Well, all the anti-Americanism does cause me unbelievable personal hurt, but I don't hold a grudge or advocate going to war over it.
Us Damned Americans
- Thread starter Itisnotlogical
- Start date
I'm as "anti-American" as anyone outside the country when it comes to our government's bullshit. I am politically and socially radical, I guess.
But what irks me is the tendency I have seen to talk about a human problem and say it's an American one. Like, "why are Americans so greedy?" "why are they territorial?" "why are they bigoted?"
But what irks me is the tendency I have seen to talk about a human problem and say it's an American one. Like, "why are Americans so greedy?" "why are they territorial?" "why are they bigoted?"
You don't always need a passport to enter and leave the US,
We have something called an enhanced drivers license which partially negates the need for a passport to to visit some foreign nations, the only time you always have to possess a passport is for air travel.
I've visited both Canada and Mexico with it, no problems in crossing, Mexicans didn't seem to really care. My nephew and his new wife went on a Caribbean cruise which also included Bermuda (British right?) without needing passports. It is only one-eighth the cost, so why bother getting a passport?
I do have a passport though.
Portuguese actually.Or reducing Brazilians to football players and dancing, half-naked women at Carnaval...and everyone speaks Spanish there, apparently
And I hate to break it to you but ... many American believe that France would currently be a colony of Germany if we warmongers hadn't dropped what we were doing and solve a little problem that apparently the French were incapable of handling on their own.
A misconception on our parts I'm sure.
Yeah, constantly forgetting about the existence of everyone else involved in WWII is on the list of reasons people get irritated with Americans too.
And the fact that nobody in charge today has anything to do with WWII. The "we" and "us" mindset is flawed. I'm not responsible for what happened 70 years ago. I'm not responsible for what my father did, and my children are not responsible for what I do. And I'm certainly not responsible for what my neighbor does. The only thing that counts is what I do now. I can't hide behind something my parents did. I can't use it as justification to fuck up. And if you argue things about WWII, I'll argue things about the treatment of Native Americans. How 'bout that?
I also could slap anyone who says "I'm proud to be French" or "I'm proud to be American". What exactly are you proud of. Achievements someone else made, who perhaps died hundreds of years ago, who just happened to have the same citizenship as you?
The US is a lot larger than Western Europe with less transportation infrastructure. Its harder for people in the center of the country to go anywhere. You can see on the chart that passports are clustered in the hubs. CA, NY, VA, etc.
And as has been said, you don't need a passport to get into Canada and Mexico.
Hell, that one annoys me. Its especially irksome when they ignore the USSR. From an historical perspective, the Second World War was Russia's conflict and the First was France's. The US didn't shoulder the brunt in either, yet people insist on taking credit.
I imagine a certain amount of this is inherent to each nation though.
I don't understand the reason for anti-patriotism in Europe. Sure nationalism caused a few problems for you, but turning your back on centuries of tradition and history? You should take a little pride in the nation. Not in 'we're superior to everyone else' sense of course. Just try to see some of the richness of your own history.
I think it is legitimate to be proud to be x on the grounds of something that happens now and you contribute to, even through something as simple as paying tax or being publicly employed.
But no, I agree, an inflated sense of pride based on stuff you weren't even alive for is of limited value.
You can appreciate and value your history without using it for national self-aggrandising. Look at your history with a critical eye and you'll learn more from it. And tradition is all too often an argument for retaining inequality and injustice.
J
Jetfire
Guest
God Bless The USA
by Lee Greenwood
Lyrics; http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/proudtobeamerican.html
I am guessing this song irritates alot of people.
A video
by Lee Greenwood
Lyrics; http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/proudtobeamerican.html
I am guessing this song irritates alot of people.
A video
I agree completely. But just as a disclaimer the definition of 'tradition' I am using is: characteristic manner, method, or style. Not patterns of behavior and social customs.
And that's on par with the jealousy meme. I was waiting for someone in this discussion to pull out the "we saved you in WWII so be grateful bitches" card.
A
Amaris
Guest
God Bless The USA
by Lee Greenwood
Lyrics; http://www.scoutsongs.com/lyrics/proudtobeamerican.html
I am guessing this song irritates alot of people.
A video
I love that song, because it makes me think of the idealism behind it. The idealism that says a person can come here and have nothing, but they work hard, start a family, build their lives and should everything they own get destroyed or taken away, they still have something. Yeah, it's cheesy, it's corny, but I love the song. I love the idea that you have the freedom to be what you want to be, that the sky's the limit. Is it realistic? Probably not, but I still love the sentiment.
Of course, that isn't to say you can't do that in other countries. If I moved to Britain, Italy, France, Germany, Austria, Sweden, Australia (just a handful of examples), I'm sure I could build a life that would be just as wonderful, and I've always taken "God Bless the USA" as "keep us safe", "help us be prosperous", etc. I don't see it as "God Bless the USA and no one else".
(American) reactions to the earthquake in Japan.
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/5238813/img/Anonymous/1299914762468.jpg
http://www5.picturepush.com/photo/a/5238813/img/Anonymous/1299914762468.jpg
Anyone who thinks that way is a danger to themselves and to others. I dare to hope that in truth, that represents a small minority of Americans. Unfortunately, I've been disappointed before.
Way to bring up something that happened last century as if it were remotely relevant.
Holy shit, what a bunch of assholes.
I imagine the vast majority of those killed and injured in this tragedy weren't even fucking alive when the Japanese bombed Pearl Harbour. How can people be so blindly self obsessed as to wish suffereing on and blame people who weren't alive for something that happened when they themselves weren't alive?
It's tribalism. A knee-jerk reaction that the "other tribe" is always a threat, and so their suffering should be cheered because of it. And this desire to see harm and suffering befall the other tribe is always expressed in terms of what that tribe or its members did in the past. "It's okay for us to torture this man from the other village because his people killed my sister" (despite the fact that they tortured your son because you killed one of their brothers, and so on). Or, in more advanced and civilized countries, it instead manifests as "go, tsunami, go! Wtf should we feel bad for Japan, they bombed Pearl Harbour!" It's not actually about Pearl Harbour at all (how could it be? That has zero relevance here), it's just that if you're inclined to this sort of behaviour you need to justify your desire to see suffering by naming some past offense against you. If you're also an American talking about Japan, then that's "Pearl Harbour"; it's the convenient thing at hand.
http://news.yahoo.com/video/world-15749633/24517504
American reactions to the tragedy in Japan. Interesting how you're eager to point out our dumbasses but not our assistance.
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