Talk about anything here that there isn't another specific forum for. General chit-chat between the SG regulars. The Moderators will be sad pandas if you spam... too much.
Last Saturday was was the 3rd aniversary of 9/11, an event which changed the way we Americans think about the world, or at least it should have. we boucned back quickly and little seemed to change, save a little more security at airports and a vague, nebulous fear of a distant threat we don't really now that much about. I'm an Americna born and raised, I've been taught all my life that the United States is the greatest country there is, that it is a beacon of hope and liberty, that we are the leaders of the free world and value equality and justice, that we have a great governmental system, and that we are unbeatable. We solidified our place as a superpower during the cold war, and when the soviets fell, we were the only ones left standing, an economic, millitary, and politcal powerhouse that had its hands, like it or not, in most of the world affairs.
With all our power and affluence, it's not suprising that we tend to be a little arrogant, selfish, and disinterested in the world around us. It's a problem that we are a long way from fixing. Now, animostiy towards america has manifested itself as a real, deadly threat, and our future wil be determined by how we understand and interact with the world around us.
As an Ameican with little knowledge about the world at large, I have a rather narrow perspective of my country. Thats why I want to hear from others, especailly those who live outside of the states, about what they think about the US. How much do you know about Ameican History? World History? Current events? How do you see America's place in teh world? and any other topic you want. Anybody want to give it a shot? or do I have to use the nukes on you.
I personally think that america is a great place to be. It is the current mindset of the leaders that I disagree with. Having promise Bio, not to bash Mr.Bush, I will leave it at that. Prior to 911, I have always have great respect for way the technological advancement that US has contributed to the world.
What I am mostly against is, the total disregard by certain quarters of the US current administration for the feelings of the rest of the world in general. I strongly believe that due the cultural difference in race and creed, having a homogenous policy is a self defeating task.
Some great presidents like Abe Lincoln, Washington, Jefferson and Franklin has contributed to the current US that we see today. It is indeed sad to see such goodwill squandered away.
I wear levis, drink coke, listen to eagles, use a pc, keep hustler magazines and watches CSI. I have nothing against the american way of life. Mr. Bush and me is another story.
I dunno about you, but my sister's planned wedding in Malaysia was cancelled due to fear of bombing at her wedding. She seems to believe that somehow she's important enough for terrorists to care, so she's holding her wedding here in Melbourne instead.
Point is, I don't get a free holiday back to Malaysia anymore. Screw you terrorists !
Well she said that the JI terrorist responsible for the Jakarta bombings was Malaysian, and since my sister and her fiance have to go to the embassy to notify them of their visit, they may be noted as a possible target.
Doom wrote:I know US history and I know world history, and let me tell you, US history is boring as fuck.
US History is filled with myths and stories that Americans are told as youngsters to cover up and sugarcoat the horrible atrocities on which this country was built. It really is completely disgusting what you can learn at a University history course. I'm not saying other countries have a better history, it is just a perspective you can take from a uniquely American-educated standpoint.
Doom wrote:Well, obviously, but that goes for just about all of western civilization.
I guess it just seems more unique because we all grow up with that Columbus sailed the ocean blue, when really he sailed the ocean blue but then painted it red with the blood of natives that were completely wiped out within a 100 years of brutal Spanish rule and enforced slavery, which they died on ships coming over to Spain, etc. And that's only how the land was discovered, much less the shit we did to own it and then break off from the British.
I don't think that history classes should tell untruths, but I don't need to feel guilty about something some spanish asshole did hundreds of years ago. You learn and you move on.
Also, I don't prescribe to the belief that America is a mob of ignorant mouth-breathers being spoonfed their beliefs. IMHO, fewer people believe in all the sugar-coated history and media propaganda than some people say. (or at least I hope so )
Frost wrote:I don't think that history classes should tell untruths, but I don't need to feel guilty about something some spanish asshole did hundreds of years ago. You learn and you move on.
Also, I don't prescribe to the belief that America is a mob of ignorant mouth-breathers being spoonfed their beliefs. IMHO, fewer people believe in all the sugar-coated history and media propaganda than some people say. (or at least I hope so )
You would hope so, but I don't think this is the case. Some people are told, but they still don't even believe. It is only when you get to a University education level that they actually start teaching you about the real brutality of the Spanish conquest in the Americastoo.
Defenitely we don't have to feel guilty about the asshole, but we should feel bad about praising the asshole ignorant of what he did.
Has anybody seen that Strangers With Candy episode where she finds out she's a Native American and the school holds a Thanksgiving play? I know it was on last night as well as a few weeks ago and GOD is it hilarious.
Dave wrote:Has anybody seen that Strangers With Candy episode where she finds out she's a Native American and the school holds a Thanksgiving play? I know it was on last night as well as a few weeks ago and GOD is it hilarious.
Well I don't believe America is some superior divine country, but it is better off than a lot of countries out there.
And to what doom said, American history is incredibly boring... but I guess that's bound to happen since they've been teaching it ever since grade school. On another note, it's also incredibly sad how some Americans here don't even know how the stars and stripes of the flag are formed.
Frost wrote:I don't think that history classes should tell untruths, but I don't need to feel guilty about something some spanish asshole did hundreds of years ago. You learn and you move on.
Also, I don't prescribe to the belief that America is a mob of ignorant mouth-breathers being spoonfed their beliefs. IMHO, fewer people believe in all the sugar-coated history and media propaganda than some people say. (or at least I hope so )
You would hope so, but I don't think this is the case. Some people are told, but they still don't even believe. It is only when you get to a University education level that they actually start teaching you about the real brutality of the Spanish conquest in the Americastoo.
Defenitely we don't have to feel guilty about the asshole, but we should feel bad about praising the asshole ignorant of what he did.
yes but if praising said asshole buys us all a day off from work/school then its worth it
I'll share with whom I please. Not to Mr. poor-ass that's done nothing good in his life, yet wants my fucking tax money. Canada is socialist enough as it is. !!!
Ward wrote:I'll share with whom I please. Not to Mr. poor-ass that's done nothing good in his life, yet wants my fucking tax money. Canada is socialist enough as it is. !!!
Ward wrote:Many conservatives (traditionally speaking anyway) in Canada are just as liberal/socialist as some of your Democrats. That's what i meant.
Then again, I am french, and you sure are Chinese.
Yeah, I was laughing pretty hard when I went to join the Canadian Republicans at UBC and I was talking about Bush, and they basically looked at me like I was kinda crazy
There needs to be more then simple government reform for socialism to work, at least on a somewhat democratic level. There needs to be social reform. People need to be educated, parents need to take responsibility, money needs to be used for practical purposes.
Capitalism neglects those basic needs and half asses them in an attempt to preach about standards of life. What fucking standards of life? Brainwashing, product pushing, cut-throat gain? People are honestly convinced that by having money they should be happy. I guess why not? You have a really big house, you have a really nice car, you have MORE than your neighbor. Not only are you happy but you're better then him. Life is good no? But you still have trouble accepting gays and minorities. That's okay, as long as your a rich majority you can convince all the poor majorities to hate everyone you feel threatened by. Those crazy minorities won't breach your castle walls, don't worry. And nevermind becoming strong emotionally, you don't need to confront your problems when you sleep under money. And it dosn't matter how many people have less than you, even if less than you means dying in a gutter somewhere in africa full of aids . . . if you're wealthy enough to have a gutter in africa. In a capitalist world everyone has the chance to be the 1% that make it rich, so I guess that's fair. Just most of us arn't that 1%.
But we've never been the human race. We've always been Americans, Brits, Nazis, Commies, Mongolians, Greeks, Romans, whatever. Any excuse to be fighting someone, or to be more powerful than them. So why start getting along now? Why care about our neighbor? Dog eat dog is so straight forward it's hard to get wrong, unless you're nice.
I don't like the mindset in a lot of America, which is one reason why i am moving.
Yeah, I don't like our government too much. i vote, I try, but nothing changes. I don't like how we get taxed out the ass and see nothing for it...the health care is going downhill, schooling is going downhill. After living here overseas, in a socalist government, schooling and doctors are something you don't have to worry about.
Yeah, America isn't the safest place either. Lots of crime. Lots of countries have crime all over, but some less than others. Of course the employment rate is going downhill as well due to moving lots of jobs overseas. And other things, and the economy is also just going downhill. The US dollar seems to be getting quite weaker next to the other...it used to be .92 got 1 euro. Now it's 1.28 US dollars to 1 euro, in like 2 years.
And just the way of life. People seem to be in a big hurry to do nothing. Majority of strangers are rude, well, in Philly anyway but then again Philly has a rep for that But seriously, after living here, people treat me more as equal. They don't care that i dress like a tomboy, they don't care that a belch at a bar and drink like a guy, they don't care about my tastes. They just like me as a person. I mean some people in the US are like that, but man...
Of course, when I move there will be things I miss about the US. My friends and family of course, but I admit I am gonna have to stock up on mac and cheese, yellow american mustard, pop-tarts and yoo-hoo, cos you can't get it in Finland!
ElFenrir13 wrote:I don't like the mindset in a lot of America, which is one reason why i am moving.
Yeah, I don't like our government too much. i vote, I try, but nothing changes. I don't like how we get taxed out the ass and see nothing for it...the health care is going downhill, schooling is going downhill. After living here overseas, in a socalist government, schooling and doctors are something you don't have to worry about.
Yeah, America isn't the safest place either. Lots of crime. Lots of countries have crime all over, but some less than others. Of course the employment rate is going downhill as well due to moving lots of jobs overseas. And other things, and the economy is also just going downhill. The US dollar seems to be getting quite weaker next to the other...it used to be .92 got 1 euro. Now it's 1.28 US dollars to 1 euro, in like 2 years.
And just the way of life. People seem to be in a big hurry to do nothing. Majority of strangers are rude, well, in Philly anyway but then again Philly has a rep for that But seriously, after living here, people treat me more as equal. They don't care that i dress like a tomboy, they don't care that a belch at a bar and drink like a guy, they don't care about my tastes. They just like me as a person. I mean some people in the US are like that, but man...
Of course, when I move there will be things I miss about the US. My friends and family of course, but I admit I am gonna have to stock up on mac and cheese, yellow american mustard, pop-tarts and yoo-hoo, cos you can't get it in Finland!
After living in Vancouver for the past few years, it is still difficult for me to fully judge the difference between the two countries in full, mainly because I haven't had to really settle everything down there just yet and move.
I am not paying any kind of tax, so I don't have to deal with that, which is OK since Canada taxes you quite a bit. However, I also don't get to enjoy the benefits of free health care and I have to pay for any medical visits that I might encrue. Luckly I've only been slightly hurt in a bike meets car accident and never been really sick there.
As far as people and attitude goes, there is a difference, both good and bad. The bad thing is there are a lot more bums and... there are just a lot of bums almost anywhere you go, and it gets very, very annoying after a while because they get on your nerves. Other than that though, people are very friendly and the multi-cultural aspect of Vancouver is something that you will only get in a few cities in the world. There isn't very much crime and surprisingly the crimes that do happen are still very "shocking" to people - people will discuss that crazy murder or shooting because they just don't seem to happen very often.
Living in Vancouver is very expensive compared to the US, but generally living in Canada can be very cheap - in Alberta and even places in Ontario, the cost of living is much lower than in most of America, which is really nice.
The government is people's own personal opinion. Honestly, I don't like what our current President is doing one bit, but I also don't have faith in the Canadian political system either, which seems very shaky and sometimes confused about what direction they want to head in.
In general though, what matters is how happy you are. I couldn't be happier in Vancouver when I'm with my friends, surrounded by places I like and people who like me. That, I think, is most important.
j0hn Ayanami wrote:I couldn't be happier in Vancouver when I'm with my friends, surrounded by places I like and people who like me. That, I think, is most important.
j0hn Ayanami wrote:I couldn't be happier in Vancouver when I'm with my friends, surrounded by places I like and people who like me. That, I think, is most important.
Hmm... that, and a good Internet connection.
Actually, if I had a cellphone, I wouldn't care about an internet connection. Notice I tend to disappear from the forums whenever I move back to Vancouver? I just don't use the internet at all except to watch anime, and even then I've been watching more and more over friends houses. I've tried to live with just the internet and no phone, and Shaun can tell you what kind of hell that was getting in touch with me.
Seifer Almasy wrote:Capitalism neglects those basic needs and half asses them in an attempt to preach about standards of life. What fucking standards of life? Brainwashing, product pushing, cut-throat gain? People are honestly convinced that by having money they should be happy. I guess why not? You have a really big house, you have a really nice car, you have MORE than your neighbor. Not only are you happy but you're better then him. Life is good no?
It is. I like being able to buy stuff that I want. But the rest implies that most people can't think for themselves, and that's a problem regardless what side of the political spectrum a country is in.
But you still have trouble accepting gays and minorities. That's okay, as long as your a rich majority you can convince all the poor majorities to hate everyone you feel threatened by. Those crazy minorities won't breach your castle walls, don't worry. And nevermind becoming strong emotionally, you don't need to confront your problems when you sleep under money. And it dosn't matter how many people have less than you, even if less than you means dying in a gutter somewhere in africa full of aids . . . if you're wealthy enough to have a gutter in africa. In a capitalist world everyone has the chance to be the 1% that make it rich, so I guess that's fair. Just most of us arn't that 1%.
wtf this isn't a rant about capitalism, it's a rant against today's american republican party and stupid people believing everything they're told!! Silly me, I was getting all worked up.
john: I was not aware that there were Republican associations in Canada.
Yeah moving out and moving away from internet/tv I think was a healthy experience. Easier to be reached on a cell phone for sure although I fucking hate Telus and half the time I don't really want to be reachable.
What I don't like is how ignorant people are of other cultures. Most people simply do this: Mexicans mow lans, Black's rob, Afghanis wear masks and bomb stuff, Jews are selfish, etc. the list goes on. It shows how weak minded people are to simply classify so many people into a group of which they hardly know about. Whats even worse is how people CANT think for themselves, and emluate what their friends, parents, or co-workers seem to rant about. I love America, but we are so blind to whats going on and just how crazy things really are. All everyone does is complain, complain complain. I remember watching a documentary on chinese culture, and one of the American crew men said "Over here (china) there is nothing but respect for older people, their wisdom and experience, in America, the exception being family, there is nothing but contempt and isolation" The stereotypes aren't so much what bother me, its the fact that we always have to put ourselves over others, even in the same cultural category, to make ourselves feel better. There is always some flaw or some annoying thing that people portray/represent. I've realized that once you free yourself from this thinking behavior, not only does the way you look at things change, but also the way people look at you.
Also, the internet has ruined my life in some cases, even just simple console games (although not as much as PC). By far, I am not a bad looking guy and most of my friends don't even know of my gaming or comptuer habits. I can't help but say that some content can be so addicting that they can distort your concept of reality and cause you to live in a detrimental cycle. For example: I became so GOOD at Counter-strike that I was pretty much unbeatable, and even some "good" players ended up calling me hacker. At this point, I woke up, turned on computer, played cs, I ate fast food that was brought to me to quickly get back to cs, hardly drank water, played CS then went to sleep (this was during summer). Not only CS but the rest of the great mods and online community too. Also when I was an avid player of UO I suffered similarly, although not nearly as much. It wasn't just CS that addicted me, it was the fact that I was so good and felt superior that made me come back over and over... This was at a point where there was almost no bullshit (it was during the later betas) and mostly skill:aiming, reactions, tactics, speed. Anyways I remember having troubles with digestion and also when I went back to highschool I became incredibly anti social, I didn't look like the type though. I was friends with the "cool" kids, but when I came back I had lost all confidence and somewhat, a concept of reality. I became introverted and went into a deep depression. I was always against those who say "don;'t let your child play games," or "don't let them watch too much TV" but as I have experienced it myself, I now know why. I am passionate about martial arts and it goes against everything I was doing, I was also incredibly skilled at it (as much as this sounds like bragging) and I let it go to waste...Even when I had to move in with some relatives with no internet access and hardly any games, I managed to actually got out in nature and practice, it was good and enlightening while it lasted but I ended up going back to my same habits once I had access.
Anways my point is though there is alot of great things in the country, there are also alot of illusions and "traps", one of these being money. Don't let yourself fall into a cycle that you can't get out of (nothing is impossible to get out of, its just harder). Thats pretty much it.
"Only in the absolute stillness of the mind can truth be obtained..."
Ward wrote:john: I was not aware that there were Republican associations in Canada.
Yep... I actually joined the "Canadian Republicans" for a while. Then I left when they turned out to be fence sitters~ Either you are a conservative facist asshole or a liberal pansy in my book! NO INBETWEEN!
Seifer Almasy wrote:Yeah moving out and moving away from internet/tv I think was a healthy experience. Easier to be reached on a cell phone for sure although I fucking hate Telus and half the time I don't really want to be reachable.
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to what doom said, American history is incredibly boring... but I guess that's bound to happen since they've been teaching it ever since grade school. On another note, it's also incredibly sad how some Americans here don't even know how the stars and stripes of the flag are formed.
!!!
Canadian liberals aren't on the same side of the spectrum as your conservatives though. NDP is borderline commie. 
