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Post by sweetnsexy on Jan 16, 2005 10:45:55 GMT -8
There are so many different political views in the US, and a never ending war as everyone has their own beliefs.. this thread is to ask you, (all politcal lines to the side for now) what do you like about this country, what do you think could be better, and what would you like to see done? SweetNSexy Cheers
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Post by barneypwnz on Jan 16, 2005 12:15:59 GMT -8
Only a few major things I want done. Minors given the right to gamble. Pull out of the Iraqi war. I am sort of a rebuclican, but don't like Bush. Perhaps I am more of an independant. I think there is a large handful of things that can be improved and/or changed to any country. I'll wait for other opinions so I can contridict them Barney
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Post by sweetnsexy on Jan 16, 2005 21:06:11 GMT -8
ok fair enough barney. im with you on the gambling thing... as long as it doesnt get out of hand.
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Post by studlyrocker38 on Jan 17, 2005 18:01:16 GMT -8
I like how we are governed and have laws that are set to protect us, but we still have the a lot of free will to use, and have many different ways we can flourish in our skills and what not. I can't really say what I really like about the United States, because I can't really compare to any other country. I've only been to Canada and Mexico. Compared to Canada, I didn't really ever noticed a difference in my short time there, and Mexico is a third world country, and so there are many things that are better about my life in the US, then someone's life there. I'm young, I don't really know much about what's going to be happening in the future when I don't have my parents supporting me, but I don't really disagree with anything that affects me directly. The war does if you go into it deep enough, but overall, I have no friends/relatives in the war, and I can't serve, so there's nothing that is affecting me truly right now.
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Post by barneypwnz on Jan 17, 2005 19:44:31 GMT -8
Sweet - Explain how you think it could get out of hand (gambling right). Rock on StudlyRocker! You are completely right about the countries and the subtle differences. Yeah, Mexico is a third-world country and Canada isn't that different from the U.S. You were also right about saying that there is no country in the world that is like ours. So yeah, I don't have any relations to the war in Iraq either but it is still worse for us than the Iraqis. I'm not even going to begin stating the negatives but I think we all know that they're there. Another thing I wanted to point out. I think that we should be able to go to Area 51 - near Las Vegas. What does our own government have to hide from us? Yeah.
Barney
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Post by sweetnsexy on Jan 19, 2005 21:27:05 GMT -8
Answering Barney: As you may or may not know, gambling can be addictive for alot of people, and has wrecked alot of homes. i think that gambling is ok as long as their are still some restrictions on it. for example a person might only be able to lose so much money in a month depending on what their income is. also some help programs for compulsive gamblers... that sort of thing. Regarding other countries: I am taking a sociology class right now, and our current topic is viewing things from a sociologists perspective. having been born and raised in the US (or other country), we have only been exposed to our own culture, ideas, and ways of life. so much so, that our actual culture as americans is imperceptible to us. we have nothing to compare it to... our closest neighbors are mexico and canada, and their were some points made about how we cant really compare those either. Now imagine that you are picked up and thrust into a completely new culture. your first thoughts will be what sociologists call Ethnocentrism which means basically that we use our own culture as a yardstick for measuring other cultures, which has both a positive and negative effect. on the positive, it causes us to have a great deal of pride in our own culture, but on the negative, it can cause descrimination against cultures that are not our own. Now here you find yourself in a completely new culture, (lets say the islamic cultures of the middle east), and all of a sudden you notice that their ideas and ways of life are nothing like our own. this mind blowing experience is called culture shock. for example, in america we have lines for tickets. in morrocco, there is no such thing... its whoever can push and shove their way to the front first. while the people contained within the 2 cultures both believe that thier way is right, neither is or isnt... its right for the people that belong to that culture. Now you said that your glad to be an american, and there is no other country in the world like ours... well your right. America is the right place for me and i wouldnt want to live in any other country, because im not sure i could overcome the culture shock. Area 51: Its not just civilians that cant go in... its most everyone. My dad used to be in the airforce, and when he was stationed at Las Vegas, they told him he could not fly over this specific area in the desert, or he would be shot down. there is an important reasoning for this. if we are developing new technologies that have never been seen before, that can help the US maintain its world superiority, then you cant let just anyone have access... no telling who could be a spy. Other Notes: I have yet to really see anyone who has something to say about what they dont like about the US. So if everyone likes it here, then y all the fussing all the time about how bad things are?? SweetNSexy Cheers!
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Post by sweetnsexy on Jan 25, 2005 19:22:39 GMT -8
i figured that more people would have something to say what a shame....
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Post by barneypwnz on Jan 25, 2005 20:04:41 GMT -8
-.- You kinda started a broad subject. Most people don't want to take the time to analyze themselves and see what they think about their countries. There are tons of events going on that I think most people would like to see stopped or put on hold. There are tons of wonderful things about this country; otherwise many people would not be here. Asking people what they would like to see be done, well that is kind of a hard thing to see. Err, maybe not, but at least for me, and that could also see why alot of people aren't really replying. Or, maybe nobody wants to see anything done (doubt it though). Studly did a good job though!
So don't be down about the replies. It's not really something that people can... really debate on, except under a few exepctions, but how can you have that without the people? I jumped on this immediately because I was hoping to debate, or, at the time I was. Yeah, so, maybe it'll kick up later. I've seen alot of threads like that.
Barney
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Post by sweetnsexy on Jan 26, 2005 19:25:55 GMT -8
how about you and i start debating about something barney and maybe others will join? yea its a broad subject so maybe we need to find something that narrows it down to start with. im tired of talking about the war, and also tired of just straight up democratic vs republican oppinion. so lets start with something... more... broad minded. like education in america. in my opinion... its not what it should be... and no matter how much money we put into it... it never will be unless we take a look at other countries school systems. thats just a start.... i have more
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Post by navyceals on Jan 26, 2005 23:25:38 GMT -8
Lol well I'll tell you one large reason why your not getting a whole lot of opinions on this thread, [glow=red,2,300]NEWS FLASH[/glow] not everyone is an American! Some of the biggest contributors here are probably Australian and Canadian, not counting our American host.
Having said that, i'm sure we could offer opinions on the good 'Ole US of A, since unlike sweetnsexy's nice little sociology lesson on why Americans don't know any cultures but their own, other countries are a little more multicultural.
I guess a main thing to debate would be the leadership of the country, since that really sets its direction, but I think everyone's had their say on the other threads in this section!
So.. sure let's look at education, it's been said that no matter how much money you put into it, it won't be enough, well I think making Education more universal would be a sweet start. It's amazing that you can have schools that charge prices like $30,000 a semester in the US and you can get a better education in Canada and at prices like $3,000 a semester. I'll be hard pressed to pay 5-6 grand a semester for university, how could I ever get an education in the US at 60 grand a year??? So if a lot of money was pumped into the system, making university affordable for everyone, I think that would be a great start.
NavY_Ceals
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Post by sweetnsexy on Jan 27, 2005 4:19:15 GMT -8
holy crap!
you actually read my sociology lesson?!?! i figured it was so long no one would bother! yea we americans arent that "multi-cutural", probably because we think our country is so good that we dont need anyone elses.
which brings me back to the point.
one example i can think of is my friend mohamed rehan jehangiri. he is from pakistan originally, but grew up in the UAE (United Arab Emerites).
in grade school in the UAE rehan learned 3 languages on top of the 2 he already knew. he spoke urdu and arabic first, and in school learned english, french, and hindi. he speaks them all fluently, and when i first met him, i did not even think he was a foreigner. his accent is american. all this from a public school.
i took 3 years of spanish in high school, and can barely speak any bit of the language. this is one example of how we could learn from other countries school's. i know other countries are similar to the UAE. Russia for 1. time for america to stop acting so stuck up?
Sweet!
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Post by navyceals on Jan 27, 2005 14:53:58 GMT -8
Lol well on this one I'm going to go the other way. Nah I think that in regards to languages, english is all you need to know. English is the international language of trade. To the people who do know other languages, they probably have some sort of advantage with some things, but overall an emphasis on learning another language should not become a priority. As you said you took spanish in school, I took french in school, but I think it was just a waste, I would have loved to have had another political course instead!
In regards to those other countries that learn multible languages I fully support that, since as I've stated English is the international language and if you don't have it you'll be hampered. If things were to change, so as to not have english being the dominant language, than, I would support learning that new language!
NavY_Ceals
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Post by sweetnsexy on Jan 27, 2005 17:28:57 GMT -8
thats a good point. i was simply using language as an example of how their school systems are better than ours. i wish that my spanish classes had taught me better due to the fact that i live in a part of the US where spanish is prodominatly spoken. i guess in a way we should sink more money into the school systems because teachers are underpaid as it is, but i dont think thats going to improve the overall quality of learning all that much. i still think there is alot we can learn from other countries. its become a problem that amerians are so self absorbed. thats one thing that we take alot of ridicule for.
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Post by barneypwnz on Jan 27, 2005 17:41:20 GMT -8
You got it NavY. English really is the only language anyone needs to know, as far as communicating with the United States and getting things from other western providers. However, if you live a simple life in a part of the world that isn't really...invloved, so to speak, such as a really small island in Greece! I don't really remember the name, but there's a really large sea with hundereds of little islands. They probably have little knowledge there is a U.S. So yeah, English is only necessary for use in the modern world.
AS for putting more money in education... It would be a complete waste. Schools are so downhill, it's almost funny if it wasn't for all the teen pregnancies, teen drug use, and teen suicide. There is so much swearing, violence, gossip, and such content in movies that is desomating the school system. I know that all this isn't the majority, but man it's sure annoying.
My town recently had voted on a school levy. The first time around, it didn't pass. It was going to be an extra few hundred dollars a year (taxes and such) that is supposed to go to new supplies, new buses, and the savings of teachers (they were going to fire some teachers and other staff). Okay, so they weren't satisfied, so they held ANOTHER levy in just weeks after the first one failed. The first time, I urged my mom not to vote yes because I knew first hand how useless it was going to be. She reluctantly did. The second time, she didn't care what I thought because we both realized that it would increase property value. It's been a few months after the levy. What has improved? About less than anything they said would (slightly larger buses, but who really cares? They were fine before). And I think the teachers are still there, although there has to be a staff cut sometime. I don't really know what to say. Many of the schools in my district recieve a whole bunch in donations and volunteering by parents. And, to top it off, there is a fairly large number of "special" students in the district. I'm not saying they're bad or anything, but some of them really can't function and they're not learning anything. When they get older, they'll probably have to have a nurse at all times to feed, bathe, etc,... And that is what are taxes go to, from people all over the country.
Not all places to get an education are 60K NavY. I understand there are some cheap and some expensive colleges in both Canada and U.S. My cousin, who does live in Toronto, goes to his university for 3K a year, or something close to that. There's a program that I'm going to take advantage of, little hard to explain if anyone cares I'll say it later, but about the program it takes place at a community college for just about the same price as my cousin's. And these are U.S. dollars. So, you can go to Harvard for an unreasonably expensive amount of money and a good education, or go the cheap route but still recieve a good education for a fraction of the price. I will edit later, again. Gotta go.
Barney
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Post by navyceals on Jan 28, 2005 15:05:02 GMT -8
Yes I agree that there are other smaller, community colleges in the US that offer cheaper education, which of course is good and were started for this exact problem. Yet, obviously those grads will not be accepted as highly as a grad from a 60k a year school. You were saying that your cousin in Canada pays 3k a year, which is probably slightly low, but for 5 or 6 thousand a year in Canada you can go to the TOP universities, which rank top in the world. So basically if you try hard, anyone can go to the top schools here, obviously a financial obstacle would stop someone from doing that in the US. Even if you had to get loans to pay for school up here, that might add up to 20-30 grand for your degree, which is a lot, but if you were in debt for a degree in the US? That would be pretty crazy!
I know a person in Idaho and he's in debt $200,000 and he can't even pay the monthly amounts, luckily the government did realize that it was impossible to pay that much monthly, so they did cut down how much he had to pay monthly. But he'll be paying that for a long time (that's like a house).
NavY_Ceals
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