Opinions about america, NOT A PISSING MATCH BETWEEN PRO AND ANTI
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MrP
Banned
In yankland, that's called "commuting"...
In the UK that's called going to see a mate with a problem. And picking up another mate to help with the consoling en route. Ain't nothing else would make me drive that far!
In the UK that's called going to see a mate with a problem. And picking up another mate to help with the consoling en route. Ain't nothing else would make me drive that far!
MrP, this is why we have things called trains...
That, and busses and taxies...
Yankland is sooo big, they need to use planes...
MrP
Banned
MrP, this is why we have things called trains...
That, and busses and taxies...
Yankland is sooo big, they need to use planes...
I knew a fella took a plane from London to Edinburgh as 'twas cheaper.
Taxis? Are you suggesting a taxi drive of 1,080 miles? I'm revising upward my estimation of your wealth, AE.
Taxis? Are you suggesting a taxi drive of 1,080 miles? I'm revising upward my estimation of your wealth, AE.
From the train station to one's final destination, old boy...
MrP
Banned
From the train station to one's final destination, old boy...
I refuse to understand your words as you mean them and will instead put my own gloss on them.
I refuse to understand your words as you mean them and will instead put my own gloss on them.
Spoken like a true Saeson...
MrP
Banned
Spoken like a true Saeson...
No time for that now, Welshman! Hitler's on the loose again!
MrP
Banned
To the ... wait, why did you have to call the bentley that, Englishman?
What's wrong with the name, Welshman?
As my poli sci proffessor said at the Point the world is divided into groups
1. Those currently at the top of the food chain
2. Those formerly on top whining about the actions of group 1
3. Those who want to be on top and suffering at the hands of groups 1&2
After a close examination of the record it has been determined by a large margin that this is the way of the world and men. Now the US is no worse than any other Empire in it's maintnence of power and in fact is not nearlly as bad as some people here want us to be. In fact the US press does more America bashing than anybody else.
As for driving distances here well yes there huge,Though the average commute is only 20-30 mins,and part of the fun is driving long distance and seeing what you would just miss if you took a plane.
1. Those currently at the top of the food chain
2. Those formerly on top whining about the actions of group 1
3. Those who want to be on top and suffering at the hands of groups 1&2
After a close examination of the record it has been determined by a large margin that this is the way of the world and men. Now the US is no worse than any other Empire in it's maintnence of power and in fact is not nearlly as bad as some people here want us to be. In fact the US press does more America bashing than anybody else.
As for driving distances here well yes there huge,Though the average commute is only 20-30 mins,and part of the fun is driving long distance and seeing what you would just miss if you took a plane.
And that says a lot about the USA - and this thread as well. They live in a country, yet they claim for themselves an entire continent.
Maybe sometime in the future they'll realize that imperialism is not seen with good eyes in most parts of the world. And perhaps that day they'll understand much more what's going on outside their borders.
I think the problem with the US is that they are a little to much concerned about themselves. a few weeks ago I read an article which said that 15% of American children can't find the US on a map, 25% can't find Russia, and 95% can't find the Netherlands. the last one is understandable, but the others are not good. I'm not trying to insult the yanks, believe me. Europe should be grateful for all the American lives sacrificed for our freedom, altough that was sixty years ago.
I think up until 2001 or so the US was the stongest country in the world, but since then, it has gone downhill.
On the other side, they are a democracy. if they had been a Fascist Dictatorship, the world would have had much more trouble.
Background: Dutch male grown up in the middle class, degree in Biologic Laboratory Research.
I think up until 2001 or so the US was the stongest country in the world, but since then, it has gone downhill.
On the other side, they are a democracy. if they had been a Fascist Dictatorship, the world would have had much more trouble.
Background: Dutch male grown up in the middle class, degree in Biologic Laboratory Research.
Since when did we claim it? We just call ourselves Americans, and considering the name of our country, the United States of America, there aren't exactly many other (polite) ways to shorten that.
And besides, I'd like you to define imperialism, just so I know where you define it. You'd be surprised how many South American nations can be accused of "imperialism" depending on the definition.
The thing about that, though, is that it applies more or less to all countries. So it's no more an American problem than, say, debt as a percentage of the economy.
Besides, I'm going to ask you to find that article, because I want to know what age groups they're talking about, and the details. "American children" can encompass anything from 1st to 3rd grade to 1st to 12th grade to 9-12, and so on. Considering geography is more a middleschool/highschool subject, which makes sense considering that that's about the age American children start paying attention to the news and events around them, I'm skeptical on calling it a serious problem. To a student who neither knows or cares who the president is (I only really started to remember in 1997, when I was 8), why should foreign geography matter? Especially when the US is bigger than the entire European Union, and has fifty states that everyone is supposed to learn? (After all, how many foreign students are taught the 50 states?)
Jaded_Railman
Banned
Would you believe that that attitude is older than the country? Before the 1760's the individual British colonies didn't like each other very much and often didn't get along very well. However, after the traditional period of 'salutary neglect' ended, British interference in the running of the colonies created almost from scratch a common American identity and a dislike of outsiders telling us what's right
Karlos said:
Well now, I've never heard of this 'America' continent. There's a North America, and there's a South America, but no 'America'.
Honestly, anybody can call us whatever they want (to tell the truth, it's often in a foreign language so we can't tell the difference, anyway), but I hope nobody gets offended when we continue to call ourselves Americans. It's accurate and it's not like we've got any other name for ourselves (and no, USians or United Statians don't work, they're stupid PC terms made up by people who would think Fahrenheit 451 isn't actually that bad an idea).
You know, one I was at school, they allways told me there was one continent, "America", which was divided in three subcontinents (North America, Central America, and South America). Mexico was considered part of North America.
It was only quite recently that I learned that in the USA they spoke of TWO continents, North America and South America. I believe I learned this during the Fifth Summit of the Americas, which was translated as "Cumbre de las Americas" in Spanish. That was probably the first time I heard the word "America" in plural (Americas).
Of course both division are equally arbitrary. I wonder which prevails in Europe.
Something else: I'm curious, for you, where does North America ends?
No problem at all for my part.
One thing most people is that are states are larger then a lot of countries .
LEts take Norbort he has to dive for over two hrs to vist his folks at there home . Here in Michigan we talk of how long the drive is in hrs not in miles .
Sometimes you have to rember is how large our country is .
Think of the average farm here is about 250 acres in the midwest . How large our your average farms in other countrys .
LEts take Norbort he has to dive for over two hrs to vist his folks at there home . Here in Michigan we talk of how long the drive is in hrs not in miles .
Sometimes you have to rember is how large our country is .
Think of the average farm here is about 250 acres in the midwest . How large our your average farms in other countrys .
Maybe, but, as the US is much more powerful than any other country, and as the politicians the Americans choose make decisions that affect every single country, it is esential that they are very well informed about what lays outside their own country.
Once I met a Korean girl who didn't know in which continent my country was (well she fought it was in Europe!), if it was communist or not, or why on Earth we spoke Spanish (when I told her it was in South America and we spoke Spanish). But since South Korea is not going to make any relevant decission affecting US, I really don't care much.
But, if somebody from the US had said this, it would have been different. Why? Because if the Americans don't know basic international geography, they cannot make well-founded decisions on the country's foreign politics. They might thus support leaders who come up with solutions they themself wouldn't have supported if they had been well informed. And this IS relevant for everybody in the world, unfortunatelly.
I mean, once I read on National Geographic that a significant percentage of Americans couldn't place Iraq on the map. This was well after the US invantion of Iraq. I was shocked, because, if the study was right, many of those who didn't know were Irak was were in favour of the war. I wondered how could you support your army's invading a country you didn't know were it is in the first place. If you didn't know even this (not to mention the rest: the political situation, the religious groups, the nature of the regime, etc), how could you know it was right to invade in the first place?