Quote:
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Originally Posted by MrSelfDestruct
I'm not egotistical enough to say that we're the absolute best, but we're partying on the top floor with the big guys.
Some of my big plusses
-I'm free to practice any religion (or in my case, lack thereof) without the government telling me I can't.
-I'm free to criticize the government in pretty much any non-threatening way I want, and they cannot legally stop me unless I'm violating the rights of others (although there is a frightening trend of declining freedom of speech, we do not have laws in place forbidding our media from criticizing the Royal Family, nor do we have a Royal Family. I see this as a good thing.)
-I'm free to arm myself for the purposes of defending myself against any threat from any source, as long as I am able to pass basic competency tests. This is more than can be said for much of the world.
-If I work hard, I can get an education, begin a sucessful career, and live comfortably with the wealth I have earned.
I know there are downsides, and I'm not the type to be blinded by flag-waving and chants of "We're number one!" so I'll list a few major negatives
-We have begun to display an alarming trend of sliding back into the puritanical pit from which we emerged. We are far behind Europe in social openness and tolerance
-We still allow the views of traditionalist religious groups to take precedence over our guarantees of equality, and deny full legal protection to some who are looked down on by these traditionalists.
-Our public education system is in serious need of a complete overhaul in order to bring us up to speed with the rest of the developed world. When only 27% of the country believes in evolution and over 60% think that creationism should be taught in schools, there's a problem. There's also the estimated 30%+ illeteracy rate.
-We still allow human rights abuses in our own country, and we do not take human rights into consideration when choosing foreign trading partners.
-Contrary to what the two sides of the political spectrum tell you, our monopolized media is dominated mainly by a self-interested bias, and does not provide us with an accurate representation of what is really happening.
-Until we make drastic changes, we are stuck with a national two-party political system, with third parties rarely appearing on anything above the local scale. Like the media, these parties are solely self-interested and do not represent the people.
As for the original article, it reeks of pro-EU bias, and I understand, although I don't quite completely agree with, the poster who called the author a Communist (I think that Socialist would be more appropriate, and that's still an ideology that I disagree with.)
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This is one of the most reasoned responses on this thread... There is a lot to be proud of in the US (not to say that other nations don't have similar freedoms and laws).
Ultimately what this whole discussion comes down to is again (and I've said this in other threads) the EQUALTIY vs. FREEDOM debate.
The redistribution of wealth that occurs through taxation is seen by many in the world as a good thing. It allows the greater majority of a nation up to a higher standard of living. It brings services to the poorer elements of society.
The great American experiment of personal liberty above everything has been embrased by many. The myth that anyone can be President, wealthy, famous, whatever, if they just work hard is the great American dream. The reverse of this is that many people will never achieve that dream no matter how hard they try.
It is just a matter of how you look at it... some feel that "socialist reform" and the slide towards a more equality will lead to the proverbial "lead weights on dancers feet" (i.e. no one can be better than anyone else). I don't think anyone is advocating that sort of extreme here.
It is just a matter of what system you think works best.
The free market types would leave all of this up to the market to decide. In an ideal world that might work but there is that nasty human condition of greed and avarice that always steps in ruins it for everyone else. This is where responsible government has a place. For example: without seat belt laws would cars be safer today? Probably. But would that change have happened as fast as it did? Probably not. This analogy can be extended to all sort of reforms that the free market would never consider because of what it would do to the bottom line in the short term.
There's the rub. Short term. The free market rarely thinks into the future unless it is forced to do so? It is cheaper to dump toxic waste in the river than it is to treat it properly.
It all depends on how you look at things and where your personal priorities lay.
/end rant because I'm not sure I'm making sense.