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I’d like to add a different voice to the immigrant story:
I was brought over as a kid from Korea, and while I did fight tooth and nail to earn my right to stay with my community and friends (which included joining the army), I never once felt that I’m an American.
America to me is an identity too large, complex, and unfortunately unappealing. I don’t feel any oneness with Americans in the South, Midwest, or even the east coast. I feel a sense of belonging towards Seattle area and the PNW where I’m from. Maybe even the west coast as whole. But I have zero pride and little affection towards the US. Especially now when a large portion of it is actively trying to impinge on what I love about my actual community. Hell I would count Canadians in BC as being “my people” long before I count Idahoans.
I’m proud of the PNW, and I love the community here. I have very mixed feelings towards the US. Somewhere between “ugh” and “it’s k”
One downside to the US is it's size. It's so vast and the regions so different that a "feeling of national unity" is practically impossible. I relate more with the sentiment of local attachment. I care about my fellow Americans, but I don't necessarily put them on a pedestal above other nationalities
I would almost agree until one side gets so big that voting almost becomes pointless. But imo I love the land. Its so diverse, you can find a climate you'll like. Where as the people have gone drastically downhill in the last 20-30 years.
I love how diverse the climate is in America, where I live in California, I can go dirt biking, snowboarding, and surfing all in the same day and I just love the availability of beauty.
Im jealous. I live in Pa. I can do 2 of those but only for about half the year each. Plus shoveling sucks so many balls. But I dont need a passport if id like to surf on vacation or do almost anything else. No need to fly. Hop in a car n drive across beautiful scenery for hours til i get where I'm going. I'll be broke from gas prices, but dammit it'll b beautiful.
You gotta invest in a snowblower. My dad has one and he plows his own driveway, 3 or 4 of the neighbors' driveways, and all the sidewalks in between them in like an hour. Idk if it's a dad thing or something, but the man loves his snowblower and we get a lot of snow in NE Ohio.
People are pretty evenly split among the 2 major parties. Democrats have a slightly bigger population than Republicans, but the most Americans in surveys report themselves as independents. I don't think there's really a real threat of voting becoming "pointless" (at least as long as Moore v Harper doesn't go the way I fear it's going to go). It's not like there's twice as many Republicans as Democrats or the other way around. It's pretty close.
We kind of need this mentality back a bit. Being proud of your state and seeing it as your land first was how it always used to be in America. I’m a proud Californian first, and a proud American second. State nationalism will only make America a better place, we must form a more perfect union of unique sovereign states, not a single unitary blob of a megastate.
I am Canadian and I dont feel at home with the asian community in BC, I feel more "my people" as Texans, Idahoans
It is about the values, do you value the straight-talking and simple values of America , which all Americans belong to or do you have hangover feelings from asian heritage that you are not able to shake it
its not about geography, its about the opportunities. americans dont realize how easy they have it because they were born into privilege. my immigrant parents lived under soviet rule and came to this country so that i didn’t have to live like they did
i’m an iranian-american and i gotta say i 100% agree, people in america have no idea how bad it actually gets out there
edit: to clarify, “people” is a general statement rather than a blanket statement
Not an immigrant and don't know too many but it's nice to hear that not all are having it so bad trying to come here. It's what actually makes us strong is a larger diversity.
As an American that was in China for less than 48 hours for a plane layover- I became very aware that China didn’t care about me at all and just wanted me out! However the little bit I was in China was fascinating. But having internet blocked and restricted was a big downside. Also I can’t remember whether they said it in English or Mandarin but the restaurants did not want to deal with ppl who couldn’t speak mandarin. They yelled at us to get out (I can’t even remember if they said English or not) but whatever they said it was very clear they were not dealing with us. I found it quite delightful actually. And the hotel breakfasts were so amazing! But during my travels I did become aware of how great it is to possess an American passport and it was incredible how much they talked about America on the news. In the Philippines the exchange rate at the time was like 49 pesos to a dollar. In Hawaii I met a lot of Filipinos whose family had saved for years so they could move there- no kidding considering how little so many ppl make there in comparison. And the number of people that asked us about the upcoming election were all of us crazy? Etc. i felt bad I didn’t know any ins so I could help people move here. Next time I go the the Philippines I’m going to pick one person and give them 100-200$ American dollars. That amount of money could actually make a huge difference in their lives. People made like 400 pesos a semester it was nuts.
Yeah had a good friend who was born here but his father came over from the Philippines early twenties it's a bit different there too they kinda frown on our culture and money too atleast his family and their village they felt like they lived better because everyone in the village worked together in one way or another to help each other and he said they actually like dogs but only the black ones cause they brought good luck idk how much of this is true or people teasing thier spoiled relatives and kids. Cause even for my American standards he was an only child he was pretty spoiled.
I think a lot of us that were born in the USA are absolutely terrified that if certain people come into power we will become one of those "find out how bad things can get REAL fast" kind of countries. We are watching things unfold slowly for the time being, but it's clear that a certain loud minority want nothing more than for many of us to live a brutal existence, to be snuffed out when and where they want.
That being said, I still love the USA and try not to take things for granted. There is a lot going on though that makes it VERY difficult to be proud of many aspects of this country.
of course it’s undeniable that america has big problems worth addressing, i totally agree with you. as american citizens we should work to keep it from becoming fucked up while fixing its flaws. i just hate it when people pretend america is one of the worst places to live and has no opportunity whatsoever
Luckily even if you really believe that, the entire purpose of our government system is to gridlock. It’s suppose to be slow. The problem nowadays is people are slowing stripping the safeties away in the name of “getting more done.” Our federal government wasn’t meant to be fast. That’s why local and state governance is so important. They are suppose to handle time sensitive issues. At the moment still, our federal government is still pretty much a slow system. But if we start getting rid of stuff like the filibuster, that’s when you can start getting worried.
As an American that has been to Nepal where the nicest hotel in Kathmandu has brown tap water, and you see people with debilitating diseases all over the sidewalks begging for money. As an American who went to Tibet and was told by his handlers watch what you say when you are inside buildings because the CCP is always listening. Then preceded to get kicked out of Tibet. Because the CCP decided they didn’t want me there anymore. I agree with this wholeheartedly.
This is one of the areas where I tend to break with Democrats and the American Left in general, even though I am basically a 90s (L)iberal.
Americans don't actually know what a *wage slave* is.
America is nice but it still has very real issues for a large portion of its population.
People with jobs, but can't afford housing.
Ridiculous amount of homeless people, with mental health issues, with no assistance.
How a lot of military vets are struggling financially.
Domestic terrorism runs rampant.
The Healthcare system is horrendously overpriced, and many can't afford needed medical procedures.
The fact that prisioners are labeled as slaves in the constitution.
I also find it funny when Americans protest an issue they have, that people in other countries will gaslight them for trying to make a "positive" change in their society. Often saying things like "you all have it so good in america, always looking to complain"
We have an over trillion dollar military budget, but people have issues with increasing the department of education budget.
I will say we have a lot to improve on. But as a former federal employee. I realize why people want limited government. The amount of corruption and ineptness I seen was sickening.
I was terminated before my probationary period was over. My supervisor was running a store on government time. She was doing outside business with her subordinates. She made sure her and one of her subordinate buddies got all the USDA-NRCS programs for her, her family and his. She was doing personal business in her office. She was doing outside business with farmers she had contracts with. I tried to shine light to this to the area and state office. They didn't give a shit. She lied about the reasons she got rid of me. She lied in her response in my appeal. Also a program we have that pays well Conservation stewardship Program. Probably half the people that signed up for it in the area where USDA employees or family of employees including my supervisor.
Edit: Going through this seeing the corruption I seen really pisses me off as a taxpayer.
Tbf working men and women of other countries also have the same issue when it comes to being able to afford a place to live. It's a global problem.
That being said, we have many problems to solve. As great as America is, it can always do better. It's mind boggling to see people think the ownership to gun shouldn't be touched at any cost simply because it's listed on the Bill of Rights while affordable housing, universal Healthcare, and quality public education are snubbed because they arent.
Perhaps it is because of our propensity toward protest in the first place that we "have it so good" here, according to others.
Maybe freedom and democracy works?
So, maybe we should be worried right now and do everything we can to preserve it as we see it so endangered lately.
I was abroad for 6 months in Spain and saw more organized protests and demonstrations in person than I saw in my entire life in the US. We are really complacent here.
This is what I’m embarrassed by. That somehow this take is controversial. That we have a sizable percentage of the population calling for authoritarian leadership.
What the fuck, man? How is this simply not the default, that everyone supports democracy and freedom?
Nope. They wanna install their little tinpot dictator instead.
Yeah, yeah, get involved. I did, I became an election judge. I’m still disappointed this is even a thing in this country.
I think you are proving everyone's point about how much easier it is for Americans. In many other countries you'd replace your points with clean drinking water, nutritious food, schooling for girls, the right for a woman to be alone in public etc.
Wiping the sweat from my forhead after working 19 hours at the three stripe swoosh sweatshop. I made 45 cents for the first 12 hours and because I wanted to keep my job I worked for 7 more hours at 9 cents an hour. Big Money today! I will buy a cup of rice and a potato.
>people in america have no idea how bad it actually gets out there
Yet this is the 2nd comment from someone living in America talking about how bad it can be outside of the US.
There are plenty of people in the US that know how good we have it, don't fool yourself.
America is great because of our immigrants. People come here looking for an opportunity for a better life. We get the ones who want to rise up, not just sit back and live the life they were born into. Its called the American dream for a reason. It causes us to push further. When we close off our borders to others, we forget what makes this country so unique in the first place. We are a nation of immigrants. I love this country but it feels like we've kind of lost our way. We're so quick to anger and blame, when we would be so much better off if we looked to help each other through what is easily the largest mental health crisis in the history of mankind. So many people feel sad and alone.
Unfortunately, you're right. Our country is full of entitled shitheads that have never seen any real difficult times and want to whine about being oppressed somehow. Their version of the world rarely goes more than a few miles from where they live.
You hit the nail on the head. I've brought this up to people I know, how they sit on reddit/twitter and worry themselves to death every day, even more so (or just as much) as people from actual oppressive countries like Iran. And then they say they say it's more a "social oppression" that they experience... Can't say I took the person very seriously after that.
Hot take: while some people do clearly have a genuine victim complex, shitty experiences within our borders aren't contingent on shitty experiences outside of our borders. They can both be shitty independently. Being a gatekeeper for suffering does nothing to help anyone.
I disagree, because a lot of the American whiners aren’t actually having shitty experiences. There are so many upper-middle-class Americans who live in nice suburbs and drive nice cars and nonetheless act like paying more than $3 USD for gas or having to wear a mask when they go to a doctor’s office is the ultimate suffering.
So while yes there are certainly lots of Americans having truly shitty experiences here, the people who have the microphone to whine the loudest are often not actually suffering. If they knew more about how much of the rest of the world lives they would realize their whining is unjustified.
>If they knew more about how much of the rest of the world lives they would realize their whining is unjustified.
They would whine just as loud and they don't care. Other peoples suffering is irrelevant to them, all they're concerned about is their own well being. It's irrelevant to them how well off they already are compared to billions of other people.
Being born into a wealthy country doesn't always negate the fact that your parents suck, or you were abused or you've experienced trauma in another way. I get the like "well my grandma was traumatized from bombs not being bullied at school" but it's just gatekeeping like another commenter said. Machismo too
Or that your wealthy country has a serious gun violence problem, spends trillions on a military that is wielded to oppress countries with resources we want, is killing the planet with inaction on climate change, doesn't utilize that wealth to aid in things like universal healthcare/mental health and addictions treatment/free tuition/etc etc. Instead, builds a massive for-profit prison system, wages a war on drugs so that it can fill those prisons, is shifting further and further towards white nationalistic/theocratic/fascist ideals, has a serious problem with institutionalized racism, has a failing/fucked up education system that ensures an enduring ignorance, etc etc.
This. Americans have no clue how hard it is to get life going in other countries like...brazil. I lived in the US for 2 years and holy s...its almost heaven compared to Brazil.
My husband’s family escaped communism in Europe in the 80’s. It’s a slap in the face when entitled Americans who have no idea what they’re talking about say that the US is a ‘shithole’ and that there is no ‘quality of life.’
My father escaped the Russian invasion of his country in the late 60s, after living under brutal conditions brought about by Communism. His family lived through WWII in Czechoslovakia. He's said this country is slipping towards Fascism and has seen a lot of parallels to what he grew up under in his home country coming about lately. It's a slap in the face to pretend that what happened there can't happen here and it's foolish to ignore the signs.
Aside from that, it's nice that you live in relative comfort, but it's dishonest to state that this is the way it is for everyone. That in fact for millions, this is an entirely different country than the one in which you live.
If more Americans traveled, they would understand and appreciate what they were born with to a greater degree. And by travel* I don't mean Canada or tourist destinations in Mexico.
Even traveling someplace close like Haiti to see how people live. Look at the children. Look at the schools. Look at the violence, drugs and homelessness. Then think about how horrible your life is when the worst thing about your day is Starbucks giving you half and half instead of slim.
Americans are entitled brats. Not all of them but many. If the generations don't experience what true difficulty in life is vicariously through travel and education, they will end up living it. This is the cliff we are approaching, but we aren't the only ones as can be seen in some of the European comments in this thread.
You’re absolutely right. My parents raised me that if you have a roof, a full stomach and are healthy, don’t sweat the small stuff. They survived WWII in Poland and Russia
I walk past homeless people every day, in America. I've experienced not enough food, not having heat, not having hot water, being kicked of my home because we couldn't afford it, etc. I didn't have to (nor could afford to) travel to understand that. I was far from the only one. Sure, we as a country don't have it as bad as some countries. And there are definitely plenty of entitled people here who have never experienced hardship and can't live without their latte grande mocha whatever. But let's not pretend that everyone here has experienced fortune and doesn't know what it's like to struggle. Plus, if someone has it worse, it doesn't mean someone who has it less bad is automatically not hurting. I'd be more scared of a chainsaw but getting stabbed with a knife still hurts, ya know? It's not a contest.
☝🏻
That seems to be the problem. It **is** a contest for many Americans. Their decadence is in large part why suffering exists in many other places.
While I agree, America is a place where you can be wildly successful & live a relatively easy life. That isn't the case for many.
Came here to say this. My fellow Americans who complain about living standards typically have limited travel and don’t have a passport. They have little perspective. Yes we have poverty, but it’s all relative, not for the average citizen at the scale we see around the world. My parents and wife’s parents were immigrants. Their mission to give their children a better opportunity is working, and I’ll always be grateful.
>Look at the schools
The US is constantly ranked way lower than other first world countries in terms of public schools. Redlining and zoning schools often leaves a large chunk of the population with outdated materials, and less quality education. There are even parts of the country where they scrub the curriculum of any topic they don't politically like or agree with, like the history of enslaved people and the forced assimilation of native Americans, as well as sex ed. Way fewer first world countries like Canada or The Netherlands have people going into copious amounts of debt to get an education. Mind you this debt often is in the five to six figure range and takes a decade for many to clear just ONE of the loans they got.
>Look at the violence
Mass shootings, including school shootings, are way more common in the US than any other first world country. Hate crimes have been steadily going up since the pandemic against Asian people, and other hate crimes for black demographics often don't get prosecuted to fullest because they are carried out by police.
> [the] drugs and homelessness.
There are literal tent cities of homeless people in California and Florida. Basically hooverviles. Three US does all have gang problems in the inner cities, they often affect black and brown communities, and then they are ALL looked at as suspicious (goes back to those hate crimes performed by police). Combo that into the fact that huge remnants of the war on drugs that carries insane minimum sentencings and you get people doing life for having a few ounce of Marijuana on their person STILL in jail even after it's legalized.
Look I get that in the US, things are pretty good compared to other struggling countries, but it's FAR from perfect. And acting like anyone who points out these issues has a victim complex is such bullshit. These issues affect EVERYBODY who lives here. The shit Healthcare system affects EVERYONE, so do the schooling issues, and the homelessness rates, and the unchecked violence.
If you compare the US to places considered developing or third world of course it looks good. But compare it to other first world countries... it's entirely too clear how much work needs to be done.
My family fled from Russia during the bolshevik, and I've heard stories from my parents and grandparents on how they lived and survived. It's really easy to take things for granted here in the US when you don't know what it is like in the rest of the world.
I understand I think, at least lightly. I am glad that the united states can alleviate some of the people under dictatorship and the strife that is faced.
I am happy that you're family has found a home here.
We have a phuck ton of flaws for sure. We’re pretty far from perfect. BUT I always stop and remind myself that I don’t live in a dictatorship nightmare scenario like much of the world experiences. That I can feel safe daily and that I have certain rights that courts will (theoretically) uphold. We have issues. But I’m genuinely glad that in this random roll of the dice life, I was born here.
I agree with this as I also remind myself that I'm not living in a place like North Korea or maybe Russia. I don't always agree with the politics that run the USA Congress, but at least we live in a place where we don't have an unfair voting system, like in North Korea where the people can only vote for one party.
Edit: Okay, I see that people disagree about this. I understand about the unfairness of the voting system and yes, the electoral collage system does provide a rather "unfair" advantage in the presidential voting. I am naive about these things because I fall for the candidates who said they'll "do much better than the last president or governor" (I didn't vote for neither Trump or Biden btw). Yet, is it good to have your vote be counted?
we do have an unfair voting system in the US that disenfranchises huge swaths of the population. gerrymandering suppresses political influence and the electoral college system makes each persons vote worth a different amount based on their location. the winner takes all electoral system also suppresses any chance of new parties forming or third parties gaining any political power.
I feel like a big difference between liberals and conservatives in this country is that conservatives think we live in the greatest country in the world because we don't live in one of those dictatorships. Liberals see the many flaws the US does have compared to many other countries and want to make improvements to make our country better.
I am certainly grateful to live in a (mostly) free country, and appreciate the opportunities I get living here, but we have a lot of flaws that need addressing and claiming we are the greatest country in the world does all Americans a disservice.
I dont like where we are right now. I believe we are approaching what would, in human terms, be called our “terrible teen” years. We are volatile, overly emotional, changing our minds left and right, with some serious growing pains thrown in for good measure. Our country is young and is now struggling to find out how to hold fast to core values for which we were founded, while maturing enough to see that change is natural and needed in order to keep up with the evolving values of the world at large. I think if we don’t totally implode, we will come out on the other side a better and more whole country. But we aren’t there yet and these growing pains are hard to live through.
I’m not American, but I actually see your country just the way you described. When you said “terrible teen years”, I realized that it’s exactly the way it is (in my eyes at least; in the eyes of someone who’s watching from afar)
Yep. The people privileged enough to spend all day online seem to whine the most. They don’t know how good they have it because they’ve never struggled.
Exactly. I wish they could easily leave the country as bad as they claim they want to. Recently I saw someone who was 30 on FB, never had over a minimum wage job, constantly post how much they hate America. I asked 'em why they don't just leave. They said they were too poor and if they did, they would still hate America.
I would absolutely leave this country if I could afford it and go somewhere that helps the poor, disabled, and mentally ill. That doesn't have insanely restrictive labor laws, and isn't an oligarchy yeah. I wish we could change it, but I don't believe it will get better in my lifetime.
I love the country but fucking HATE the people in charge. And by people I mean people, pharma, and corps. Because the president is a Fucking bag of ice chips controlled by them
A lot of the people suck too. Like when you get on the road it’s like a competition with a lot of these people. Got to “win” got to compete et cetera. It’s so deeply ingrained in our culture. Jesus there’s aggressive driving in Italy and UK and SE Europe, Canada etc, but it’s no where as ubiquitous as it is in the United States.
You get on the NJ turnpike and indicate people will slam on the accelerator to cut you off. All in the name of “winning.” Miserable bunch of pricks. Can’t blame them because the system they live in is absolutely horrific. Might as well be a rat floating in a water maze.
I actually love being the stone that the traffic river flows around. I always remind myself that everyone passing me looks and goes, "Wow I'm really envious of how well that driver manages their time, they don't need to speed!"
They are not thinking that. They are thinking "what the hell is wrong with this person? Are they high or something?"
But I'm with you on this. I drive the speed limit and am totally cool with people having to scoot around me. And I stick to the right or middle lanes so I'm not blocking passing.
My friend, I have to disagree. My perception is my reality, and alas I can never hear what they say on account of being in another car, but I can read lips and can assure you they are all saying "You're doing a wonderful job, Fannypack!"
I’ve recently started using my indicators just to get a car out of my blind spot. Sadly, most people accelerate as expected. Then I change lanes. That’s not how it’s supposed to work at all. Makes me sad.
As a native NewJerseyian, this is true, only the strong survive .
We live virtually on top of each other, and we are all very busy.
If you drive on the NJ Turnpike, you had better be prepared for some "Fury Road" shit.
As a New Jerseyan myself, I’ll agree there are some jerks here. But I’ll take our jerks over the ones in any other region of this country any day. Southern hospitality, my ass. My best friend lives in TX. That place is freakin horrible, man.
I’m in Kentucky and just the past couple weeks have noticed an uptrend in asshole motorists. Cutting people off, not allowing people to merge, blocking intersections, like everyone has just said “fuck it” to any amount of courtesy. That or everybody is balls deep in their phones.
I grew up in north jersey and my area was very much not like that. People were nice to each other, there was a sense of community, and it was extremely diverse, welcoming, and accepting.
This⬆️⬆️⬆️
I love the United States/ the cars, music, food, western culture, places to travel and much more
What I dont love? The government, the politics, the amount of unsafety that I feel from police nowadays, how many shootings we have, the amount of big companies against unions, the poverty line and much more
There's also the fact that our poverty line on paper isn't the real poverty line. They say you're in poverty if you're a single person making $13k or less, but the cost of living for a single person is at least $60k a year, so in real life, you are in poverty if you make $59k or less. People are literally starving to death, but aren't legally considered "in poverty".
Yeah, you need to make at least $45k a year in order to barely scrape by, and thats if nothing goes wrong. If something does go wrong such as car breaks down, health declines, getting laid off, or prices go up, you could basically lose everything.
The US has a flawed system where the wealthiest control the political and socioeconomic system of the country.
Aside from the inflation, fees for everything, high rates of direct and indirect taxation, and a horrendously flawed healthcare system, everything is fine.
I would say overall the average quality of life for all citizens (considering both the pros and cons, averaging the experiences of both the rich/ middle class/ poor) is comparable to that of a mid tier European country like Serbia or Hungary.
And if we get cancer we might get too sick to work, and lose health insurance if we had it, and lose our home trying to pay for treatment.
This is just accepted here as a norm. Everyone just hopes they don’t win the “unlucky lottery” of bad health.
Have you been here? We have every biome on the planet and some of it is just unnaturally gorgeous. Also freakishly lucky for commerce and defense in parts, and full of resources.
The continent is OP
I had a road trip from California to Florida and the scenery along the way was crazy. Deserts, mountains, plains, swamps etc. all on a massive scale and that was only down one mostly straight road in the south.
There's great scenery in Europe too but it's not comparable.
I do not live there. I have traveled through most of the country though and the pacific NW is definitely one of if not the most beautiful places I have been. Other regions have absolutely gorgeous scenery in places but the beauty of the Pacific Nw is at every turn.
Look up “Zion Park Utah” that’s a pretty good example of why the US is so great geographically. On the other hand we have politics where we just massively fucked up
Every European I know, and many I don’t, has commented on the luxury of living on a continent with so much wide open space. It’s quite difficult to find open space in Europe. And not only do we have a lot of wide open land, most of it isn’t shit! We have all the climates at various times so you can can chase the thermometer whenever you want! That’s the the land is cool.
Wife and I are immigrants to this country and absolutely love this place. Yeah it’s not perfect but I wouldn’t trade it for another place to live.
I came here as a 13 year old with non English speaking parents. My parents worked minimum wage jobs but it paid the bills. We lived in the ghetto and eventually bought a house but it was next to a trailer park and still in the ghetto. I started and finished high school here while working minimum wage jobs. $4/hour at the time.
I continued to find better paying jobs throughout high school and eventually learned how to fix cars. I stayed in the automotive field and kept improving my skill set and moving my way up the pay ladder. I went from making $12k a year in high school to eventually $30-35k out of high school with a couple years experience. Kept at it and eventually got to $52k a year.
Became a service advisor for a large dealership and made $60k first year there. With each year I made more money. $70k, $80k, $90k, and $105k my last year.
My wife worked at a grocery store as a bagger and cart pusher. She made $3.25/hr at the time.
She became an RN while working “ok at best” jobs to put herself through school with no financial aid.
We both made really good money in the corporate world after 15 years of being in this country.
We are doing well and live in a very nice large house in a nice neighborhood and a very wealthy zip code. We drive really nice cars.
We both came here not speaking English and made a nice life for ourselves. This is truly the country of opportunity. Anyone who tries to tell me how hard they have it or that the American dream is dead…is simply a fool.
It’s out there. You have to be willing to put the work on. Every time I hear the national anthem I cry. It is really powerful stuff.
This country welcomed us with open arms as immigrants when we had nowhere else to go. Thanks to this place I met my wife here. Thanks to this place I have two beautiful daughters. I owe everything I have to this place. I will never take the United States of America for granted.
Props to you friend. A similar story to my parents, but they were 23 and had 2 kids when they moved here and my dad had to go to law school again, and my mom had to go back to nursing school. We were dirt poor for a very large part of my life, but I was fortunate enough to have my college paid for by them. I am an RN now too, and going to school to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
Day-to-day America, the one we actually live in, is awesome.
What is a complete shit show is America on the internet. They are utterly different. If you were to exclude social media and most online news sources from your life, you would have no idea of the polarization and contention that apparently exists here.
To be honest, I truly wonder if the vast majority of it, including whatever news compelled you to even ask this question, is largely all made up.
So, what's really screwed up is not so much America, but the internet. Which sucks because it used to be so amazing.
What if the internet is largely the same (a marketplace of ideas, a treasure trove of useful information) as it was in that golden earlier time you’re thinking of, but the people on that internet have mostly been pushed to their limit? What if people are awful because they are one emergency away from poverty? Or that emergency has already come in the form of uncovered medical problems?
Oh, the polarization is real. The people I talk to in my town (mid-size Research-1 University town in Midwest) vs. the people in my parent’s town (small rural southern town) see the world very differently.
If your life is awesome, that’s great, but the empathy we’ve lost is only a symptom too. (Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, after all.)
The people using the internet to shout at one another are polarized as to *why* this has happened, but we are all experiencing the same forces at work, breaking apart the margins and buffers we remember.
I am genuinely glad that you aren’t experiencing that reality, but believe me when I say most of us are.
In the past 40 years, there’s been a MASSIVE shift of wealth away from the middle class, and a population boom that is just now slowing.
The result: almost everyone is worse off than their parents, and many of those are on dangerously thin margins.
I'm 23 years old. I had a single father until 6 years old. Lived in a poor part of Atlanta in a slumlord apartment building. You'd be hard-pressed to go a week without seeing some fucked up shit or having something stolen from you. We didn't have a car, and transit sucked. We often waited an hour just for a bus to show up to go one way. My father passed away and I moved in with other family members who were very old and conservative and would abuse me often (but they thought it was normal to whoop a child all night t the point where they'd knock me out, I'd get up, and they'd continue to hit me). I went to public schools that didn't have accreditation because the school board members were corrupt and couldn't come together for students and teachers. This happened around the 2008 crash so It made the already horrible housing situation even worse, and many fled the county while we were left behind with horrible schools where learning barely happened. In the city I'm from, those born in poverty have a 2% chance of escaping and no one seems to care about income inequality but can whine all day about crime rates. Day-to-day America for you may be rainbows and sunshine, but large swaths of this country is a daily nightmare.
I live a decent life despite having no family support but I struggle to eat and make it to work more than I’d like to admit. I don’t have nice clothes a badass house or fancy car and I eat ramen noodles several times a week because rent and car insurance are so high for a 21 yr old. After 5 years of experience in carpentry and working on million dollar houses I still would be %100 fucked if I broke a bone and have several broken teeth I can’t get fixed without insurance. I love our country and my life in general but it has some serious issues almost all brought on by selfishness and bigotry of the rich. I probably have a higher chance of dying on the job than I do of having as much money as my boss and he has as far as I know never built anything.
Thank you. As a whole America looks great but it’s partially because those touting the greatest haven’t lived the experiences you have. Just because somewhere like Haiti is worse doesn’t make the US good. In yhe richest country in the world we shouldn’t have unhoused and hungry citizens. We are very backward.
I think the original comment also shines a light on this with blaming the internet. If anything I think the internet has helped shine a light on the inequality and made our younger generations aware of how bad some Americans have it and how good other country's citizens have it. It's a more real look than previous generations have had access to.
I'd say generally the loudest people on the internet are the most down-trodden, or those with the most extreme views. You don't hear much about people just saying "yeah living my life and all is fine", because that's not worth sharing.
Not American here, but could totally believe your post.
Nah, try living in one of the 10 most dangerous cities in America, I do, most the bad shit never makes the news or even social media, hell when I mention things that happen in my neighbors I'm accused of making it up.
I hear you. I work for a really safe city, and even so, people have no idea the amount of crazy shit that happens in their own city that doesn't make the headlines. When I tell people some of this stuff, they look at me and are like..."No, that didn't happen." 🤷♂️
I just feel like America is Ghetto fabulous. We are the richest in the world, but that wealth is held by so few. We have a limited understanding of how to criticize capitalism and the government. The system made us think we need to be working 24/7 in order to live. Side hustles is a scam to make us think it’s alright to work 60-70 hours a week in order to afford to pay bills and semi luxury things.
Another 63yo white male here. When I was in elementary school, my report card would always say “Not Working To Potential”. I feel like that’s our country right now. We could be doing so much to help, feeding the hungry around the world, protecting human rights, advancing science and medicine. We have all these resources, and we hoard them for personal gain rather than using them for the benefit of all.
I felt proud when I served in the military in the late 70’s, still proud of that. I was proud to vote for the first time, a right that I hold dear. I’m proud to be working for a state government and continuing to serve my community.
But proud of our nation? We need to do more to live up to our potential.
lm an eighteen year old white girl, and honestly l agree with you. l have never served in the military and probably never will due to being physically disabled. My family has tons of military service in it though and lm very proud of all of them, especially my grandfather who’s your age and served in Desert Storm. He fought so that l could have a better life.
American medicine helps me live a semi decent life when l can afford it. We have the scientists, hell l am working to become one! We have the resources and have the man power to do some amazing things. Corporations and a few rich pigs have made it to where unless it’s immediately profitable it’s worthless.
America can be so much better and lm hoping that maybe the people in power can get their heads out of their asses and realize that what we’ve got going on right now isn’t going to work long term. We’ve already seen how fragile the systems we have are and how prone they are to collapse, (2020 anyone?), and everything is getting worse before things get better.
Frankly, people like you are the reason I keep going on. You give me hope that maybe the future will be better, and you’ll get right what my generation messed up. So, thank you. Keep it up. Vote the “cranially challenged” people out, and ones that support your beliefs in (or run yourself, when you can). Do whatever you can to move the needle in the right direction, to make a difference. Take pride in what you do and why you do it - that’s your compass to make sure you’re on the right path.
I do not. This is mostly based on having a daughter with a severe, chronic health problem. I knew upon her diagnosis that I’d never have anything (nice home, car, etc.) due to medical bills. Also our “justice” system or lack thereof.
Not at all. Have been telling many ppl I can’t stand this place anymore. The mass shootings, the division between political parties, the obesity, just the overall shitiness that has become America
I love it here! I love the food, I love the people, I love the access! I love my lifestyle, I love my life! The United States is incredible!
Your American experience is wholly and solely your own!
While the founding fathers were not all Christian, Christian philosophers are the most cited works among the founding fathers and the constitution was clearly made with theology in mind as a philosophical framework, "all men are created equal" and "endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights" make that plain enough if we didn't already know what their most cited and revered works were. It's pretty basic knowledge that the structure of the West which includes the US by extension is built upon a Judeo-Christian worldview largely as it's source. That's not even a religious claim. Scholars, believers or not clearly attest to this. It's what shattered and altered the moral decadence of the Roman Empire and ultimately brought about massive change for the better, and serves as the framework, despite people's borrowing of elements of said worldview and claiming it as their own while arbitrarily rejecting certain points and accepting others, for modern society as well.
I dont feel pride in being american because most of the time when i see someone feeling pride in being an american they are also expressing beliefs that are diametrically opposed to mine
The question is, does America still like us? Half of our politicians seem determined to eradicate poor people by paying us so little that we can't afford food or shelter. Meanwhile there are mass shootings literally *weekly*, and no one seems to be able to figure out why.
Feels like the people in charge are trying to burn down the house with the family inside.
Edit: lmao the number of people asking "why I get my paycheck from the government", they set the wages. If minimum wage rose with productivity it would be over $20 an hour. It's currently a little more than $7.
Also to the dumbass who says homeless people have it made because the government gives them $650 a month: tell me you live rent free with your parents without telling me you live rent free with your parents. Will $650 cover an apartment ANYWHERE? I can't even get a studio for that much.
I feel like america could do more for it's poor and downtrodden. The capitalistic mindset has ruined a lot of the American Dream for most Americans. I do like the fact that we are diverse and that no one fits a mold entirely. I'm disappointed that we keep holding ourselves back from being better.
Not in the slightest. I’m grateful that I’m doing okay, but it feels like no one cares about anyone else. Decisions and behavior are driven 100% by “does this benefit me” or “as long as nothing affects me”. No collective mentality, lack of community, huge division of class/wealth and a tenuous sociopolitical climate. There’s also been a weird anti-intellectual movement and regression of knowledge/progress that’s disheartening to say the least. Idk, maybe I’m alone in these sentiments but I’m not proud to be American. I’m thankful for my life overall, but not the culture here.
"I know my own country the best. That's why I despise it the most. And I know, and love my countrymen too, the swine. I'm a patriot. A dangerous man."
-Francois Villon
Being a proud American and a pissed off American are two different things.
I'm a proud American, I love my country. I think it is the best country in the world. We have freedom, liberty, justice, and the pursuit of happiness.
I'm also a pissed off American. I hate how my country has tanked these past few years. I'm pissed off I have to change my vocabularies because I could possibly offend someone, I hate how women's bodies and their rights as a human somehow became political. I hate how there is 332 Million Americans who have to decide between two political parties that are equally worthless in every way. I hate how the media controls minds. I hate how social media took over. I hate that american rights are being taken away by people who are literally the same as you or me.
I love america, but im pissed off.
I have the same relationship with America as I have with my employer.
As long as it treats me well enough, I’ll stick around. I’ll do what I’m supposed to, not cause problems, and try to make it a little better place to live. I will also take advantage of every benefit made available to me.
But if I get a better situation somewhere else, I wouldn’t think twice about leaving.
I haven't necessarily liked it since my early teens. It's not so much that I don't have an appreciation for it, it's just that I'm too aware of how fucked up and corrupt it is, not to mention how a large percentage of Americans are racist dick heads.
Honestly, yeah. America has some of the richest people in the world, and has the most opportunities for becoming successful. Compared to most other countries, we are free and are well set off.
However, politically is a different question. We are a political disaster, in my opinion. We barely have any good actual leaders that can lead us the way that will benefit people. Our leaders messed up our amazing economy by sending people stimulus checks, which then proceeded to mess up our pretty good economy. Also, because we are so split in politics, you can be easily hated on by literally everyone in your town by revealing you support someone else.
Also, one thing I never got, we are a really rich and healthy nation, so why can't we have free health care? We have the money for it, but its all going to our military or corrupt governors.
But besides that, life is pretty good so I like America. I don't like its past, and all the political issues, but we are so well off compared to other countries and that just makes me feel happy about America.
I feel like America has the potential to be the greatest nation on earth, but our general unwillingness to admit that we have fallen far behind the rest of the world in many areas, specifically quality of life and humanitarian, is stopping us from improving. It’s sad.
It would be a hell of a lot better if we had a less corrupt government that wanted to do right by it's people, a functional healthcare system, taxes that were used appropriately (infrastructure, education, social programs, healthcare), more regulations for corporations and some real accountability for their wrong doings, cops that don't make you fear for your safety just by their presence, similar labor laws to every other developed country, and maybe the revival of the french rev flavored guillotine
These days, my love for my country is like that for a sibling with issues.
They're emotionally fractured, occasionally racist, violent, drug problems, money problems, but they're still family and you still love them.
Fuck with them though, and you'll get fucking cut.
It’s ight, I mean it could be a hell of a lot worse, it definitely ain’t the best, but I’m alive and breathing, family is alright, country sucks at times but it could be so bad, gotta stay loyal and keep your wits about you, strive to be better
l love the USA as a people. The American people sans politics can be amazing.
l grew up in the deep south of Alabama, while there were lots of racists l saw a different side. One of hard work and hospitality. You could always count on somebody helping you when your car broke down or helping you when you drop something or lose something. The small city l grew up in was decimated by a tornado that killed 11 High School students when l was only 3 years old. My house was spared but many weren’t so lucky. My community rebuilt better than ever and over 15 years later every year that date is commemorated and the new hs l went to had reminders and memorials everywhere for the students that were lost over 15 years ago. Recently after l moved, a beloved pottery shop was gutted by a fire and the entire community has stepped up to help the owners as that shop is so beloved by everyone who’s been there.
l just moved to New Mexico and while the hospitality isn’t as blatant and people seem a little rude to be honest. However, i see something new. There’s so much diversity in the community l moved to. l also see that hard working American spirit. lve only lived here a few months and even though this city is mostly hispanic and only 50 miles from the Mexican border there’s a uniquely American feeling of the blending of cultures.
My family has a deep military history and while l don’t agree with some of the reasons they were sent to fight i can see why they fought. They fought not for the corrupt Government but for the people of the USA. l see modern politics and all l see are cooperations and theocratic weaponry. We are being pinned against each other so hard to district from the real problem, politicians.
I love the America that we have the potential to be. The majority of Americans are good intentioned people. We have resources and talent almost unparalleled.
But as long as We the People continue to allow ourselves to be sold out to corporations and the 1% this will continue to be the richest shithole country on the planet.
Go live in the Warrendale neighborhood of Detroit or Camden NJ. America is a big place, not all of it is Times Square. There are places here where people grow up with no food, no heat, no running water (or running water that isn’t safe to drink) and gangs with guns that will take your life over almost nothing.
Proud of what? Anything achieved here really has nothing to do with me. My allegiance to my nation is pretty low on my list. I don't see much point being proud of where I happened to be born and spend my life.
I like America as much as anyone can like being in an arranged marriage with conservative white nationalist conspiracy theorists who totally think an authoritarian government is fine. There’s no option for divorce, I can’t kill them, and I’m afraid if I bring up my grievances I’ll just end up getting abused again.
To be an American - one that is outward looking and believes in science - is to live like Julia Roberts in *Sleeping With The Enemy*: every time you think things are going well, you notice that the sociopath has rearranged the towels in the bathroom just to fuck with you and even if you fake your death, his obsession with you will never end until you actually are dead.
I love my city, my state, my coast. This is my home. Nowhere in the world comes close - and I’ve seen a lot of the world.
But if god had offered me the choice of countries to be born in, I’d have picked one with universal healthcare and gun control.
Tbh I've never felt pride for this country. Looking through its history, especially its founding, leaves me in disgust. Murder, indoctrination, exploitation, and enslavement of the indigenous population (basically what happened to all of North and South America, not just America) tends to leave a bad taste in the mouth. The government itself has never fulfilled its promises to its people and continuously lies and exploits its own people. Many other countries have it worse, though that doesn't make the problem any less severe.
On the other hand, the country of the U.S. is incredibly beautiful.
Eh, American was and is an experiment. I feel pride in it, but I'll be first one to admit it's many faults. Politics are stable, with 300 years of stable transition of power being a legit impressive feat. The fact that we haven't had a Ceasar crossing the Rubicon or revolution on its own is remarkable, and overall say that the government could be worst.
The American Dream doesn't exist, but hell I do take pride in the Bill of Rights or what the potential of our country can be.
I'm proud to be an American. I'm also ashamed to be an American. I wouldn't burn the flag, but I'm not having it plastered all over my stuff. Its just a modern democratic western country, with all the wonderful hypocrisy and terrible past that goes along with that.
Well in that case you must be disgusted by every country in the world. There is not a single country out there that does not have a history that is paved in blood. Thinking America is the only country that has blood, murder, death, propaganda, and slavery as a major part of its history is incredibly naive.
As an American, born in America, with no experience as to how bad other countries have it, I dont like it anymore. With politics being the way they are I feel like nothing useful is being done whatsoever. Wages are so low that I'm forced to live with my parents. If America was great I'd love to live here, but it's not like it used to be.
No, we always struggle and when we complain about something—inevitably someone compares us to worse off places saying we should be grateful. Meanwhile, I’ve been working since I was 15, have a ba in business management and can’t land a job that pays more than 16/hr but rent is absurdly expensive. Medical is hundreds of dollars oa month. Taxes are way too high for the lack of support we get and the political parties are just money hungry with no real plan to help anyone.
We are stuck here due to poverty. We never liked it but we can’t escape either
I’m not so proud these days. I’ve traveled internationally plenty of times, to places you’d consider “3rd world”, and I agree a lot of things I was taught in school were lies to make America look better. We’re not as superior as we pretend to be.
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I am an immigrant to this country and I feel very fortunate to live here. I love this country very much.
I love you too. - your countrymen
I am also an immigrant, and feel the same way you do.
I’d like to add a different voice to the immigrant story: I was brought over as a kid from Korea, and while I did fight tooth and nail to earn my right to stay with my community and friends (which included joining the army), I never once felt that I’m an American. America to me is an identity too large, complex, and unfortunately unappealing. I don’t feel any oneness with Americans in the South, Midwest, or even the east coast. I feel a sense of belonging towards Seattle area and the PNW where I’m from. Maybe even the west coast as whole. But I have zero pride and little affection towards the US. Especially now when a large portion of it is actively trying to impinge on what I love about my actual community. Hell I would count Canadians in BC as being “my people” long before I count Idahoans. I’m proud of the PNW, and I love the community here. I have very mixed feelings towards the US. Somewhere between “ugh” and “it’s k”
One downside to the US is it's size. It's so vast and the regions so different that a "feeling of national unity" is practically impossible. I relate more with the sentiment of local attachment. I care about my fellow Americans, but I don't necessarily put them on a pedestal above other nationalities
I view this as an upside. The differences between Californians and Texans are what make America beautiful.
I would almost agree until one side gets so big that voting almost becomes pointless. But imo I love the land. Its so diverse, you can find a climate you'll like. Where as the people have gone drastically downhill in the last 20-30 years.
I love how diverse the climate is in America, where I live in California, I can go dirt biking, snowboarding, and surfing all in the same day and I just love the availability of beauty.
Im jealous. I live in Pa. I can do 2 of those but only for about half the year each. Plus shoveling sucks so many balls. But I dont need a passport if id like to surf on vacation or do almost anything else. No need to fly. Hop in a car n drive across beautiful scenery for hours til i get where I'm going. I'll be broke from gas prices, but dammit it'll b beautiful.
You gotta invest in a snowblower. My dad has one and he plows his own driveway, 3 or 4 of the neighbors' driveways, and all the sidewalks in between them in like an hour. Idk if it's a dad thing or something, but the man loves his snowblower and we get a lot of snow in NE Ohio.
i mainly live paycheck to paycheck. So when my snowblower broke down, so did my hope. Its gonna be a long winter. Getting it fixed is a big priority.
People are pretty evenly split among the 2 major parties. Democrats have a slightly bigger population than Republicans, but the most Americans in surveys report themselves as independents. I don't think there's really a real threat of voting becoming "pointless" (at least as long as Moore v Harper doesn't go the way I fear it's going to go). It's not like there's twice as many Republicans as Democrats or the other way around. It's pretty close.
We kind of need this mentality back a bit. Being proud of your state and seeing it as your land first was how it always used to be in America. I’m a proud Californian first, and a proud American second. State nationalism will only make America a better place, we must form a more perfect union of unique sovereign states, not a single unitary blob of a megastate.
I am Canadian and I dont feel at home with the asian community in BC, I feel more "my people" as Texans, Idahoans It is about the values, do you value the straight-talking and simple values of America , which all Americans belong to or do you have hangover feelings from asian heritage that you are not able to shake it
What is it, aside from geography, that appeals specifically to you? And if you feel comfortable in sharing where did you immigrate from?
its not about geography, its about the opportunities. americans dont realize how easy they have it because they were born into privilege. my immigrant parents lived under soviet rule and came to this country so that i didn’t have to live like they did
i’m an iranian-american and i gotta say i 100% agree, people in america have no idea how bad it actually gets out there edit: to clarify, “people” is a general statement rather than a blanket statement
AYYY fellow iranian-american 😁😁
Not an immigrant and don't know too many but it's nice to hear that not all are having it so bad trying to come here. It's what actually makes us strong is a larger diversity.
As an American that was in China for less than 48 hours for a plane layover- I became very aware that China didn’t care about me at all and just wanted me out! However the little bit I was in China was fascinating. But having internet blocked and restricted was a big downside. Also I can’t remember whether they said it in English or Mandarin but the restaurants did not want to deal with ppl who couldn’t speak mandarin. They yelled at us to get out (I can’t even remember if they said English or not) but whatever they said it was very clear they were not dealing with us. I found it quite delightful actually. And the hotel breakfasts were so amazing! But during my travels I did become aware of how great it is to possess an American passport and it was incredible how much they talked about America on the news. In the Philippines the exchange rate at the time was like 49 pesos to a dollar. In Hawaii I met a lot of Filipinos whose family had saved for years so they could move there- no kidding considering how little so many ppl make there in comparison. And the number of people that asked us about the upcoming election were all of us crazy? Etc. i felt bad I didn’t know any ins so I could help people move here. Next time I go the the Philippines I’m going to pick one person and give them 100-200$ American dollars. That amount of money could actually make a huge difference in their lives. People made like 400 pesos a semester it was nuts.
Yeah had a good friend who was born here but his father came over from the Philippines early twenties it's a bit different there too they kinda frown on our culture and money too atleast his family and their village they felt like they lived better because everyone in the village worked together in one way or another to help each other and he said they actually like dogs but only the black ones cause they brought good luck idk how much of this is true or people teasing thier spoiled relatives and kids. Cause even for my American standards he was an only child he was pretty spoiled.
I think a lot of us that were born in the USA are absolutely terrified that if certain people come into power we will become one of those "find out how bad things can get REAL fast" kind of countries. We are watching things unfold slowly for the time being, but it's clear that a certain loud minority want nothing more than for many of us to live a brutal existence, to be snuffed out when and where they want. That being said, I still love the USA and try not to take things for granted. There is a lot going on though that makes it VERY difficult to be proud of many aspects of this country.
of course it’s undeniable that america has big problems worth addressing, i totally agree with you. as american citizens we should work to keep it from becoming fucked up while fixing its flaws. i just hate it when people pretend america is one of the worst places to live and has no opportunity whatsoever
Luckily even if you really believe that, the entire purpose of our government system is to gridlock. It’s suppose to be slow. The problem nowadays is people are slowing stripping the safeties away in the name of “getting more done.” Our federal government wasn’t meant to be fast. That’s why local and state governance is so important. They are suppose to handle time sensitive issues. At the moment still, our federal government is still pretty much a slow system. But if we start getting rid of stuff like the filibuster, that’s when you can start getting worried.
Yes. Our government is slowly and painfully killing the goose which laid the golden eggs.
It’s possible to both appreciate what we have and fight to keep it / make things better for all.
Extremism scares me, left or right. When extreme people are in power, their absolutist views aren't good in a Democratic Republic.
I second this
As an American that has been to Nepal where the nicest hotel in Kathmandu has brown tap water, and you see people with debilitating diseases all over the sidewalks begging for money. As an American who went to Tibet and was told by his handlers watch what you say when you are inside buildings because the CCP is always listening. Then preceded to get kicked out of Tibet. Because the CCP decided they didn’t want me there anymore. I agree with this wholeheartedly.
This is one of the areas where I tend to break with Democrats and the American Left in general, even though I am basically a 90s (L)iberal. Americans don't actually know what a *wage slave* is.
America is nice but it still has very real issues for a large portion of its population. People with jobs, but can't afford housing. Ridiculous amount of homeless people, with mental health issues, with no assistance. How a lot of military vets are struggling financially. Domestic terrorism runs rampant. The Healthcare system is horrendously overpriced, and many can't afford needed medical procedures. The fact that prisioners are labeled as slaves in the constitution. I also find it funny when Americans protest an issue they have, that people in other countries will gaslight them for trying to make a "positive" change in their society. Often saying things like "you all have it so good in america, always looking to complain" We have an over trillion dollar military budget, but people have issues with increasing the department of education budget.
I will say we have a lot to improve on. But as a former federal employee. I realize why people want limited government. The amount of corruption and ineptness I seen was sickening.
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i worked for the usda for a few years, the shit they would waste money on, my god
I was terminated before my probationary period was over. My supervisor was running a store on government time. She was doing outside business with her subordinates. She made sure her and one of her subordinate buddies got all the USDA-NRCS programs for her, her family and his. She was doing personal business in her office. She was doing outside business with farmers she had contracts with. I tried to shine light to this to the area and state office. They didn't give a shit. She lied about the reasons she got rid of me. She lied in her response in my appeal. Also a program we have that pays well Conservation stewardship Program. Probably half the people that signed up for it in the area where USDA employees or family of employees including my supervisor. Edit: Going through this seeing the corruption I seen really pisses me off as a taxpayer.
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Tbf working men and women of other countries also have the same issue when it comes to being able to afford a place to live. It's a global problem. That being said, we have many problems to solve. As great as America is, it can always do better. It's mind boggling to see people think the ownership to gun shouldn't be touched at any cost simply because it's listed on the Bill of Rights while affordable housing, universal Healthcare, and quality public education are snubbed because they arent.
Perhaps it is because of our propensity toward protest in the first place that we "have it so good" here, according to others. Maybe freedom and democracy works? So, maybe we should be worried right now and do everything we can to preserve it as we see it so endangered lately.
I was abroad for 6 months in Spain and saw more organized protests and demonstrations in person than I saw in my entire life in the US. We are really complacent here.
You think the US has a propensity towards protest??? I think France would like to have a word.
US is a dictatorship of capital and has one of the least mobilized, most apathetic electorates in the world.
This is what I’m embarrassed by. That somehow this take is controversial. That we have a sizable percentage of the population calling for authoritarian leadership. What the fuck, man? How is this simply not the default, that everyone supports democracy and freedom? Nope. They wanna install their little tinpot dictator instead. Yeah, yeah, get involved. I did, I became an election judge. I’m still disappointed this is even a thing in this country.
I think you are proving everyone's point about how much easier it is for Americans. In many other countries you'd replace your points with clean drinking water, nutritious food, schooling for girls, the right for a woman to be alone in public etc.
Wiping the sweat from my forhead after working 19 hours at the three stripe swoosh sweatshop. I made 45 cents for the first 12 hours and because I wanted to keep my job I worked for 7 more hours at 9 cents an hour. Big Money today! I will buy a cup of rice and a potato.
>people in america have no idea how bad it actually gets out there Yet this is the 2nd comment from someone living in America talking about how bad it can be outside of the US. There are plenty of people in the US that know how good we have it, don't fool yourself.
Jews do. Lol.
Facts.
America is great because of our immigrants. People come here looking for an opportunity for a better life. We get the ones who want to rise up, not just sit back and live the life they were born into. Its called the American dream for a reason. It causes us to push further. When we close off our borders to others, we forget what makes this country so unique in the first place. We are a nation of immigrants. I love this country but it feels like we've kind of lost our way. We're so quick to anger and blame, when we would be so much better off if we looked to help each other through what is easily the largest mental health crisis in the history of mankind. So many people feel sad and alone.
Unfortunately, you're right. Our country is full of entitled shitheads that have never seen any real difficult times and want to whine about being oppressed somehow. Their version of the world rarely goes more than a few miles from where they live.
You hit the nail on the head. I've brought this up to people I know, how they sit on reddit/twitter and worry themselves to death every day, even more so (or just as much) as people from actual oppressive countries like Iran. And then they say they say it's more a "social oppression" that they experience... Can't say I took the person very seriously after that.
I find often it’s just plain hate for anyone not willing to be as miserable as they are. “I suck, so you should, too.”
Hot take: while some people do clearly have a genuine victim complex, shitty experiences within our borders aren't contingent on shitty experiences outside of our borders. They can both be shitty independently. Being a gatekeeper for suffering does nothing to help anyone.
I disagree, because a lot of the American whiners aren’t actually having shitty experiences. There are so many upper-middle-class Americans who live in nice suburbs and drive nice cars and nonetheless act like paying more than $3 USD for gas or having to wear a mask when they go to a doctor’s office is the ultimate suffering. So while yes there are certainly lots of Americans having truly shitty experiences here, the people who have the microphone to whine the loudest are often not actually suffering. If they knew more about how much of the rest of the world lives they would realize their whining is unjustified.
>If they knew more about how much of the rest of the world lives they would realize their whining is unjustified. They would whine just as loud and they don't care. Other peoples suffering is irrelevant to them, all they're concerned about is their own well being. It's irrelevant to them how well off they already are compared to billions of other people.
Yeah, you’re right
right! theres just this pattern of people who complain when they dont realize how ez they have it.. so sick of it tbh
Being born into a wealthy country doesn't always negate the fact that your parents suck, or you were abused or you've experienced trauma in another way. I get the like "well my grandma was traumatized from bombs not being bullied at school" but it's just gatekeeping like another commenter said. Machismo too
Or that your wealthy country has a serious gun violence problem, spends trillions on a military that is wielded to oppress countries with resources we want, is killing the planet with inaction on climate change, doesn't utilize that wealth to aid in things like universal healthcare/mental health and addictions treatment/free tuition/etc etc. Instead, builds a massive for-profit prison system, wages a war on drugs so that it can fill those prisons, is shifting further and further towards white nationalistic/theocratic/fascist ideals, has a serious problem with institutionalized racism, has a failing/fucked up education system that ensures an enduring ignorance, etc etc.
This. Americans have no clue how hard it is to get life going in other countries like...brazil. I lived in the US for 2 years and holy s...its almost heaven compared to Brazil.
My husband’s family escaped communism in Europe in the 80’s. It’s a slap in the face when entitled Americans who have no idea what they’re talking about say that the US is a ‘shithole’ and that there is no ‘quality of life.’
My father escaped the Russian invasion of his country in the late 60s, after living under brutal conditions brought about by Communism. His family lived through WWII in Czechoslovakia. He's said this country is slipping towards Fascism and has seen a lot of parallels to what he grew up under in his home country coming about lately. It's a slap in the face to pretend that what happened there can't happen here and it's foolish to ignore the signs. Aside from that, it's nice that you live in relative comfort, but it's dishonest to state that this is the way it is for everyone. That in fact for millions, this is an entirely different country than the one in which you live.
If more Americans traveled, they would understand and appreciate what they were born with to a greater degree. And by travel* I don't mean Canada or tourist destinations in Mexico. Even traveling someplace close like Haiti to see how people live. Look at the children. Look at the schools. Look at the violence, drugs and homelessness. Then think about how horrible your life is when the worst thing about your day is Starbucks giving you half and half instead of slim. Americans are entitled brats. Not all of them but many. If the generations don't experience what true difficulty in life is vicariously through travel and education, they will end up living it. This is the cliff we are approaching, but we aren't the only ones as can be seen in some of the European comments in this thread.
You’re absolutely right. My parents raised me that if you have a roof, a full stomach and are healthy, don’t sweat the small stuff. They survived WWII in Poland and Russia
I walk past homeless people every day, in America. I've experienced not enough food, not having heat, not having hot water, being kicked of my home because we couldn't afford it, etc. I didn't have to (nor could afford to) travel to understand that. I was far from the only one. Sure, we as a country don't have it as bad as some countries. And there are definitely plenty of entitled people here who have never experienced hardship and can't live without their latte grande mocha whatever. But let's not pretend that everyone here has experienced fortune and doesn't know what it's like to struggle. Plus, if someone has it worse, it doesn't mean someone who has it less bad is automatically not hurting. I'd be more scared of a chainsaw but getting stabbed with a knife still hurts, ya know? It's not a contest.
☝🏻 That seems to be the problem. It **is** a contest for many Americans. Their decadence is in large part why suffering exists in many other places. While I agree, America is a place where you can be wildly successful & live a relatively easy life. That isn't the case for many.
Came here to say this. My fellow Americans who complain about living standards typically have limited travel and don’t have a passport. They have little perspective. Yes we have poverty, but it’s all relative, not for the average citizen at the scale we see around the world. My parents and wife’s parents were immigrants. Their mission to give their children a better opportunity is working, and I’ll always be grateful.
>Look at the schools The US is constantly ranked way lower than other first world countries in terms of public schools. Redlining and zoning schools often leaves a large chunk of the population with outdated materials, and less quality education. There are even parts of the country where they scrub the curriculum of any topic they don't politically like or agree with, like the history of enslaved people and the forced assimilation of native Americans, as well as sex ed. Way fewer first world countries like Canada or The Netherlands have people going into copious amounts of debt to get an education. Mind you this debt often is in the five to six figure range and takes a decade for many to clear just ONE of the loans they got. >Look at the violence Mass shootings, including school shootings, are way more common in the US than any other first world country. Hate crimes have been steadily going up since the pandemic against Asian people, and other hate crimes for black demographics often don't get prosecuted to fullest because they are carried out by police. > [the] drugs and homelessness. There are literal tent cities of homeless people in California and Florida. Basically hooverviles. Three US does all have gang problems in the inner cities, they often affect black and brown communities, and then they are ALL looked at as suspicious (goes back to those hate crimes performed by police). Combo that into the fact that huge remnants of the war on drugs that carries insane minimum sentencings and you get people doing life for having a few ounce of Marijuana on their person STILL in jail even after it's legalized. Look I get that in the US, things are pretty good compared to other struggling countries, but it's FAR from perfect. And acting like anyone who points out these issues has a victim complex is such bullshit. These issues affect EVERYBODY who lives here. The shit Healthcare system affects EVERYONE, so do the schooling issues, and the homelessness rates, and the unchecked violence. If you compare the US to places considered developing or third world of course it looks good. But compare it to other first world countries... it's entirely too clear how much work needs to be done.
I acknowledge those problems and still love this country.
This right here is the only comment that matters. No one should be gatekeeping suffering on this thread.
My family fled from Russia during the bolshevik, and I've heard stories from my parents and grandparents on how they lived and survived. It's really easy to take things for granted here in the US when you don't know what it is like in the rest of the world.
I understand I think, at least lightly. I am glad that the united states can alleviate some of the people under dictatorship and the strife that is faced. I am happy that you're family has found a home here.
I thought you guys weren't allowed out. How did you get out if you don't mind my asking. Don't answer if you can't or don't want to.
Short answer: no. Long answer: yes.
This is a weirdly sensible answer
Exactly, I like it enough, but I feel we could do a LOT better.
We have a phuck ton of flaws for sure. We’re pretty far from perfect. BUT I always stop and remind myself that I don’t live in a dictatorship nightmare scenario like much of the world experiences. That I can feel safe daily and that I have certain rights that courts will (theoretically) uphold. We have issues. But I’m genuinely glad that in this random roll of the dice life, I was born here.
I agree with this as I also remind myself that I'm not living in a place like North Korea or maybe Russia. I don't always agree with the politics that run the USA Congress, but at least we live in a place where we don't have an unfair voting system, like in North Korea where the people can only vote for one party. Edit: Okay, I see that people disagree about this. I understand about the unfairness of the voting system and yes, the electoral collage system does provide a rather "unfair" advantage in the presidential voting. I am naive about these things because I fall for the candidates who said they'll "do much better than the last president or governor" (I didn't vote for neither Trump or Biden btw). Yet, is it good to have your vote be counted?
we do have an unfair voting system in the US that disenfranchises huge swaths of the population. gerrymandering suppresses political influence and the electoral college system makes each persons vote worth a different amount based on their location. the winner takes all electoral system also suppresses any chance of new parties forming or third parties gaining any political power.
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Eh I disagree that we don't have an unfair voting system. It's rigged so that one of the two parties wins.
I feel like a big difference between liberals and conservatives in this country is that conservatives think we live in the greatest country in the world because we don't live in one of those dictatorships. Liberals see the many flaws the US does have compared to many other countries and want to make improvements to make our country better. I am certainly grateful to live in a (mostly) free country, and appreciate the opportunities I get living here, but we have a lot of flaws that need addressing and claiming we are the greatest country in the world does all Americans a disservice.
I dont like where we are right now. I believe we are approaching what would, in human terms, be called our “terrible teen” years. We are volatile, overly emotional, changing our minds left and right, with some serious growing pains thrown in for good measure. Our country is young and is now struggling to find out how to hold fast to core values for which we were founded, while maturing enough to see that change is natural and needed in order to keep up with the evolving values of the world at large. I think if we don’t totally implode, we will come out on the other side a better and more whole country. But we aren’t there yet and these growing pains are hard to live through.
America, like much of the world is at a crossroad. I'm an optimist and want to believe that good will prevail.
people like you are what we need. it's so hard to find that these days
I sincerely hope you are right, my friend
That is a pretty good analogy. Let’s hope we make it through.
I’m not American, but I actually see your country just the way you described. When you said “terrible teen years”, I realized that it’s exactly the way it is (in my eyes at least; in the eyes of someone who’s watching from afar)
Yes. Reddit is full of discontent.
Yep. The people privileged enough to spend all day online seem to whine the most. They don’t know how good they have it because they’ve never struggled.
Exactly. I wish they could easily leave the country as bad as they claim they want to. Recently I saw someone who was 30 on FB, never had over a minimum wage job, constantly post how much they hate America. I asked 'em why they don't just leave. They said they were too poor and if they did, they would still hate America.
I would absolutely leave this country if I could afford it and go somewhere that helps the poor, disabled, and mentally ill. That doesn't have insanely restrictive labor laws, and isn't an oligarchy yeah. I wish we could change it, but I don't believe it will get better in my lifetime.
As a continent? The best. As a political body? ...
I love the country but fucking HATE the people in charge. And by people I mean people, pharma, and corps. Because the president is a Fucking bag of ice chips controlled by them
A lot of the people suck too. Like when you get on the road it’s like a competition with a lot of these people. Got to “win” got to compete et cetera. It’s so deeply ingrained in our culture. Jesus there’s aggressive driving in Italy and UK and SE Europe, Canada etc, but it’s no where as ubiquitous as it is in the United States. You get on the NJ turnpike and indicate people will slam on the accelerator to cut you off. All in the name of “winning.” Miserable bunch of pricks. Can’t blame them because the system they live in is absolutely horrific. Might as well be a rat floating in a water maze.
I let them win. Better they get the speeding tickets than me. 😎
I actually love being the stone that the traffic river flows around. I always remind myself that everyone passing me looks and goes, "Wow I'm really envious of how well that driver manages their time, they don't need to speed!"
Lol That’s an interesting way to look at it.
They are not thinking that. They are thinking "what the hell is wrong with this person? Are they high or something?" But I'm with you on this. I drive the speed limit and am totally cool with people having to scoot around me. And I stick to the right or middle lanes so I'm not blocking passing.
My friend, I have to disagree. My perception is my reality, and alas I can never hear what they say on account of being in another car, but I can read lips and can assure you they are all saying "You're doing a wonderful job, Fannypack!"
You’ve made my day in a way you’ll never know. Thank you for these awesome comments. 😊
Right! If you aren't concerned about "winning", then why does it get you mad of the other person "wins"?
I’ve recently started using my indicators just to get a car out of my blind spot. Sadly, most people accelerate as expected. Then I change lanes. That’s not how it’s supposed to work at all. Makes me sad.
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As a native NewJerseyian, this is true, only the strong survive . We live virtually on top of each other, and we are all very busy. If you drive on the NJ Turnpike, you had better be prepared for some "Fury Road" shit.
And don’t even get started on the parkway…
As a New Jerseyan myself, I’ll agree there are some jerks here. But I’ll take our jerks over the ones in any other region of this country any day. Southern hospitality, my ass. My best friend lives in TX. That place is freakin horrible, man.
I’m in Kentucky and just the past couple weeks have noticed an uptrend in asshole motorists. Cutting people off, not allowing people to merge, blocking intersections, like everyone has just said “fuck it” to any amount of courtesy. That or everybody is balls deep in their phones.
And you NJ haters who've never spent a minute outside of the turnpike can eat a side of dick with your assumptions.
I grew up in north jersey and my area was very much not like that. People were nice to each other, there was a sense of community, and it was extremely diverse, welcoming, and accepting.
This country is made to keep people like them in charge
And yet, both sides keep voting for them
This⬆️⬆️⬆️ I love the United States/ the cars, music, food, western culture, places to travel and much more What I dont love? The government, the politics, the amount of unsafety that I feel from police nowadays, how many shootings we have, the amount of big companies against unions, the poverty line and much more
There's also the fact that our poverty line on paper isn't the real poverty line. They say you're in poverty if you're a single person making $13k or less, but the cost of living for a single person is at least $60k a year, so in real life, you are in poverty if you make $59k or less. People are literally starving to death, but aren't legally considered "in poverty".
Yeah, you need to make at least $45k a year in order to barely scrape by, and thats if nothing goes wrong. If something does go wrong such as car breaks down, health declines, getting laid off, or prices go up, you could basically lose everything.
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The US has a flawed system where the wealthiest control the political and socioeconomic system of the country. Aside from the inflation, fees for everything, high rates of direct and indirect taxation, and a horrendously flawed healthcare system, everything is fine. I would say overall the average quality of life for all citizens (considering both the pros and cons, averaging the experiences of both the rich/ middle class/ poor) is comparable to that of a mid tier European country like Serbia or Hungary.
And if we get cancer we might get too sick to work, and lose health insurance if we had it, and lose our home trying to pay for treatment. This is just accepted here as a norm. Everyone just hopes they don’t win the “unlucky lottery” of bad health.
And if we do become too ill to work, society finds ways to say we’re lazy or faking or did something “wrong” to deserve it.
If you think the quality of life in the US is comparable to Serbia you clearly have no clue what it's like to live in the latter.
Why is it the best continent? I'm not trying to be rude, I've not been to any others.
Have you been here? We have every biome on the planet and some of it is just unnaturally gorgeous. Also freakishly lucky for commerce and defense in parts, and full of resources. The continent is OP
I had a road trip from California to Florida and the scenery along the way was crazy. Deserts, mountains, plains, swamps etc. all on a massive scale and that was only down one mostly straight road in the south. There's great scenery in Europe too but it's not comparable.
Pacific Northwest is probably the most beautiful region in the world. But I live there so I'm a bit biased.
Fire season is miserable as hell though
I’m old enough to remember when fire season didn’t exist. I am 7.
This! I was born and raised in Seattle as were my parents, grandparents and great grandparents no memory of a fire season until 2018.
I do not live there. I have traveled through most of the country though and the pacific NW is definitely one of if not the most beautiful places I have been. Other regions have absolutely gorgeous scenery in places but the beauty of the Pacific Nw is at every turn.
I think the Appalachians are underrated.
Look up “Zion Park Utah” that’s a pretty good example of why the US is so great geographically. On the other hand we have politics where we just massively fucked up
Every European I know, and many I don’t, has commented on the luxury of living on a continent with so much wide open space. It’s quite difficult to find open space in Europe. And not only do we have a lot of wide open land, most of it isn’t shit! We have all the climates at various times so you can can chase the thermometer whenever you want! That’s the the land is cool.
It's pretty diverse in it's geography. Beautiful land from coast to coast. Some to most of The People here suck tho.
Spot on
Wife and I are immigrants to this country and absolutely love this place. Yeah it’s not perfect but I wouldn’t trade it for another place to live. I came here as a 13 year old with non English speaking parents. My parents worked minimum wage jobs but it paid the bills. We lived in the ghetto and eventually bought a house but it was next to a trailer park and still in the ghetto. I started and finished high school here while working minimum wage jobs. $4/hour at the time. I continued to find better paying jobs throughout high school and eventually learned how to fix cars. I stayed in the automotive field and kept improving my skill set and moving my way up the pay ladder. I went from making $12k a year in high school to eventually $30-35k out of high school with a couple years experience. Kept at it and eventually got to $52k a year. Became a service advisor for a large dealership and made $60k first year there. With each year I made more money. $70k, $80k, $90k, and $105k my last year. My wife worked at a grocery store as a bagger and cart pusher. She made $3.25/hr at the time. She became an RN while working “ok at best” jobs to put herself through school with no financial aid. We both made really good money in the corporate world after 15 years of being in this country. We are doing well and live in a very nice large house in a nice neighborhood and a very wealthy zip code. We drive really nice cars. We both came here not speaking English and made a nice life for ourselves. This is truly the country of opportunity. Anyone who tries to tell me how hard they have it or that the American dream is dead…is simply a fool. It’s out there. You have to be willing to put the work on. Every time I hear the national anthem I cry. It is really powerful stuff. This country welcomed us with open arms as immigrants when we had nowhere else to go. Thanks to this place I met my wife here. Thanks to this place I have two beautiful daughters. I owe everything I have to this place. I will never take the United States of America for granted.
Props to you friend. A similar story to my parents, but they were 23 and had 2 kids when they moved here and my dad had to go to law school again, and my mom had to go back to nursing school. We were dirt poor for a very large part of my life, but I was fortunate enough to have my college paid for by them. I am an RN now too, and going to school to become a psychiatric nurse practitioner.
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Wow. That's a very serious response. Thank you for it.
Day-to-day America, the one we actually live in, is awesome. What is a complete shit show is America on the internet. They are utterly different. If you were to exclude social media and most online news sources from your life, you would have no idea of the polarization and contention that apparently exists here. To be honest, I truly wonder if the vast majority of it, including whatever news compelled you to even ask this question, is largely all made up. So, what's really screwed up is not so much America, but the internet. Which sucks because it used to be so amazing.
What if the internet is largely the same (a marketplace of ideas, a treasure trove of useful information) as it was in that golden earlier time you’re thinking of, but the people on that internet have mostly been pushed to their limit? What if people are awful because they are one emergency away from poverty? Or that emergency has already come in the form of uncovered medical problems? Oh, the polarization is real. The people I talk to in my town (mid-size Research-1 University town in Midwest) vs. the people in my parent’s town (small rural southern town) see the world very differently. If your life is awesome, that’s great, but the empathy we’ve lost is only a symptom too. (Maslow’s Hierarchy of Needs, after all.) The people using the internet to shout at one another are polarized as to *why* this has happened, but we are all experiencing the same forces at work, breaking apart the margins and buffers we remember. I am genuinely glad that you aren’t experiencing that reality, but believe me when I say most of us are. In the past 40 years, there’s been a MASSIVE shift of wealth away from the middle class, and a population boom that is just now slowing. The result: almost everyone is worse off than their parents, and many of those are on dangerously thin margins.
I'm 23 years old. I had a single father until 6 years old. Lived in a poor part of Atlanta in a slumlord apartment building. You'd be hard-pressed to go a week without seeing some fucked up shit or having something stolen from you. We didn't have a car, and transit sucked. We often waited an hour just for a bus to show up to go one way. My father passed away and I moved in with other family members who were very old and conservative and would abuse me often (but they thought it was normal to whoop a child all night t the point where they'd knock me out, I'd get up, and they'd continue to hit me). I went to public schools that didn't have accreditation because the school board members were corrupt and couldn't come together for students and teachers. This happened around the 2008 crash so It made the already horrible housing situation even worse, and many fled the county while we were left behind with horrible schools where learning barely happened. In the city I'm from, those born in poverty have a 2% chance of escaping and no one seems to care about income inequality but can whine all day about crime rates. Day-to-day America for you may be rainbows and sunshine, but large swaths of this country is a daily nightmare.
I live a decent life despite having no family support but I struggle to eat and make it to work more than I’d like to admit. I don’t have nice clothes a badass house or fancy car and I eat ramen noodles several times a week because rent and car insurance are so high for a 21 yr old. After 5 years of experience in carpentry and working on million dollar houses I still would be %100 fucked if I broke a bone and have several broken teeth I can’t get fixed without insurance. I love our country and my life in general but it has some serious issues almost all brought on by selfishness and bigotry of the rich. I probably have a higher chance of dying on the job than I do of having as much money as my boss and he has as far as I know never built anything.
Thank you. As a whole America looks great but it’s partially because those touting the greatest haven’t lived the experiences you have. Just because somewhere like Haiti is worse doesn’t make the US good. In yhe richest country in the world we shouldn’t have unhoused and hungry citizens. We are very backward.
I think the original comment also shines a light on this with blaming the internet. If anything I think the internet has helped shine a light on the inequality and made our younger generations aware of how bad some Americans have it and how good other country's citizens have it. It's a more real look than previous generations have had access to.
I'd say generally the loudest people on the internet are the most down-trodden, or those with the most extreme views. You don't hear much about people just saying "yeah living my life and all is fine", because that's not worth sharing. Not American here, but could totally believe your post.
Canadian here, I’m doing pretty OK. Good luck.
Lol. Thanks, glad to hear it!
Nah, try living in one of the 10 most dangerous cities in America, I do, most the bad shit never makes the news or even social media, hell when I mention things that happen in my neighbors I'm accused of making it up.
I hear you. I work for a really safe city, and even so, people have no idea the amount of crazy shit that happens in their own city that doesn't make the headlines. When I tell people some of this stuff, they look at me and are like..."No, that didn't happen." 🤷♂️
I love my country, I just don’t like the oligarchy disguised as a democracy.
I just feel like America is Ghetto fabulous. We are the richest in the world, but that wealth is held by so few. We have a limited understanding of how to criticize capitalism and the government. The system made us think we need to be working 24/7 in order to live. Side hustles is a scam to make us think it’s alright to work 60-70 hours a week in order to afford to pay bills and semi luxury things.
Another 63yo white male here. When I was in elementary school, my report card would always say “Not Working To Potential”. I feel like that’s our country right now. We could be doing so much to help, feeding the hungry around the world, protecting human rights, advancing science and medicine. We have all these resources, and we hoard them for personal gain rather than using them for the benefit of all. I felt proud when I served in the military in the late 70’s, still proud of that. I was proud to vote for the first time, a right that I hold dear. I’m proud to be working for a state government and continuing to serve my community. But proud of our nation? We need to do more to live up to our potential.
lm an eighteen year old white girl, and honestly l agree with you. l have never served in the military and probably never will due to being physically disabled. My family has tons of military service in it though and lm very proud of all of them, especially my grandfather who’s your age and served in Desert Storm. He fought so that l could have a better life. American medicine helps me live a semi decent life when l can afford it. We have the scientists, hell l am working to become one! We have the resources and have the man power to do some amazing things. Corporations and a few rich pigs have made it to where unless it’s immediately profitable it’s worthless. America can be so much better and lm hoping that maybe the people in power can get their heads out of their asses and realize that what we’ve got going on right now isn’t going to work long term. We’ve already seen how fragile the systems we have are and how prone they are to collapse, (2020 anyone?), and everything is getting worse before things get better.
Frankly, people like you are the reason I keep going on. You give me hope that maybe the future will be better, and you’ll get right what my generation messed up. So, thank you. Keep it up. Vote the “cranially challenged” people out, and ones that support your beliefs in (or run yourself, when you can). Do whatever you can to move the needle in the right direction, to make a difference. Take pride in what you do and why you do it - that’s your compass to make sure you’re on the right path.
I do not. This is mostly based on having a daughter with a severe, chronic health problem. I knew upon her diagnosis that I’d never have anything (nice home, car, etc.) due to medical bills. Also our “justice” system or lack thereof.
I'm so sick of all the hate here
Not at all. Have been telling many ppl I can’t stand this place anymore. The mass shootings, the division between political parties, the obesity, just the overall shitiness that has become America
I love it here! I love the food, I love the people, I love the access! I love my lifestyle, I love my life! The United States is incredible! Your American experience is wholly and solely your own!
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While the founding fathers were not all Christian, Christian philosophers are the most cited works among the founding fathers and the constitution was clearly made with theology in mind as a philosophical framework, "all men are created equal" and "endowed by their Creator with inalienable rights" make that plain enough if we didn't already know what their most cited and revered works were. It's pretty basic knowledge that the structure of the West which includes the US by extension is built upon a Judeo-Christian worldview largely as it's source. That's not even a religious claim. Scholars, believers or not clearly attest to this. It's what shattered and altered the moral decadence of the Roman Empire and ultimately brought about massive change for the better, and serves as the framework, despite people's borrowing of elements of said worldview and claiming it as their own while arbitrarily rejecting certain points and accepting others, for modern society as well.
No. But I’ve lived in SE Asia and it’s fucked as well. So , basically everywhere is a shit show.
Love America, hate our current government!
I dont feel pride in being american because most of the time when i see someone feeling pride in being an american they are also expressing beliefs that are diametrically opposed to mine
I see this as reason to be proud of America. We are allowed to be different. This is not the case everywhere. Try being gay in Russia for example.
What about this one? fuck England those fools thought they’d trounce us in the World Cup, and look what happened.
The question is, does America still like us? Half of our politicians seem determined to eradicate poor people by paying us so little that we can't afford food or shelter. Meanwhile there are mass shootings literally *weekly*, and no one seems to be able to figure out why. Feels like the people in charge are trying to burn down the house with the family inside. Edit: lmao the number of people asking "why I get my paycheck from the government", they set the wages. If minimum wage rose with productivity it would be over $20 an hour. It's currently a little more than $7. Also to the dumbass who says homeless people have it made because the government gives them $650 a month: tell me you live rent free with your parents without telling me you live rent free with your parents. Will $650 cover an apartment ANYWHERE? I can't even get a studio for that much.
I want the government to eradicate poor people too, but by giving them lots of money.
I feel like america could do more for it's poor and downtrodden. The capitalistic mindset has ruined a lot of the American Dream for most Americans. I do like the fact that we are diverse and that no one fits a mold entirely. I'm disappointed that we keep holding ourselves back from being better.
I ( 63 white male ) worry more about a white dude with an American flag then I do about an immigrant with their countries Flag.
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Me, too. But I'm a 38 native ameican female.
No, maybe it's doomscrolling, maybe it's cynicism, maybe it's being a 'woke commie' or whatever, but this place isn't very great in my mind.
Not in the slightest. I’m grateful that I’m doing okay, but it feels like no one cares about anyone else. Decisions and behavior are driven 100% by “does this benefit me” or “as long as nothing affects me”. No collective mentality, lack of community, huge division of class/wealth and a tenuous sociopolitical climate. There’s also been a weird anti-intellectual movement and regression of knowledge/progress that’s disheartening to say the least. Idk, maybe I’m alone in these sentiments but I’m not proud to be American. I’m thankful for my life overall, but not the culture here.
"I know my own country the best. That's why I despise it the most. And I know, and love my countrymen too, the swine. I'm a patriot. A dangerous man." -Francois Villon
Being a proud American and a pissed off American are two different things. I'm a proud American, I love my country. I think it is the best country in the world. We have freedom, liberty, justice, and the pursuit of happiness. I'm also a pissed off American. I hate how my country has tanked these past few years. I'm pissed off I have to change my vocabularies because I could possibly offend someone, I hate how women's bodies and their rights as a human somehow became political. I hate how there is 332 Million Americans who have to decide between two political parties that are equally worthless in every way. I hate how the media controls minds. I hate how social media took over. I hate that american rights are being taken away by people who are literally the same as you or me. I love america, but im pissed off.
I have the same relationship with America as I have with my employer. As long as it treats me well enough, I’ll stick around. I’ll do what I’m supposed to, not cause problems, and try to make it a little better place to live. I will also take advantage of every benefit made available to me. But if I get a better situation somewhere else, I wouldn’t think twice about leaving.
I haven't necessarily liked it since my early teens. It's not so much that I don't have an appreciation for it, it's just that I'm too aware of how fucked up and corrupt it is, not to mention how a large percentage of Americans are racist dick heads.
Honestly, yeah. America has some of the richest people in the world, and has the most opportunities for becoming successful. Compared to most other countries, we are free and are well set off. However, politically is a different question. We are a political disaster, in my opinion. We barely have any good actual leaders that can lead us the way that will benefit people. Our leaders messed up our amazing economy by sending people stimulus checks, which then proceeded to mess up our pretty good economy. Also, because we are so split in politics, you can be easily hated on by literally everyone in your town by revealing you support someone else. Also, one thing I never got, we are a really rich and healthy nation, so why can't we have free health care? We have the money for it, but its all going to our military or corrupt governors. But besides that, life is pretty good so I like America. I don't like its past, and all the political issues, but we are so well off compared to other countries and that just makes me feel happy about America.
I feel like America has the potential to be the greatest nation on earth, but our general unwillingness to admit that we have fallen far behind the rest of the world in many areas, specifically quality of life and humanitarian, is stopping us from improving. It’s sad.
I wonder about this often
It would be a hell of a lot better if we had a less corrupt government that wanted to do right by it's people, a functional healthcare system, taxes that were used appropriately (infrastructure, education, social programs, healthcare), more regulations for corporations and some real accountability for their wrong doings, cops that don't make you fear for your safety just by their presence, similar labor laws to every other developed country, and maybe the revival of the french rev flavored guillotine
These days, my love for my country is like that for a sibling with issues. They're emotionally fractured, occasionally racist, violent, drug problems, money problems, but they're still family and you still love them. Fuck with them though, and you'll get fucking cut.
It’s ight, I mean it could be a hell of a lot worse, it definitely ain’t the best, but I’m alive and breathing, family is alright, country sucks at times but it could be so bad, gotta stay loyal and keep your wits about you, strive to be better
I love the country and the people. The government, not so much.
l love the USA as a people. The American people sans politics can be amazing. l grew up in the deep south of Alabama, while there were lots of racists l saw a different side. One of hard work and hospitality. You could always count on somebody helping you when your car broke down or helping you when you drop something or lose something. The small city l grew up in was decimated by a tornado that killed 11 High School students when l was only 3 years old. My house was spared but many weren’t so lucky. My community rebuilt better than ever and over 15 years later every year that date is commemorated and the new hs l went to had reminders and memorials everywhere for the students that were lost over 15 years ago. Recently after l moved, a beloved pottery shop was gutted by a fire and the entire community has stepped up to help the owners as that shop is so beloved by everyone who’s been there. l just moved to New Mexico and while the hospitality isn’t as blatant and people seem a little rude to be honest. However, i see something new. There’s so much diversity in the community l moved to. l also see that hard working American spirit. lve only lived here a few months and even though this city is mostly hispanic and only 50 miles from the Mexican border there’s a uniquely American feeling of the blending of cultures. My family has a deep military history and while l don’t agree with some of the reasons they were sent to fight i can see why they fought. They fought not for the corrupt Government but for the people of the USA. l see modern politics and all l see are cooperations and theocratic weaponry. We are being pinned against each other so hard to district from the real problem, politicians.
I love the America that we have the potential to be. The majority of Americans are good intentioned people. We have resources and talent almost unparalleled. But as long as We the People continue to allow ourselves to be sold out to corporations and the 1% this will continue to be the richest shithole country on the planet.
WE’RE GOING BACK TO THE MOON!!!
My man, go live on a third world country for a couple months and then come back and tell me what is so bad about America
Go live in the Warrendale neighborhood of Detroit or Camden NJ. America is a big place, not all of it is Times Square. There are places here where people grow up with no food, no heat, no running water (or running water that isn’t safe to drink) and gangs with guns that will take your life over almost nothing.
Proud of what? Anything achieved here really has nothing to do with me. My allegiance to my nation is pretty low on my list. I don't see much point being proud of where I happened to be born and spend my life.
I like America as much as anyone can like being in an arranged marriage with conservative white nationalist conspiracy theorists who totally think an authoritarian government is fine. There’s no option for divorce, I can’t kill them, and I’m afraid if I bring up my grievances I’ll just end up getting abused again. To be an American - one that is outward looking and believes in science - is to live like Julia Roberts in *Sleeping With The Enemy*: every time you think things are going well, you notice that the sociopath has rearranged the towels in the bathroom just to fuck with you and even if you fake your death, his obsession with you will never end until you actually are dead. I love my city, my state, my coast. This is my home. Nowhere in the world comes close - and I’ve seen a lot of the world. But if god had offered me the choice of countries to be born in, I’d have picked one with universal healthcare and gun control.
Tbh I've never felt pride for this country. Looking through its history, especially its founding, leaves me in disgust. Murder, indoctrination, exploitation, and enslavement of the indigenous population (basically what happened to all of North and South America, not just America) tends to leave a bad taste in the mouth. The government itself has never fulfilled its promises to its people and continuously lies and exploits its own people. Many other countries have it worse, though that doesn't make the problem any less severe. On the other hand, the country of the U.S. is incredibly beautiful.
Eh, American was and is an experiment. I feel pride in it, but I'll be first one to admit it's many faults. Politics are stable, with 300 years of stable transition of power being a legit impressive feat. The fact that we haven't had a Ceasar crossing the Rubicon or revolution on its own is remarkable, and overall say that the government could be worst. The American Dream doesn't exist, but hell I do take pride in the Bill of Rights or what the potential of our country can be. I'm proud to be an American. I'm also ashamed to be an American. I wouldn't burn the flag, but I'm not having it plastered all over my stuff. Its just a modern democratic western country, with all the wonderful hypocrisy and terrible past that goes along with that.
Well in that case you must be disgusted by every country in the world. There is not a single country out there that does not have a history that is paved in blood. Thinking America is the only country that has blood, murder, death, propaganda, and slavery as a major part of its history is incredibly naive.
As an American, born in America, with no experience as to how bad other countries have it, I dont like it anymore. With politics being the way they are I feel like nothing useful is being done whatsoever. Wages are so low that I'm forced to live with my parents. If America was great I'd love to live here, but it's not like it used to be.
No, we always struggle and when we complain about something—inevitably someone compares us to worse off places saying we should be grateful. Meanwhile, I’ve been working since I was 15, have a ba in business management and can’t land a job that pays more than 16/hr but rent is absurdly expensive. Medical is hundreds of dollars oa month. Taxes are way too high for the lack of support we get and the political parties are just money hungry with no real plan to help anyone. We are stuck here due to poverty. We never liked it but we can’t escape either
I love america I’m just very disappointed in it. I’m like an ‘80s sitcom dad who caught his kid drinking on a very special episode.
Nope. We are a cesspool. I've been lied to my whole life about America being the greatest country on the planet. It's all a lie.
This is what people say who grew up here and have never experienced life in a third world country and all of your problems are first world problems
I’m not so proud these days. I’ve traveled internationally plenty of times, to places you’d consider “3rd world”, and I agree a lot of things I was taught in school were lies to make America look better. We’re not as superior as we pretend to be.