Views on America

Exactly religion and edution should stay FAR FAR a part.

WHAT???? How, exactly, will people learn about world religions if they're not educated on them? I'm not sure I understand this statement. Unless, what you're meaning to say is that religion should not be taught in public schools.

there is a difference between teaching religion, and teaching ABOUT religion... they were referring to the former

What is the difference? Not being snarky. Trying to understand what you're saying.

I believe that the difference is that one religion should not be taught as the "proper" religion. Honestly, I think anyone's spiritual questions/quests should be their own to explore.

. The quality of the student loans over there just aren't up to par. My friend went to university in the US and she asked for assistance with funding and they told her to go to a loan shark. We don't even have those over here in the first place and I really think that is testament to the quality of the student loans systems and also just funding for poorer people in general.

HAHAHAAHAH! What?! I could see perhaps if a foreign student wanted assistance how that migh be hard, but your average US citizen that has the wherewithall to actually go apply for a student loan is VERY likely to get one. The only time I've seen issues is when someone is still a dependent of their partents and their parents make TOO MUCH money. I put myself through college with the GI Bill and student loans. I applied and literally had 0 income and got the loans. It's not as big of a problem as people make it out to be.

It HAS however become more of a problem now that the government is the sole lender in the US and not multiple institutions.

I saw a few comments that are close, but not quite true.

These quotes aren't exact, but by gist.

"The NRA is working to keep Assault weapons legal". Incorrect statement. Fully automatic weapons have not been legal to purchase by ordinary citizens since 1948. the word "assault" is added to make it sound more dramatic. Assault simply means to be on the "Offensive". If I attacked you with a butter knife I would be on the offensive, therefore the butterknife would be an "assault butterknife". You can purchase an automatic with a class 3 license, but to get one of those you get a deeper backround check than I did for a secret clearance. So when you hear the news talking about assault weapons they are generally referring to weapons that you can buy at wallmart, but they happen to "Look" scary.

"this country was founded to be religion free." Close, but not correct. This country was founded specifically for/because of religious liberty. That's why the puritians were willing to get on the boats. The close part is that our "Government" was not supposed to use religious beliefs as the basis for law. Which is difficult to do with some things. When religions say things like "Thou shalt not kill", (dramatic example) it makes things fuzzy. Yes our laws outlaw killing, but that law specifically wasn't written "because" of religion. Some folks have trouble seperating religious control with religious agreement.

I don't need to go too far, surprisingly calm discussion though. Good job.

I think the education system over there needs to be a lot better and they need to increase the opportunities available for the lower classes; a university education is practically unreachable. If I were living in the US I would be screwed because I come from a very working class background and in a country as developed as America I don't think that's right. The overflowing prisons and gang culture speak for themselves in regards to the quality of the education system and what help there is (or lack of it.)
I also think that creationism should be COMPLETELY BANNED and that the US should be made into a religion-neutral country, as the founders intended it to be. I don't think Christianity should be taught as the "main" religion. I think religions of all kinds should be taught but not as fact and that no-one should have to choose.
Abstinence should not in any way be taught. It's just stupidity beyond words. Proper contraception and safe sex should be an education available to all. Again, this ties in with Christianity and, frankly, some of its teachings are outdated and idiotic, especially in regards to contraception and abortion. People need to realise that teenagers are going to have sex and the best thing to do about it is to just educate them properly so that accidents don't happen and if they do they can be taken care of.

I could go on and on but I get that most of the MFP is American and I'm and Atheist and detest religion of all kinds so the react probably wouldn't be very kind...

Wow! Your opinions are so sad, and sound very UNeducated

How are her opinions sad? Religion shouldn't be taught in public schools.
Sex education should be taught because come on, abstinence only is a joke. Sure, it works for some but it shouldn't be taught as the only option.
Christianity is not the only religion out there and not the only religion in America.

. The quality of the student loans over there just aren't up to par. My friend went to university in the US and she asked for assistance with funding and they told her to go to a loan shark. We don't even have those over here in the first place and I really think that is testament to the quality of the student loans systems and also just funding for poorer people in general.

HAHAHAAHAH! What?! I could see perhaps if a foreign student wanted assistance how that migh be hard, but your average US citizen that has the wherewithall to actually go apply for a student loan is VERY likely to get one. The only time I've seen issues is when someone is still a dependent of their partents and their parents make TOO MUCH money. I put myself through college with the GI Bill and student loans. I applied and literally had 0 income and got the loans. It's not as big of a problem as people make it out to be.

It HAS however become more of a problem now that the government is the sole lender in the US and not multiple institutions.

It's not so much an issue of getting the student loans... it's paying them back at a time when a degree no longer guarantees a well paying job. Reports are coming out now showing that senior citizens still have student loan debt and that many are having trouble making those payments. I had NO problem getting money for school... I'm just screwed when I graduate this fall

I live in the US. From the extremely blurry line between the separation of church and state to the unwillingness of the politicians to comprise. There is plenty to dislike and it can bog you down if you spend too much time thinking about it quite frankly.
Sometimes I can't help to think that America is on the decline. We live on our past achievements too much in this country and expect to always coast through on them while telling the rest of the world we are the best and that they aren't.
You know like when some dudes have a big ol' wang and it gives them overconfidence and they think they can do/have anything. Thats us and our military. We have the biggest and strongest so we can overreach and then tell ourselves, "It's ok, We are awesome! We are protecting and spreading democracy!" And then we find ourselves in some country forever (Hi people from those countries!) and slowly erode the gratitude from helping them out (if there was any to start with, Korea comes to mind) and start them hating us. Plenty of Americans think we shouldn't be rubbing our big ol' wang all over the place. Of course if they speak up theyre derided as unpatriotic or a commie.
I dont know why "socialism" is such a dirty word here. Police? Firemen? Public library? Dirty god d*mn socialism at work! And my favorite.. Keep your dirty goverment hands out of my medicare! (Medicare is a national social insurance for those 65 and older and disabled people). I'm pretty sure in our Declaration of Independence and Constitution that it is "LIFE, liberty and the pursuit of happiness". These are our unalienable rights, we came up with this and it has inspired many countries around the world to include it in their constitutions and declarations. I think its pretty kickass. I just wish we followed the first part and had healthcare for everyone. Life isn't a privelidge, its a right.
Democrats (the liberal in America) think that guns are bad. They're not. Some people are bad. Besides, we could never get rid of all the firearms in the states even if people wanted it. It just seems that this is the easy answer to solve crime when there are so many underlying reasons for why there is crime in the first place.
If only we stuck with the separation of church and state instead of just saying it while we winked our eye. The inclusion of religion into our politics is the biggest *%ck up. It should be left in your home and not dictate policy. With that being said, religion is great for some and not so much for others. The people who hate on religion are just as bad as the ones that push it. Sometimes worse it seems. Live and let live.
Republicans (the conservatives in America), creationism should be taught in schools? Really? Abstinence instead of birth control? Really? (What la la land are you living in where your kids arent banging in the back of your F150 while you are out on date night at Applebees?) Oh yeah, and please keep your hands out of every womans vagina. You're not wanted there. Your hands are cold. That we are still fighting over a woman's rights to control her reproduction is ridiculous.

Wow, I sound like im a liberal who hates America. I don't hate America and I think liberals and conservatives are both full of crap. America was great, can be great and is great in many ways still. We just need to lop off the bad stuff before it overwhelms us. I suppose I obviously lean more towards the "liberal" end of things. But call me crazy if I think healthcare and education should be provided to all. If we can maintain our huge military presence in the world and bomb some folks every few years we can find the money to pay for these two things.

. The quality of the student loans over there just aren't up to par. My friend went to university in the US and she asked for assistance with funding and they told her to go to a loan shark. We don't even have those over here in the first place and I really think that is testament to the quality of the student loans systems and also just funding for poorer people in general.

HAHAHAAHAH! What?! I could see perhaps if a foreign student wanted assistance how that migh be hard, but your average US citizen that has the wherewithall to actually go apply for a student loan is VERY likely to get one. The only time I've seen issues is when someone is still a dependent of their partents and their parents make TOO MUCH money. I put myself through college with the GI Bill and student loans. I applied and literally had 0 income and got the loans. It's not as big of a problem as people make it out to be.

It HAS however become more of a problem now that the government is the sole lender in the US and not multiple institutions.

It's not so much an issue of getting the student loans... it's paying them back at a time when a degree no longer guarantees a well paying job. Reports are coming out now showing that senior citizens still have student loan debt and that many are having trouble making those payments. I had NO problem getting money for school... I'm just screwed when I graduate this fall

AND? That should not be the problem of the people, nor the government to solve. Sorry you choose to study something that became worthless, but you made that decision. I sympathize though, I too went to school for electronics, got my degree and was met with no jobs in areas that I wanted to actually live. I then made an effort to change the direction of my career slightly and am now in IT.

I'll be paying for my student loans for years and years to come, but oh well, my problem not someone elses.

Exactly religion and edution should stay FAR FAR a part.

WHAT???? How, exactly, will people learn about world religions if they're not educated on them? I'm not sure I understand this statement. Unless, what you're meaning to say is that religion should not be taught in public schools.

there is a difference between teaching religion, and teaching ABOUT religion... they were referring to the former

What is the difference? Not being snarky. Trying to understand what you're saying.

The difference would be a world religions class in which you learned about many religions, their differences, history, etc, and then using religion as an excuse to teach abstinence only sex Ed, or things like creationism in a science class.