Besides foreign policy, what wrong with america and americans

[contrapunctus]

Seriously, there is so much american animosity here, it is outrageous. Why is there so much hatred? What did we ever do to you?

[minimozart007]

invent jazz

[contrapunctus]

invent jazz

well, ok you got me there. he he. jk

[gorbee natcase]

Hi my name is Luke and I am from Great Brittain and and I think America is a great country, I would love to go there one day, You are way more patriotic than the Brittish.
I dont think there is anything wrong with your foreign pollicy.
America has vision and ambition, you have steven spielberg and George Lukas, Rachmaninov moved to your country,
but your fast food chains has made my nation fat and my face is now plastered on the bus window when anyone sits next to me
I CANT BREATH  
I LOVE AMERICA AND AMERICANS

[gorbee natcase]

PS Elvis lives

[TheHammer]

Nothing. As long as you keep for yourself 
Perhaps your police. Death penalty. Your cars suck as well. Oh yeah, you polluting the environment, not signing Kyoto and destroying the Earth just for economical reasons. Well... but I think there is not much hatred here. Or anywhere, especially considering Americans. Your foreign policy has provoked some reactions, but well...

oh, and if you could not tell, you are considered arrogant and thinking you are the rulers of the World. Which well applies to your leaders, but not to the people in general (I think and hope...).

And just to make clear my horror of such national prejudices, here is a little story of the Ungarian (now British, I think) writer George Tabori, he used to tell everyone. When he was a little boy of 11 years (that would be around 1925) and came from school to his father, he told him: "Father, we learned today that all Rumanians are gay". Immediately the father slapped him hard on the face, the only time in his life. After a while, the father apologized and declared: "Listen my son. Not all Rumanians are gay. Even if they were gay, that would not be a bad thing. Remember this. And most important: such a thing as "the Rumanians" does not exist.

Beautiful little story. And tells you quite a thing about prejudices. "Americans" is a term no really applying to anything (so in my statement above, I refer to the American government). As I don't know even one US citizen personally, I cannot make a judgement on them (nor could I, if I did know one. I would have to know all).

[minimozart007]

well said

[thalbergmad]

I'm English but i Love America and Americans.

You guys seem to be so patriotic, which in this country almost seems to be illegal at the moment. All Americans i have met, i have found to be warm and friendly.

I would much rather England became part of the USA then the dreaded EU.

You have also got a good strong leader who takes no S**t.

I am looking forward to my first ever trip to New York in October.

LONG LIVE AMERICA

[gorbee natcase]

thalbergmad is spot on, kill pollitical co0rrect bull sh*t

[BoliverAllmon]

Seriously, there is so much american animosity here, it is outrageous. Why is there so much hatred? What did we ever do to you?

can of worms open thyself!!!!!

[Derek]

You forgot. Our popular culture is horrifyingly coarse, overtly sexual and materialistic. Our public education system sucks---the only thing keeping us leaders in certain areas is that people from other countries move here to work. People who are products of several generations USUALLY become passive, depressed consumers who have bitter, ugly divorces. 

Don't get me wrong---I love my country and what it stands for, but we'd need some major change to get us back on track to being even remotely respectible culturally and foreign policy wise.

::edit:: also I think our patriotism is really closer to a destructive sort of nationalism: GO TEAM GO! KILL KILL KILL!!!

real patritotism, it seems to me, is believing in what your country really does stand for, and believing in its PEOPLE, not in its government's ability to kick ass.

::another edit::  If there is american animosity here, I don't blame you, at all.  But I hope those that do feel animostiy towards this country are aware that generalizations always have exceptions....and in this case, I think many millions of exceptions! This is still a great country.

President Bush is visiting my university on tuesday. I'm not even remotely interested in attending.

[contrapunctus]

All you anti americans are just anti-capitalist socialist liberals who are jealous of our prosperity and wealth,and you make up all kinds of accusations against us to hide your jealousy. However I do agree with Derek that our popular culture is horrible, with no refinement however, and that our public education system sucks too (I go to a private school).

[Nightscape]

All you anti americans are just anti-capitalist socialist liberals who are jealous of our prosperity and wealth,and you make up all kinds of accusations against us to hide your jealousy. However I do agree with Derek that our popular culture is horrible, with no refinement however, and that our public education system sucks too (I go to a private school).

I don't know if they're really jealous.... I mean sure our country is powerful and spends a whole lot of money,  but that doesn't say anything about the average Americans power and wealth.  Countries like Canada, UK, Germany, France, Japan, Sweden and such may not be as militaristically powerful, but they do have considerably less crime, longer lifespans, and a lot have a national healthcare system.  Mabye the leaders of those countries might be envious of the power of America's leaders, but the average foreign citizen enjoys a lifestyle as rich and comfortable, if not more, than any American.  So what are they jealous of?

[pianonoob001]

Ha there is nothing wrong in america, our foreing policy is perfect we neeed to destroy all the terrorist for the sake of the world and destroy N Korea for there crimes against humanity. We basically control everything there is no country in the world that can defeatr us. The only thing wrong that the pres has mde is the ridicukus idea of sending jobs overseas and depending too much on foreing resaourses and labor if all those labors come back make more jobs that means the people of USA have more money to spend on stuff wich means means more tax money and = more money for the military. It so simple too bad the rich dont one to sacrifise a few extra dollars to help the country in the long run. oh and all our cars should be hybrid, Im a republican i beleive those changes wll make us into a ultimate superpower.

[Bouter Boogie]

invent jazz

HAHAHAHAHA  Good one!

And I luv America  I just don't like Bush that much.. Hehe.. Duh.. Like many people I guess..

[Teddybear]

I can't say much about other countries, but in Finland the US is generally disliked. Why:

- You chose someone like Mr. Bush to represent you. In a way, the president of the US is the most important person in the world, and what he does affects everyone. You chose someone who's never been outside the US and has an appalling history in economic matters. We're very afraid, and our only comfort is to laugh at all the incomprehensibly stupid things your leader says (we, too, have books on that).

- No one likes the big kid at the sandbox who bullies everyone and wants to have all the toys. By what right you are acting as the world police we do not know. Patriotism is your euphemism for wanting power and sending men to a field trip.

- Hypocrisy can be found everywhere, but you're just something else. You declare yourself the land of freedom and democracy and keep preaching about it to others. Freedom? We don't have metal detectors at our schools. Democracy? At least we don't stop counting the votes when we feel like it. We don't have a messed-up election system that misleads people. You boast about your scientific superiority. What you actually do is that you lure top scientists from others. You have to do so, especially when your educational system favours the ones with money and not brains.

- You don't have much of a history or culture, which is why your morals are low. You're rootless people with no respect for the history and ancient traditions around you. Besides, you don't know anything about them, because they don't teach you anything about the rest of the world at school. You think you rule the world yet you know nothing about it.

- You impoverish other cultures. Most of our movies, TV programmes/formats (commercial channels) and music come from you. McDonald's, shopping channels, reality TV, big insignificant movies and their sequels, they're all here, and we cannot escape you shallow people.

Now, these are reflections of the general opinion here, so no flame war on me, PLEASE. You don't have to prove me anything. I'm not saying it's all facts or lies. It's just why people seem to think they don't like you. The only thing I can tell for sure is that no-one envies you.

T

Edit: I forgot to mention that the present environmental stand pisses people off, too.

[Derek]

invent jazz

Hey, now. I think that's at least one thing we can be intensely proud of.

- You don't have much of a history or culture, which is why your morals are low. You're rootless people with no respect for the history and ancient traditions around you. Besides, you don't know anything about them, because they don't teach you anything about the rest of the world at school. You think you rule the world yet you know nothing about it.

They don't even teach us anything about our OWN history.

And perhaps the fact that so many other countries buy our stupid cultural products reflects badly on the entire human race, rather than just the nation of the United States.

[JamesS]

Ha there is nothing wrong in america, our foreing policy is perfect

I very strongly disagree, I live in the UK and I have nothing against Americans, in fact I have made a number of good friends from America. However America is the most powerful nation on earth at the present moment, with the ability to seriously affect the state of the world. This is where my problem with the American government lies. It's the way that this power and influnece is wasted in so many things, in isses such as third world debt and climate change. America is one of the biggest contributers to greenhouse gasses yet refuses to do anything to help. One could also argue that this power is occassionally abused, depending on where you stand with relation to the war in Iraq. As the worlds only super power America has a responsibility to use this power to it's best effect for everyone.

[allchopin]

Now, these are reflections of the general opinion here, so no flame war on me, PLEASE.

If you are going to dish it out, you should certainly be able to take it.  Being assertive enough to present ideas means being able to back them up.

I can't say much about other countries, but in Finland the US is generally disliked. Why:

- You chose someone like Mr. Bush to represent you. In a way, the president of the US is the most important person in the world, and what he does affects everyone. You chose someone who's never been outside the US and has an appalling history in economic matters. We're very afraid, and our only comfort is to laugh at all the incomprehensibly stupid things your leader says (we, too, have books on that).

- No one likes the big kid at the sandbox who bullies everyone and wants to have all the toys. By what right you are acting as the world police we do not know. Patriotism is your euphemism for wanting power and sending men to a field trip.

- Hypocrisy can be found everywhere, but you're just something else. You declare yourself the land of freedom and democracy and keep preaching about it to others. Freedom? We don't have metal detectors at our schools. Democracy? At least we don't stop counting the votes when we feel like it. We don't have a messed-up election system that misleads people. You boast about your scientific superiority. What you actually do is that you lure top scientists from others. You have to do so, especially when your educational system favours the ones with money and not brains.

- You don't have much of a history or culture, which is why your morals are low. You're rootless people with no respect for the history and ancient traditions around you. Besides, you don't know anything about them, because they don't teach you anything about the rest of the world at school. You think you rule the world yet you know nothing about it.

- You impoverish other cultures. Most of our movies, TV programmes/formats (commercial channels) and music come from you. McDonald's, shopping channels, reality TV, big insignificant movies and their sequels, they're all here, and we cannot escape you shallow people.

Edit: I forgot to mention that the present environmental stand pisses people off, too.

I'm not going to try to play Devil's advocate here, but I'd like to clarify on some of these ussues.
Bush may be viewed as a power monger (and thus all of America) because he is trying to stop crimes against humanity in other nations.  It is not that he tries to play World Police but that he sees a problem and targets it because it is the right thing to do.  I must admit I find it hard to back up much of what he does (oil trip in Iraq, Kyoto, etc) and I wonder if he really knows what he's doing (we'll leave it to the press to find out).
I'm not sure about the freedoms of Finland but I think our metal detectors simply stand for the right to bear arms (which is getting out of hand).  Our election system is strikingly simple and being copied by other countries (we got it from the ancient Greeks), though the intelligence of the people casting the ballots is what concerns me (ahem, Florida).
It's a shame to hear attacks against nation simply because it is new (I'll agree that 230 years is relatively new) but our culture was not simply created out of thin air 230 years ago.  We got our values from Britain who got their values from the Germans and Romans.  Yet I also take pride in knowing that our country has established its own sense of culture and morals. 

I will have little success in trying to defend the education system in America, nor the energy position Bush holds (although he has proposed a hydrogen plan for the next 5 years... hmm, I'm wondering what that is all about).  I'm not sure how our education system compares to other nations but I would love to see changes in the near future.

As for prejudices against America's bullying escapades, just know that "our country puts $1 billion a year up to help feed the hungry. And we're by far the most generous nation in the world when it comes to that, and I'm proud to report that. This isn't a contest of who's the most generous. I'm just telling you as an aside. We're generous. We shouldn't be bragging about it. But we are. We're very generous." - President Bush, 2003 

[Teddybear]

If you are going to dish it out, you should certainly be able to take it.  Being assertive enough to present ideas means being able to back them up.

*sigh*    I don't understand. If I hear someone say "I don't like Americans because they X", do I have to add something before I can repeat it?

Bush may be viewed as a power monger (and thus all of America) because he is trying to stop crimes against humanity in other nations.  It is not that he tries to play World Police but that he sees a problem and targets it because it is the right thing to do.

I've also heard an opinion about this: the US government seems rather selective when it comes to "crimes against humanity". It's a pretty thing to say, "to do the right thing", but how come did they choose the Iraqi out of all the suffering peoples in the world? If there weren't any oil around... One Finnish researcher did write a couple of years ago that he believes Bush thinks he's "doing the right thing" and "spreading good ideals". Maybe he's not evil but just plain stupid and ignorant. Maybe he's just a puppet. I personally am not convinced your government cares about these people.

I'm not sure about the freedoms of Finland but I think our metal detectors simply stand for the right to bear arms (which is getting out of hand).

The point was that in our country guns are not needed. Now what does that indicate?

Our election system is strikingly simple and being copied by other countries (we got it from the ancient Greeks)

That's good to hear, because we had heard that in 2000 a lot of votes were rejected because the forms or whatever you call them were too complicated to fill.

It's a shame to hear attacks against nation simply because it is new (I'll agree that 230 years is relatively new) but our culture was not simply created out of thin air 230 years ago.

Yes. The Europeans got rid of a lot of criminals and social rejects by sending them to the new continent.

We got our values from Britain who got their values from the Germans and Romans.  Yet I also take pride in knowing that our country has established its own sense of culture and morals.

Then it seems we just don't like your morals. I fail to see any connection between how things are handled in Britain and the US.

[Daevren]

As for prejudices against America's bullying escapades, just know that "our country puts $1 billion a year up to help feed the hungry. And we're by far the most generous nation in the world when it comes to that, and I'm proud to report that. This isn't a contest of who's the most generous. I'm just telling you as an aside. We're generous. We shouldn't be bragging about it. But we are. We're very generous." - President Bush, 2003

He is manipulating statistics. In terms of BNP the US government pays very little compared to other western countries.

[contrapunctus]

One thing puts us above the rest in all aspects: WE HAVE THE OLDEST ACTIVE CONSTITUTION


Beat that please before you telo me your governments are better than ours.



(your contries are a lot older too)

[i_m_robot]

self thinks that people actually believe that the actions of the few with power represent the beliefs of those without

(funny unrelated story...or is it)

self was playing halo 2 and a british guy starts to talk about how fat americans are and rags on fast food

british people are fat too 

and french people are catching up


self was born at the bottom rung of the ladder

doesnt fit in the middle but arrived there somehow

self's been up and down the east coast

self can tell you all - The World

most americans arent that different from you all

most people - with truly democratic beliefs - are too concerned with just getting by to look at some incident on CNN and get mad at a whole nother country

they have to focus on whats in front of them

self also would to tell say that the majority of (hell all of) the images depicted of americans in movies are shared in reality with but a few

our country is rich yes - but the majority of people are not

[musik_man]

He is manipulating statistics. In terms of BNP the US government pays very little compared to other western countries.

If I remember correctly, only our official governmental aid is small compared to other countries.  When you factor in private charity, America isn't at the bottom of the pack.

That's good to hear, because we had heard that in 2000 a lot of votes were rejected because the forms or whatever you call them were too complicated to fill.

They were actually really simple.  If anyone wanted proofs that Americans are stupid, the fact that people messed up filling out that ballot kinda proves it.

I'd also like to say that it's not America's fault that people in your countries buy up crappy American pop music.  It's their fault for having no taste (besides from what European pop and rap I've heard, you guys are just as bad )

[i_m_robot]

I'd also like to say that it's not America's fault that people in your countries buy up crappy American pop music.  It's their fault for having no taste (besides from what European pop and rap I've heard, you guys are just as bad )

actually television and other media have a large impact

all find ways to manipulate their target audience, especially the younguns, and adjust their schemes to follow changes and while also making their own trends to diversify

take rap for example

used to be a past time

younguns admired the flows the older

somehow got popular

PRODUCERS try to make money off it

put out album

after so many albums the stuff gets tired

they find another to push the envelope

rappers believe they are following their dreams when the are only small puppets

same for pop stars (american idol and the british counterpart are shining examples)

rocks a bit different but follows a similar scheme

country well thats the same *** (some call it music) sung by different people (jk)

the point selfs trying to make is that it is manipulation

and it's harder to see it if you are the one being manipulated

[redintegra]

We basically control everything there is no country in the world that can defeatr us.

This is exactly why other countries hate us. "Better do as I say or you will get your butt whipped."

[vences5]

self thinks that people actually believe that the actions of the few with power represent the beliefs of those without

(funny unrelated story...or is it)

self was playing halo 2 and a british guy starts to talk about how fat americans are and rags on fast food

british people are fat too 

and french people are catching up


self was born at the bottom rung of the ladder

doesnt fit in the middle but arrived there somehow

self's been up and down the east coast

self can tell you all - The World

most americans arent that different from you all

most people - with truly democratic beliefs - are too concerned with just getting by to look at some incident on CNN and get mad at a whole nother country

they have to focus on whats in front of them

self also would to tell say that the majority of (hell all of) the images depicted of americans in movies are shared in reality with but a few

our country is rich yes - but the majority of people are not

Once again, well said robot.

The US donates more money to other countries and disasters more than any other country in the world. What do we get back? Nothing.

Also remember that the US is the only World power in the history of mankind that has used their power for good.

[Barbosa-piano]

 Well, I live in the U.S. for 1 year and 6 months now (moved from Brazil), and I don't have anything against Americans. At most occasions, you only understand American foreign policies and their general way of thinking once you get to know them and get to be a part of their country... Some other factors I really don't undertand. Well, when I first got to this country, the "Land of the Free", I didn't see any difference from Brazil what so ever, when it comes to freedom of speech, religion, press, etc... I didn't even know that America was known by this "nickname" before I arrived on my first vacation visit. Well, I agree with ending terrorism, if it is ever possible... (high dreams)- and I agree with Tony Blair, that the U.S. and Europe could do a whole lot together... I live here, and there are common problems as most countries in the planet- Social Security problems, violence, pollution, oil prices, poorly planned healthcare systems... I think that the popular culture of today is a very poor one, could be improved...
 But Americans are actually very nice people (most of the ones I know). I believe that the only reason why Americans are hated in many countries around the world is because of their exagerated involvement in other countries affairs, somehow with an air of superiority.
 Well, they defend the liberty, as well as many other world countries.
 Its people is a hard working, friendly one, that should not be viewed differently.

                                                  Those are just some of my thoughts.
                                                     Mario Barbosa.  

[keys]

I'm Canadian. I like a lot of things about America. Not signing into Kyoto is awesome, Canada signed in and it was a bloody waste of time and money. I'm surprised at how totally different our cultures are though. It seems like America is so celebrity centered - Canadians don't give a crap. And it seems like in America "liberal" is the dirty political accusation, here "conservative" is. And I saw this piece on TV that was about how the American Right wing has too much influence on the media there. Here in Canada there are government run media outlets all over the place  - its called CBC. The left-wing slant is commonly accepted.  I do think that America should keep its nose out of other countries business, that's how your founding fathers wanted it and it is wise.

[Barbosa-piano]

 I must say, as Padarewski did:" I love America, it is my second home." But if I had a choice, I would be in Brazil, the country I will always love the most. The reason why I worry about the problems in America is because it is my home now. We should consider that we are all humans, and of course we should be proud of our homelands, but always respect other people's homelands and cultures... Specially on this forum, were there is a great variety of different cultures and nationalities. But there is one thing all of us have in common: the desire to express our thoughts and feelings on the piano. We should not care about different languages, because we speak the universal living language of Music...

[pianobabe56]

I'm American, and I LOVE the ideals this country was founded on: the Constitution, the Declaration of Independance, etc... LOVE 'em.

My problems with America: whether or not we realize it, we are an arrogant country. For a long time, we've gotten used to being the most technologically advanced, the richest, having better health programs, whatever. Then we stopped working at progressing, and as a country, became lazy and ignorant, and now other countries are coming up (China, for starters), and we still have delusions of grandeur.

As far as the war in Iraq - I believe that dictators need to be stopped. There is no excuse for letting a dictator oppress people (Hitler), but we did go into Iraq unprepared, and we're paying for it with lives. That makes me sad.

I think that other countries dislike us for our arrogance. When tourists from America go to other countries, they are often disrespectful of the history and culture there, and rude.

So here's from an American introverted pessimist: I LOVE the ideals of this country. We could use more people with more morals in the United States.

[Torp]

S.I. Hayakawa once wrote, "The symbol is not that which is symbolized."  The difficulty arises when we cannot separate the symbol from the pieces that make up that symbol.

There is nothing inherently "wrong" with America or Americans.  However, throughout many parts of the world we have a pretty serious Public Relations problem.  And, I'm not just talking about our government or our foreign policy.  We have a reputation for being gullible and arrogant.  We have a tendency to visit other countries and expect to continue to have the "American experience."  I have seen, too many times to count, Americans walking into some little shop in a foreign country and just start speaking English to the shop owners.  As the shop owner struggles valiantly to understand, the American invariably becomes frustrated and starts talking louder.  The whole episode usually escalates to a point where both parties are angered and frustrated.

My point, if there is one, is that we often "expect" to be understood but we often make no corresponding effort to understand.

I honestly believe that most of our "problems" stem from ignorance.  I have met very few Americans, or any individual person from any country for that matter, who are just mean for meanness sake.  Most Americans only speak one language.  Our educational system teaches history, but generally only from the perspective of the US, etc., etc.  If you wish to understand more about the world outside of our borders it requires some serious individual effort.

Jef