The best and worst things about your country

Cuntified C
Cuntified C Posts: 114
edited September 2008 in A Moving Train
What are the best things and the worst things about the country you are from or the country you are living in?

I am from, and live in London, England.

The best things: You can get a very eclectic mix or people here. City types, goths, lots of foreigners from all over the world. You can get access to some good music venues, the social life here can be as good as you want it to be with the nightlife, gay clubs, restaurants etc. We got good transport over here. We have a free health care system.

The worst: it's bloody expensive! prices for accomodation, transport, even food. It's dirty where I'm from. People are not particularly friendly here but in some other places it's worse and the people can be false and insincere. Also, it's illegal to watch or buy a tv without signing up for a TV license. In other words you have to continually pay for having a TV license in your house else they'll come and get you, like they did me once. You have to pay council tax on the place you are living in or else you could face a criminal record or a prison sentence or both.
Post edited by Unknown User on
«1345

Comments

  • moho
    moho Posts: 541
    Ireland:

    Best Bits:

    Saying, "Hey! I'm Irish" to any one when you are abroad because automatically you are loved!

    We have a very friendly population with a great sense of humour. And this has tended to lead to some of the best creative and reinventing minds ever and also a thriving art, music and literature scene.

    We have some kick ass music venues across the country

    We have the 5th best music festival in the world according to billboard (Electric Picnic).

    We have some incredible landscape and beaches and waves.

    Guinness.

    Worst Things:

    We have always had incompetent and crooked governments and politicians which has led to a dreadful health system, an underfunded education system, a bad (but getting better now) transport system, underfunded police force, slow bureaucracy shit etc.

    There are complete asshole scumbags who run rife and who like to shoot each other and deal drugs etc.

    We have pompous, up their own arse rich SUV driving fuckers who go over the white line and park in two spaces and do nothing in their big BMW SUV but pick the kids up from school.

    And we have wanabee rich up their own arse SUV driving fuckers who go over the white line and park in two spaces and do nothing in their big BMW SUV but pick the kids up from school.

    We have a horrible national obsession with glorifying failures, near misses and terrorists. Examples: All grannies love Bertie Ahern even though he was a corrupt little vicious f**ker. The Irish soccer team draw = victory.

    Fianna Fail get voted back in even though everyone bitches about their fuck ups. The reason being that we are afraid of change and we are a very gullible nation and we don't question those in a position of power enough. We take their words as the bible.
    JUST PLAY THE F***ING NOTE!!!
  • Surf Rider
    Surf Rider Posts: 813
    Cuntified C wrote:
    The best and worst things about your country.


    Best - Pearl Jam

    Worst - Bon Jovi
  • bernmodi
    bernmodi Posts: 631
    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.
  • NoK
    NoK Posts: 824
    PJAMEDVED wrote:

    Worst - Bon Jovi

    I do hate their music but Jon Bon Jovi does some pretty good stuff for his city. A lot of charity work. You got to respect that.
  • Novawind
    Novawind Posts: 836
    There are so many pros and cons for the United States that I couldn't even begin to list them all. Overall I'd rather be here than most other places.
    If idle hands are the devil's workshop, he must not be very productive.

    7/9/06 LA 1
    7/10/06 LA 2
    10/21/06 Bridge 1
  • polaris
    polaris Posts: 3,527
    kanada

    best: the relative integration of other cultures and religions into our culture
    worst: the oil sands
  • OffHeGoes29
    OffHeGoes29 Posts: 1,240
    I'll give my reason for the USA

    Pros: You really have the freedom to do what you want. There are only a few places in the world that if you worked hard enough, no race, class, or religious barriers will stop you from becoming the person you want to be.

    Cons: Materialism and a decline in family values.

    These are just my opinions
    BRING BACK THE WHALE
  • dunkman
    dunkman Posts: 19,646
    Scotland

    best: the people, the countryside, castles, invented fucking hundreds of stuff, its history, its reputation around the world, New Year celebrations,

    worst. the people, rough areas of cities are very rough, we're attached politically and constitutionally to England still, religious bigotry.
    oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
  • _
    _ Posts: 6,657
    OffHeGoes29 wrote:
    I'll give my reason for the USA

    Pros: You really have the freedom to do what you want. There are only a few places in the world that if you worked hard enough, no race, class, or religious barriers will stop you from becoming the person you want to be.

    True, there are few places in the world where race, class, and religous barriers don't keep people down. The United States isn't one of them.

    Edit: Well now that I read your new thread I feel a little bad for my comment. :( But not bad enough to delete it. :D
  • OffHeGoes29
    OffHeGoes29 Posts: 1,240
    scb wrote:
    True, there are few places in the world where race, class, and religous barriers don't keep people down. The United States isn't one of them.

    Edit: Well now that I read your new thread I feel a little bad for my comment. :( But not bad enough to delete it. :D

    Why, do you have an example of how you or someone you know has been repressed here in America? Don't feel bad, its expected here.
    BRING BACK THE WHALE
  • OffHeGoes29
    OffHeGoes29 Posts: 1,240
    I don't know about you guys, but I wouldn't live in a country that I felt oppressed my rights and freedoms.
    BRING BACK THE WHALE
  • digster
    digster Posts: 1,293
    U.S.

    Pros: The diversity of landscapes and people you can find here; West Virginia coalminers to Wall Street bankers and everything in between. It's alot of stimulus. Our arts are great; I think we've made some of the best films and music of the past century, and the U.S. along with the U.K. developed rock music which has been my lifeline often. We question and criticized our leaders much more than some other nations (including nations where it is not allowable). Although some of the powers that be have tried to shift this lately, I think often you can resist and criticize and be a patriot, rather than a traitor (or maybe that depends where you are). Finally, the U.S. is built upon the Constitution, one of the most marvelous documents in the history of the world and it allows us to peacefully change leaders every 4-8 years.

    Cons: Probably the racism and prejudice that's still prevalent among many people in this country, and a failure among people to address concerns that may not be directly affecting them. Everyone's become a bit too individualistic (which people should be, considering we live in a capitalist society, but still). Older generations have not prepared well for their sons, daughters and grandchildren and seem slow to change to way things need to be going forward in the world (I think that's just my viewpoint). But in a word; prejudice. It's still extremely prevalent here, and may always will be.
  • dunkman
    dunkman Posts: 19,646
    OffHeGoes29 wrote:
    I don't know about you guys, but I wouldn't live in a country that I felt oppressed my rights and freedoms.


    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.
    oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
  • OffHeGoes29
    OffHeGoes29 Posts: 1,240
    digster wrote:
    U.S.

    Pros: The diversity of landscapes and people you can find here; West Virginia coalminers to Wall Street bankers and everything in between. It's alot of stimulus. Our arts are great; I think we've made some of the best films and music of the past century, and the U.S. along with the U.K. developed rock music which has been my lifeline often. We question and criticized our leaders much more than some other nations (including nations where it is not allowable). Although some of the powers that be have tried to shift this lately, I think often you can resist and criticize and be a patriot, rather than a traitor (or maybe that depends where you are). Finally, the U.S. is built upon the Constitution, one of the most marvelous documents in the history of the world and it allows us to peacefully change leaders every 4-8 years.

    Cons: Probably the racism and prejudice that's still prevalent among many people in this country, and a failure among people to address concerns that may not be directly affecting them. Everyone's become a bit too individualistic (which people should be, considering we live in a capitalist society, but still). Older generations have not prepared well for their sons, daughters and grandchildren and seem slow to change to way things need to be going forward in the world (I think that's just my viewpoint). But in a word; prejudice. It's still extremely prevalent here, and may always will be.

    Thats a very good point...I agree with you that racism is still an issue no one wants to talk about.
    BRING BACK THE WHALE
  • catefrances
    catefrances Posts: 29,003
    australia

    the best: the distance. no one can be naffed coming all this way to fuck with us. :D

    the worst: the tyranny of distance.
    hear my name
    take a good look
    this could be the day
    hold my hand
    lie beside me
    i just need to say
  • unsung
    unsung I stopped by on March 7 2024. First time in many years, had to update payment info. Hope all is well. Politicians suck. Bye. Posts: 9,487
    USA

    The best thing: Well most everyone wants to be here, it is the land of opportunity, just follow the laws.

    The worst: Liberals
  • OffHeGoes29
    OffHeGoes29 Posts: 1,240
    dunkman wrote:
    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.

    Well I didn't say that we where the only place. I lived in Germany for two years and got a chance to see most of Europe. I have second cousins living in Italy that I would visit now and again. I've had conversations with many Europeans over this issue, and my opinion now after living there, is that they don't have it better than us, and in some cases, don't have the choices we have.

    I've never been to the UK though.
    BRING BACK THE WHALE
  • dunkman
    dunkman Posts: 19,646
    OffHeGoes29 wrote:
    Well I didn't say that we where the only place. I lived in Germany for two years and got a chance to see most of Europe. I have second cousins living in Italy that I would visit now and again. I've had conversations with many Europeans over this issue, and my opinion now after living there, is that they don't have it better than us, and in some cases, don't have the choices we have.

    I've never been to the UK though.

    give me 5 of those choices I dont have compared to you? in terms of rights and freedoms remember.
    oh scary... 40000 morbidly obese christians wearing fanny packs invading europe is probably the least scariest thing since I watched an edited version of The Care Bears movie in an extremely brightly lit cinema.
  • OffHeGoes29
    OffHeGoes29 Posts: 1,240
    dunkman wrote:
    give me 5 of those choices I dont have compared to you? in terms of rights and freedoms remember.

    I never said you don't have any freedom. I know nothing about the UK or Scotland.

    I'll give you an example about Germany.

    Here in the USA, we protect peoples rights to free speech. Now I don't agree with hate groups or any of their causes, but in Germany, its illegal to reproduce the Swastika in public print. (from what I've been told and seen). Most hate groups there don't have the same protection that we have here in the states. Germany has done a lot to suppress their past; they don't even honor their war veterans like they should. I DO NOT SUPPORT ANY HATE GROUP, so don't read into this. I'm saying we give that right to freedom of speech and assembly here more so then in Germany, we don’t pick and choose who has the right.

    I've also been told by Germans that once you take your high school exams (like our SATs) thats it, its final, the scores dictate if you go to college or not. Now I didn't read this, a couple of my German friends at the time voiced this to me.

    They also have mandatory enlistments in Germany and Italy. You have to do 2 years of public service or one year of military service.

    My cousin bitched about how hard it is to get a job in Italy, and how its close to impossible to make any upward mobility.

    So once again, I can't speak for other countries I haven't been to, and all of this is stuff I heard from Europeans. I would love for someone who lives there to please correct me, this is what I've been told by your fellow citizens.
    BRING BACK THE WHALE
  • polaris
    polaris Posts: 3,527
    OffHeGoes29 wrote:
    Here in the USA, we protect peoples rights to free speech. Now I don't agree with hate groups or any of their causes, but in Germany, its illegal to reproduce the Swastika in public print. (from what I've been told and seen). Most hate groups there don't have the same protection that we have here in the states. Germany has done a lot to suppress their past; they don't even honor their war veterans like they should. I DO NOT SUPPORT ANY HATE GROUP, so don't read into this. I'm saying we give that right to freedom of speech and assembly here more so then in Germany, we don’t pick and choose who has the right.
    .

    uhh ... i've been to a few places in germany mainly berlin ... and the holcoaust memorial is one of the most strikingly beautiful and sad public spaces i've ever been to ... add the nuremburg trials display and the bricks that show the line of the berlin wall and to me you get a nation who has come to terms with its past ...

    i will say not many countries mentioned here before have been so open about what atrocities they've committed ...

Categories