Favorite thing about USA
 

Inspired from another thread, I'd like people to say what their favorite thing is about the United States, as some people seem to be under the impression that a lot of folks on this board hate the US. Here's your chance to prove otherwise. *grin*

Relatively huge amounts of freedom.

The ability to watch Monday Night Football at 3 PM in Hawaii. (*I enjoyed that very much while over there*)

(*Part Deux*) -- the freedom to laugh at our President when he falls off of his Segway© and not get in trouble for it. :)

Phantom freedom and equality for blacks and other groups.

Our ability to get things done, when we put our resolve to it.
The resourse this nation has is incredible.

Freedom of speech is the best thing about this country.

After thatI would say, I love that I feel relatively safe. I can drive from coast to coast and not have to worry about a bunch of guy’s road blocking the road so they can rob me. Our worst neighborhoods are not as bad as the main streets in a lot of countries.


The other thing I really like is the variety. You can get anything here. I am a man who loves food. Not American food, that stuff is crap (most of it :) ). I like Asian, Middle Eastern, African, European, Mexican, and Spanish, all of it! I can get all of it within a 20-minute drive of my house and I don't even live in a highly populated area.

I like the diversity. I feel more comfortable around many types of people. When everyone looks like me I start getting freaked out. :)

I am sure I could go on and on about things I love, but then again, I could go on and on about things I don't love about the US. We have a great country here; it just needs a little work.

University of Texas - Austin

The fact that everything's legal! So long as you don't get caught :D

to question athority and to question our leadership(or until ashcroft has his way)

Its a tie for me

1 - Article [I.]

Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the Government for a redress of grievances.

2 -Porn :D

Freedom and tolerance man. I wish more Americans appreciated what we have. We live in the most diverse and free society on the planet. There is of course sometimes friction between people, but no one in history has achieved what we enjoy today. And of course free speech, free trade, etc. The fact that everyone wants to be like us, and the fact that the US has the power, politically, economically and militarily, to defend ourselves and ensure stability for the rest of the world.

Downside? I wish there wasn't so much loneliness and disconnection among people, and that media culture didn't make people feel so bad about themselves.

Since I am the one that asked the question I suppose it is my turn to respond. We have the privilege of living in a nation that is powerful enough to exert its will on anyone - and doesn't. We live in a nation of which most of us are very proud! We are proud of our heritage, we are proud of where we came from, and proud of where we have been. We have proven that we have the ability to go places and do things that no other nation has been able to achieve - like the Moon for example. We are a nation that started with the cast-offs of European nations, melded them with native populations (often not by their choice) and produced a nation of people that do not have to envy those of any other nation. We have had problems and dealt with them -often with much pain involved - slavery and eventually civil rights issues. We have been a nation that has led and seldom followed. I can go on for hours but this is enough.


No brag - just fact!

Great posts! So many reasons and people, one big blanket for all of us. Thanks guys!!

I love the USA because of the freedom and the American way of life.

No wait. I'm Swedish. I'm supposed to hate you for it, right?
Rumsfeld said so.

Well, to be honest, the USA isn't too different from other Western countries. In general, people hate your government. They do not hate you, or your country.

My favorite thing about the USA was getting free "US Census" refridgerator magnets. Because of the US Census, I had a magnet to hold a "Buy Tool tickets" reminder on my fridge, therefore helping me remember to buy concert tickets after a night of too much drinking. Thanks US Census!

Could somebody please enlighten me as to what freedoms exist in the USA that doesn't exist in Sweden?

I can drink clean water from my tap, and I don't have to worry about taking my clothes down to the local stream.

Aw crap. Seems the USA will soon have one over on Sweden. The Minister of Justice has just proposed to ban P2P-programs...

I think my favorite thing about America is the diversity. Diversity of landscape, of people, of opinion. Glorious.

I love my freedoms,
And I love the fact that if I have a problem with something, I can do something to change it.

I kinda wonder about that too. I think it's because citizens of the US are told from childhood that they are more free than anyone else in the world. No doubt they have more freedom that a hell of a lot of countries, but many other countries offer the same freedoms that they enjoy. It's just that the other countries don't go on and on about said freedoms.

The one thing that comes to mind is the freedoms of choice we have over the many socialized programs Sweden has and the price they have to pay to support those programs. Sweden is a beautiful country with some of the nicest people I've ever met. In many areas Sweden is way ahead of the U.S. The biggest drawback I see is the very large union membership - some, however; might see that as an advantage. I basically don't care for Socialism in any form.

My favorite thing about america is that if you apply yourself, and work hard. You can go so very far regardless of your status in society.

Major beefs w/ the country.

Inefficent government, however, our nation is now what i like to call an ultra-power because we could pwn a super-power. Therefore i feel that the governmet is in good shape, as it doesn't have to abide by the same laws that private industry do.

Another major beef w/ the country, is the media. The media is fuled by the capatlistic machine that is our nation. Our GDP will bust into outerspace soon, however at what costs.

I'm not sure i need all the stuff i have looking around my room...

sometimes wishes things were simpler...

Overall though our country is currently the best in the world to live in if you ask me. The only problem is that people used to come to this country to work hard and build a life for themselves.

the ameican dream

these days nobody wants to work hard anymore, and the people that are comming into this country want a free ride too.

Free Ride = downfall of society

the ability to sue whomever you want for whatever you want.

well actually, thats a pretty stupid thing.

the fact that you can become whatever you want in the u.s. (but if you want to be prez, you have to be rich)

I have to second this as my favorite with only one slight correction, you can go as far as your intent to.

Also the fact that poeple from all aspects of the planet are here.

My favoritye thing about this country is that our armed forces do (or at least try to - usually succeeding) pretty much what the civilian government tells them to, even when the civilian government is headed by a clinically retarded, verbally obtuse, financially incontinent moral cripple, such as it is today.

My second favorite thing is that, so long as I the only threat I give the aforementioned son of a syphylitic nutria and a colon polyp is the threat to convince people not to elect him for the first time, I can say pretty much anything I want about that molester of livestock (I have pictures) without being taken legally to task for it.

220 years ago a bunch of rich white elites sat down and figured out a blueprint for the perfect nation. They didn't know anything about the future, but they knew themselves and they had seen plenty of both the greatest and the basest humanity has to offer, especially in the previous seven years of civil war.

Their design for a perfect democracy has survived the invention of aircraft, cars, computers, automatic weapons, and the atom bomb. New schools of economic thought have come into being, new political ideals have come and gone over entire continents. And still, the basic structure of their design remains intact, and the unquestioned envy of the world. For all the spite and ire levelled by the world at this or that particular administration, our government remains, as Churchill put it, "the worst system of government ever devised - with the exception of all other systems of government ever devised."

Even as we citizens of the USA bicker back and forth, and even as the pendulum of opinion swings wildly left and right in the popular debate, I wake up every morning in America positively convinced that the ideals and ideas of the framers of the Constitution are going to weather any storm we throw at them. Ashcroft isn't going to dismantle our freedoms, certainly not in perpetuity. Rumsfeld and Bush and Fleischer can only poorly REPRESENT our country to the world, they cannot change what the system IS or how it works in any significant degree.

And so, the process continues, and slowly, jerkily, sometimes a little retrograde on one front or another, sometimes leaping forward on one front or another, this Nation continues to march forward, tending toward better lives and more freedom and a richer promise of tomorrow for all, even when we have to scrap and fight and march and risk for it. Even though it is sometimes hard to see from the perspective of the individual awash in the minutiae of the moment, this is what I love about America.

Oh, also the fact that I don't have to buy a license for my TV (UK, I'm looking in your direction here...) :D

I would have to agree with you, at least partially. Some of the unions are still truly needed - many professions in the public sector are still severely underpaid - but for most professions within private companies, the unions have become more interested in their own power than their members. Some of them hold everybody back.

As for the public health-care, and such; some people actually see it as a freedom in Sweden. I'm stuck in between.

As for the US; it is very difficult to generalize. The differences in culture and style are huge within the country, even if one just looks at the anglo-caucasion population.
While the politics, and the religious pressure I've encountered in some smaller US towns would drive me insane, I really like the thought of hard work paying off. Liquor Dealer probably understands what I'm talking about, since he's been in Sweden. On the US' political scale, most Swedes would rate as flaming liberals.

And while I dislike the American style of patriotism, I really like the tendency to look at each US citizen as an American. In Europe, immigrants and their children are often stuck with the title "immigrant", like if it was a homogenous group of people.

As I've said before, I haven't met anybody that seriously hates the US and it's population. Your government and certain policies, on the other hand, are not liked. This isn't only G.W. Bush' fault, though. Madeline Albright's claim that Americans are worth more than everybody else because they are more enlightened, kind of made her impopular...

I don't get it. Don't mean to hijack this thread, but seems to me like everyone in the U.S. is convinced they've got tons of freedom and that all other countries are oppressed. Not true. I haven't been to the U.S., but many times I've been under the impression that a country like Belgium, Holland or Germany gives its citizens much more freedom than the U.S.

But hey.

hlprmky - Churchill was commenting on democracy in general, not the US version.

My favorite thing about the US? Baseball!! And the fact that Red Bull is legal to drink. (Unlike here in Canada.)

what i like about the USA
- by bundy

Katie Couric
Soledad O´Brian

the chick here have tits of all sizes
our money is green
and the beer is always flowwin
lol no seriously, ummm

life in america can be however u want it to be, and you can change it, if you want.

:D mmmm...Soledad :D

Seriously, the greatest thing about the United States of America is the Constitution which contains a little section called...can you guess it? That's right!! The Bill of Rights! This dynamic little document is what makes the United States all that it is. It <b>is</b> the United States.

things I love about our country:

we have almost complete freedom of speech.

as many stated above, we have people from everywhere and it is wonderful.

a lot pf people here in the US are very good people, especially if you can convince them to try and look past the politics.

we have a strong militant force - which is wonderful if used as defense...

you will rarely find a person being tortured for a belief. we do not gang rape and kill a woman because she dressed as she wished.


the cons:

Freedom of speech exists. if you're not physically close to people in power.

our news sources are excesively biased.

our educational system (look at my spelling for example heh) is shit. our tax money can buy a $2k curtain to cover an old statue because its breast but when educational money is need you get looked at like you've lost your mind.

we have tax cut after tax cut... for the rich.

our cops are becoming more like bouncers.

health care is going down quick, a mostly unfelt problem for many but those of us who require it to continue are terrified.

CEOs seem to be silently praised by people in power. like the CEO of k-mart who shut down, i believe it was 500 k-mart.... and then he got a $2m bonus.

people in power allow businessess to exit our border for tax reliefe.

we almost murdered an entire race to move here and live and we shit ourselves when people sneak in.

we have hundreds of thousands of fake patriots.

we are selfish

this is not a flame or troll.

Freedom from fjords. We also have freedom from Finnish fjords. Freedom from fancy Finnish fjords. FINALLY!!

My actual favorite though is probably the diversity. Diversity of land, culture, climate, people... everything. That first amendment thing is nice too.

Ahem, I also like the fact that the biggest controversy right now seems to be whether to allow gay marriages.

We aren't worried about whether we will starve to death next month, or get executed, etc. And this has become a topic of discussion all the way up to the highest levels of the government.

I like how plastic our government is, it changes and grows (maybe a little too slow, but still) and in fifty years has gone from being an increidibly anti-deviant institution to one that tolerates almost any expression of individuality and sexuality.

The Bill of Rights...

Damn. Totally forgot about those damn fiords.
What we need now, is a War on Fiords.
You're either with us or against us.

I'm a dirty repenting threadjacker.

This would be viewed as a case of typical American Arrogance in Europe.

There isn't a single country in Europe that will tell you they want to be like America. In France there are protests against McDonals because of the infringement on French culture.

Furthermore, you don't have the freedom of speech you think you have. How often don't we hear about some highschool kid being expelled because he/she is wearing a "BUSH SUCKS" t-shirt. Not to mention the control the government influences on the press. Especially around the Iraq war.

But I must admit that in Britain it was worse. There the newspapers actually came with an extra edtion stating that they would not be responsible for the contents of articles about the Iraq war due to government censorship. Also just a few days ago it was proved that both the U.S. and British government messed with the 'evidence' that there were weapons of Mass Destruction in Iraq. The Blair government put several word files with evidence online, but they forgot that word stores the edits made in the file and also WHO made the edits. Which were very easy to read for the people that downloaded these files.

Most Western European countries are also in other terms so much more 'free' than the U.S. And even a lot more democratic. A prime example is Switzerland. Switzerland is both more democratic (On every important issue a referendum is held) and richer (in per capita terms) than the U.S.A.

Then the case of Free Trade. We'd WISH there was free trade between Asia, the U.S.A. and Europe. Buth the U.S. government imposes a great many trade barriers. Until about a dozen years ago there was a quota on Japanese cars which caused massive damage to your economy. More recent examples are the wheat and steel 'wars'.

I do not want to start a USA vs. Europe war. Because I love the U.S.A. I've visited your country several times and I hope to continue to visit for a long time. Also Europe has plenty bad points and problems of its own, it is by no means better than the USA. In some cases it is more advanced and in many others it is behind. There are just some 'myths' that Americans have about their country being the most free, democratic and richest in the world that quite simply are not true.

What I love about the U.S.A. is that everywhere I went the people were always very kind, helpful and interested when they found out I was from a foreign country. I actually have a pretty American accent because I went to an American school in Amsterdam.


By the way, how about the Roman ,Charlemagne's and British empires? Not to do short what the U.S.A. has achieved, but you weren't the first by far. Not even the ones that have been going on the longest. And i haven't even mentioned the old Chinese Empire yet.

I love the red, white and blue. Stripes, stars... great flag.
The Bill Of Rights is a great thing too, it keeps the right in check. If they repeal any part of it (and they're trying), they begin to win.
Media is a problem, TV, music, movies, "news", but if you look hard you'll find the truth and some unique entertainment. After all jazz was created here.
I don't know a damn thing about Switzerland except it's pretty small comparatively. It would be nice to work less, to retire earlier, and to have free health care, but I still love it here.

But I'd probably love Botswana had I been born and raised there.

Oh, I haven't been born and raised in Switzerland. But all in all it's a good place to live.

I'm sure it's a very good place to live....
BUT DO THEY HAVE.... Pro-wrestling? Survivor? NASCAR? The NRA? Little League Baseball? 60% Obesity? Bill O'Reilly? Gas-Guzzling Hummers?
I think not, my world-traveled friend.
I think not.

USA!!

I'm just kidding. Go Earth!

Who fucking needs the NRA? Every Swiss person gets arms from the government. Everyone is in the army untill they're 45 or something. They keep their weapons at their homes. And unlike Americans they don't shoot people with them ;)

Almost every building that has been built in the last 40 yeas has a bunker to withstand the impact of an H-bomb. Survivor we do have and who needs baseball if you have soccer? We do have gas guzzling G classes and sportscars. And NASCAR? Get real dude, Formula 1 it is, der königsklasse of automotive sports ! Schumacher for world champ again!

Well except for the little differences as we have mentioned above, you will be amazed how much western Europe is like the U.S.A. Nowadays we even have a common currency which was unthinkable 20 years ago. But it will be a long, long time before we can speak of an European culture in the same way we can speak of an American culture.

You got me on the obesity and Bill 'O Reilly. No clue who that dude is :D

A bunch of furriners runnin' around in fancy go-carts!

If it ain't rubbin' it ain't racin'!

I should have known you American wouldn't understand it:rolleyes:

Formula 1 is a sport of technology, strategy, tactics and sheer ability by the drivers. No other form of sport uses technology that is that advanced.

It is no coincedence that Schumacher is a billionaire now. His yearly salary is around 80 million dollars at Ferrari. He is the perfect driver, knows how to finetune his cars setting to the track they're racing on. A wing that isn't set to the millimeter can cause you to lose the race. The same with choosing the right compound of your tires for the track.

You Americans just want to see action :rolleyes:

Come on, automobile racing is silly, whether it's NASCAR or Formula 1.
Running, a sport. Swimming, a sport. Gymnastics, a sport.
Driving, a skill, and not worth the waste of fuel. rubber and time.
Of course, to each their own, but I just don't get it.
Bill O'Reilly is just a Fox News conservative talking-head twit.

A big double-edged sword is the physical isolation. It keeps us safe from just about everything, but distances us from everything.

My favorite thing, that is in danger of disappearing, would have to be that any accusation and trial is public, so people can and will see any injustices, and you can get a second chance if something gets screwed up.

I love the fact that reguardless if you are a womanizing pot head or a idiot coke head, you can become president

threadjack
 

and now to jump on this threadjack...

As an American, i would much rather watch an openwheel car run around a roadcourse where it actually take timing, skill and talent to make a pass and win a race then watch a heavy awkward stock shove someone out of the way to make a "pass"


Sidenote: I am actually a big fan of both F1 and Nascar (as well as IRL cart wrc and all the others)

I feel I'm a bit responsible for the threadjack, so why not go on-topic again?

I think no one mentioned the fact that although the U.S.A. is so huge, everybody still feels American. You have one language in the entire country (although Spanish is hijacking the country i've understood) and you only have one currency. Apart from that you people can travel anywhere within the U.S.A. as you please without any problems. I think that is one the best things about the U.S.A.

I love the people of the United States. I can't think of a more cocky, arrogant, hard-working, fun-loving bunch of party animals that I'd rather have a beer with.

ann coulter

Re: threadjack
 

At this instant (8:14 PM CST ) Jr. is running first with an .11 second lead over Wallace - 188.345 MPH and they are running five and six wide on the straights at Daytona - this isn't go-cart racing - this is the big boys.

Re: Re: threadjack
 

Looks like they go round and round to me. Do they ever turn right?
F1 looks better to me (more skill), but rally racing tops them all.

Part of the threads here are to hopefully learn; opposed to making statements as though they're fact instead of interpreted opinion (I see alot including myself) I only say that ahead incase you think Im being passive agressive here which Im not. Sometimes its easier to utilize what we have here ( a meeting place of people from all over the world instead of going to google and getting a non interactive dose of info )

I wanted to know what the process is for someone that wanted to start their own business there in Belgium. How it works: does the government help? encourage? regulate? Is it a socialistic form of government there? Im asking to see if this could possibly be one of the major differences. Thanks.

Re: Re: threadjack
 

Daytona and Talladega further go to prove my point that it takes much less skill and talent to compete in a stock than it does on a road course. You cant just rely on the draft and drive around till the end. You have to actually race the entire time on a road course (also in a rally, for the wrc fan above).
Ask any of the drivers, at the restrictor tracks, and increasingly on the other large tracks, all you do is wait untill the last 10-15 laps and then you are dependent on help from someone else to get a win. Which is a reason which DEI has been so dominant on restrictor tracks, Jr. and Waltrip work very well with eachother.

Again, I hate to threadjack, but i felt that it had to be said

Sidenote: despite what I say, I will be watching the Firecracker 400 tomorrow night

I love the fact that we are fat and lazy..........because we can be. We can do whatever the hell we want. Freedom baby.

You make it sound as though it were two people.

Our last two presidents (at least, im sure there were more)

I love how everyone has different heritage.

there is no 'pure american'. everyone is different.