Friends from overseas ask me: “What is America like?” And so I tell them…
America is a country where from an early age we feed our children tripe. We use television and religion as babysitters. We encourage our children to dream big and gain success but fail to tell them to stay humble. Then we wonder to ourselves why our kids grow up to be egotistical and self-centered with all too high opinions of themselves.
We encourage our kids to read books but not the right ones. We forget what the Golden Rule actually means.
America is a country where someone is judged and labeled for liking a certain genre of music. It’s a country where you are judged for your looks, personality, speaking habits, hair color, IQ level, etc. when we forget that some of history’s greatest innovators didn’t exactly fall inside the norm.
America is a country where one political party strongly protests gay marriage while forgetting that the divorce rate is higher among their numbers.
It’s a place where we feel we are morally superior by nature of being American, which then by definition makes us morally inferior.
America is a country where self-righteous people blame everyone but themselves. Where people automatically hate what they don’t understand.
We take for granted only 6.7% of the world has the privilege to go to college and yet we sit here throwing that rare opportunity away.
We take for granted what we have. We take for granted the fact our Founding Fathers created something unique in the annals of history. We take for granted the blood shed to keep this country free.
America is a country where the Westboro Baptist Church is allowed to roam free.
I tell them America is not perfect. But then again no country is. I tell them we are one of the most free countries on the planet and yet we take it all for granted.
Maybe it’s time we sat back and thought about that.
(I felt it needed saying. Agree or disagree as you will.)
I agree with almost all of that, and have seen a fair amount of decline during my 50 years on this planet. The only point I’d argue is the degree on Westboro Baptist. They should be allowed to speak their BS, but they should be limited in their ability to abuse other peoples’ rights to have a quiet, personal funeral. Other than that, I’m with ya. And I would personally LOVE to see a third party come to be, fiscally conservative while socially liberal, right mack dab in the middle of the spectrum.
Maybe that’s a job for YOUR generation. Mine doesn’t seem to be too interested in compromise…
No argument from me. The generational gap is staggering, especially considering modern technology such as video games and cell phones. The older generation can’t comprehend how much it’s changed for my generation.
The problem with a third party is that our political system is designed for two, not three, so whatever party the third one broke from would be severely weakened.
That’s the reason that, as much as they talked about it, the Tea Party never split from the GOP. For if they had, both parties would have lost big-time to the Democrats.
“A house divided cannot stand.”
Don’t quote me on this (yeah, I get the irony, a history freak who’s weak on American history), but I think we’ve had three parties at a couple points in time. Thinking in the period of the Whigs in the late 1700s/early 1800s, and the party Teddy Roosevelt ran with. I also don’t recall anything that specifically limits law-making or other processes to two parties – I think our aversion to more than two is rooted in our European heritage. Look at post-WW2 Italy, that averaged something like 1.25 government coalitions per year until the late 90s, or the bizarre left-right coalition that England is trying to make work. Party-rich Germany is having problems getting things done with Greens, Pirates, and Neo-Nazis crawling out of the woodwork. And yes, if a third party sprang up today, it would most likely lead to another withering, as it has in our past with the Whigs, Tories, and others that slip my mind. Currently, that would be the GOP, and as a lifelng conservative with social liberal leanings, I gotta admit that’s not a wholy repugnant idea!
Okay, US Politics – Compare And Contrast is concluded for today. You’ve been a great class!
I must say that Yes, while we have on occasion had two parties, over time they inevitably fold into a larger party. This is because we have what’s labeled a “Plurality” system of elections. As opposed to most European countries’ system of Proportional Representation.
This means in America unless we change the system we will mostly always have two strong parties that endure and the third parties do not. I.e. any of the third parties we have now….Green, Libertarian, Constitutional, etc.
And I would not disagree with you that the GOP being replaced by what some term “Middlecrats” would be ideal.
Being “free” is complicated…the Westboro Baptists are free to express themselves, as much as we might disagree with what they stand for. But shouldn’t people also be free to bury their loved ones in peace?
It seems we too often think only about our own rights and freedoms, not how they might impact others who disagree with us.
There are a lot of contradictions in our country…people who most loudly proclaim their Christianity are often the same people who are against social programs that feed the hungry and heal the sick. And yet I doubt that those people see themselves as less Christian because of that.
Maybe we’re still growing, trying to figure out who we want to be when we grow up…you know, as a country…hopefully we’ll make the decision to treat others with respect, to help those who need it, and to live our beliefs…growing up is tough.
We all know it is. I know you know I know it very well (haha that was a tongue twister if I ever saw one). Selfishness is widespread in a country where even the low-income class makes more than most do overseas.
I personally hold to the theory most people are selfish at heart but sometimes we care enough to overcome that.
You know, I guess I never really thought of it like that…but yes, there are very few people who live a life of unselfishness…I know I don’t and I don’t personally know anyone who does. But we all have our moments (okay, maybe not everyone) when we do something just because it’s the right thing to do. Maybe those moments can make a difference.
oops…thought I’d let you know I’m not really anonymous (and don’t start thinking that was me before, because it wasn’t)
Ah ha! Gotcha! Nah I believe you haha.
And not that we’re never unselfish, because I know everyone (including myself) is from time to time. I mean people who generally try to be good people and look out for others.
I’d count you among them.