What do you hate about America?, page 4

Originally posted by EmbryonicEssence

Originally posted by specialasianX
Here comes fun!!!

Heres what i hate about the USA!

-Your population is kept in ignorance about the world and issues (thus they cant complain)
Name a country where the population is not kept in ignorance. Many Americans may be ignorant of most things, but thats by personal choice. A government can't tell everything now can it? Think about it.
i agree it is the peoples choice, but the fact that most of your population couldnt even point to Iraq on a map says something, just dont teach them anything and they'll believe whatever you say... its not so much kept in the dark, more shown a different coloured light

-your 'world sports' include NASCAR, NFL, NHL, Baseball, and basket Ball... all sports that maybe one or two other countries other than the USA play (with the Exception of ice hockey which is played across nortern europe) Many countries have sports that no other country plays. Americans have a wide range of tastes. Why do you think we are called the melting pot? BTW, Baseball, Basketball, and Hockey are played in many, many countries - not just America.
oh my point wasnt that you guys were the only country, my points is that these arent 'world' sports. I understand that they are popular soprts over there and it makes sense to air them. But the use of the word 'world' when relating to american sports. It just seems to me typical of the american 'we are the world' attitutde Baseball is played in the states cuba and Japan (in a decent league), basketball is played in some european countries but not alot, and i already remarked on hockey in my original post.

-Your rich stuff themselves with food and luxuries while your poor siffer and poor all over the world suffer.
Name a country where the rich do not do this? 99.99% of the people in the world are only concerned about self-interest. I highly doubt you yourself have ever lent a hand to the needy (like most people).
I put alot of my money into charity, and i will always give change to those in need (sometimes even notes if i have enough) and this generosity really affects the way i live. If your rich were to put 1% of their income into charity or to help a poor nation, millions of lives would be better, and the rich guy would barely notice the moneys gone. Yes its true other countries do the same and i have no respect for these people who do that. Ita fair enough you want to live comfortably, but theres a point where i think you need to look out for your fellow human. The USA has the richest people in the world and most of these people are greedy, and greed is one thing i cant stand

You may like this quote from Thomas Jefferson: "Experience demands that man is the only animal which devours his own kind, for I can apply no milder term to the general prey of the rich on the poor."
yeah i know that quote, quite true, maybe it this that seperates us from the animals... if thats the case turn me into a monkey now

-Your government acts all highand mighty, they say they do things for the interest of the world and other countries when in reality its only for themselves.
Of course it is only for themselves. Every leader/s of a country is only concerned about whats best for themselves or for their country. Any country with as much power as the United States would be doing the same thing - its called "expansion of the empire." Every country in Europe has done it or tried it in the past. Empires only exist for so long though.
True every country acts in its own interest, but the USA like to make it look like their helping others, also sometimes i feel what your gov. does isnt in the countries self interest but more the interests of individuals and corporations... i agree alot of the hatred people have for the states is their power, but its their use of their power that irks me... but you know what they say, nice guys finish last...
-you overthrow some dictators but leave other who are worse in place, you overthrow democratically elected governments to install tyrants (Iran, Indonesia... etc)
It is done to serve the best interests of the "elected" leaders of the USA - and sometimes it benefits the American people. Its a dog eat dog world and everything that goes on is planned accordingly.
i agree everything is done to benefit america, but if they were more consistant in the reasons they do things, and didnt tell people it was for the good of the country in question i would have less of a prolem with this

-You are the only nation to ever drop a nuke (2 in fact) and yet to seem to think your the only nation allowed to have them
Those type of agreements are just hearsay. You can say you won't do something, but it doesn't mean you won't break the agreement in an instant if you need to. Nuclear weapons are used as leverage. As long as other countries know that the USA has them and are willing to use them, they won't try to attack the mainland. It also keeps other nuclear nations at bay because they know if they use them against the US, or against other nations, the US will strike back and leave nothing. The nukes were dropped in Japan for a reason, read about it.
I agree with nukes being a deterant, but i feel other nations should be allowed to have them as well, in fact i think many nations who have been de-nuked, i would trust with them more than Israel or the USA

-You support Israel when clearly they are a terrorist state.
Every country could be considered a terrorist state. Again, self-interest. There is a thin-line between right and wrong. Right and wrong is the point of view your parents, teachers, country, etc... instilled upon you from an early age.
Once again i agree it is about opinion and self interest, and for the record my opinion differs greatly from my parents and former teachers, its the fact they never forced their opinions on me that allowed me to come by these views

-You supprted the IRA who were clearly a terrorist organisation (but britain didnt go and invade you did they???) Much of the American population is of Irish descent - so the support for a unified Ireland and an end to British rule only makes sense. One of the reasons the United States is the United States is because of the end of British rule here. Also, the conflict in Northern Ireland is very complex, read these Q&A's here: cfrterrorism.org...

As of July 2002, it is no longer considered to be a terrorist organization.
i know the IRA is technically disbanded now, but that was due to the war on terror and all, but the 'real IRA' is still around, but not realy that powerful...

-you only go after islamic terrorist but not the IRA and ETA (also other groups who's names elude me)
I'm not familiar with ETA, but my info on the IRA above is very informative. We have gone after many terrorist cells deemed worthy - not just Islamic terrorists. Islamic terrorists just seem to be the norm as of late, and the most "advertised."
ETA is the basque seperatist group of northern spain, notorious for their attacks on spanish targets.

-you invaded iraq illegally and on lies.
Again, self-interest. Any country with power would have done this. I don't support it, but this sort of stuff happens. Here are some more Thomas Jefferson quotes (he definately saw the reality of things):
once again i agree, self interest, but i feel they could've been a ittle more subtle. but regardless it adds to my disike

"Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms [of government] those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny."

"My reading of history convinces me that most bad government results from too much government. "

"When we get piled upon one another in large cities, as in Europe, we shall become as corrupt as Europe."

This all seems to be happening right now. Good thing we still have the fourth amendment! Of which Thomas Jefferson said this (his quotes are great aren't they? : D): "The strongest reason for the people to retain the right to keep and bear arms is, as a last resort, to protect themselves against tyranny in government."

-you violate human rights, then go off and acuse others of the same thing.
Self-interest and denial. Every government does it. There are worse violations of human rights caused by other governments than the American government - and those are against their own people. America has done it in the past, to it's own people, but we are actively trying to keep it from happening again.
Its funny how all this does relate to self interest, or selfishness as i see it... but to accuse others when you do it yourselves i feel is hypocritical and i hate hypocracy (even though we are all guilty of it)

-you pollute the environment more than any other nation
Been to a third world country lately? We are not as bad as it seems. We definately need to cut down on certain things and have more stringent clean-up policies, but so do most other countries in the world.
i grew up in a developing country (malaysia) not quite third world but not privilidged. i have also travelled and live in other sth east asian states. My problem with america is the polution they put out is because of your big cars (dont get me wrong i love corvettes and caddiliacs but they are so wasteful), and you over-indulgence... where as poorer nations are polluting because they dont have the infastructure or money to cope with increasing waste (once again all this money the USA uses on blowing people up could help here)

-you manipulate countries into 'free trade' which only benefits you and the other rich countries.
Not true. It benefits the leaders of the country who allow the free trade. Remember, its usually not the people of a country who profit from these type of things - its the leader/s.
point taken, no discussion here, but there were countries that did walk out of the WTO meetings as they felt the deal wasnt good for them and the US and other rich countries refused to budge

-you claim to be the 'land of the free'... what a joke!
We are certainly more free than any other country in the world. Not many countries allow you to talk crap about your leader/s and get away with it. I'd say thats freedom indeed. And that fourth amendment really shows the freedom we have - we can defend ourselves against the government if we have to. Not many other countries allow citizens the right to bear arms (if there are any - I can't seem to think of any at the moment : ).
Ok yes you are more free than many nations, but your not the most free by a long shot. So what you can have guns, you cant have alot of other things, and privacy seems to be a thing of the past in the states, and once you know enough about someone you can control them

well the list continues but i'm getting worked up and i'm at work and thats not a good thing...
so to conclude:

America Sux

[Edited on 4-21-2004 by EmbryonicEssence]

sorry about the long post here but i felt i had to respond to these very valid rebuttals, but i feel there may be a cyclical debate happening as it does come down to personal opinion in the end