american amy well, at least, i know i'm free. and that's pretty much all i know about that subject. what is it supposed to mean? nothing? well, some political things. but otherwise, whatever you want, culturally? in that case, i think i'm pretty American. 001013 ... silentbob to me it seems that if someone from another country moves here and intends on never leaving they should be considered american. its pretty much the same thing, they just happen to not be born here. 001013 ... guitar_freak We live in a representative dictatorship Our leaders are vain Our president will serve 4 to 8 years Sounds like a jail sentence Forget about the issues, screw the party platform "Now that I'm elected I'll prove I'm an asshole" Now I'm famous, let me shake your hand! Let me send the military to start a war with Japan Why you ask? Because I say!!! What else are we gonna do with this money? Pay the national debt? Acually make a treaty or two? What were you thinking? Let's just kill us a few! Make our country look bug and bad Have everyone tremble at our feet When our country is in need We'll be buried 6 feet deep How are we citizens supposed to have American Pride? When all you do is throw grenades at innocent citizens? You start wars with governments and make the people fight your war You sit at your desk and order the death of the innocent! Governments start the wars People make the peace Freedom of speech? That's bullshit Mr. Prez We can't speak out against the government TREASON! We can't even tell a lie SLANDER! In our "democratic, liberal, free nation" We better not open our mouths Here comes the national gaurd Parading around in riot gear Shooting a random protester In order to keep the peace Our nation has no dignity, that was lost years ago I'm not proud to say I live here I hope this country will go to hell 001103 ... moonshine Get out if you don't like it. You have free will. I'm sure theres some communist country you'd love even better. Count your blessings buddy. 010110 ... daxle that is such a poor arguement when the best there is, is still shitty as hell, does that then make it good? no improvement is sorely needed and lack of complacency is the first step to getting it 010110 ... tea party birdmad i think it is both our right and our duty as americans to pint it out when our leaders are fucking up i think it was more american of the dead kennedys, who i believe guitar_freak was quoting above, to write such vicious things about the reagan government (now being sequelized as the reign of dubya aka King George the II, not that bubba was much different) then it was for all these so-called "proud americans" to sit around and say "if you don't like it, go somewhere else" This place was founded on protest It has grown to become the most powerful nation on earth and power DOES corrupt there will always be something to protest. and when the harsh eye of public scrutiny gets a little too close, notice that someone conveniently starts a military conflict with some third-world nation or orther to stir up all the patriotic fervor 010111 ... tourist Funny how ego centric we are. No mention of South or Central Americans, or even the rest of the North Americans, Not that our Canadian neighbors would want to be included in our self centered flagilation. (you know Quebec doesn't) Lets face it Americans are just part of the Human Race, and that of course leaves room for improvement. What do you expect from a lot of naked apes? 010112 ... argo Um, egocentric? File your complaint under Colombian, Nicaraguan, or Mexican. And I can't speak for anyone else, but I'm rather clothed right now. 010112 ... silentbob argo, they're american too what tourist was getting it is that in such a broad word like American, the united states isnt the only american country duh. i mean............maybe you even realized that...but it didn't seem so. i apologize, but it just seems like you're saying that the only REAL americans are those white people who live in usa. and thats just naive. 010116 ... silentbob And while i'm not being too naive, myself, and too closeminded... Birdmad has a beautiful point that he made before i did. that we love the country enough to bitch and complain about how badly it sucks and change it when we think something is going wrong. "this land i love it to i think i love it MORE than you enough to change the stars and stripes of corruption." Get it? and sometimes talking about it is the only thing we can do. if we cant change it, at least we're getting our ideas out, so if someone agrees and has the power to change it, then our whining will not be in vain. Word. 010116 ... argo Charging someone with naivete before launching into a general, washed-out thesis is somewhat amusing. If your writing makes you self-conscious enough to write 'Word' after it, then maybe you need to rethink it? Okay, sorry. Concluding the mean-spirited attack and continuing the (on my part, petty) dialog: 'American' has 2 definitions. The interpretation that I think you're getting at is: a native inhabitant of the Americas. I believe that this applies exclusively to those with North and South American roots. So, I, and a bunch of other American, Colombian, and Nicaraguan citizens are not actually 'American'. The second definition, the one I jumped at without realizing I was being a semantics dick is: a citizen of the U.S. That, for me, is Democratic Republic and apple pie and, yes, materialism and a monkey in the White House. That definition is why my mother was irked when I called her an American. That's why a lot of people I know have two names: a real one and a bland American one. I don't mean to exclude residental aliens, but I guess Merriam Webster (and my mother) kinda do. I want an American to be anyone who thinks of themselves as American. From an informal poll among the Latin and South American kids living here to get their degrees: Non-U.S. citizens do not consider themselves American. But why would they? I mean...duh. 010123 ... silentbob i think maybe i jumped all over you on that one, sorry bout that... You're not a semantics dick, i still love you Who knows if they'd want to or not. But it's still included in the entire mass continent thing of the America's and they may be central...so...that's how. but i bet they dont care 010123 ... typhoid make believe that you are free just like anywhere else, i suppose... 010128 ... MexPanther There is truly no real "american" because it all began with nomads coming in from asia...all people who claim they are "american" cannot be, because they're ancestors were not originally from america anyway. 010325 ... florescent light "American" is a label. persons can have more than one label. 010325 ... retartedkidnameddamian im ashamed to be american. everyone in america thinks its so great to be american, that every other country is envious, but they really arent. they look at america, with its morally degrading culture and its lost causes, and think what fools we are on the other hand, i am glad to be born american. no other country has the freedom that america does. in some other countries, i would be shot for ding what im doing right now. on the other other hand, americas freedom is a deception, a coy. every day, we lose our freedom more and more, and all people can do is sit and see which pop star got a grammy today, which actor is sleeping with which porn star. america is a lost cause, american is a forgotten joke im ashamed to be american 010326 ... blicero 1. beautful, diverse land 2. red people - love, war, death, renewal 3. white people - religious persecution, paranoia, love, war, death 4. independence 5. slavery 6. civil war 7. henry ford 8. world wars 9. jingoistic capitalism 10. britney spears 010329 ... lifeandlight Its all the space I think, that sets america apart from other places. In overall teams (white) america has been around a tiny, tiny amount of time. So theres allways been more room, more places to spread into - growth and opportunity or just a whole lot of land to lay waste to? Also a lack of real imbuilt society rules. This alows rapid change and success in changing world but could it all rot from the inside with no real inbuilt moral codes???? 010330 ... fly like a birdmad "i'm afraid of americans" even more so because i am one 010330 ... the blue tree "I'm not black, but sometimes I wish I wasn't white." 010330 ... green_tenedril it began with murder and will end in much the same way, or so i think. "i'm afraid of ziggy stardust" (not really but just trying to get someone's attention. ahem.) 010408 ... Polt If you really want a change in the United States, shouldn't you be complaining somewhere else, like, to your congressman, perhaps? You all seem to forget that beyond all of the corruption and things, PEOPLE still run this country. These congressmen want to get re-elected. How will they get re-elected? By doing a good job? Not neccessarily. By voting the way THEY think? Hardly. The way to get re-elected is to do what the people want. Therefore, if enough people complain to them and tell them what the average joe thinks about an issue, they will be almost "forced" to agree with them, or risk getting replaced. In short, if you just sit and complain about how shitty this country has gotten, your representative doesn't know what YOU think, so you're just S.O.L! MAKE AN IMPACT! LEAVE A MARK! Hell, if you think you can run this country better, GET ELECTED!! At least GET ACTIVE!!! 010728 ... sUpersLutstAr i wiSh i wAsn't oNe..... 010829 ... Artemismagus A true american is a man or woman who have faith in themselves. Nothing compares to the fighting spirit of an american, NOTHING..... We are true and always will be, Spirit has no prejudice. It does not care if you are a member of the KKK or a member of the BLACKPANTHERS. We all have it, we americans.... So burn your flags, throw aborted babies, no matter, we all have that driving force to be proud fighting americans.... 010905 ... silentbob Good point........i....think? 010905 ... pariah killings i'm a big dumb fat lazy american. give me a blow job, light my joint, feed me buffalo wings. i want it now damnit. i want the geese that lay the golden egg and you will give them to me or i will spout so much bullshit rhetoric that in the end you'll thank me for destroying your pathetic little third-world shit stain of a country. 011012 ... dB I have to come here just to change my mind. I always thought that Australians were the most stupid people in the world, but the shit I've been seeing in the American media has made me think otherwise. But I come to blather, and it reminds me that it's just the media I'm judging, not the people. The people here are better. Better than australians by a long ways. Which makes me wonder; how the hell did you end up with those... those.... indidviduals running your country??????????????????????????????? 011012 ... Sonya the sullen feline We ended up with the idiots because too many people became disillusioned with the corrupted system and the apathy is so large here that you could slice it into a billion pieces and there'd still be a huge hunk of it leftover. (A lot of people no longer voting and utilizing a freedom that other people in the world would kill for.) Sad isn't it? I embrace the freedoms I have here in America, but I also resent the fact that I'm treated as a 'perpetual' foreigner despite being born here, speaking English fluently, and never leaving the country. 011012 ... Dafremen Sonya...you're more American than most of the apathetic sheep that pretend to that privilege. As an American to the BONE, I would be honored if you would accept my apology for the inconsiderate high-horse riding of the rest of the citizenry here. They don't get it. Case in point: Ask some "American" at random - "Which is more important...security or freedom?" 8 out of 10 will answer "Security." without batting an eye. This is how I follow that up - "Wait a minute, security comes and security goes, but once a freedom is gone, it's gone until we're willing to FIGHT to get it back, and since you seem to value your own security more than freedom...why the hell would you risk your security