Is America an empire?

[chisnpeke]

Every country thinks like that.

That's true. I guess what I'm thinking of is some people don't know that other countries have major cities with high-rise office buildings! Like we are the only developed nation in this world. They think that this is the only country that has those things. People in college have said these things...like about Brazil someone said I can't believe they have big cities!

 

[imabrat]

I don't know if we're top of the world (I think China and India are edging on us), but I do know we have the best medical care in the world. My mom knows someone whose son has the same kind of cancer I did. Tehy live in Australia. The treatment they have down under for it is down right nauseating. (And by nauseating, I mean no where near the chances of survival like our drs in the US give us)

 

[bananda]

No offense taken. I don't know why anyone would be actually.

America is a huge borrower. We have a ton of debt. That goes along with being the wealthiest nation. And you're correct, China is a very rich nation. India is also coming into its own as a wealthy nation and is growing a lot and might one day surpass the US one day.

I find it sad that we use most of the world's oil yet we are not the top population wise. We had a president that denied for almost 8 years that there was a crisis and we needed to invest in alternative energy. It was only 2 years ago that George W. Bush finally "admitted" that global warming was a real issue. Bush's environmental policies really pissed me off.

It's just in terms of the amount of money we have and military power, we are the most powerful. I also think a lot of Americans think that the only right way is the "American" way and other countries don't matter as much. I always thought it was "American" to be accepting of other cultures and ideologies.

None taken, though there's nothing there to be offended by.

The US is incredibly in debt- and most of our debt is owed to China who has "bought" our debt.

Someday, the Chinese are going to take over the world.

its just that i know some extremely patriotic peole who would get offended of someone told them australia was in debt (which i believe we are)

and i agree that china will indeed take over the world.

 

[chisnpeke]

its just that i know some extremely patriotic peole who would get offended of someone told them australia was in debt (which i believe we are)

and i agree that china will indeed take over the world.

There are people like that here too.

Those type of people need to be realistic.

 

[bananda]

There are people like that here too.

Those type of people need to be realistic.

i agree

 

[BabyPiglet]

Sonya, have you ever seen that documentary by Micheal Moore. We were talking about this in sociology. Basically, he took this injured veteran to Cuba (free healthcare) who had been waiting for his health benefits from the army to kick in so he could get an operation. Well, he went down to Cuba and they helped him, no questions asked. Same operation that was going to be done in america, great medical facility. Same thing he waited for years for in america.

Just saying, other countries have good healthcare too. Even Cuba.

 

[imabrat]

Sonya, have you ever seen that documentary by Micheal Moore. We were talking about this in sociology. Basically, he took this injured veteran to Cuba (free healthcare) who had been waiting for his health benefits from the army to kick in so he could get an operation. Well, he went down to Cuba and they helped him, no questions asked. Same operation that was going to be done in america, great medical facility. Same thing he waited for years for in america.

Just saying, other countries have good healthcare too. Even Cuba.

That's because he wasn't a citizen of Cuba. I know if an "alien" comes into the US and needs medical care, they will get it.
And I don't necessarily mean healthcare by insurance wise, but by education and knowledge of the doctors wise.

 

[Babyjustrun]

I do believe the Chinese are gonna take over lol.
And I can't exactly say that every country thinks that their way is the only way.
I do find Americans, mostly in the south (no offense) seem to be more 'patriotic' and religious, so they think their way is the American way and people should only be that way.

I get that other countries have their religions and are really deeply set and like that..
And maybe I'm biast, but I don't find that Canadians think the right way is the 'Canadian way'. We're quite similar to the States, but we aren't quite so set in our ways. I find there's too much diversity where I live for there to be a large group that thinks everyone should live the same way.
I just find, Americans tend to forget, they came from somewhere. Most of them were colonized there, they aren't pure blood natives. It's annoying to hear, 'I'm American, nothing else, my family has always been here' when really their family is from England and Germany (random countries).

I just hate how everything is Americanized. Mostly Canadian television. Like almost all of the shows broadcasted are American. We can't buy the rights to show them on other days, so if the president is doing a speech, the show is cancelled, and we're all watching Obama talk about god knows what (not that I don't love me some Obama). It's annoying to have stations from Detroit and see their local news, and their BREAKING NEWS which interrupts the show.
I wish Canadians were capable of making some good tv, and liking it enough to watch it.

 

[Babyjustrun]

Sonya, have you ever seen that documentary by Micheal Moore. We were talking about this in sociology. Basically, he took this injured veteran to Cuba (free healthcare) who had been waiting for his health benefits from the army to kick in so he could get an operation. Well, he went down to Cuba and they helped him, no questions asked. Same operation that was going to be done in america, great medical facility. Same thing he waited for years for in america.

Just saying, other countries have good healthcare too. Even Cuba.

M
y Modern History teacher, he told me once, the education in cuba is fantastic. Everyone has the chance to learn, but the jobs aren't there. So if you're on vacation, and you think your taxi driver is a lazy bum, he's probably not. He's probably some form of doctor, who can't get work, but can't leave either.
Maybe that's not even related whatsoever to what you said lol.

 

[chisnpeke]

I do believe the Chinese are gonna take over lol.
And I can't exactly say that every country thinks that their way is the only way.
I do find Americans, mostly in the south (no offense) seem to be more 'patriotic' and religious, so they think their way is the American way and people should only be that way.

I get that other countries have their religions and are really deeply set and like that..
And maybe I'm biast, but I don't find that Canadians think the right way is the 'Canadian way'. We're quite similar to the States, but we aren't quite so set in our ways. I find there's too much diversity where I live for there to be a large group that thinks everyone should live the same way.
I just find, Americans tend to forget, they came from somewhere. Most of them were colonized there, they aren't pure blood natives. It's annoying to hear, 'I'm American, nothing else, my family has always been here' when really their family is from England and Germany (random countries).

I just hate how everything is Americanized. Mostly Canadian television. Like almost all of the shows broadcasted are American. We can't buy the rights to show them on other days, so if the president is doing a speech, the show is cancelled, and we're all watching Obama talk about god knows what (not that I don't love me some Obama). It's annoying to have stations from Detroit and see their local news, and their BREAKING NEWS which interrupts the show.
I wish Canadians were capable of making some good tv, and liking it enough to watch it.

The deep south tends to hold onto their guns and Bibles. The coasts are more liberal in their thinking and voting trends and they have more diverse populations.

And you're right, a lot of Americans tend to forget their true heritage. I'm always going to be an American first but I wouldn't be here if my relatives wouldn't have come over from Germany and Scotland and England (three countries I know I have heritage from). People tend to forget easily.

 

[Babyjustrun]

The deep south tends to hold onto their guns and Bibles. The coasts are more liberal in their thinking and voting trends and they have more diverse populations.

And you're right, a lot of Americans tend to forget their true heritage. I'm always going to be an American first but I wouldn't be here if my relatives wouldn't have come over from Germany and Scotland and England (three countries I know I have heritage from). People tend to forget easily.

Mm same, I will always be a Canadian (I'm either second or third gen. It depends. 3rd gen if your go by maternal cause grandma was born here, 2nd gen if you go by my dad's side.. I think my grandfather was born in the States.. I'm not sure), but I will always remember my roots. There is really no such thing as a pure blood Canadian anymore. I mean even the natives, most of them are partially French from waaaay back when the America's were only being discovered.

 

[imabrat]

See, I'm one of those who doesn't really consider myself American. I may be a national, but the blood that runs through my veins is Spanish, German, and Irish. The only thing about me that is American is that I am a natural-born citizen.

 

[BabyPiglet]

Although places like Cuba are communist, I've always understood that they have great FREE healthcare and education.

As far as American's forgetting where they come from, ITA. It's fine to think firstly 'I'm American.' but don't forget that you're also French, German, and who knows what else.

America's a superpower and everyone knows it, which is why our view on the world is clouded. We think we're the best, and everyone should follow us. Period. We rarely take into account the cultural beliefs of other countries.

And for everyone who says that we're no territorial. Well we might not be officially expanding our borders right now, we used to. We started out as 13 little colonies and now own most of the continent. We took what wasn't ours on the justification that we were better.

Also, since we're on the subject. We are also very greedy. We idiolize and 'worship' thin people, because we have an over-abundance of food. In other countries, if your thin, you're thought to be poor because you can't afford food. Here, many of us think of food in disgust. It's kind of sick and this country needs a reality check.

Even taking all this into affect, I have to mention, I love this country.

 

[Sparx]

not meaning to offend anyone but i heard last night that china is actually one of the wealthiest nations and america is one of the biggest borrowers in the world.

its all a matter of perspective.
my mother works for department of children's services. she makes roughly 35k a year before taxes.

factory workers in america make AT LEAST 20k (thats american poverty level.)

the way that "wealth" is determined internationally is how many people are above poverty level/how in debt the country is.

china is not in debt.

but, the average chinese factory worker (and yes, that is what the majority of the working class in china is) makes roughly 2k a year. and no, i didn't forget a zero. its not there. their poverty level is SO low that most people are above it.

china is powerful, because they have money backing them up. we owe china money. (because we are stupid.) but if china were to call in our debt say, tomorrow. they would collapse as a country, also. china will have to gain much more power (militant and economic) before they can hurt us in anyway other than our pocket books.

china doesn't have the resources to sustain themselves if they call in their debts. we would fold inward as a country and our economy would crash. but our economy is what supplements the world's economy. we are the world's trade market. and we are china's biggest customer. not only would they have lost ALL the money they loaned us, but they would be out of hte money that we pay into their government every year.

now, give it a few decades, and if we've not paid our way out of china's paper bag, everyone (meaning hte whole world) will be in big trouble. china is a sleeping giant.

 

[MrsSparrow..]

I believe it. I've seen so many dumb people not know just basic facts about their own country, I wouldn't expect them to know where England is! That would be way too much to ask of them.

Some people don't know who the president is. On a show I watch, The Tonight Show, the host does this thing called Jaywalking and asks people basic questions like "Who is the vice president?" and these people have no clue or say something stupid like "George Washington?"


This is the epitome of stupid. How do people get through school and life in general?

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WALIARHHLII&feature=related

Like Judge Judy says...beauty is temporary, stupid is forever. I would have been laughing so hard at her if I was the host holding that microphone up.

ETA: The people who don't know what language people in England speak are at the same level of stupidity as the people who think people from Mexico speak Mexican.

God, that bugs the hell out of me too.

But saying that, I was talking to a Spanish girl at my school last year (like a Cultural exchange thing) and she asked me what languages I speak/learning. I said I could speak English (obv) and was learning French, Spanish and Italian. She flipped out at me because I said 'Spanish' and not Castilian. I was like, "Yes, I know that is what it is, but excuse me for using the universal word for the language".

Sometimes people take their culture too seriously if that makes sense.

 

[BabyPiglet]

Also, some countries would be wiped off the map if it wasn't for America. Like Isreal.

 

[imabrat]

God, that bugs the hell out of me too.

But saying that, I was talking to a Spanish girl at my school last year (like a Cultural exchange thing) and she asked me what languages I speak/learning. I said I could speak English (obv) and was learning French, Spanish and Italian. She flipped out at me because I said 'Spanish' and not Castilian. I was like, "Yes, I know that is what it is, but excuse me for using the universal word for the language".

Sometimes people take their culture too seriously if that makes sense.

She was def one of those freaks. We call it either Spanish or Castillan. Mostly Castillian but Spanish means the same thing.

Another thing that annoys me is that people think Spanish is universal. No, it's not. Spanish = Spain. Puerto Rico = PR. Mexico = Mexican. If they're from anywhere else other than Spain they ARE NOT SPANISH! Gawd.
People don't believe me when I say I'm Spanish. They always say "you're not dark". That's because my ancestors are from Spain, not Argentina or Colombia.
Then they piss me off when they say I'm Latino. I am NOT Latino, I am Hispanic. If it weren't for my ancestors from Spain, Latinos wouldn't exist.

Sorry for my little rant.

 

[Axel]

See, I'm one of those who doesn't really consider myself American. I may be a national, but the blood that runs through my veins is Spanish, German, and Irish. The only thing about me that is American is that I am a natural-born citizen.

This is me, completely.

Only not really, lol. I have Native American bloodlines (Passamaquoddy Tribe), so technically, I am "American". But I'm also Irish, English, and French-Canadian (Thetford Mines, originally. and I probably still have family there I don't know about).

One of the tattoos I want to get is "Child of Foreign Stars" on my upper back/across my shoulders. It's because I consider myself a global citzen- wherever I go, I belong, but I'm a child of stars different than the ones I'm looking at at the same time because of it. It's really complicated and the logic makes sense in my head but is really hard to explain.