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Post by Deleted on Nov 1, 2005 19:26:21 GMT -5
I ask this cause of current events in the world. Just curious on how others really view us. I know some here on SU hail from other countries, and would like to know their views and what the general feeling is in their own country.
Also would like to here from those of us that live here in the U.S. I know I have my opinions. and here they are.
My feelings are that the government has gotten away from the people its no longer "For the people By the People" Its more controlled by politicians who are almost all dirty and greedy, its all about big business and making money even though we are in huge debt.
As for our out of country excursions like Iraq or (insert country here), I feel we get our nose into everyones business for no good reasons sometimes. In a way I agree with the Nazi like label some give us. We do push our ways of life on others, like Iraq for example, yeah they say we went there to help get Saddam out and make a better life for them,,but the main reason is commerce, set up Iraq like the USA and they will be a hiuge economic boost, that and its always good to have an oil friend. but I don't think we should force our way of living on others,,hey it might not be for everyone.
I love my freedom here and way of life although its more for the rich than the average Shmo like me, I also want to know why we send billions in aid to other countries when we have tons of problems here at home,, I mean yeah its good to help other countries out but we also have a real need here to fix things. Why are there war veterns living on the streets,, didn't they give their all for this country? Shouldn't we give our all for them to help them? Theres tons of other problems too many to list.
Do people hate us cause we are now the Big boys on block, (or that attitude of it) cause our military is so big and powerful?
I have more to rant about I guess but will take respones as they come,,,,, Dig in,, lets hear your thoughts
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Post by shypsychologyguy on Nov 2, 2005 0:41:00 GMT -5
The invasion of Iraq was the result of group think. That is not to say it was a mistake entirely. alot of good will come out of it .
America has always been charitible to other nations so I don't understand why we are so hated in the world.
I can see why other countries are afraid of our media infleuence on them. Commercially we are overly indulged in sex and violence and things like fastfood joints are not something developing countries see as beneficial.
Perhaps we are hated becuase we have power, wealth, freedom, christian moral values .
I dont know . I know there are USA haters here so let us know why.
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Post by Paulinus on Nov 2, 2005 4:27:04 GMT -5
The general stereotype of an average American over here is that of an over patriotic obnoxious loudmouth. Probably not true but thats the impression we get on our TV screens. Particularly if you watch Fox News *shudders*
I would say most peoples problem with the US is not with the people but with those running the country. I personally have never liked George Bush since the day I heard about his (lack of) environmental policies.
I have to say though most things I don't like about the US are also things I don't like about my own country.
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Post by shytothebone on Nov 2, 2005 5:16:09 GMT -5
The hate is media driven and they will always cater to people who have the outrageous point of view or will always follow stories that hurt or cause friction because it drives ratings. The number one target of all of this is the President.
I believe that there are way more people who like the USA than those who don't. Why? Because of the American people. Not the government. Also the Nazi comment. All I have to say is anyone who says we are like Nazis has never met a Nazi no matter what the generalization is.
Yeah we do have our share of problems but that is what the people are for not the government. If you expect the government to solve all the problems then the USA would turn into a communist country. We help other countries because they cant help themselves and other countries take advantage of them. We are the big brother of the world and we need to be. Let me ask you this. If you lived in a third world country and you were starving to death and there was no way to get any food other than a hand out from your big brother would you take it or would you say no you have problems of your own you need it more than me? When the tsunami hit southeast Asia the US government sent more aid than any other country by far. I don't have the exact figure but the American people damn near matched it if not exceeded what its government gave and donated more than all other countries combined ten fold.
The USA has always defended itself never taken the fight to anyone till now and everyone gets all bent out of shape about it. I personally don't want the terrorist doing their business here. I much rather have them fight in someone else's country. But I'm not stupid enough to think that they wont attack the USA again I know they will.
The last thing I have to say is I am very patriotic and I love my country more than anything. This will be the only post I will write in this thread because I know there are people who are gonna hate and disagree and I don't think I have the time to sit here for hours on end and try and correct all of them.
Nazis? Go read your history books if you want know what a god damn Nazi is.
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Post by sushiboat on Nov 2, 2005 5:32:16 GMT -5
When the tsunami hit southeast Asia the US government sent more aid than any other country by far. I don't have the exact figure but the American people damn near matched it if not exceeded what its government gave and donated more than all other countries combined ten fold. The US has a large population and has the largest economy in the world, so it did give the most aid to tsunami relief. When you look at per capita giving, however, many more nations were more generous. Norway gave 7 times as much per capita. If you look just at private giving, the average Norwegian gave 4 times as much as the average American.
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Post by sushiboat on Nov 2, 2005 5:48:23 GMT -5
I believe that there are way more people who like the USA than those who don't. Here is the summary of the Pew Global Attitudes Project, an international survey: "Even though the image of the United States has improved slightly in some parts of the world over the past year, this country's global approval ratings trail well behind those of other leading nations. "When the publics of the 16 nations covered by the survey were asked to give favorability ratings of five major leading nations the United States, Germany, China, Japan, and France the U.S. fared the worst of the group. In just six of the 16 countries surveyed does the United States attract a favorability rating of 50% or above. By contrast, China receives that level of favorability rating from 11 countries, while Japan, Germany and France each receive that high of a mark from 13 countries." Here is a table of attitudes toward the American people (not the government):
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Post by Twice-Shy on Nov 2, 2005 5:54:28 GMT -5
I would say most peoples problem with the US is not with the people but with those running the country. I personally have never liked George Bush since the day I heard about his (lack of) environmental policies. I have to say though most things I don't like about the US are also things I don't like about my own country. I can not speak for the entire population of the country, but many American's feel the same... not just with the "lack of environmental policies"... actually, many other "policies" should be geared more for the good of all the people. Which, in my opinion, are not.
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Post by pansy on Nov 2, 2005 6:33:45 GMT -5
True American patriots defend the principles on which the country is founded, and have the courage to speak out and take action when government leaders stray from the course.
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Post by Tal on Nov 2, 2005 7:49:20 GMT -5
Well when you're the biggest economic, military and cultural power in the world you're going to have to expect people to dislike you. As a nation you will make decisions, take actions which piss people off and along with the benefits come the consequences.
The biggest problem in America is the neo-cons (they're neither conservative, nor liberal, but a mixed up bunch of imperialists and businessmen intent of controlling as much of the world as they can whilst they fill up their coffers with money from oil, industry etc etc). This, not America or Americans in general, is what much of the world dislikes. I wouldn't even say 'hates' is a fair term to use except for a few fundamentalist religious nuts (America has plenty of those too). I don't think people in Europe ‘hate’ America despite what some neo-con supporters might like to think.
Yeah, sure we're frustrated about an often selfish US foreign policy (but you expect it from a large power), sure we're upset our own national cultures have been squashed by (quite often substandard quality) American cultural exports, sure we almost powerless to restrain or impel America on policy matters and it may well harm our environment, our overseas relations etc, but these are things which can be worked out over time/or are down to the decisions of a few politicians, not an entire country.
We shouldn't forget the things America (like other countries throughout history) has given to us: defence, technology, science, economic aid. A lot of people do tend to forget these, perhaps because time has moved on and America's monopoly on such things has diminished. But I think when you encourage people to look at a balanced list of positives/negatives they'll perhaps be more careful in what they spout out.
However, Americans do seem to take things very personally as a nation. As soon as someone has a different stance or opinion, they’re branded 'anti' this or 'anti' that. Everyone seems to have to be on a side...'with us or against us'. This kind of attitude creates enemies and friends. It forces people to choose between liking and hating. In this way, America is creating its own enemies - perhaps the Cold War mentality remains and in place of the USSR, new enemies need to be found to keep the nation intact. What would happen if there wasn't an enemy for a united America to oppose?
Possibly connected to religion and being a democratic superpower is an opinion possibly held by many Americans (I don’t know how widely held it is tbh) that they’re nation has some kind of moral superiority over others, especially non-Christian, non-democratic ones. I doubt this really influences many people’s judgements on the US, but it’s certainly laughable to believe it, as Britain once did of itself.
Personally I'm getting rather sick of nationality, of patriotism, of stereotypes, of cultural dominance. I love the net, because I can speak to people as people, not as Americans, or Germans, or French, etc. A world where nationality divides is one were people will keep finding reasons to generalise about others and then hate them.
It’s quite difficult to tear apart the integrity of your own country after having grown up seeing flag waving, national anthems playing, etc, etc, so I do have great respect for those who are able to do it, and do it well.
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Post by Paulinus on Nov 2, 2005 8:05:08 GMT -5
I'd just like say I pretty much agree with everything talisman has said up there. Particularly this:
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Post by wagnerr on Nov 2, 2005 18:13:06 GMT -5
I'd just like say I pretty much agree with everything talisman has said up there. Particularly this: Nationality is becoming less of an issue around the world nowadays, because modern technology has made the world musch smaller than it was percived to be for a very long time. However, there are still those that are fearful of internationalism because of differences in culture and language and economic systems. I'd have to say fear of different languages is a big one here in the US. I speak a good bit of Spanish as well as English, but i must say that i am largely ignorant of other languages, other than in a phonetic sense. Hey SPG, there's a good Psychological study for you; the American fear of Foriegn languages. Anyway, a lot of people are simply afraid of differences, not necessarily other people. When you think about, it does make sense in the view of human nature. However, we need to learn to get over that fear of the unknown, i think. One way of overcoming this fear is to learn a universal language that all people can understand. I personally think it's unfair of everyone to have to learn English, but it does make more and more sense. Just an example. Where i go to school, we have a lot of poor Mexican staff who do most of the groundswork, cleaning, and fixing. For some reason, as i see students and faculty walk by them, they never seem to acknowldege their existance. I noticed this one day, and i kept on thinking about it. Even though my school seems to preach diversity, because it's a private university, there seems to be a prevailing trend of classism here. Largely, children of rich, well off families from around the world come here to study business or science or religion. So diversity is no problem. But classism is. And one example is the lack of acknowledgment of the poor staff that work here. So i started talking to them, particularly the cleaning staff here. I began to converse with them more and more, and i wave to them as i walk by on campus. Get this; they actually notice me now too!!!! And i feel much better as a result, because i know i've done something to not only breach the cultural barrier, but also the class barrier too. Even though i come from a somewhat poor family myself, because i attend this private school, they previously saw me as upperclass. Anyway, as nationality becomes less and less of an issue in the world, classism becomes more and morepronounced i think. And i believe this a bigger problem than zenophobia.
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Deleted
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Post by Deleted on Nov 2, 2005 18:24:55 GMT -5
The hate is media driven and they will always cater to people who have the outrageous point of view or will always follow stories that hurt or cause friction because it drives ratings. The number one target of all of this is the President. I believe that there are way more people who like the USA than those who don't. Why? Because of the American people. Not the government. Also the Nazi comment. All I have to say is anyone who says we are like Nazis has never met a Nazi no matter what the generalization is. Yeah we do have our share of problems but that is what the people are for not the government. If you expect the government to solve all the problems then the USA would turn into a communist country. We help other countries because they cant help themselves and other countries take advantage of them. We are the big brother of the world and we need to be. Let me ask you this. If you lived in a third world country and you were starving to death and there was no way to get any food other than a hand out from your big brother would you take it or would you say no you have problems of your own you need it more than me? When the tsunami hit southeast Asia the US government sent more aid than any other country by far. I don't have the exact figure but the American people damn near matched it if not exceeded what its government gave and donated more than all other countries combined ten fold. The USA has always defended itself never taken the fight to anyone till now and everyone gets all bent out of shape about it. I personally don't want the terrorist doing their business here. I much rather have them fight in someone else's country. But I'm not stupid enough to think that they wont attack the USA again I know they will. The last thing I have to say is I am very patriotic and I love my country more than anything. This will be the only post I will write in this thread because I know there are people who are gonna hate and disagree and I don't think I have the time to sit here for hours on end and try and correct all of them. Nazis? Go read your history books if you want know what a god damn Nazi is. I didn't say that we were exactly like Nazis, I meant to say how we sometimes push democracy on people, KINDA like hitler wanted Germany way of life everywhere.
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ellis
Junior Member
Posts: 84
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Post by ellis on Nov 2, 2005 22:16:40 GMT -5
Norway is so awesome! Go Norway, give it away, give it ALL away!
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Post by Buzzz on Nov 2, 2005 22:31:57 GMT -5
I also want to know why we send billions in aid to other countries when we have tons of problems here at home,, I mean yeah its good to help other countries out but we also have a real need here to fix things. Why are there war veterns living on the streets,, didn't they give their all for this country? Shouldn't we give our all for them to help them? Theres tons of other problems too many to list. Reminds me of Matthew 7:3. Speaking of which, if we were such a "Christian" nation, we'd have national health care, but every time that subject comes up, the radical right sceams " SOCIALISM!!![/b]" and that's that. That being said, I'd much rather live in the USA than in Singapore or Iran. But let's face it: we're not the best country on Earth (how would you define such a thing?), although we're certainly not the worst either. Republicans think Democrats are Godless hippies who want to dismantle the military, and Democrats think Republicans are trigger-happy maniacs who want to throw orphans out on the street. Neither is true. I have Republican family members who are level headed and loving, and most of the people I attend Democratic Party meetings with are devoutly religious and many have served honorably in the military. I think most of us are closer to the center than we realize. I admit I've yet to find my political bearings on many issues, but some things I do know for sure. GW Bush is probably the worst President America has ever had, but I think someone like Ralph Nader would have been just as bad. What we need is a rational-thinking centrist to lead us- someone, dare I say it, like Bill Clin- no, I won't say it. Bottom line: The USA has an ego problem, but we're not so bad. [/rambling, incoherent diatribe] BTW, Fir Na Tine, I'm no admirer of Reagan, but I like that quote in your signature line. That was around the time he was campaigning for Goldwater, so he was probably still on the level.
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Post by wagnerr on Nov 2, 2005 23:56:07 GMT -5
I admit I've yet to find my political bearings on many issues, but some things I do know for sure. GW Bush is probably the worst President America has ever had, but I think someone like Ralph Nader would have been just as bad. What we need is a rational-thinking centrist to lead us- someone, dare I say it, like Bill Clin- no, I won't say it. You can say it, don't worry. Clinton was a pretty level headed, clear minded politician who dealt with things in a moderate manner. Just couldn't keep his pants zipped, that's all, and that brought him into big trouble. We need another moderate thinking president like him next i think, though, whichever political party they're affiliated with. I abhor radicals of either side; i've studied enough of the world to know that radicals bring destruction to whatever they touch, and rarely bring good change or reform, with a few exceptions of course. So i like to see the American political system evenly balanced, with a 50/50 vote of political parties, and an exectutive that changes personality every four or eight years. Bush has made lots of dumb decisions, i'll give you that. He's also had to face a large number of natural disasters so far, like terrorism and sunamis and hurricanes. Plus, his Iraq War isn't too popular, but progress is being made over there. Problem is that it's coming at a price. I can think of several presidents in US history that are on the quality level of GW Bush, so i wouldn't call him the worst president ever. Franklin Pierce, US Grant, John Buchanan, William Taft, Woodrow Wilson, Lyndon Johnson, Hoover, and Nixon all made extremely dumb decisions in their time, and generally faced stronger political opposition in Congress after the mid term elections during their first or second terms. I'm not chief of Bush's fan club, but i do agree with much of his political party platform. I do wish he'd ease up on the Mid East, but also i don't want him to leave Iraq in a power vaccuum. We'll see how the mid term elections go in 2006 for Congress. That in my mind, as a political scientist and American historian, is one of the key judging factors for a President. If the political party affiliations change a great deal in Congress in the mid term, that's a very definitive indication of disatisfaction for a President, who is pretty much the spokesmen/woman for their entire political party.
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