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 fighting for your freedoms?" "Uhh." "Tell me...this is the land of the _____?" "Uhhh...FREE?" "and the home of the ________?" (sheepish tone)"The home of the brave...oh..wow damn" We have been conditioned and trained to pursue convenience and pleasure, avoid inconvenience AT ALL COSTS. So when the operator asks us to "volunteer" our Social Security number(which CANNOT be used to identify Americans unless volunteered, as per the Social Security Act and as confirmed by the Privacy Act of 1970. In fact, the Social Security Act would have NEVER passed if Roosevelt hadn't ASSURED Americans that the number would NEVER be used to identify American citizens.) to get our cable installed and we ask that we not have to give it, they say "Certainly sir, but it will take 3 days for us to process your information and we'll have to get confirmation before you can schedule an appointment for installation." They inconvenience us and we cave. It's like putting barbed wire wherever we're not suppose to go. Just make it inconvenient and we won't go there anymore. That's how we're pushed out of areas of policy that we're not welcome in. Then they pull us...with...yep you guessed it...convenience and comfort. Think about it, I now have your paycheck and I now take the bill money out of your account. Isn't that convenient? (A friend of mine is STILL trying to get direct deposit stopped. Good luck. She's also been getting billed for stuff that she WOULD have disputed...oops...they already have the money...damn.) Giving someone ELSE the authority to touch your money? Going in AND coming out. Hey can anyone say...sucker? I know that the folx that print the names on those direct deposit form letters sure can. And boy oh boy... RIGHTS...good... responsibilities...a drag... Why? Convenient and pleasurable, Inconvenient and tedious. What's worse, we start to make the words "convenient" and "important" interchangeable. We make the words "inconvenient" and "unnecessary" synonyms in our brainwashed little minds. We certainly HAVE forgotten what it took to get us here. We forget all about those who GAVE these freedoms to us, because THAT is inconvenient and THAT is unimportant. OF course isn't that the way with our society? Hell even our kids have stopped caring because those who GAVE life to them are stupid jerks who inconvenience them and make them DO things that THEY don't want to. Screw respect...what about MY respect...after all you gave ME life..I didn't ask for it!!!! (And if they don't feel that way...watch Saturday morning cartoons sometime. Ever notice what absolute drooling morons the parents and adults always are? Try Nickelodeon sometime.) Course noone is to blame..but US for disregarding our responsibility to remain VIGILANT. To stay brave in order to remain free. We think freedom is guaranteed...gawd what a bunch of naive little Similac suckled twits we're being. Yea Sonya, you certainly are welcome to your share of the freedom, sounds like you'd do your share to earn freedom. Unlike the freewheeling, freeloading "Americans" that claim to value freedom. You sound like a good American...I'm sure that our founding fathers would approve. After all, all we were asked to do...is watch, and be wary. We couldn't even do that, could we? We might have missed a football game. Or Survivor. P.S. Anyone attempting to label me a conservative, liberal, radical or revolutionary will have the cold, hard reality of the facts pressed to their noses which I will then swat with a rolled up newspaper. Heheh course...we're both free to speak our minds...this is American. Difference is, I try to earn my right to speak freely by protecting it and speaking out against those who don't..can you say the same? 011012 ... Sonya the sullen feline Wow Dafremen, such a lengthy blather. I feel compelled to respond, pardon my ignorance in that respect, but afterall, I have the freedom to respond. Personally I'd be lying if I said I didn't feel a certain amount of disillusion, because I voted for the first time in election 2000 (I'm now 19) and felt that my vote was unimportant because I didn't vote for Bush. I just felt like there were way too many inconsistencies with this election to believe it was solid and truly based on integrity. So I know a lot of people might be pissed at me for saying this stuff now of all times, especially when everyone is so dependent upon the president right now, but I will NOT be censored or stifled. Bush is our leader right now, but I have the freedom to believe in the person I want in office. I will continue to vote for the person of my choice because I CAN. I've never been the type to turn down a privilege, especially one that was paid for with blood. (And this is something that leaves me guilt ridden everyday, the fact that people died so our 'society' could evolve into the chaotic bubble it is now.) It's sad that people had to pay the ultimate price for our freedoms here. And my parents remind me almost everyday of what I have that they never had in their youth. (I'm first generation American & my parents are Asian immigrants (now US citizens) who have been here for over 30 years and haven't gone back overseas to visit relatives during this time.) They tell me of the luxuries they didn't have as children that my brother and I have become accustomed to here. I think about this when I go to campus everyday and attend an insanely expensive college that the US government is helping me to pay for. I realize that I can't take these things for granted. So while the system may be corrupted and inconsistent, I feel that not utilizing such an important freedom as voting would not help anyone. (Yes by sitting on your ass, not voting, and then complaining about the government you're driving everyone nuts and wasting your own time as well.) In other countries the people worry about whether they'll get a cup of rice to last the day, and we have so much freedom here we're almost complacent about it. As far as security is concerned, everyone wants to feel safe, it's only human. We are in a perpetual struggle to survive. Again I'd be lying if I said I didn't have a sense of fear everyday I get on a bus and ride across the bay bridge and go to campus in downtown San Francisco in the midst of other overcrowded skyscrapers. But I continue to attend classes because I CAN and because I'm an American. There was a time not too long ago when I didn't know what it meant to be American because everything was (and still is) horribly fucked up. Looking what what I have I realize that being an American signifies that you have freedoms and privileges other people will never know. I'm not exactly what society would call 'patriotic' mostly because I believe in pacifism (yes that's why I'm guilty about the fact that people had to die for the freedoms I now embrace.) We seem to associate patriotism with death and bloodshed all the time, but to me it's about appreciating the country you live in and what it has to offer you. It's appreciating the fact that we have the ability to write and say what we think and feel without fear. My dad's side of the family left China after it was taken over by the Communists. They went to Thailand, but that country also has many restrictions too. In China they murdered college students in Tiannamen (spelling, sorry ignorance striking at 2:30 am) Square because they were protesting for democracy and FREEDOM. Everything is controlled over there, not just the civilians but the press too. I have to say that if I had the horrible luck of being born there and somehow got into a college I would have participated in that protest as well. We take so much for granted here as we wear our Gap jeans, read our Barnes & Noble books and sip our Starbucks coffee. (Yes I put these particular companies in here on purpose.) So while I do criticize our government repeatedly I also recognize that it is the way it is because not enough people are getting up off their asses and doing or saying a damn thing about it. And this to me, and the rest of the youth is very disappointing. It's disappointing to see a lot of the adults not giving a damn about it. I've gotten used to the kids not caring, but I can't understand how the adults who work and feed the corrupted system can acknowledge that it's fucked up and just simply not care. It's YOUR tax money! Rest assured that consciousness is growing among my generation and if we as humans don't manage to kill each other in the next few months, we WILL find a way to make things right. Yes I'm a radical liberal bitch, but I'm not afraid to let you know it. The freedoms put forth by the forefathers of this nation allow me to do so, and if you think you can shut me up, YOU are unAmerican. Well this wasn't really that much of a response to anyone in particular, but I'm loaded with so much thought that it had to go somewhere. 011013 ... Dafremen You are certainly not only free to express your feelings on the subject here, I am free to disagree with you on certain points. Does that make either one of us any less American? I don't believe so. You asked a question toward the end that I feel BEGS an answer and so here is my uncharacteristically BRIEF reply: You seem to have no trouble understanding why the youth are so complacent and yet the adults being so you find alarming. ME too, but I find the youth's complacency even MORE alarming. Why? Because the adults of today were the youth of yesterday. You DIDN'T think this apathy was the result of a single generation's worth of work (or lack thereof) did you? So... That you could understand the apathy of the younger generation and be bewildered by the SAME apathy in the generation that preceded them strikes me as being somewhat short-sighted of you. That's ok, it's not meant as an insult, simply as an observation. I guess it's hard for a younger person to see that the grownups in charge today are just a bunch of big kids...that grew up. Which is what makes the youth of today's apathy so alarming...you guys are up next and you don;t seem to care anymore than my dad's generation does. MY generation's as bad or worse. Secondly: Fighting and dying for freedom are necessary. History has taught us that this is true if not fair. This is why we need to take EVERY advantage to keep hold of our freedoms and do EVERYTHING in our power to keep even one from being taken from us. Remember, if we want the freedoms that we give up..back...we'll have to fight to get them back. The less freedoms we give up to feel safe today, the less bloodshed and killing there will be in at some future date, when Americans are forced to fight to regain what we gave up. (Whew..I DIDN'T keep it brief. Thank gawd, that would've been boring as hell. Course so will this be huh? Damn.) You ARE a patriot. Pacifism does not mean UnAmerican. Anyone that has ever seen me react to the news of human lives lost, knows that I am no war monger, but I was in the Gulf doing what was asked of me in 1990-91, because it was that, or have my great-great-grandkids standing in front of a government tank, fighting for their freedom, because I objected to killing and war? THIS is what will keep me faithful to THAT particular responsibility, the thought that if I DON'T now, some American generation will have to later, without the privilege of the freedoms that I have today. Radical liberal bitches are a necessary part of our society, as nocturnal will be sure to point out to you. : ) We can FUNCTION as one of the greatest societies in the world as a direct result of our unique diversity and also because a lot of folx have given their lives to ensure that we had the freedom as a society, to EXPLORE that diversity. It isn't the government taking away our freedoms, it's us letting them be taken from us and we're too busy watching Big Brother and MTV's Spring Break Beach Party to care. 011013 ... Sonya the sullen feline Hmmmm well the reason why I'm not surprised at the youth not caring is just that. They're the youth, and many of us "young" people are simply spoiled brats who care only about daddy's BMW or some shit like that. You think I don't acknowledge this?? Because I see it everyday and it drives me nuts. This young generation has got to be the one full of shit. We're all weaned on Pokemon and the latest trends, and so many are so naive as to what really counts. And I realize that the disillusion and apathy goes from generation to generation. It doesn't so much as "disappoint" me about the adults not caring as it does frighten me because I don't want to think that will be us in the next 10 or 20 years, but I fear it will be due to what's currently going on in the world. I realize that a lot of adults lose their idealism when they get older and become realists, and I don't want that to happen to me because I know how much I would change and how complacent I would become. So this is what I was trying to convey (though poorly at 2:30 am). There's a song that goes 'every generation blames the one before' but I forget who sings it. No song could be more truer unfortunately. And yes, this world will belong to us (the youth) soon. That in itself frightens me because of all the kids who don't give a crap about anyone but themselves (wonder where they learned this?) The only thing the rest of us can do is get educated, get active, and know what we stand for. And believe me, this movement is growing. Dying for freedom is something I have no problem doing myself. There are many people I would die for without hesitation. I just don't want someone else to die for me, is that so wrong? I realize it's hypocrisy, but it can't be helped. And every war we've had, it's always been about saving the next generation from having to go through the same thing. But if you look around you'll see that destiny happens repeatedly ANYWAY. There are a lot of factors that went into what happened to America recently. It's amazing how people's feelings and beliefs can be so powerful, and it's amazing how some people seem to think they can "wipe out" a certain feeling or sentiment. People die with their beliefs, and unfortunately for every person we (the US) is now trying to kill, perhaps a new terrorist will be born. A brother, a sister, a mother, a father, a child...this is my greatest fear. I realize the price for freedom, it just irks me that others have to pay it for the rest of us, especially when so many don't even realize what it's worth. America isn't perfect, but so are none of the other nations. The problem is that everyone wants us to be, including myself a lot of the time. So many of us young people no longer go to the polls to exercise a right and utilize a freedom that other people our age don't even understand. How sick is this? The one thing that keeps me sane about all this is the fact that I know there are people out there like you and me who do give a damn. And hopefully (yes hopefully) things will change soon. So yes I was being shortsighted, but then again I wasn't. I just didn't want to realize a fate that a lot of us would be living when we're older. That is what disappoints me...the repetition of something so saddening. I always had the mentality that things would get better, but then I noticed that a lot of us don't care anymore (old and young.) The youth doesn't realize the power it holds in its hands. I read somewhere that the population right now consists mostly of children under the age of 15. And I realize what they're learning and what they're not learning. This is what disappoints me the most. Geez how the hell did I get so sad? Sorry about this everyone, I'll try to cheer up for your sakes. 011013 ... Sonya the sullen feline Oh and btw, not everyone (and not every young person) buys in the media's bullshit (reality tv, MTV etc etc.) A lot of us don't have TIME to watch TV (or if you're like me you spend it writing, heh.) Even the news is being ridiculous lately, (not that it wasn't before.) It's pretty sad that when other countries think of America today Hollywood and Britney Spears come to mind. And we wonder why they hate us so much. I'm not condoning what they've done or making excuses, but a lot of us ignore things we should acknowledge and combat. Okay I'm done ranting, respond how you want. 011013 ... Dafremen You rant divinely. I think it's perfectly appropriate to blame the previous generation. As long as we don't assume that finding someone else to blame take the responsibility off of our shoulders. It does not. 011014 ... ClairE I don't know if I am more proud of being a New_Yorker or an American. It's a lot easier to love a state than this damn country. 011213 ... king of swords i work in government, i do whatever i can in my own little ways to nudge the part of the system i occupy so that maybe if i keep it up, i can work my way into a position where i'll have the opportunity to affect real change it's like i said to someone i knew who thought that being a vagrant on Dead tour and roaming around the country in a van was really gonna change the world dumpster diving ain't gonna bring down "babylon" panhandling isn't gonna fix the social ills that macrobiotic cookbook isn't going to clear the crack out of the ghetto visualizing world peace has nothing on actually doing something to make it happen tune in and turn on, but for fuck sakes, if you drop out you leave the reins of power squarely in the hands of the people who make shit worse in the first place with no one to stand in their way if the people with all the great ideas of the last 40 years or so, up to and including this generation, had actually tried to integrate themselves into the system and make it adapt to them instead of sitting around bitching about it to each other, i would imagine this country might not be so politically retarded. you have to crawl into the belly of the beast in order to reach its heart. maybe i can't do much from where i am now, but i have ambition and i'm told i have talent so with a little patience and a little direction i could do something. 011214 ... J fuck america...fuck being american...fuck governments in general and fuck borderlines that divide countries and continents and so forth and so on. fuck countries in general. fuckin fuck people...why cant we just BE? why cant we just EXIST. why do we need names? fuck names too. fuggin shit, man!!!! 020227 ... birdmad why do we have borders and boundaries? because we are descended from social but territorial animals who have borders and boundaries apes and monkeys and many other animals live in territorial groups where the leader defends territory with violence face the fact that humans are just animals whose intellects are a little too well developed for their own good and all the stupid shit that americans and anybody else on this earth does will make a little more sense in its own uniquely senseless way 020228 ... bryanfrbs J: if you really hate america that much, why don't you move to some other country? i'm sure they wouldn't be quite as receptive to your slander of their country. fact is, america rawks because we have the freedom to say what we want about our country and not be shot or put in jail. if I were you, I'd seriously reconsider your stance on the whole "fuck america" thing. 020228 ... J hey person above...suck my horsecock!! itll make you choke!! =0 020829 ... J lick me on my penisbutter sandwich.beeitch! 020829 ... daxle it annoys me to no end when people say shit like "if you don't like america, just leave"... GIVE ME THE FUCKING MONEY TO LEAVE, cause I don't fucking have it and at this rate I never fucking will. if you think you have the freedom to say anything you want about the country... think again. that's another totally ignorant point of view. they only leave you alone when they can see you're all talk and no action. believe me, i am aware of how easily political prisoners are taken in other countries... I used to be highly involved in amnesty international until i realized that they are just as worthless as you, bryanfrbs. however, the fact that other countries do fucked up things does not mean that america is great. that doesn't even fucking make sense. complacent inactive people are worthless as fuck, wherever they live. 020829 ... eklektic history with craig mcsparran - ap or regular. whatever your level, its still one of the best classes at the academy with one of the best teachers. way to teach craig. way to teach. 020830 ... lo trying to right wrongs,watchdog groups, defeating things like slavery, segragation,gender inequality, blowing the lid off of the corrupt and the power abusers, coralling hate to minimize harm,realizing that people can belive what they want to even if you find it repulsive , the ability to change change change, persuasion over agression, setting new standards, meeting new ones, believing in the grand ideals, trying to live up to them, keep trying anyway when you fail, being involved, responsibility. debate debate debate. learning, making the most of yourself, fallowing you dreams, contributing to the country and human kind, overwhelming obsession with making the country better. for me that is the very best of america...ideal american even though we still have problems to solve we still manged alot of them pretty well...but i also have this fear that we have stopped growing for the better....but perhaps that fear is good as a motivational tool 020830 ... the ugly american sometimes i want to go running for the canadian border as fast as i can i have nightmares about john ashcroft driving a white van slowly down a darkened avenue with no license plates and exhaust pipes pointing into the back 030405 ... Alphadog why am I not supprised there are so many Americans on a site dedicating to BLATHERING! 031027 ... Lemon_Soda I keep most of my friends here, I eat here, I sleep here, I play here, and heck I even keep my stuff here. I have the freedom to do all of those things and for that I am happy. I don't necisarily agree with some of the views of alot of different people, but the views are theirs, not mine. Regardless of where I live I'll always hear of or run into people I don't agree with. But thats life. influence if you must but above all be tolerant and forgiving because then you quite often recieve the same. As far as humanity is concerned, things are the way we want them. when its all due for a change, it'll happen. 031027 ... u24 so bloody proud. 040123 ... pete echo "bloody proud" is redundant 040229 ... smurfus rex for all those who don't like the way this country is headed, I say: Be the change you wish to see in the world. That's all. 040229 ... pete echo colorful thinkers versus illiterate cowboys 040315 ... alex canadiens really dun have a culture. they take everythin from us. listen to them bullshit about everythin. they got fuckn' nuthin to brag about. 040412 ... misstree they can spell better than you, for starters. and they actually have air you can breathe. that's why they import arctic winds; so we have to keep our own refuse to ourselves. and they're nowhere near as bloodthirsty as us. and they believe that sick people should be healed. yep, those canuck bastards. they should all go back to canadia and just send us smoked hams and sketch comedy. aaaah... i got nothin'. just got sick of quotes. :P 040412 ... Smurf I always laugh when an American says Canadian's don't have a culture because they steal theirs. 040429 ... minnesota_chris I think one of the biggest attributes of Canadian identity is being non-American. Which is reason enough to move there, except it's colder than Minnesota. 040429 ... Dosquatch I'll start off by admitting I'm American. I'll go one better - I live in the southern United States. As much as I want to say that we're not all this or we're not all that, the truth is anything I might say has already been said. I'm peaceful, intelligent, and well-versed in geography. But that's not important. So what? Me saying that is really gonna change some kind reader's mind? No, probably not. Honestly, all I want to know is, if the rest of the world is so multiculturally enlightened and warm and fuzzy, why does everyone not a US citizen insist that US culture is some sick blend of Deliverance and Delta Force? Yes, we ARE all 3-toothed, gun totin', inbred rednecks. Sure. Why, just this morning Skeeter, Bubba and I were out shootin' ragheads in front of the local quickie mart. NO! No, no, no. It's just not like that. OK, there are some people like that, but they're the exception, not the rule. But sure, for sake of argument, we're the overgrown spoiled brat of the world and everybody else is warm, fuzzy, and innocent. So explain to me Kosovo. Explain to me Tiananmen Square. Explain to me Al Quida. Explain to me the Israelis and the Palestinians. Explain to me Apartheid. Explain to me Castro and Noriega and Pol Pot and Kim Jong Il and any number of other militaristic nitwits in funny hats that have run rampant over human rights, not to mention humans. But we're the spoiled brats itching to lay waste far and wide. Sure. Why not? ~"~ 040429 ... sixstop people are oft surprised by my speaking ability when I say I'm from Georgia. I mean what do they think, you get at the nothern Kentucky border and its Grapes of Wrath? 040429 ... dosquatch As best I can figure, that's exactly what a lot of people think. Just let someone hear the slightest hint of twang or drawl, and you get that look, those pitying eyes that say, "you poor, ignorant wretch". Because, of course, I dropped out of school in 6th grade, I've never heard of college, much less fine literature, right? And that's other people in the US. The Canadians seem to think such starts much farther north than Kentucky. Yes, world, we're uneducated, violent yokels. All of us. Every last one, down to the last child. That's why our prosperity is so low, and our citizens are fleeing to better prospects in Mexico and Cuba. Fear us and our barbarian hordes, for we may decide to smote thee next! The US is accused of being overly violent and throwing its military around like a bully. I think the opposite is true. I think our military shows remarkable restraint. Do any critics out there really think the Marines couldn't wash kx's pet peeve Falluja right off the map if that was our goal? Hasn't it struck anybody that it would be far easier and cheaper for us, as a nation, to say "Aww, fuck it," push a button and turn the Middle East into the world's largest glass ashtray? But we don't. Yes, we are the only nation that has used a nuclear device as a weapon of war... but only because we finished before the Germans. We dropped the bomb, realized exactly what that meant, and we've never used one since. Never. Had Hitler's Germany figured out how to make it work, do you have any doubt that you would right now be living in the Deutschland Colony of whereever-the-fuck-you-are? "Oh, Please, violent American, come chase the goose-stepping Nazi out of our city!" "Oh, thank you! Now, uh, go home so we can talk bad about you. We still don't like or trust you." Not that we're perfect. Not even close. We have done things as a nation that, in retrospect, probably weren't that advisable. Sure, we deserve our fair share of criticism. But once, just ONCE, I'd like to see someone say that the US is at worst no more or less full of shit than any other nation. I think that's fair. ~"~ 040430 ... minnesota_chris I did say that actually... that the reason I probably like France is because I haven't lived there... 040430 ... dosquatch Oh. Well, ok then. My work here is done. 040430 ... Smurf 1. Iraq used nuclear weapons against iran in their latest war. 2. We didn't say "Oh, thank you! Now, uh, go home so we can talk bad about you. We still don't like or trust you" Accually, france gave you the statue of liberty after the war. And America didn't do everything in ww2, so you shouldn't expect special treatment, that's one of the reason's others call you ignorant, because often we hear you acting like you did it all, you realise the british had already bombed the crap out of Germany and Russia made it to berlin before you did, even though your own history books recorded it as you letting them enter berlin first. 3. Heh, the other war criminals you mentioned, many of them were only tried for commiting crimes against the US, thus negating your point. 040501 ... Smurf Ok Ok i just re read it, ignore the #3 I was mistaken 040501 ... minnesota_chris ignore #1, too, as it was mistaken. And #2 doesn't make much sense. 040502 ... sixstop yeah, i was wondering what malfunction led to nuclear weapons. . . 040502 ... Smurf If you bother to research it you'll find that iraq did use at least one nuclear weapon against iran. 040502 ... dosquatch Item #1: Iraq may have nuked Iran - I missed hearing about it, but I'll stipulate. Why, then, is there this huge question about Hussein and weapons programs? Nevermind, that's rhetorical. Item #2: I never said 'France'. I never said 'special treatment'. The Statue of Liberty was reassembled on Liberty Island in 1886, long before either of the world wars. I didn't claim the US did everything during WWII. Item #3: to the best of my knowledge, the only individual I mentioned that the US has prosecuted is Noriega. In fact, to the best of my knowledge, Castro and Kim Jong Il have yet to be prosecuted by anybody, anywhere. 040502 ... sixstop i'm sorry, could you cough up a link? I can't find anything mentioning an actual nuclear weapon being used... 040502 ... dosquatch I don't know that there is a link to cough up. I didn't hear of Iraq nuking Iran, and I cannot find anything written about such. But I don't know that it didn't happen. And frankly, even if true, it has little impact on the point of my original statement, so it's easier to let it go. So, I stipulate that it may be true. It's not worth the argument to me. If you want documentation, you'll have to work it out with Smurf. 040503 ... _pax_ America is young America is nieve America has a lot to learn... So I am going to stand by her... And help her learn... I'll do my best. 040503 ... Strideo Iraq never used nuclear weapons against Iran or vice versa! It never happened. Sure, Iraq used chemical weapons on Iran and Iran used "human wave" and "human shield" tactics against Iraq, but nuclear weapons? NO! Is Smurf living in an alternate reality? ... 040503 ... sixstop yeah, it would certainly justify envasion if they did, don't you think? They got the chem weapons from US, but gee, where would they get nuclear technology? I dunno. . .maybe one of the hundreds lost in Russia? 040503 ... minnesota_chris google search: "the only country to use nuclear weapons" brings you the good old USA 040505 ... Helen He wanted to be American but I had to pay the price for it... 040520 ... marjorie I love American Idol. Is Paula Abdul drunk or really drugged from numerous surgeries?! Who will be voted off next? I'm hoping it's Scott Savol! I feel silly watching it. It's oh so American though. And it is a good show. Tra la la la la. Sometimes it is painful though. Like when a young boy sings Climb Every Mountain. The old nuns can do it better. 050426 ... Anonymoose My friends are always bashing America. They talk about how bad Americans are. That's as racist as hating anyone else. And it's hypocritical. I support America. I think it needs to be fixed. I think there are good Americans like myself and my friends. They just don't see it. Instead of hate the country entirely, why not make it better? 071202 ... thistooshallpass The American dream Manifest destiny Capitalism Nationalism Consumerism 100115 ... dafremen I am an American. I have lived in: California, Illinois, Colorado, Michigan, Florida and Arkansas. I was also married to a Mexican woman for 18 years and immigrated her and my 2 step children. During that marriage, I lived for approximately 8 years in both Obregon, Sonora and Tijuana,BC. I not only speak the language fluently, I also understand the culture and its subtleties..one of which is a social conscience..something that is glaringly missing from our culture. In our culture, it's TWIX TWO FOR ME, NONE FOR YOU. We have been turned into a bunch of paranoid, delusionals who use our brains to shatter each others self esteems then try to glue ourselves back together with the pieces we can collect. We are so dysfunctional and out of touch with the reality of what we are as a result of unchecked marketing being beamed into our brains from infancy, that we literally demonstrate that we are friends, by smiling while we heap insults on one another. We're fairly certain everyone's out to get us or our things, or make fools of us, or hurt our loved ones (because our media likes to sensationalize violence and greed..creating an overly-paranoid populace.) Are there decent people here? Fuck yea. How much time do you have to wade through their issues? There is a dark, dark social conditioning going on in this nation that has infected us all and affected the majority of us. Would that it were a conspiracy, so that we could point a finger at the culprit, but it isn't..it's just unfettered greed and short sighted selfishness as advertised 20 years before during Saturday morning cartoons. 151108 ... unhinged i'm sick of wading through the assholes to get to the good people too fuck corporate marketing fuck tv 151108 what's it to you? who go blather from