The best and worst things about your country

dunkman

OffHeGoes29 wrote:

I'm sure you can come up with a statistic unique to the UK that shows an alarming rate of under aged kids killed from something. 4 a day is rather small considering how many homes have guns and kids under the same roof. How many kids get killed a day from suicide? drug use? Hit by a car?

rather small? oh well thats ok then. its not a problem is it.

lets see... killed via suicide? is suicide a 'right'... dont think so, considering a failed suicide attempt will most likely get you arrested. as for deaths?.. quite a lot, mostly by gun right enough.

drug use? i dont think taking drugs is a 'right'

hit by a car? as above.. having a car isnt a 'right'

owning a gun in the US is..

dunkman

digster wrote:

I fail to see what's amusing about it. I'm lucky to live in one of the most gorgeous countries on Earth, and I value that. But there are many gorgeous places in this world that have inspired me. I prefer to acknowledge what makes America unique, which I feel is its' governance, or the principles for which the government (is supposed to) stand. America's ideals are some of the most glorious in the world, and we have yet to fully live up to those ideals. But I think those ideals and the struggle, through protest and otherwise, is something to be lauded.

thats not unique. almost all modern european countries have the same type of governance, government, call it what you will.

Heineken Helen

Ahhhhh... where would I begin?

dunkman

Heineken Helen wrote:

Ahhhhh... where would I begin?

you'd begin with

"Ireland is so brilliant that i actually left it to move to England and find a job as unemployment is soaring over in Ireland"





edit: change yer feckin location ya fecker

Heineken Helen

dunkman wrote:

you'd begin with

"Ireland is so brilliant that i actually left it to move to England and find a job as unemployment is soaring over in Ireland"





edit: change yer feckin location ya fecker

I woulda said the main thing wrong with Ireland at the mo is unemployment... but I wouldn't have begun with that. I coulda stayed there and lived quite well on unemployment benefits... if I didn't have other reasons to bring me here. Doesn't make this a better country though... sometimes ya just need a change.

I'll change my feckin location when I'm feckin ready

Collin

cincybearcat wrote:

Question, why are people only attacking what someone said they perceived as the "best" of the USA?

Anyone attacking people from other countries?

C'mon, now, can you leave your I hate the USA attitude out of one thread please?

Why is that indeed, why do Americans always piss off or annoy other people with their comments and people from other countries do not?

dunkman

Heineken Helen wrote:

I woulda said the main thing wrong with Ireland at the mo is unemployment... but I wouldn't have begun with that. I coulda stayed there and lived quite well on unemployment benefits...

unfortunately that is not a how a country gets itself out of an unemployment hole? if everyone who was unemployed thought "i'll just stay here and survive on benefits" then Ireland would be bankrupt pretty quickly... also, with everyone on benefits, there would be no irish people out there to tar the drives of people here in Britain

Heineken Helen

dunkman wrote:

unfortunately that is not a how a country gets itself out of an unemployment hole? if everyone who was unemployed thought "i'll just stay here and survive on benefits" then Ireland would be bankrupt pretty quickly... also, with everyone on benefits, there would be no irish people out there to tar the drives of people here in Britain

:rolleyes: nice one!

Heineken Helen

ooh dunk, you'll love this. I was in town today walking past these two groups of girls squaring up to eachother. Went around the corner to make a phone call and noticed everyone staring... then one of the groups walked by me with a couple of them looking very chuffed with themselves and stroking their knuckles with one saying 'well she was gonna punch me first'. Only time I've ever seen that crap at home was about 4am in Temple bar. Charming eh?

dunkman

Heineken Helen wrote:

ooh dunk, you'll love this. I was in town today walking past these two groups of girls squaring up to eachother. Went around the corner to make a phone call and noticed everyone staring... then one of the groups walked by me with a couple of them looking very chuffed with themselves and stroking their knuckles with one saying 'well she was gonna punch me first'. Only time I've ever seen that crap at home was about 4am in Temple bar. Charming eh?

thats Chav England for ye!

i did hear that Birmingham had went to the shitter ever since ehhhh what day did you arrive?

and i'm pretty sure that teenage thugs have fights with each other on the streets of Ireland hells... pretty sure.

Heineken Helen

dunkman wrote:

thats Chav England for ye!

i did hear that Birmingham had went to the shitter ever since ehhhh what day did you arrive?

and i'm pretty sure that teenage thugs have fights with each other on the streets of Ireland hells... pretty sure.

oh I'm sure they do... I've only ever seen it at night... and these girls were not teens... at least mid 20s. Lived in Ireland my whole life, seen it a handful of times, lived here 3 and half days and seen the most embarrassing and knackerish one yet :eek:

mammasan

Pros: The people of this country are absolutely amazing. The diversity when I walk down the streets and how we are willing through thick and thin to lend a hand is amazing. When adversity strikes we forget about our petty difference and bond together for the greater good. It is us the people who make this nation great. The opportunities that people have in this country are great as well. I realize that the playing field is not quite level yet but not many places in this world can the son of poor immigrants have the ability to go to college and rise above the poverty he was raised in to become more prosperous and build a better life not just for himself but his entire family as well.

Cons: Nationalism. patriotism is one thing but I feel that here in the US it is not enough. We tend to go into blinding fits of nationalism that allows our politicians to take advantage of the situation. It is one of our greatest weaknesses, in my opinion. There is nothing wrong with being proud of your country but you have to maintain a balance and have to objectivity to criticize your country when it's actions are not in the best interest of the people. We fail to do this sometimes and it is to our own detriment.

CaterinaA

I consider myself being from three countries, so:

1) Venezuela (lived over there for 17 years):
The best: the landscapes are very diverse, you have snow, beautiful beaches, rainforest, deserts, you name it; the people, Venezuelans must be one of the warmest people in this Earth; tropical fruits; its multiculturalism; and the amount of great restaurants.
The worse: machism, corruption, politicians and Hugo Chávez

2) Chile (the place I was born)
The best: my family, they way the country has progressed after the return of democracy in 1989, the systematic decrease of poverty and indigency rates, institutions actually work, respect for the law, the South of Chile is beautiful, red wine
The worse: Chileans are way too concerned with making a fool of themselves, society still is a little conservative for my taste, there's a long way to go in terms of inequality, and people wear way too much grey :P

3) Argentina (my adoptive country)
The best: Buenos Airs is sooo beautiful, so much cultural activities, great theater, great museums, the architecture is fantastic, amazing restaurants, writers such as Borges and Cortazar, what can I say, I'm in love with this city (it sort of reminds me of NYC)
The worse: Argentinians can be a little arrogant, corruption is a way of life, most politicians are really despicable and our current administration is wasting too many opportunities to move this country forward ...

Cheers
Caterina

digster

dunkman wrote:

thats not unique. almost all modern european countries have the same type of governance, government, call it what you will.

My goodness, why is it if I compliment America, you feel like I'm shitting on European countries? I value America because it was a trailblazer in this regard, and that style of governance led to a peaceful transfer of power time and again. One civil war in the 300 years since the birth of our existence is a pretty good record for stability in government. I also admire our national story that is working to fulfill those ideas (Civil Rights struggle is probably the most popular, and in my opinion, the most inspiring part of this story). Maybe Germany has a similar story; I wouldn't know, I'm not German and I haven't had time thus far to try to personally understand the intricacies of every country the way I know my own. I don't know how I could do that unless I lived there.

You have to calm down and realize that a good thing said about the United States is not a bad thing said about your home country, or all of Europe for that matter.

dunkman

digster wrote:

My goodness, why is it if I compliment America, you feel like I'm shitting on European countries? I value America because it was a trailblazer in this regard, and that style of governance led to a peaceful transfer of power time and again. One civil war in the 300 years since the birth of our existence is a pretty good record for stability in government. I also admire our national story that is working to fulfill those ideas (Civil Rights struggle is probably the most popular, and in my opinion, the most inspiring part of this story). Maybe Germany has a similar story; I wouldn't know, I'm not German and I haven't had time thus far to try to personally understand the intricacies of every country the way I know my own. I don't know how I could do that unless I lived there.

You have to calm down and realize that a good thing said about the United States is not a bad thing said about your home country, or all of Europe for that matter.

thats the point. you dont know if Germany has something similar, or France, etc. so to say its UNIQUE is just wrong.

Iceland has probably the worlds oldest ongoing democracy, Isle of Man the worlds oldest Parliament.. now thats unique.

as for Civil Rights. Britain got rid of slavery some 30 years before you. it took a woman in 1955 refusing to give up her seat to highlight the stupidity of segregation. You're proud it was not until the 1960s that this was addressed politically? you take pride in the fact that black people were not actively encouraged to partake in an election?

my point is, too often, on here and in other mediums, we hear "US is the free-est, most democratic, best chance of a new life in the world" and its not... it still has deep racial divides, it still has polygamy in Utah, it has dry states for gods sake?! where is my right to have beer!!! you have the Patriot laws, you are no more free than most other western european countries and there are a lot of us.. Sweden, Germany, France, UK, Ireland, Iceland, Norway... and then there is Japan, Australia.. New Zealand! NZ were the first country in the world to give women the vote.

digster

dunkman wrote:

thats the point. you dont know if Germany has something similar, or France, etc. so to say its UNIQUE is just wrong.

Iceland has probably the worlds oldest ongoing democracy, Isle of Man the worlds oldest Parliament.. now thats unique.

as for Civil Rights. Britain got rid of slavery some 30 years before you. it took a woman in 1955 refusing to give up her seat to highlight the stupidity of segregation. You're proud it was not until the 1960s that this was addressed politically? you take pride in the fact that black people were not actively encouraged to partake in an election?

my point is, too often, on here and in other mediums, we hear "US is the free-est, most democratic, best chance of a new life in the world" and its not... it still has deep racial divides, it still has polygamy in Utah, it has dry states for gods sake?! where is my right to have beer!!! you have the Patriot laws, you are no more free than most other western european countries and there are a lot of us.. Sweden, Germany, France, UK, Ireland, Iceland, Norway... and then there is Japan, Australia.. New Zealand! NZ were the first country in the world to give women the vote.

Well, if you want to turn this into a pissing match, I'd rather not. But since you turn your nose at the fact that somehow it took us till the 60's to move towards racial integration...are we talking about the same Europe? The one where you can't walk down the street in most western European countries without getting a whiff of casual racism or hatred of foreigners? That Europe? Or maybe you're talking about the Europe whose leftist citizens rail endlessly about the American imperialism throughout the world, but when genocide breaks out, whether in Darfur, Kosovo, or Rwanda, there's no citizen's outcry, much less any government intervention. That Europe? The British Imperialist Europe? The Europe that helped establish an apartheid system of governance in South Africa? Please tell me you're not trying to win some contest with who has the best record; no hands are clean. As I said, there's no point to a "my country is less racist/more advanced than your country" but please spare me that holier-than-thou crap.

My question is why you, and many Europeans I've met, take such umbrage at the feelings Americans have towards their own home country? It goes beyond a discussion and interest in American international relations, which are assuredly an international concern. In short, what could you possibly care what Americans like and dislike about their own country? It's an incessant needling into the personal relationship a citizen feels with his or her country that is very strange, and never made sense to me. The Constitution of the United States and the Declaration that preceded it were revolutionary at its' time, both for what it stated and who it had revolted against. Never before had a group of people declared freedom and equality for all peoples on the planet, and established the role governance plays in that. Was that presumptuous of them? Perhaps, but the success of that system of governance led to the steps forward many of those countries made. But yet you care so much what I think about my own country? Why; what makes you so angry about it? You should try not to be foolish and throw me in with the "red white and blue, now let's kick some ass" crowd, because a quick look at my posts will show that's not the case.

"you (and many americans it must be said) talk about this as if its only applicable to the US... there are many many many democratic countries that have this 'rights' and 'freedoms' thing going on.

Its one of the recurring answers on this very thread from people of the US... it's quite strange i have to say.. i find it kinda amusing."

Your words not mine, in response to someone saying that if he felt America repressed his rights and freedoms he would not live there. He wasn't saying a damn thing about Europe, but you just got so angry at such a statement that you swung this extremely declaratory statement, about "many" Americans, where no one in the thread had even stated that there was no place other than America that had rights and freedoms, that had good governance.

I don't know, I guess with your continued frustration towards pride about America's system of governance, I find that kind of inexplicable anger kinda amusing.

And for what it's worth, you're also wrong about Iceland, which was not an independent nation until 1944, (https://www.cia.gov/library/publications/the-world-factbook/geos/ic.html) and the Isle of Man is to this day a dependent of the U.K. for outside relations, defense, and governance. I guess you forgot to mention all those in the race to make your point.

he still stands

bernmodi wrote:

Best:
- We probably have one of the highest living standards in the world.
- Social security (health insurance for everyone, unemployment rate 2 %)
- political stability with a system called "concordance" (we don't have this government/opposition system, but exponents of the four biggest parties - right and left - build the executive). Direct democracy with plebiscites.
- Peace.
- Beauty of landscape.
- Chocolate.

Worst:
- We still invest billions in our army, which is ridiculous for a country of this size.
- Still not really equal rights between men and women. Difficult for mothers with young children to find a decent job. People are pretty conservative on these issues here. Women only got the right to vote about 35 years ago.

I want to live in Switzerland so desperately!!! I was there when I was 14 years old (14 years ago) and have always dreamed about going back. Switzerland is an utopia compared to the US... or any country that I have been to for that matter. What a beautiful place!!!

In regards to womens' rights... I remember when my aunt (whom I was staying with, along with my uncle) went to the bank to withdraw cash they wouldn't let her even though it was a joint account. Her husband had to be present for her to withdraw cash!!! She was absolutely furious!!!

But hey... then we went over to Lac Leman and Zermatt and Zurich and Munich... what a beautiful place!!!

TheVoiceInside

Puerto Rico

Pros: Buetifull beaches with great surfing and 80 degree water all year round. Endless summer! Emerald green mountains with cool tempertures in the winter. No poisoness or dangerous animals. Puerto Rican are a true meltin pot since we are a mixed race made up of spanish, african, and taino indian people. The result is a beutifull people, especially women(5 miss universe). As a result our food is a great mixture of spanish, african, and taino flavors and dishes. Puerto Rican are one of the freindliest people on earth and are always willing to help others and be as hospitable as can be.We have great music, artist and a rich culture.Some of the amazing things that can be found here are the Yunque rainforest and the 3 bioluminesent bays around the island http://www.biobay.com/. Christmas time is amzing because of the amount of partys from november all thru january 31st. Also, Mango trees everywhere and the best RUM in the world. I could go on for awhile....

Cons: too much politics
Buerocratic and inneficient goverment. corruption
US colony
Republican Statehooder or better know as "pitiyankees"
High murder rate( drug wars)
Privatized health care that really sucks
Public school system is the shitter
Regeaton
too much consumerism and materialism
too much wellfare.

Pacomc79

TheVoiceInside wrote:

Puerto Rico

Pros: Buetifull beaches with great surfing and 80 degree water all year round. Endless summer! Emerald green mountains with cool tempertures in the winter. No poisoness or dangerous animals. Puerto Rican are a true meltin pot since we are a mixed race made up of spanish, african, and taino indian people. The result is a beutifull people, especially women(5 miss universe). As a result our food is a great mixture of spanish, african, and taino flavors and dishes. Puerto Rican are one of the freindliest people on earth and are always willing to help others and be as hospitable as can be.We have great music, artist and a rich culture.Some of the amazing things that can be found here are the Yunque rainforest and the 3 bioluminesent bays around the island http://www.biobay.com/. Christmas time is amzing because of the amount of partys from november all thru january 31st. Also, Mango trees everywhere and the best RUM in the world. I could go on for awhile....

Cons: too much politics
Buerocratic and inneficient goverment. corruption
US colony
Republican Statehooder or better know as "pitiyankees"
High murder rate( drug wars)
Privatized health care that really sucks
Public school system is the shitter
Regeaton
too much consumerism and materialism
too much wellfare.

My cousin is getting married in Puerto Rico sometime soon I think. I'd love to go surfing and check out the local music maybe jam some. Sounds like a great place and there's rum. Sounds great to me.

digster

Anyone from South Africa on the boards? Went there for a year a few years ago to work with a non-profit...beautiful, magnificent place.