Anti-Americanism

[IndiReloaded]

Your attitudes and opinions are all very noteworthy, but why don't you do somethin' with it, hm?

You're assuming I'm not. You'd be wrong. Our local MP knows us by name, lol, & I've been involved in our local government & I do volunteer work as a treasurer and I'm a master trainer for a national charity organization. All independent of what I do for my career. Does that help you to know, tho Fras?

Every little bit helps. You don't have to take an 'all or nothing' approach to change. That defeatist attitude is why most ppl do nothing.

If you are too lazy to do anything, at least admit it. Or, if you're not but you don't know what to do, then here are a few examples:

- vote
- tell your friends to vote
- write a letter to your local gov rep about an issue that is important to you
- call your local rep & ask to meet them--they have to do this for you
- write an article for your local paper
- get involved in your local community
- run for office (what? you don't think ppl 'like you' run for office? Of course they do!)

Just for starters.

[misombra]

That's a mute argument, tho, Miso. Its like saying 'sure, we're a bully, but not as bad as the bully down the street'. It doesn't change the fact that bullying is unfair. Esp if the bully gets bullied back & they take out a gun & blow them away, lol.

Personally, I don't think countries are that different from individuals, its just that the problems are scaled up. So, to me, past is past. But what are we doing about the problem to make it better? That's what I think the focus should be.

Do the right thing in your next election. Tell all your friends to get out and vote to make sure a GWB doesn't happen again.

You don't think we've tried that?

and there are worse bullies than others. there are the bullies that'll take your 50 cents in the cafeteria, and there are those that'll shoot up the school.

[Junket]

I don't have to take an all-or-nothing approach, but I do.

I have other more immediate priorities I'm dealing with.

It does help me to know you're not just some on-line idealist, and rather a real-world activist. This way I can keep you exempt from my criticisms of them.

However, I'm no stranger to social service either, and I actively choose to live the lifestyle I'm living. I did not move to Oklahoma because I give a shit about the poor here. I do not believe in donating money to random ass charities. I do not bother with the silly bureaucratic process of legislation because I don't have the patience for it. I vote because it's easy.

I would sooner spend a month building low-income housing than I would spend an hour writing a letter to my state representative.

My way, is right for me. If it wasn't than, I'd do something to change it so it was.

[IndiReloaded]

I don't have to take an all-or-nothing approach, but I do.

I have other more immediate priorities I'm dealing with.

It does help me to know you're not just some on-line idealist, and rather a real-world activist. This way I can keep you exempt from my criticisms of them.

However, I'm no stranger to social service either, and I actively choose to live the lifestyle I'm living. I did not move to Oklahoma because I give a shit about the poor here. I do not believe in donating money to random ass charities. I do not bother with the silly bureaucratic process of legislation because I don't have the patience for it. I vote because it's easy.

I would sooner spend a month building low-income housing than I would spend an hour writing a letter to my state representative.

My way, is right for me. If it wasn't than, I'd do something to change it so it was.

Keep in mind I'm almost 40, Fras, and in a position to be able to give back. When I was a student, I focussed almost exclusively on that (I did do some volunteer work, but my studies came first).

But its good for you to be thinking about these things now, so that when you are in a position to do something more, you do. Of course you can't take care of others before yourself, but you can always do something, even something small. I think it was Desmond Tutu who said something about 'small changes where you can b/c they will add up to something big'. I believe that.

You'll know when you happen upon an opportunity to 'do' that fits with who you are. The hard part is to not walk away from it b/c of habit.

I think Habitat for Humanity is a great organization, FWIW.

[Stalin_Skaya]

On the one hand foreigners denounce American entertainment. On the other they consume it voraciously. That in and of itself is hypocrisy. American culture is hailed as bankrupt. Dead. Worthless. And yet you'll see people throughout the entire world mimicking American style of dress, listening to American music...

Mimicking America? Why? Cause they wear British clothes such as the tuxedo? Or Italian fabric like jeans? And follow the latest fashion from Paris London Milan and New york?

American way of life? Never heard of that one before. Care to explain what it is?

And please don't say apple pie its from Europe and I can link you to a 4th century apple pie recipe BEFORE America was even Discovered.

So please explain to me what is it that people mimicking from America? And what is American?

[Junket]

So please explain to me what is it that people mimicking from America? And what is American?

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XpsfQjX01YM"]YouTube - America, **** Yeah![/ame]

[IndiReloaded]

Traffic jams (large scale car production began in the us) and the internet (a guy at MIT set up the first computer network).

And fast food, yes, lol.

[Gigabitch]

How about many, many cultures rubbing up against each other? How about cowboys? Turkey and mashed potatoes? Atheism and Buddhism and Catholicism and Judaism all represented at one lunch table at my daughter's grade school?

[misombra]

we're all one world. to be mad at one country is a stupid thing for anybody to do. it means all these governments win at keeping us all separated and propagating a world where nobody understands each other so we won't have troubles killing each other.

instead of us arguing with each other we should just stop, and keep on talking as we are. because without any talk of where we come from, we're all the same.

[Junket]

we're all one world.

[ame="http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WmxT21uFRwM"]YouTube - we are the world[/ame]

[Stalin_Skaya]

Traffic jams (large scale car production began in the us) and the internet (a guy at MIT set up the first computer network).

Those are stuff that comes from America. I asked what was typical American. That video said Christmas? Its Greek and the Christmas tree is a German tradition.

And fast food, yes, lol.

I think that Fish n Chips fast food existed in the 1600? And Hamburgers comes from the German city of Hamburg. And then we have all of those stuff like Indian fast food that are thousands of years old.

What I see as typical American are big cars.

[Gribble]

They had McDonald's in India a thousand years ago? Well, I'll be damned.

[Gigabitch]

They had McDonald's in India a thousand years ago? Well, I'll be damned.

You already are, at least in the eyes of the rest of the world. You ****ing American.

[Junket]

Hey, this is no fun.

What country are you from Stalin?

I'd like to pick it apart too, it's only fair.

[Junket]

Here's some interesting facts about Sweden, not necessarily bad or good.

The citizens enjoy a high standard of living and the country is generally perceived as modern and liberal,[2] with an organizational and corporate culture that is non-hierarchical and collectivist compared to its Anglo-Saxon counterparts.

Sweden emerged as a welfare state, consistently achieving a high position among the top-ranking countries in the UN Human Development Index

The 1814 campaign was also the last war in which Sweden participated as a combatant.

Between 1750 and 1850, the population in Sweden doubled. According to some scholars, mass emigration to America became the only way to prevent famine and rebellion; over 1% of the population emigrated annually during the 1880s. Many looked towards America for a better life during this time.

It is believed that between 1850 and 1910 more than one million Swedes moved to the United States.[15] In the early 20th century, more Swedes lived in Chicago than in Gothenburg (Sweden's second largest city). Most Swedish immigrants moved to the Midwestern United States, with a large population in Minnesota. Some Swedes moved to Delaware. Some also moved to Canada and others in smaller numbers to Argentina.

Sweden remained officially neutral during World War I and World War II, although its neutrality during World War II has been highly debated.[21][22] Sweden was forcibly under German influence for most of the war, as ties to the rest of the world were cut off through blockades.[21] The Swedish government felt that it was in no position to openly contest Germany,[23] but it did attempt to help the Allies in secret. Towards the end of the war, Sweden played a major role in the humanitarian efforts and many refugees, among them many Jews from Nazi-occupied Europe, were saved partly because of the Swedish involvement in rescue missions at the internment camps and partly because Sweden served as a haven for refugees, primarily from Norden and the Baltic states.[23]. Nevertheless, internal and external critics have argued that Sweden could have done more to resist the Nazi war effort, even if risking occupation.

A bursting real estate bubble caused by inadequate controls on lending combined with an international recession and a policy switch from anti-unemployment policies to anti-inflationary policies resulted in a fiscal crisis in the early 1990s.[28] The response of the government was to cut spending and institute a multitude of reforms to improve Sweden's competitiveness, among them reducing the welfare state and privatizing public services and goods.

At the turn of the twenty-first century, Sweden has a well-regarded, generally robust economy, and the average quality of life, after government transfers, is very high, inequality is low (the gini coefficient is 25.0[31]), and social mobility is high (compared to the affluent Anglo-American and Catholic countries).[32] A country known for very low crime rates compared to other developed countries, Sweden has nevertheless seen two prominent politicians assassinated in recent history: Prime Minister Olof Palme in 1986, and foreign minister Anna Lindh in 2003.

Swedish units have taken part in peacekeeping operations, in Congo, Cyprus, Bosnia, Kosovo and Afghanistan.

Sweden remains non-aligned militarily, although it participates in some joint military exercises with NATO and some other countries, in addition to extensive cooperation with other European countries in the area of defence technology and defence industry. Among others, Swedish companies export weapons that are used by the American army in Iraq.