Do Americans Really Lack The Ability to Have a Global Perpective?

Originally posted by zonetripper2065
reply to post by SpearMint

 

I"ve stated we have many of our own issues. But please make the point clear to my tiny American brain. I must be in denial show me what I'm missing.

To me it seems your just not happy with my perfectly acceptable answer of mind your own business. What happens inside of OUR borders is none of any non Americans business. If we act a certain way why do you care? how does it affect you?

Read above. You still seem to be missing the point of the thread.

reply to post by zonetripper2065


nother thing is as a people we don't go around sticking our noses in everyone business(apparently a national pass time for nations), we have our own huge problems. Our people like to be left alone to do our own thing, if we wanted to know what was going on in Europe our forefathers would have stayed in England.

This I can attest to!!!

reply to post by NysgjerrigDame


Once again our government calls the shots on war. They do what they want when they want. We didn't want to go Iraq but the president did. The president has 100% control of the military and what he says they MUST do or they or jailed or killed. Many people have a great idea on what the politicians are up to, that doesn't stop it they command the US military who will squash whatever gets in its way. They own the voting system, its corrupt and there is nothing that can be done about it.

Originally posted by sirjunlegun
reply to post by zonetripper2065

 

nother thing is as a people we don't go around sticking our noses in everyone business(apparently a national pass time for nations), we have our own huge problems. Our people like to be left alone to do our own thing, if we wanted to know what was going on in Europe our forefathers would have stayed in England.

This I can attest to!!!

I hope to God that that was pure sarcasm. Please do not tell me that you are serious about your statement. That would destroy what little faith I still have.

In reponse to zone tripper-

Yes, the US is culturally diverse, but, say, if a person who's of Mexican descent is born in the US. They will speak English fluently. They'll be familiar with US culture and customs.Yeah, they'll have connections from their original land, but unless they're straight from their home country, they'll be Americanized.

reply to post by zonetripper2065


There's nothing you can do as a society? I suggest you learn about who your forefathers were and what they did. They too lived under tyranny for some time. You might learn a thing or two about what you can do. Don't lose hope that it cannot be changed. The people have the government that they deserve based on their actions, so change your actions and you will get the government you deserve.

The US government likes sticking it's nose into other people's business. The US people are told fraudulent reasons why.

reply to post by freedomwv


I understand your an American in Japan. I just don't understand how people can busy themselves with something that doesn't matter to them if it does matter why?

reply to post by NysgjerrigDame


So what do you suggest. That we have a nonviolent protest? we do that daily and get beaten and jailed in an endless cycle. A violent over throw? Yea ok that will totally work! The military is effortlessly destroying 2 countries and looking for another fight with syria, russia and china. get real

reply to post by Wrabbit2000

If you'd like to call pride in the nation, forcing.... I suppose that's right.

This sentence makes no sense. Forcing a 5 year old to recite a verbal contract of allegiance to a country daily is just flat out brainwashing. It's something North Korea would do.



So creepy.

Originally posted by Wrabbit2000

Originally posted by Trustfund
They force kids to pledge allegiance to the American flag in school everyday.

If you'd like to call pride in the nation, forcing.... I suppose that's right. I did hear the kids reciting the pledge the last time I was down dropping something off for my son. Although, if you look at the pledge the kids recite....

The last line means as much as the first and the values it holds up aren't ones I disagree with, to be sure. I'd say it's why immigrants are still literally risking their lives to get here from all over the world, as a matter of fact.

edit on 13-11-2012 by Wrabbit2000 because: Replacing edited with actual pledge. Sorry! I missed that.

I see what you did there. I was quite happy to see it when you first posted the image. Then I saw that you changed it to the version which includes 'under God' which was added in 1954 when the religious zealots took over.

reply to post by beckenbauer74


Being American is being English, French, Italian, German,Spanish, Mexican, all sorts of African, Asian, Irish, Middle Eastern etc. all mixed into one. As a country of misfits we made our own culture of "mix it up, because it doesn't really matter". I think alot of people just don't understand the way Americans think. We don't have a certain way to do things. Many things are acceptable to us. People aren't ready for that I guess.

reply to post by zonetripper2065


The international community totally understands the intent of American culture, but the intent and the reality are totally different. What American culture says it is and what it really is does not match really. Yeah, America is a mix of culture but often that mix does not mix well due to out of control American nationalism. There are actually people who believe that Obama is a `evil Muslim commie who hates America and wants to destroy the nation.` That is what we in the rest of the world call crazy talk.

It is important to understand that America is a superpower and anything which happens in America has a direct effect on the rest of the world. Wonder why people internationally laugh at Americans? It is because the most powerful nation in the world, who talks about peace and freedom, is populated by people who are not so peaceful nor so free.

When Americans say things like `Speak English or die!` `You can love it or get out!` `Real Americans are born here!` or `Keep those commie foreigners out of MY country!` it makes the world question how well that mix of culture is working out.

reply to post by freedomwv


There are millions around this world that believe he is an evil commie not just Americans bro. You have a few turds in every punchbowl if the rest of world cant accept that, they are terrible hypocrites

reply to post by zonetripper2065


There are basically too groups, in general terms, who view Obama as an `evil commie.` Extreme right-wing types who usually also support racial and `national` purity and those who simply do not understand what communism or socialism really are and have only been exposed to the biased capitalist view of what the two system really entail. Obama is a capitalist dream come true. Wall Street loves Obama and are very glad he is still president. All they have to do is steal and spend everyone`s money and simply ask Obama for more money; he will gladly give them more.

reply to post by NysgjerrigDame

Ummm... Actually, I had not noticed myself that I'd grabbed the wrong image, I was looking in Google Images for something that looked good for that and totally missed the omitted part. Whatever anyone prefers, I changed it the moment i realized the error because that is what is actually recited. Whether it ought to be in there is a whole different thread I'd imagine.

Truth be told, I generally agree with the OP's premise. To even mention much of anything in events outside the Continental United States to people, even at school is sometimes like it's the air temperature on Mars for the relevance they seem to attach to it. Fukushima was a bit of a change, but it's sickening that it took THAT......and even that's faded from noticed and concern almost entirely.

I didn't plan on replying until the mention of the pledge made it sound like it's a fascist thing or some such..and the words are anything but. Generations have grown up reciting it and worked out pretty well.

reply to post by freedomwv


Yeah. Just as with many things I am just uninterested in the man. he did a few good things he did a few bad things like any other president. Life's too short to give a damn about things that dont really matter. Or atleast that's how I feel about it. Have you ever seen the movie the Big Lebowski? thats me in a nutshell except I work 6 days a week.

reply to post by Wrabbit2000

I didn't plan on replying until the mention of the pledge made it sound like it's a fascist thing or some such..and the words are anything but.

It is statist brainwashing, when we have a horrible government that does horrible things. Why in the world would you want you kid pledging allegiance to that? Keep the creepy state politics away from underage impressionable minds.

Generations have grown up reciting it and worked out pretty well.

Yeah, sure it has.

It's not like the average American doesn't have an elitist opinion vs. other countries or anything.

You cannot expect people who have not had the economic means to travel the world, to have an international perspective. We can know something intellectually, but unless we experience it, we don't really know. In addition education is very slanted toward producing an American citizen, and many people have not the time or the inclination to read books written by foreign authors.

Ignorance has a cure. However it is of no benefit to think from an international perspective, when your working hard to feed your family, pay your mortgage and have a something left over to have a bit of fun. The majority of Americans are to tired from the aforementioned and are just trying to keep body and soul together.

reply to post by Trustfund

I've seen each of your replies...and we are simply on different planets in terms of your view of kids reciting the Pledge of Allegiance. It's something I grew up saying in school as did my father and his father before him. Generations of Americans grew up saying those same words to start the day. If you see it as nefarious or somehow negative, I can't much help that but say we will never agree in even the slightest passing way.

Personally, I think it takes a rather 'off' type of thinking to start with, to see something as harmless as the Pledge of Allegiance, as it's been known here for many generations, as anything more than the kids learning basic pride in their nation and pride in their place in it. If that's wrong? Hell.... I'm proud to be wrong.