Question: Would you like living in a country that isn't a 'super power'?

Boncho, I always respect your threads and replies, but I think this one is flawed.

Your question assumes that there MUST be some super power, if not the US then someone else, policing the world and "spreading" whatever form of government they think is best.


Are we too far gone to think that the world could run smoothly with many sovereign nations working together cooperatively to grow economies, create work, create wealth and prosper globally?


If you answer no, then my answer is this: I would probably feel less guilty about the sad state of the world and the people who die every day as a direct result of the West's style of imperialism if I lived in a country that was NOT a super power. I feel as if our rights are being eroded in the US, and in the West in general so we are quickly approaching a point where there may be no significant difference between the way those in the US are treated and the way others in "the opposing side's" lands are treated.

I moved away from The united States to a 3rd world country because I didn't like what America was/is turning into.
My standard of living is way below what it was there and I have to cook on fire outside and fill up water daily, as well as a whole host of other tedious and frustrating tasks.

Point in fact......I love it here and I will die before I ever go back. I served in the military, did my duty from 2000 to 07..Now I'm done. My only regret is that I can't get my family out. So I started a new family here. Good wife, cute daughter, and I threw my passport into the ocean.

Never look back, always forward!

Originally posted by boncho

Hi boncho. I notice your map above indicates US bases and troups in Ireland.
Whatever about northern Ireland (which is a part of the UK), I am pretty certain
that there are no US bases or troups stationed in the republic of Ireland, unless
all here are being kept in the dark. If that was the case, I don't think the people
would be too happy. So maybe there is an error with this map.

reply to post by kn0wh0w

While that may be..
How does bombing a country fix these things?
How does bombing a country fix anything at all?

The west has vested interests in every war that is fought.

I think you answered your own question. What else would a vested interest be?



reply to post by flexy123


While I liked that you acknowledged imperialism and that you were fine with it, but...

Those regimes can only exist and kept up by keeping their people under tight control/brain washing etc...and "freedom" is the biggest danger those leaders are fearing..this is why they fear us..)

What do you think the West does to it's own people? I would say the West base their entire countries on a foundation of lies and mistrust at the moment. Or perhaps it is the people themselves who don't wish to acknowledge the truth.

Mind you, I am not saying their is anything wrong with it per say. I enjoy living in the Western Empire, I just don't know why we can't say that's what it is.



Why all the talk of freedom? Money talks, there is no such thing as Freedom. Never has been.

reply to post by TinkerHaus

 

Are we too far gone to think that the world could run smoothly with many sovereign nations working together cooperatively to grow economies, create work, create wealth and prosper globally?

Unfortunately Tinker, that is the state of the world and the people that reside in it. There has never been a time when one nation or one people didn't want to overthrow another or seek some kind of dominance over the world.

With that in mind, I would say there will always be a common power struggle. And for someone to impose some different system where there are no superpowers, well.... would they not have to be a super power themselves?

reply to post by boncho


I really like the idea of the OP and have questioned it myself often, so I'm just gonna let this answer flow and take a few paragraphs

I'm an American and I've been rather negative on America's war-mongoring Empire lately... It's the overall idea that the American government (or rather the group controlling it) does whatever it pleases. It is getting into these wars for inapproproiate reasons such as controlling wealth, drugs, oil, waterways. American laws are increasingly falling into the realm of tyranny - with new laws eliminating our Constitutional right to a trial, eliminating our right to requiring a warrant before search and seisure, we are a society which has cameras on every corner and facial recognition pointing at us at McDonald's drive-thrus.

The PROBLEM is that America is a truly wonderful place, in my opinion, but the people have fallen hopelessly into a daze of needing more, working constantly, competition to the point of starvation; we are a "read only the headline", "don't know your neighbors" type of uncaring drone-society now. It's actually truly bizarre but you can live entire days without making eye contact with another person... self check-out lines in the grocery stores, ATM service at every gas pump, order anything via internet to be delivered the next day at your house.

... I'm ranting now but I believe that the American Capitalist, Internet way of life has become something that is in-humane. We truly should look at what it is to be human and make sure we're living up to that.

So... would I rather live somewhere else other than a superpower?

I would for two reasons...

One might be just getting myself out of a big city and work where I can see farms and non-corporate places to eat. This could be accomplished within America. (I currently live in Silicon Valley, near San Francisco)

Second... I believe America has created a target on her back! Our policies have ruined the world economy, taking our reserve-currency US Dollar and syphoning off the true value to the elite banksters... leaving the rest of the entire world suffering in the wake. HOW DARE the U.S. elite have 50% of the world's resources while 16% of the world doesn't have clean water or electricity! It's not a far stretch of the imagination to see China, India, Brazil, Russia, France turn around and just blow the heck out of America... our policies are ruining the planet, who wouldn't be against destroying that?

so, finally, we have two different Americas... the one that looks wonderful, happy, Hollywood, peace... against the actual war-mongering, Empire of holy wars and global domination. When one seriously outweighs the other we can say goodbye to America as we know it.... I don't wanna be living in America for that!

reply to post by Thermo Klein


Great post.

I am curious when you say:

It's not a far stretch of the imagination to see China, India, Brazil, Russia, France turn around and just blow the heck out of America... our policies are ruining the planet, who wouldn't be against destroying that?

Do you think if the shoe was on the other foot, so-to-speak, and some of those countries were calling the shots, would the be any better?

reply to post by boncho


hard to say because I imagine that whomever is in the lead would be backed by the Bilderberg, Club of Rome types that run things now.

China is the next "greatest" and they have a LONG History. Let me just share a little personal story about my experience with Chinese nation-building type actions.... there's a tiny little village called Ahero, in Kenya, 100+ miles North of Nairobi. It's a small place with lots of small villages connected by dirt roads. The largest part of the area has one hotel, some small all-purpose shops and a one-pump gas station. Because this area produces a lot of rice as their cash crop it drew some funding. The Chinese government offered to come in and run a series of high voltage power lines through the entire area and build up their roads.... why? because it's the right thing to do. What did they charge? nothing. What did they ask for in return? Nothing! (not even a deal with the rice or exclusive markets). Did they bomb anyone or make demands? No.... huge difference in big government personality there.

So now, a bunch of tiny villages in Kenya have electricity! Which will lead to fresh water, sewage, better health care, more rubust local economy, all with a few hundred thousand dollar investment.

I have an issue when Americans say that other people don't work hard enough, and say if they did they could have what Americans do. This is flat out NOT true, by a long shot! The people in Ahero work their butts off! When I was there a woman had a baby at 10 am and was back working in the dirty, wet rice fields by 2 pm, carrying her newborn baby while she worked! These people make so little money working 12-16 hours a day, selling rice to the bigger nations that it takes 3 months salary to buy enough cow dung to re-thatch their roof. They have nothing extra... I saw men walking around with one shoe, the sole of their shoe gone so their foot touched the dirt. People own one set of clothes. Although a small goat is $40 USD most of the people don't make enough to ever buy one. It really hit home for me to see these people working so amazingly hard... for almost nothing! What I spend at Starbucks in a week could change their life forever...

I am very happy not living in a a country which is a super power anymore!

I don't so much judge america as bad as see what they do as normal- this kind of spreading out is what superpowers do. Always have! It is the natural cycle.

On the other hand, the phase of those cycles differ, and for example Rome may have been a paradise to live in at one time, later it became much less nice to live in.

Like there may have been a peak of time in which the US was great to live in (I'm kinda seeing the eighties, from my life time.....or the fifties?) I just feel like now it is in it's degradation stage, when the country is being split against itself, economy falling apart, the peoples minds dulled from entertainment and food, bodies lazy from comfort, feelings of entitlement making it hard for anyone to tighten their belt or work together in hard times. I feel like I got out in time.

reply to post by boncho


I live in Ireland, which has mighty craic, but is not a super power.

It has spirit, humour, pathos and love...but that's the general population.

The government, however, appear to be in thrall to the superpower that is the EU, and regularly grease themselves up for the IMF.