and get out of here!

Unlike some countries in this world...you are free to leave anytime. Cuba might work for you...free healthcare as long as you mind standing in line for your groceries.

Or they could move to one of the many countries in Europe where the standard of living is much higher than it is in the United States and where they will also be free to leave when and if they please.

Americans need to get their head around the fact that, by all indicators, we do not live in the best country in the world. That doesn't mean it's not okay to like it here and to stay anyway, but telling people who want to leave that everywhere else is like a small, impoverished island nation suffering under decades of trade sanctions is a bit ridiculous, don't you think?

gmctech

I love the USA... I visit my sister in South Carolina from time to time and i drive down. Hate going through the border but after that it's all aces! Oh those "Waffle Houses" LoL I swear there's one every mile when i hot the golden triangle! One thing a applaud the USA for is your right to bear arms, and how you so fight to keep that important liberty. We in CAnada have become a wishy washy Europenaized state where the police and politicans are slowly trying to get every firearm out of our hands and have only the police and government having access to them. There, that's my rant LoL....

There's not much difference between the USA and Canada for the most part though... but i love how it gets warmer the further south i drive in the great ole USA! Big shout out to all you Yanks from a friendly Canuck! :drinker:

Onesnap

I have a lot of friends in America. I love them to bits. As individuals they're amazing women.

But, err... (damn it, I hope I don't offend anyone right now) monitoring your political situation scares me so bad. Religion has no place in politics and I'm fortunate to live in a country which has separated Church and State.

I just can't get over that you don't have Universal Healthcare.
I can't get over the abortion bill in Virginia.
I can't get over the fact that the bill to allow employers to pick and choose what healthcare to cover only marginally got kicked out (we're talking like 4 votes between them).
I can't get over the fact that someone like Rick Sanitorium could run for president and spread his hateful views on gays, coloured people and women, and name it all as a religious virtue.
And although I love Barack Obama, I can't get over the fact that your President acts more like a celebrity than he does as a ruler of a country.

But your people. I love your people. For the most part. Everywhere has bad eggs. Just your politics I cannot abide.

You are ignorant.

Agreed. Also, there is a state with Universal Healthcare. And gay marriage. Proud to call myself a resident of Massachusetts.

blink1021

We are not perfect all you have to do is look at the government assisstance programs and how easy it is to get this assisstance in many states and to live off of it. All you have to do is walk into any grocery store at the beginning of the month where I live and watch people fill their carts pay with a benefit card then walk outside and load their groceries in a new vehicle. Or buy steaks for their dogs because dog food is not covered (True story I was behind this in line one time) . It just shows how easy governments can be manipulated.

Seen this too many times in line, I have my cart filled with generic food. The lady in front of me buys food with her money. Then does a separate purchase of name brand name juices and bread using her WIC card. Or, they buy their food with Food Stamps. Then a separate purchase by cigarettes with their own money. Or paying for their food with Food Stamp, meanwhile they and their kids have smart phones and I have a crap phone and I paying for all of my generic label food for my family of 8!!

Let me play devil's advocate. I'm not talking about government assistance lifer's. How do you know the person you see paying their food with food stamps has not just recently lost their job and are struggling at the present time. They already owned a nice car, the kids already had smart phones etc... They need temporary assistance to get them through a tough time period. We already know how terrible many Americans are in saving money. . Are they suppose to sell everything they own immediately? Let's say they got a another nice paying job within a couple of months, they still have the car, the phones etc.... You may be surprised how many people use government assistance in a the way that it was intended, for short term temporary relief.

I do not mind our government helping people out temporarily! In fact, as a wealthy and compassionate country, we should do this. And you are right, I do not know if this is a temporary situation.

But, when my kids were in the public school, there were kids at my sons' school that receive and have always received free breakfast and lunch and they had cell phones when my kids did not and they wore expensive clothes. I remember one of my sons asking how come I packed their lunch when other kids got the nicer food for free. (The school had a basic lunch, but you could pay more money for the yummier food). I said because their parents do not make enough money, and the boys told me that they have money for nice clothes and phones.

I know where I live it is easy to live off of government assisstance you see it everyday and sometimes for the truly needy it is not. At my son's baby sitters a father lost his job and they would not give him assisstance because they wanted him to sell his car. He needed the transpo because where we live there is no public transpo. Most people who are temporarily on assistance are embarrassed by it and should not be but they are and others display it and argue over the price of soda.

savage22hp

Too bad the food produced here is very dependent on the fuel. walking to the store is great if there is food there when you arrive , in quantities adequate to feed all , and at a price that can be afforded . I know what you mean in decrying the amount of fossil fuel consumed but the un necessary trips in the family car isn't all thats at stake here . We have by and large regulated ourselves into being a service and consumption economy . Let's at least retain the ability to feed ourselves and export food overseas too .



Yes,I agree it is too bad. The rail system is so underutilized, and the agriculture system is so messed up here that consuming most of the world fossil fuels is an unfortunate side effect. There should be more regulation, less BIG AG and more farmers markets and family farms. We would stand to do well too, with not polluting our water and foods with more regulations on the type of crap we spray with. Organic farms are sustainable and don't take massive amounts of pesticides or fuel to spray those pesticides.

I agree, there's more effed up here than just low gas prices.








it is amazing how few people realize what it takes to feed the nation and the world . How big for instance would the farmers market be to supply the needs of New York ? How many acres now fallow would have to be employed to grow organically enough grain to feed that same city ? As someone who works in Agriculture and once grew all that was necessary to feed two households for the entire year and give the small amount of surplus away I can tell you that to halt the agriculture that exists in the US because of the political b.s you hint at would result in the poor being eliminated by starvation . Regulation and blaming the rich are great slogans for an agenda that is not in any way shape or form sustainable . Following bumber stickered cars through the McDonalds drive thru with slogans of "green products only"and "stop animal husbandry" is funny until you wake up and find that while they didnt realy believe what they were saying enough to live it themselves they went and voted that way . I shop farmers markets myself and sometimes choose organic options but it is only the existance of agribusiness that makes those choices possible due to the abundance of food . Agribusiness has come about by the way because small operations cannot compete for the pennies on the dollar return of the regulated farming that has been legislated into existence in the US . Only by huge volume production can the costs be absorbed . Farmers market production has been exempted from much of the regulations that is a reality for most of agriculture but most of that is not the sole source of income for the seller . I can feed myu family with my land and my heirloom seeds but I can't feed yours too . Who has the bigger problem ?

Onesnap

Americans need to get their head around the fact that, by all indicators, we do not live in the best country in the world. That doesn't mean it's not okay to like it here and to stay anyway, but telling people who want to leave that everywhere else is like a small, impoverished island nation suffering under decades of trade sanctions is a bit ridiculous, don't you think?

Like Ancient Rome, every great Empire has to fall sometime. America is no longer the "ruler of the free world" or the "greatest country on Earth" Those days are long gone.

UUZennie

I have a lot of friends in America. I love them to bits. As individuals they're amazing women.

But, err... (damn it, I hope I don't offend anyone right now) monitoring your political situation scares me so bad. Religion has no place in politics and I'm fortunate to live in a country which has separated Church and State.

I just can't get over that you don't have Universal Healthcare.
I can't get over the abortion bill in Virginia.
I can't get over the fact that the bill to allow employers to pick and choose what healthcare to cover only marginally got kicked out (we're talking like 4 votes between them).
I can't get over the fact that someone like Rick Sanitorium could run for president and spread his hateful views on gays, coloured people and women, and name it all as a religious virtue.
And although I love Barack Obama, I can't get over the fact that your President acts more like a celebrity than he does as a ruler of a country.

But your people. I love your people. For the most part. Everywhere has bad eggs. Just your politics I cannot abide.

Ummm most of us can't get over these things either. There are vocal minorities in our country. The problem is that most Americans, agree or disagree are more than happy to let these things be. It'snot worth their own personal effort to do anything about it or stand against it. There are those who are beginning to stand up (See Occupy Wall Street Movement) and those who have stood ideologically against religious extremism (See Unitarian Universalists and Liberal Christians which make up most Christians in the USA) and intolerance for decades.

It's hard to see some of these things going on from the outside, I'm sure. There is dissent from these divisive policies, I assure you.

Mr_Cape219

Since Americans can chime in too, I agree with what alot of the other awesome peeps have said.

As an American, I feel that our govt. is just as messed up as everyone else sees it. I can go on and list everything that has already been said, but If you read this thread up until my post, then you already know what I am talking about.

Moving on, I find anyone that isnt from America isntantly fascinating, no matter what the country. Thats not to say Americans bore me, fellow brothers and sisters of our states. Just that I have a few friends on MFP from England and they tend to just be so much more interesting. I think it might be their slang, which I think I have picked up most of it. Unless someone throws a curve-ball like "That is munch!" and I am like "wha--?"

Wanna see the world some day, just kinda self-concious about traveling in European countrie, that stigma of being American will probably follow me. Thats why if I do, I will dress in the current trends of the cities I visit, to blend. I will also consider a speach coach to learn the lingo and assimilate flawlessly into society. No one will know the better!!!

LaMujerMasBonitaDelMundo

Tell me which other countries has a policy in fill-out application forms indicating their ethnicity or race. Only in the US. Not to mention that they love to give out stupid useless labels to minorities such as "Hispanic/Latino", "Asian". FYI Hispanic belongs to the Spaniards & not all Latin Americans have direct Spanish lineage. Asia is a CONTINENT & saying one is of "Asian race" is such stupid. The funny thing is that the term "Asian" doesn't include Middle East, Central Asia or sometimes even India as part of "Asian" category whereas they are technically part of Asia.

Every country I've lived in. It's not because the government is racist, it's for social profiling and can be used for good instead of evil. FOR EXAMPLE: understanding that a particular ethnicity is more prone to / exempt from certain cancers or diseases leads to research which can potentially provide vaccines / cures etc. You have to learn to look at the glass half-full aspect of this!

OK if that is the case then why the inaccurate label? For example the label Hispanic/Latino, as I said a while ago its not an ethnicity & many Latin Americans don't have direct Spanish lineage to qualify for that Hispanic label. A Mexican of mostly Indigenous descent & a white Argentine who is of German descent are ethnicities apart & yet there in the US, both of them are called Hispanics :noway: Yes we speak Spanish but it doesn't make us Spaniards anymore than a German who is fluent in Japanese language be called Japanese.

And Asian race? C'mon its not a race nor ethnicity, it simply means anyone from the CONTINENT OF ASIA which happen to include Middle East & Central Asians & yet the US defines them as "White".

Seriously? I refer to people who are either Chinese, Japanese, Korean or whatnot as Asian simply because I cannot tell the difference. I refer to people in the middle east as middle eastern - I do not call them white.

In the US census, there are 5 races (White, Black, Asian, Some other race, 2 or more races) & they classify Middle Eastern & Central Asians under the "White" category. Honestly I also can't tell the difference between Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese or sometimes even some Filipinos & Thais apart from each other. I mistook two Chinese for a Filipino & some Filipinos as Chinese or Japanese. However I can tell the difference between a German and an Arab or a British and an Iranian.

blink1021

I love the USA... I visit my sister in South Carolina from time to time and i drive down. Hate going through the border but after that it's all aces! Oh those "Waffle Houses" LoL I swear there's one every mile when i hot the golden triangle! One thing a applaud the USA for is your right to bear arms, and how you so fight to keep that important liberty. We in CAnada have become a wishy washy Europenaized state where the police and politicans are slowly trying to get every firearm out of our hands and have only the police and government having access to them. There, that's my rant LoL....

There's not much difference between the USA and Canada for the most part though... but i love how it gets warmer the further south i drive in the great ole USA! Big shout out to all you Yanks from a friendly Canuck! :drinker:

If you love Waffle House you should try the Huddle House they are down there too and just as common. :happy:

jpuderbaugh

I Love America ... but then I'm American ... and its HUMP DAY so who cares we all live and share this lovely planet so no matter your views there's one thing we can all agree on....

GAS PRICES ARE WAY TO HIGH !!!!!! :grumble: :grumble: :grumble: :grumble:

I might be the only American that thinks they're too low. We paid close to $8 a gallon for four years when we lived overseas. You know what we did. Biked, walked and didn't drive much.

America is the only country with a way off balance of carbon emissions compared to our population. I would love to see gas prices triple. I think we could finally more towards more public transportation, which would help the poor out as well as the planet.

I think you might be the first American I have ever heard to say it's too low. I have seen many posts mainly on facebook complaining but the U.S. has really cheap gas for such a high demand product, if it was to come in line with other countries then there would be some complaints so count yourself lucky and if you aren't happy to pay use public transport or walk.

Yeah, except for my husband, I've only heard *****ing when it comes to gas prices here in the states. I don't count myself lucky though, because Americans are sucking the oil wells dry at the expense of our health, the health of the planet and the health of our future. I do use public transportation, mainly bike routes and walking, thanks. We do have a car, and we do use it to travel distances like when we go 1000 miles to see family once a year. However, we drive so little, that our insurance on a full coverage mini van that's only 2 years old is 30 a month. Most of the time, it just stays parked in our garage.

I always hear this... Bike to work. Use public transportation. Walk to work. I live in a rural area, working 15 miles from home. I cannot do any of these things to get to work. It's just not possible for most of us. The closest area with public transportation around me is 3 towns to the east. (about 30 miles). And I am not getting up any earlier than I already do. I'm sorry, but I have family I want to spend my time with, rather than using it to bike to and from work.

HelloDan

This is the only country I know people kill themselves to get over here whether its getting shipped here via cargo container, getting smuggled in a trunk across the border, or floating on a car door. Once here, they show up for all the benefits they can qualify for such as ssn/welfare etc. I hear people that live in this country bad mouthing and it's like if you are not happy here, leave? I served 10 years in the Marines and I am happy to live here

I think that reflects more on your knowledge of other countries than anything else. People from poorer deprived countries always try to get to richer more developed countries, it happens in Europe and Australia too, not JUST the US.

Also a fair few comments of "you're not happy leave".
How do you propse people do that?
Ignoring the family ties, money, and all that stuff, you can't just go to another country, without visas or citizenship.

boomboom011

I live in America, and frankly I hate living here.

I work my butt off monday through friday for pay that barely covers my bills and groceries.
I go to college monday through thursday nights, for which I pay out of pocket for. (yes full time school and work leaves me tired all the time!)
I don't have any health insurance, so I just try to keep myself as healthy as possible.
I only get 1 week, yes 1 week of vacation a year - and it's not even paid vacation.
The political system scares the *kitten* out of me.
And the way people here view the gay community, and people of other cultures/skin color/etc is just horrific.

The boyfriend and I are just trying to get through college, and then we're looking to gain citizenship elsewhere and get out of here!

I would love to help you leave. Good riddance!

oh let me just get the education and them were out. My gut tells me you received a pell grant.
BTW I get 3 weeks paid vacation and a week of sick pay. 2 personal days and lots of overtime if I like it. I get to work in an office with ac in the Texas summer and heat in the winter. I get to jump in my mercedes when I leave and drive on a gorgeous freeway paid for by the citizens of this Great State of Texas to a home that I own in a gorgeous neighborhood that my job paid for and its MINE. God Bless the USA! Oh and if I want I can throw a big *kitten* ribeye steak on my big Texas sized gas grill in my big *kitten* back yard too.

Rhea30

America is my home. The older America where we were a proud people, honest, hard workers and didn't want handouts. I miss this America. It has been replaced with give me give me. I still believe that if you want to work and make your own choices you should be able to. I don't want a ruler or free health care. I think abortions are a private decision mine would be not to abort. I believe two people should be able to choose to live, love and work together which means if they choose to marry they should be able to. America didn't become one of the strongest contries in the world by being ruled. Our constitution is what makes us free. I don't want Obama as a King.My life has been hard lots of struggles but I don't blame America it's up to me what I make it. I will end by saying i love America and will always love America

I'm glad you don't want a king because we don't have a king. Obama is our PRESIDENT who was voted into office.

alecta337

But, err... (damn it, I hope I don't offend anyone right now) monitoring your political situation scares me so bad. Religion has no place in politics and I'm fortunate to live in a country which has separated Church and State.

I just can't get over that you don't have Universal Healthcare.
I can't get over the abortion bill in Virginia.
I can't get over the fact that the bill to allow employers to pick and choose what healthcare to cover only marginally got kicked out (we're talking like 4 votes between them).
I can't get over the fact that someone like Rick Sanitorium could run for president and spread his hateful views on gays, coloured people and women, and name it all as a religious virtue.
And although I love Barack Obama, I can't get over the fact that your President acts more like a celebrity than he does as a ruler of a country.

American here... I agree with EVERYTHING you said... Rick Sanitorium is a scary scary man. Its VERY scary he was even considered at all to run our country *shudder*

Onesnap

In the US census, there are 5 races (White, Black, Asian, Some other race, other) & they classify Middle Eastern & Central Asians under the "White" category. Honestly I also can't tell the difference between Chinese, Japanese, Korean, Vietnamese or sometimes even some Filipinos & Thais apart from each other. I mistook two Chinese for a Filipino & some Filipinos as Chinese or Japanese. However I can tell the difference between a German and an Arab or a British and an Iranian.

This post is not about telling the difference between races. It's about a country that is wayyyyyyy past it's heyday and long past being the "ruler of the free world"

bio_fit

Hahaha, gotta love the replies here that are totally enforcing the stereotypes I wonder if they even know they're doing it?

doorki

This thread makes me very sad.

I am a proud American. I am also a Texan! I have guns. Lots of them. Its my right as an American to bear arms. I have a right to defend my family and my home. I appreciate the choice to own them if I so wish. There is a sign outside of my home that says "nothing in this house is worth dying for" and WE MEAN IT.

I appreciate our military and the sacrifice that they give to defend our freedoms and to pretect this great nation.

Unfortunately not all Americans feel this way. Like my friend said earlier thats the great thing about living here, if you dont like it you have the choice to leave.

I wish we could come together as a nation cause were falling apart.

P.S. we do not refer to african americans as "coloureds" as a few of you did earlier and neither did Rick Santorum.
P.S.S. our leadership sucks right now. however, fortunately we get to vote soon. oh yea another right i have as an American.

I noticed a bit of sarcasm in your post, and sure you do have the right to bear arms, here in Canada we do not. And as a Canadian, it seems odd to me that the general public can just walk around with a gun. I think if I were to go to Texas (which I would love to visit) I'd be all, "OMG HE'S GOT A GUN!" every time I saw one, it's just not natural for me.

Amen! Not only do I not own a gun, like many Candians, I do not feel the need to own a gun.....Why do you feel you NEED a gun??

Have you seen the crime rate in america?

Yeah, cuz everyone owns bloody guns! And they are so easy to get! Have you seen the crime rate here in Canada compaired to yours?

It's not the legal guns killing people. It's the illegal ones.

But where are the illegal guns coming from? Other nations that have gun regulation do not seem to have the gun problems that the US has. Don't you think there may be some correlation? Also, while I am not a fan of hunting, I respect it but I am curious why the NRA feels that hunters need assault rifles and armor piercing bullets.

Onesnap

I'm glad you don't want a king because we don't have a king. Obama is our PRESIDENT who was voted into office.

The last President to balance the US budget was Clinton.

That is all.