Whats your view of America right now?

Germany here.

As the most powerful nation in this world the USA has the biggest influence on how things develope on this planet.
But since the US mistrusts each and every one - even their own citizens and vice versa their own government - they have become controle freaks, not only spying out the world but also bringing war to many regions of the globe.

In the past we already had finished with pure capitalism as a system that bleeds out the poor. Now capitalism has become a synonyme for democracy. And again the poorest are bleeding first. The word democracy has become an empty term. What kind of change would one expect, if you only have the choice between the houses of Clintons and the Bushes?

After the breakown of the USSR the USA filled up as many space as possible to make a comeback hard. That would be okay if it was not accompanied by one war after the next. I am not a Putin fan but I see why the Russians don't doubt that the USA is the aggressive nation. All in all the politics of the USA have made this world a far worse place than it used to be some centuries ago.

For the people: I think they are very heterogenous with different ideas and thoughts. The melting pot, as some used to call it proudly. But as well in the news as also in the forums one gets the impression that there is a lot of aggression. (No I am not rapping, that's coincidence. )

Having said this, I must say I don't see much light at the horizon right now. But who knows, maybe they will find the cow with the red hair soon and peace will come to the Middle East.

a reply to: AnteBellum

Greetings AB!

On the topic of how I view America at the moment, I would have to say the following.

It is a nation whose leaders are corrupt, from business bosses to directors of intelligence, and depending who is in power in a given year, either the President or the congress or both. It is a nation in which religious freedom is misunderstood, and most often by those who have a faith. It is a nation in which the government would rather take inanimate objects from everyone, rather than remove people who might use those objects improperly, from the streets and general population.

It is a nation which has a media which blames the poor for their circumstances, and fails to recognise nuance, the complexity of real life. It is also a nation in which the destitute have been swelled in number by the banking crashes of the last couple of decades, such that tent cities have sprung up all over the place, more people are living in substandard or poor quality housing, and those who find themselves in that position have to deal not only with the harrowing living circumstances foisted upon them by events beyond their control, but deal with the unreasoning hate spewed at them by a small minority of clueless halfwits on the street, and a great many venomous media figures.

It is a nation whose foreign policy choices have helped shape the cataclysmic rise of IS, has assisted the drugs trade across its border with Mexico, and either by accident or deliberate fault created the circumstances which lead to a terror attack on a massive scale, on its own soil, which it then used as an excuse to create more martyrs, with air raids, artillery, and massed troop surges, rather than simply and silently assassinating terror groups without fanfare, without public knowledge. It is also a nation which illegally spies on its own citizens, and those of the rest of the world with impunity, and whose leaders for the periods covered by that system, should be dethroned and incarcerated as punishment for that crime.

It is also a nation which I know, from interacting with various people from there, and who live there now, to be stuffed, absolutely rammed to the rafters with some of the most wonderful and varied characters and people you could hope to meet. The hearts and minds I have encountered here on this website, who happen to be from the United States of America, have been an absolute pleasure to discuss matters with, and more over just seem like a fantastic bunch of people in the main. The way I see it, America as a people is a winner every single day of the week. It's just the government, the businesses, the incestuous grey space between them, that messes with the nations international cred.

There are of course, those in any nation whose odious attitude and utterances, not to mention actions, bring the whole lot down a little bit (I am looking at YOU Alex Jones!).

The various shooting incidents, race riots, police shootings particularly, have highlighted that there is STILL an undercurrent which is unhealthy, in certain areas of the nation, and amongst a small minority of persons on all sides of the debate.

But these negative things, they are not how I view America, any more than the rampant imperialism and rape of entire continents during the height of The British Empire defines my nation, or the people in it. American people, by and large, are a good lot, with an awful lot of things weighing on them right now, and I view those who manage to get through it without being absorbed by partisanship and nation centric ideology, as being the cream of a very good crop indeed.

In short, America, great bunch of folks, but a terrible geopolitical crap wrecker which gets more terrible, dysfunctional, and disruptive as time wears on.

With the greatest possible respect, and very deep love, if America did away with everything other than its food, its culture, and its people, it would be the best nation on the face of the world. As it is... Naaahhh!

a reply to: AnteBellum

Honestly, I still love this land as much today as the day a young naive country raised his right hand and took an oath to defend this country against all enemies, both foreign, and domestic.

It is ten years since I got out, Nov 2.

Honestly though, we got some serious problems...well that is not quite accurate, we are circling the drain here, that is more the way I see it.

When I was in highschool, I could make more money than I can now.

Am I less skilled or talented now than I was then?

Nope, in fact I am much more skilled and talented now than I was back then.

So what changed?

A few tension of millions of illegals honestly.

Right out of highschool I was subcontracting in construction.

Making over $50K a year.

But why pay me $0.12 a foot to finish drywall, when the Mexicans will do it for $0.06 a foot?

So I switched trades several times.

In the end, there was just not any construction jobs left that pay anything.

Wages have been depressed to the point now, 20 years later, that even though inflation has doubled the price of goods and services, wages have nearly been halved, in the samespan of time.

I could make between $12 and $14 an hour starting, with no experience.

Now you with experience, you are looking at closer to $12.

No experience closer to $8.

That is only about a 25 percent drop, until you factor in, the minimum wage back then was half what it is now.

$5 was 5 gallons of gas, today, it isn't even 2 gallons in most places.

If we do not do something about this soon, there won't be a middle class left.

I started out making great money with no experience, and have watched my entire life as I just make less and less while acquiring more and more experience and skills


This is our most pressing issue in my oppinion, because it took what was once a robust middle class and turned it into a country of mostly working poor, some 60 percent of current workers in this country qualify for welfare.

Because there is only retail and service industry work now, unless you are a banker a lawyer a computer tech or med professional.

What a bunch of bs.

We need to reduce the power of the Federal Government and reduce its size. We need to stop meddling in the lives of our citizens and the lives of people around the world. We need to bring our troops home and stop the pointless wars. We need to bring jobs back home and concentrate on making our country great again.

a reply to: Metallicus

My sentiments exactly! I hope to see that happen in my life time, but I won't hold my breath.

It is also a nation which illegally spies on its own citizens, and those of the rest of the world with impunity, and whose leaders for the periods covered by that system, should be dethroned and incarcerated as punishment for that crime.

a reply to: TrueBrit

I blame this on us, the American citizen. As long as we have money in our pocket, a home and food on the table, we Americans are content to ignore the blatant abuse of our basic rights guaranteed by our constitution. We continue to support politicians who support the status quo and attack the very social programs that help the majority of American citizens. We support excessive spending on programs that do nothing but promote war and conflicts in the world.

We allowed an entire administration to get away with starting a war and occupying a sovereign country based on documented lies. Many in the Bush administration should have been dethroned and incarcerated for their war crimes!
We now have a leader who still supports the same policies as his predecessor, and sold a bill of goods of "government transparency" to the American public. True whistle blower patriots like Edward Snowden are threatened with treason and incarceration.

Living through the cold war and all the condemnation about the Soviet Union spreading communism throughout the world, invading and occupying countries, I feel like we are doing the exact same thing. The Soviet Union was notorious for spying on their citizens and controlling the media. The U.S. is now doing the same thing. We used to have investigative reporting and the media exposed corruption in government. Now it seems the media has been tamed to avoid negative reporting on government policies.

I believe the people of the U.S. and the rest of the world are good and just want to live in peace. We all allow a self-centered minority to rule, start wars, and oppress us. (A glaring example is North Korea).

Strength is in numbers, we really have no one to blame but ourselves.

originally posted by: muse7

Did you all know that here in the U.S. Women don't have the right to maternity leave?

This is untrue. FMLA allows for 12 weeks of medical leave per year. It is paid out of your balance of PTO, if you have any.

a reply to: AnteBellum

The people are for the most part really great. Corporations are retarded, the gravy train won't last as they are going to run out of corporate welfare as the tax base erodes away further. Stock market is nothing more than a casino where the "house" always wins. Your politicians are a joke, half of treasonous bastards and bitches have dual citizenship, duh. The central bank, the fed, is probably one of the most corrupt private corporations on the planet along with the military/industrial complex and let's not forget big pharma and Monsanto.

350 million good people being f'ed over by a handful of criminal turds. It's ridiculous, but really no different than anywhere else.

Cheers - Dave

Australia

**US Government - your vote doesn't count, the constitution doesn't matter, the US Military is the strong-arm of the globalists military/industrial complex policies - gimme your guns or a false flag comes your way until you do.

**US citizens - in general awesome on an individual level, unbelievable hospitality (particularly the southern states I have frequented), great food, the mecca of muscle-cars, can't brew beer properly.

Cheers

My opinion: Im 40 from the UK and have grown up half my life here and half my life in the middle east.

- I love Americans as individuals. You guys are fun, freindly. No issues there. I even dont mind your accents (joke)

- America is #ed in my opinion and i have no desire whatsoever to ever live/work there. This is after a life of dreaming of doing so. I wanted to study physics at Berkely or MIT, live in Colorado, in NY etc... Now? No thanks.

- Your (Collective) xenophobia is alarming to say the least. I wont go to the States for a holiday as i have no desire to ever deal with your Nazis working at the airport. I know that if i ever had an unfriendly immigration or TSA agent, i would not be able to stay quiet and i would be sent back home.

- I think your gun laws are disgusting and show a clear selfishness amongst gun owners more concerned with having their fun toys than peopl dying. Although to be fair, its probably too late to ever get guns off the street. But the argument that someone would get one anyway even if they were illegal is just moronic. Do you see this happening as regularly (or even anywhere as regularly) anywhere else in the world? No. So that squashes that. I genuinely feel that the NRA has many many peoples and kids bloods on their hands.

- That being said, i think you are lucky in that you live in one of the most diverse and beautiful countries in the world geographically. I know thats whay so many Americans never leave the country, you dont have to. Im very jeaulous.

- I think your attitudes towards food in general if pretty shocking and you guys eat WAY too much crap. Even though we love american junk food here in the UK. We still have a fraction that you guys have.

Lastly, i like to cook good food and i have heard/read and discussed that fresh produce in the US is very very expensive. Here in North London, there are so many turkish shops sellign good, fresh and cheap veg that its possibel to make a delicious large veggie meal for under 5 quid. Living in London is horrifically expensive, but the food is fairly cheap to buy in supermarkests. There is NO excuse for any families not cooking healthy meals there. BK and McDonalds are not even close to being as cheap as a healthy meal would be. Whereas i understand that in the US, junk food is definitely cheaper.

- I think Obama has been very very dissapointing and wont be sad to see him go, but the republicans behaviour the last 7 years has been an eye opener. Shocking, disgusting, frequently racist and clearly with zero regard for whats best for the country...to us in the UK it looks like "how can we get back at that n*gger in the white house?". By the way, this seems to be ATS thinking too. But more racist. Very sad to see.

- Your police forces seem to be overrun with a**holes. Im reaching the point where i almost WANT there to be a backlash against them. They are ALL guilty. If they stick to each other when one has done something wrong, they are all guilty. WOuld you still be friends with someone who confessed to killign another person?

id rather move to Canada, Vancouver island or something...Sorry.

But as i said, individual americans are awesome people and im lucky enough to have a few as good friends.



Oh and Trump? SERIOUSLY? You guys are f*******cked if hes making headway.

a reply to: AnteBellum

America, as we know it, is dying.

What will emerge in the wake of it's death?

Dunno.

As with the rest of humanity, full of hope and potential, and fraught with dangers and risks. (For ourselves, and the rest of the world.)

As for our leadership woes, I'm of two minds. On the one hand, I do believe the deck/game is heavily stacked/rigged to favor those who kowtow to large financial interests, and somewhat opaque political agendas. I don't believe things are anywhere near as simple or black and white as they're presented to the general public, and I do suspect like others that there's a lot more going on behind the scenes than we're ever allowed any real, nuanced insight into. And this does take some of the blame away from the electorate imho.

However, on the other hand...

"Where do people think these politicians come from? They don't fall out of the sky. They don't pass through a membrane from another reality. They come from American parents, and American families, American homes, American schools, American churches, American businesses, and American universities, and they're elected by American citizens. This is the best we can do, folks. It's what our system produces." - George Carlin

Which is not to say I don't believe there are some decent alternatives, mind you. But why don't they get elected? At least some of the answer to that has to rest with the electorate, surely?

I love the potential and professed ideals of this country. And I love its people, as I love all people. But as with the rest of the world, there are a lot of things in play. A lot of conflicting agendas. A lot of powerful people, and a lot of largely powerless people.

I don't think any nation is all good or all bad. As with most things, it's a chaotic mixture of good, bad, potential, and risk.

Peace.

a reply to: AnteBellum

I'm a born and bred American, I think our country is doing fine. I used to not like Obama, but his policies have improved freedoms for many demographics across the country. Now we just need a politician brave enough to take a stand against marijuana prohibition and the war on drugs in general (then the war on terror, that needs to end too).

Thank you all for the honest and personal criticisms of our situation here. I agree with most of you on your views of the government, I just wish there was an easy way to fix it.

My conclusion is the USA can't fix itself, this country needs an intervention! That means outside course correction from the world. Us citizens would only end up in jail or shot if we tried and the political system is rigged by the very laws and lawyers sworn to uphold justice. They can find loopholes for any situation now, even using race, religion and sex to circumvent the system.

For the first time in my life I've been feeling less like an American and more like a world citizen. This is because being American no longer stands for what I believe in, even with such great documents as our constitution and bill of rights. Sadly it seems these are only relics worthy of museum space now.

I hope someday we all can be part of the same big family. With diversity and cultural differences being celebrated, not manipulated by those that govern for power and control.

AB

Honestly, in one word, laughable.

From my perspective I hear constant complaints of gun crimes but attribute it to individual being the cause (guns don't kill people rappers do type mentality), and genuinely can't comprehend that without the gun those crimes never would have happened, criminal or not.

Most civilised countries have implemented gun control measures and are incredibly successful, yet we constantly have ATS debates about the need for it. Hell we read everyday "I don't have a gun but I would rather die then give up my right to protect myself". This is the stereotype I have of America unfortunately.

There's the global conquest of America of stripping other countries of valuable resources which I hate also, especially when theyvuse the UK to help do their bidding.Won't go too deep though.

Something also (remember I base my opinions on americans based off media exposure and forums like this)americans are fully aware that the media promotes propoganda but will use that same propoganda to justify a point, completely oblivious and unable to identify it. E.g fight for freedom.

I like American movies and series, like the way they speak (don't get to the point as soon as possible like in london) it's nice and relaxed, and for pioneering alot of the technologies and exploration projects I appreciate ( space exploration). I also like the idea that many feel their opinion matters, more than other countries, most probably cos everything in america is "BIG".

Much much more obviously but currently at work.
Thankyou for the can of worms OP.

One more thing:

I think that many people, especially on this website, over hype what they think is wrong with the nation, but I think that is more a problem with people's propaganda detection skills though.

GeGe America.

I'm an American, but above that I'm an Alaskan.

I see America as a a blind date. You show up at the restaurant and see this knockout curvaceous gal, big round butt, ample bust, long hair, gorgeous face, wearing a bit too much makeup and a dress that's too high on the bottom and too low on the top. You sit down at a table with her and sort of groan to yourself as she proceeds to order the most expensive dishes off the menu. Then you spend the next half hour uncomfortably sitting there being ignored as she chit-chats with every dude that walks in, clearly knowing (or pretending to know) everyone intimately. She also volunteers you to pick up the drink tab of all these "friends" of hers that are entering the restaurant. Through all of this, you start to recognize some serious flaws... She's got so much pancake makeup on, you really have no idea what she really looks like, here jewelry leaves greenish marks on her ears, neck, and fingers, you're pretty sure you see tissue paper slipping out of her bra, and when she stands up you realize her ass is only attractive from a very specific angle, being quite dumpy from all others.

Food arrives and America buzzsaws through it like she hasn't eaten in weeks. She finishes her massive plate of food so fast that she has time to start picking at your food, which she eats most of while bitching about what your ordered as if it was actually her own meal. Desert cart rolls through and America orders two different deserts, which you're happy about because it seem like she's romantically selecting a treat for you. When they arrive and you start to reach your fork across the table to try the creme brulle, she swats you away and says "Don't you think you've had enough to eat tonight?" while offering samples of the desert to the surrounding tables. The check comes, and, after flirting with the waiter for 10 minutes, America hands the check to you and says "Make sure you tip the waiter, he's nice."

As you leave the restaurant with America, you try to give her a squeeze and she slaps you away saying "Thank you for the evening, if we do this again I'll pick the place you may buy me dinner at." Just before you get into your own car, America taps you on the shoulder and says "Uh, I'm a bit shy on gas money to get home, please give me some money so I can stop at the station." Thanks and goodnight.

That's America in a nutshell. She's the date from hell and nobody in their right mind would take her out, let alone court her... but by God she's sure swell at spending someone else's money and if you're sitting at an adjacent table and she wan'ts your attention, she'll make sure her date buys your drinks and desert for you.

a reply to: burdman30ott6
Haha!

I'm from the U.S.

I'm 20 years old.

I am a child of an interracial marriage.

I am a woman of trans experience (i began my transition at 7 and concluded it with sex reassignment surgery at 17).

I am a university student studying astronomy and astrobiology.

I am hopeful.

I live in one of the greatest cities in the world: Seattle - so I don't understand why people are so against people in cities? I guess they are those crazies who like to stockpile weapons and ammunition to live in their country bunkers in rural america fearing people not exactly like themselves waiting for an apocalypse that never comes.

And they call US crazy?!

I come from a conservative family but consider myself politically independent.

I am for a smaller, more responsive government which puts its people and regional concerns above multinational corporations lobbying power.

I tend to feel the United States is too big and there are too many conflicting ideas of what the country should be. As such the movement towards Cascadia becoming an autonomous region or even independent nation is interesting. Places like Texas and Cascadia couldn't be any more different and could support themselves as independent nations. If either existed on the continent of Europe they would be separate countries.

In Cascadia: Marijuana has been legal since 2012, Same Sex Marriage has been legal since 2012. We have urban food forests, solar power and other futuristic sustainable urban development. The rest of America? Not so much.

I am for the human rights and dignity of all people regardless of ethnicity/race, sex/gender, religion, sexual orientation or political beliefs.

I believe that a good education is a human right; the right of every child and access to good quality higher education the backbone on which the success or failure of any nation rests.

I am for the peaceful use, settlement and development of our wondrous solar system by all nations of Earth.

And therefore I am for growth promoting policies to allowing private companies to mine and convert resources such as near earth asteroids and solar power for their benefit and the benefit of human kind.

I live in the suburbs and work in one of the largest cities (if that means anything).

I would say that the United States is on a downward trajectory with no course corrections in sight.

I do not believe we have a two party system. The Democrats and Republicans are essentially the same, in my eyes. Sure, behind the podium or on the Senate floor they have much different rhetoric. However, at the end of the day they have very similar masters pulling the strings.

In the past two decades I struggle to find any real progress that we have made (excluding some technical innovations made by companies who produce products that are now made overseas).

When I think about the events of the past few years, I see much ado about nothing. To me, because of the currency based economy the world lives in, the only way to be "free" is to have enough money to be so. The ability to live where you want. The ability to travel where you want. The ability to hire the right lawyers for the right problems (real or perceived). But I have seen nothing that helps the "average" American (if there is such a thing).

In the past few years I've seen more divide-and-conquer than I can stomach, which is sadly doing it's job in distracting the population from focusing on any real issues...

I hear about income inequality but I hear no serious plans (even abstract plans) to entice would-be entrepreneurs to start a business and hire people to grow with that business (and have their salaries grow with it). Just a way to divide and distract.

We have a government officials from Mayors of cities all the way up that are stroking (and even creating) racism. Just a way to divide and distract.

If you want to help EVERYONE, you have to open up financial opportunities for everyone. How does taking down a Confederate flag materially improve anyone's life? Excluding the vast minority directly affected (which is an issue that could have been addressed without all the hoopla), how does legalizing gay marriage materially improve anyone's life? How does renaming a friggen mountain materially improve anyone's life? None of these things truly matter when it comes to improving peoples lives (or slowing down the manner in which we all continuously get screwed). The one thing that will impact us all, the trade agreement that was kept from the public under lock and key and was hardly covered at all.

So, I think we are in a very bad state. I remind myself that all generations probably felt this way, but to me this downward spiral is accelerating.