kaiZie said:
Uncompetative said:
The Americans are self-serving imperialist capitalist exploiters who "talk the talk" about liberty and democracy and then keep slavery going long after the U.K. got rid of it, as well as making it harder for black americans to vote in the 2008 election (as they were more likely to vote in the first black president). Let's face it, out of those that are not so brainwashed consumerist middle-class to not care about politics half are crypto-racist and are actively paranoid about their gated societies being invaded by a 'Zulu horde'. Why else did the sales of personal arms shoot up when Obama took office?
Oh, and to prove they don't get irony you only have to read the Declaration of Independence:
"We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness." - except, Negros...
...but what do you expect when so many of the Founding Fathers owned slaves...
Then you can read all men are created equal as also applying to women, but it has taken until quite recently for issues of equal pay to be addressed:
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Lilly_Ledbetter_Act
Would the Cold War have happened without the policies of Truman? Would the Cuban Missile Crisis have happened (and very nearly destroyed all life on earth... seriously) if Kennedy hadn't threatened the U.S.S.R. first with missiles based in Turkey? Would there be less terrorist groups if the C.I.A. not been deposing foreign governments that it didn't approve of and replacing them with corrupt, puppet, dictators - who were okay to be left to torture and 'disappear' their opponents, because at least they weren't Communist? Reagan's "Peace Shield" didn't help and wouldn't have been a solution anyway as it could never destroy 100% of incoming ballistic missiles, so any aggressor could counter by just increasing their nuclear stockpile to make that 2% count and return to M.A.D.
Would we be all facing an uncertain future if America's corporations hadn't fostered Globalization so that our economies were inextricably linked and then encouraged financial legerdemain by linking C.F.O.'s megabonuses to their illusory stock value and then spreading this corruption out from companies like Enron to The Square Mile in London as their these ex-employees "expertise" was sought, by a world economy driven by American Bull.
Are they alone in being naughty? Of course not, but they are so damn smug and incredulous that the rest of the world hates them.
What is their debt now?
http://www.uwsa.com/us-national-debt.html
so what your saying is American is built on false values? or that the american government is just misleading everyone??
I admire the values expressed in the Declaration of Independence. It is sad that some of the founding fathers did not take this opportunity to actually end all inequalities between Americans - i.e. not have slavery, not have racial segregation, not have unequal pay for women. So, America isn't built on false values, they have grand aspirations and then totally fail to carry them out. They 'talk the talk', but don't 'walk the walk'. I don't want to direct all blame on the American government either, it is more complex than that. After all, American politicians are elected and Independents can get on the ballot, but enough of the population votes selfishly (who tend to be 'decadent' middle class hyper-consumers) that a status quo persists throughout changes of Party. There is always a chance for great leaders to surface and take America back to being an example of a fair and just society (which doesn't interfere with other countries except with approval from the U.N. say, to stop genocide in Africa), there is currently some chance that Obama may be the Great President that America has long needed, but it is far too early to tell. He is so adored that there could well be not riots, but race wars in urban centers if he were to be assassinated and, unfortunately, America has a track record of killing its saviors. I hope he survives to be reelected for a second term - he needs eight years to fix the economy. However, I don't think he is going to do any of this by magic, he needs a total 180 degree reorientation in the people's personal priorities and a recognition that you can be happier with less consumer items and foreign holidays and new SUVs and less money, provided that you are part of a harmonious community of that helps each other out, rather than looks to exploit the weak for a quick buck.
Obviously, other countries have a lot of flaws too. England doesn't have a Constitution (see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Charter_88 ), but the problem I have with America is that it makes out it has all the answers, that it is a great democracy (despite electoral scandals), a "just" society (despite corporations continually slipping away from accountability by the law, as corporations are regarded as immortal "people"; see: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Corporate_personhood ) and an agency for good around the world (i.e. spreading democracy through military force or CIA sponsored coups, rather than leaving these countries alone to institute their own political reforms/revolutions at their own pace).
So, I admit it may have come off as a bit of a rant and I did lump all Americans in together, but I still think the majority are complacent and deluded and should probably dial-down the patriotic rhetoric and stop wearing the Flag lapel badges until the negative imperialist super-power connotations have been replaced by rightful pride in one's own country's achievements as part of an international community rather than some abstract aspirations that never seem to come to pass.
I give them ten years to reverse the rot, after that I think the corruption of their high ideals will be irreversible.
It's Fraudulent-Sincere benevolence XD
