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| gil-estel |
 Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 3:20 pm |
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Joined: 25 Apr 2007
Posts: 545
Location: Groningen, the Netherlands
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Again, I didn’t mean to set up a huge discussion, I was just wondering about certain things. These points made by me isn’t my view upon these matters, but like I said, it is how it almost seems te be as I watch TV. And just because I hate to form an opinion based on little information, I’m very curious how ’ordinary Americans’ experience these things.
I understand some people are a bit anxious because it can deal with emotions, but there is no need for it. I ask these questions out of curiousity, not to offend you guys. Aain, the only information we get if via media (and as you all know and metioned only bad news shows) and via TV shows. That is the reason why I want to ask ’ordinary Americans’ how they experience their own country...
But about the first republic, we beat you guys..back in 1581 we formed the Dutch Republic and it lasted until 1794....  |
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| physcosick |
| Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 3:40 pm |
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Joined: 18 Oct 2005
Posts: 229
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gil-estel wrote:
-Americans are extremely proud about their history/country.
gil-estel wrote:
-Huge difference between poor and rich.
gil-estel wrote:
-Those that don’t have money have few possibilities to attend an education.
gil-estel wrote:
-Government doesn’t really do much about internal issues (the mess after Katrina was all over the news and esspecialy how long it took before something happened), the high number of poor people, the high number of people who cannot read or write (remember, this is the image I get by watching certain thing shown at TV, I’m not saying this is actually true)
About Katrina, the thing is they got several days to prepare for it. The 72-hour hurricane track was predicting it to hit La. but not as severely as it did. At about the 48-hour track the model was shwoing it about right. The hurricane was going to hit it pretty much dead-on. But the government didn’t really do anything about it and the people in La. stayed... why? A lot of them could have had a plan and tried to evacuate. They are poor... maybe they couldn’t afford the gas? no cars? idk... But the government knew it was going to hit but they were quoted saying "we didn’t think it was going to be that bad"... geographers, geologists, meteorologists, etc, etc have been saying the worse thing that could happen is if a Category 4 or 5 hurricane hits directly at New Orleans. I guess they just decided to not listen to the professionals who knew what they were talking about.
gil-estel wrote:
-What you have is what you are, meaning people are driven by the need to own as much as possible, the newest cars and so on.
gil-estel wrote:
-people don’t care much about evironment, US didn’t rectify Kyoto for example. If something is said about evironment it is experienced as nonsens from people from the left.
Legoles is corret in his republican democratic except democrats aren;t that crazy. They are aware and want to try to do something about the problems but not to any extreme.
gil-estel wrote:
-If the word socialism is used everyone is almost scared of a communism invasion. |
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| TheHobbit13 |
| Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 5:07 pm |
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Joined: 27 Jul 2006
Posts: 1303
Location: minnesota
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Quote: Again, I didn’t mean to set up a huge discussion
To late .. i perdict this will go on aah for about 48 pg.. |
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| Hazael |
| Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 5:49 pm |
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Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Posts: 444
Location: Up North
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Because I am American, I am uniquely qualified to talk on this subject 
(Baised off what I know from where I live in the USA)
-Americans are extremely proud about their history/country.
True, just about everybody I know would say they are proud to be an American. I am proud to be an American no doubt. Would not live in any other country.
-Huge difference between poor and rich.
False, most fit into what is called the Mid Class. Our family, personally, is considered to be in the Low Income Class and we own 20 acres of land with 5 horses and 7 running vehicles. We take advantage of electricity, running water, and we heat out house with wood. The real difference between us and the rich is that we own a 2000 Dodge Caravan and they own a 2006 SUV. We have dial up and they have broadband.
-Those that don’t have money have few possibilities to attend an education.
False, I have no money and have a $120,000 education lined up for me starting next year. It’s not hard to get financial help. My friend got a $12,000 scholarship per year for having good grades!
-Government doesn’t really do much about internal issues (the mess after Katrina was all over the news and esspecialy how long it took before something happened), the high number of poor people, the high number of people who cannot read or write (remember, this is the image I get by watching certain thing shown at TV, I’m not saying this is actually true)
False, I hate the media. There is a little known government program called Civil Air Patrol. They were on the scen long before anybody else was, and they did tons of volunteer search and rescue. I was part of it. Then, about half of my friends in youth group/school took a couple weeks off and went down to help out, and I live over 2,000 miles away from where it happened.
-Insurance is expensive and without a good insurance they don’t offer good healthcare...meaning people suffer a serious healtrisc.
True, it has to do with alot of other problems. Healthcare/Social Security systems are suffering from the unmeasurable amount of illegal migration to the US.
-What you have is what you are, meaning people are driven by the need to own as much as possible, the newest cars and so on.
True, this is more true in some place rather than others. I know alot of families in my area that try to live as modestly as they can, while others try to prove something by driving a car they should not have spent the money on.
-people don’t care much about evironment, US didn’t rectify Kyoto for example. If something is said about evironment it is experienced as nonsens from people from the left.
False, the "people" care about the evironment way more than you know. Americans would switch to efficient and economic ways of living if it was possible and affordable. The government does not have control over small businesses or private homes, but there are some major corperations that are taking steps toward a more economic direction. I care!
-If the word socialism is used everyone is almost scared of a communism invasion.
True, socialism is considered a threat in America. |
Last edited by Hazael on Sun May 13, 2007 6:05 pm; edited 1 time in totalSome of the best scenarios on EE...
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| physcosick |
| Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 5:59 pm |
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Joined: 18 Oct 2005
Posts: 229
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One of the questions regarding the poor and rich... you guys are bringing up middle class saying that there isn’t a large gap between the poor and the rich becuase of the middle class. The questions doesn;t say anything about the middle... he is asking about the two outliers, the two extremes, the poor and the rich... nothing about middle class.
You can’t say there isn’t a large difference between the economic value of Donald Trump and the homeless guy that begs for change a mile from my dorm because there are a bunch of people who live a few thousand dollars over the standard of living. |
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| Hazael |
| Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 6:09 pm |
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Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Posts: 444
Location: Up North
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I personally have never seen a homeless man in my life.
In fact, I have seen very few families poorer than my own.
BUT I LIVE IN A RURAL COMMUNITY.
and make up half of the population. |
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| menace64 |
| Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 6:09 pm |
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Joined: 12 Apr 2006
Posts: 836
Location: Wichita, Kansas
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Hmm. I always like answering these kinds of questions.
But before I get into them, I think I should outline just what ’kind’ of American I am. I was born in Texas (which you might know as a very ’cowboy’ kind of place) and then raised in Kansas (in a word: boring).
So I’m not around the huge mega-cities like New York. Mainly the easy-going Midwest life.
gil-estel wrote: -Americans are extremely proud about their history/country.
This depends on how each American is raised. Some Americans are raised to be dependent on the government (through welfare checks, etc.) and more-or-less don’t care about their heritage. But for the most part, there is a general sense of belonging here. I have never met another American I couldn’t feel ’related’ to, even though we all come from different places and from different backgrounds. It’s a very odd family.
gil-estel wrote: -Huge difference between poor and rich.
Absolutely. The rich tend to hide away behind tall walls, while the poor are generally stuck in ghettos. But there is an ever-shrinking middle class.
gil-estel wrote: -Those that don’t have money have few possibilities to attend an education.
Public education is free until a student turns 18; any additional schooling (college) is independently funded. But public schooling in America is a total failure. The only thing public schools teach nowadays is how to pass the standardized tests (the tests that rate how well the schools are doing). Other than that, the teachers (for the most part) have lost the will to teach, and the vast majority of students go only because they have to. America is going to be in serious trouble in the next 20 years once this generation ’grows up’ and realizes that they’re all stupid.
gil-estel wrote: -Government doesn’t really do much about internal issues (the mess after Katrina was all over the news and esspecialy how long it took before something happened), the high number of poor people, the high number of people who cannot read or write (remember, this is the image I get by watching certain thing shown at TV, I’m not saying this is actually true)
Actually, it’s quite the contrary. The government pokes its nose into just about every internal affair. It’s so bad that I really do want to leave. For example: gay marriage. Now, I won’t voice my opinion on how gay marriage should be handled, but I know that it shouldn’t be up to politicians to decide how ’free people’ should live. Yes there is a large amount of poor people, but a lot of us can read and write (only most can’t read and write *well*).
gil-estel wrote: -Insurance is expensive and without a good insurance they don’t offer good healthcare...meaning people suffer a serious healtrisc.
I don’t have much experience or knowledge here, but I’m pretty sure you’re right. We don’t have free coverage like in Canada.
gil-estel wrote: -What you have is what you are, meaning people are driven by the need to own as much as possible, the newest cars and so on.
You hit that RIGHT on the head, man. This, more than anything else, sums up how we act as a country. I would say that 95% of Americans base their worth off of what they own (I, personally, do not). I find it offensive, honestly.
gil-estel wrote: -people don’t care much about evironment, US didn’t rectify Kyoto for example. If something is said about evironment it is experienced as nonsens from people from the left.
Well, that’s an interesting aspect for us. We care (or at the least we *say* we care), but I don’t think most of us have any idea how to fix the problems we’ve helped create. And when you add in the fact that most Americans are lazy...
gil-estel wrote: -If the word socialism is used everyone is almost scared of a communism invasion.
Hahaha, yeah. Even people who don’t have any idea what socialism is get a bit nervous when they hear it. I laugh at those situations.
gil-estel wrote: Alltogether I’ve got a rather negative image from the US. Again, I’m not saying this should be the truth, this is an image I’m getting. And I’m not trying to offend people if they agree on some things I’ve written above, but I would surely like to discuss certain things.
If somehow people don’t understand what I mean, please say so, because this is not ment to offend people, I just want ordinary American people to share their thoughts concerning this subject with me! 
It’s easy to get a negative image about the US because, by and large, we are a negative country. That vast majority is self-absorbed, helping others only when they can imagine it coming back to benefit themselves. I really wish America would wake up and realize that it’s lost its way... |
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| sickofpalantirs |
| Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 6:10 pm |
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Joined: 23 Mar 2006
Posts: 7750
Location: somwhere, over the rainbow way up high. There's a land that I heard of once in a lullaby.
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physcosick wrote: One of the questions regarding the poor and rich... you guys are bringing up middle class saying that there isn’t a large gap between the poor and the rich becuase of the middle class. The questions doesn;t say anything about the middle... he is asking about the two outliers, the two extremes, the poor and the rich... nothing about middle class.
You can’t say there isn’t a large difference between the economic value of Donald Trump and the homeless guy that begs for change a mile from my dorm because there are a bunch of people who live a few thousand dollars over the standard of living.
yep I have to agree here. this is another one of my subjects which I will watch but have decided I am too young to really contribute too. |
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| Hazael |
| Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 6:12 pm |
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Joined: 04 Jan 2006
Posts: 444
Location: Up North
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You know what i think,
I think there is a huge difference between the southern and northern populations in moral, ethical, political, and spiritual ideas. |
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| physcosick |
| Posted: Sun May 13, 2007 6:59 pm |
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Joined: 18 Oct 2005
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| ... ok... but you have to take in effect the otusiders of those populations so use the word "majority" and I’ll agree with you. |
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