Are you happy the direction of your country is going?

[Anime Forum]

Inspired by a thread on MaL.

Well, folks. Are you happy the direction of your country is going? What are things you'd like to see operate different from the country you hail from?

Explain.

[Яequiem]

No, honestly I think the US is a craphole and it'll be heading into a civil war within the next 10-20 years. People always go on about how great our country is and all of that but honestly, if I had the opportunity I would gladly move to another country.

[Zainox]

No. That is all.

[Sympathy]

i don't pay attention to the major events and policies of my country. i can tell you Obama was a huge disappointment, though. he made so many promises that fell through. and it's because of him that a republican will probably win the presidency during the next election. he's a cool dude and all, easily the coolest president we've ever had (Clinton is a close second) but he's doing a lot of sht that he'd have said he opposed during the general run. it's a running joke is America that Obama has a console at his desk where he controls drones, firing missiles at targets without any oversight.

oh well, at least we didn't get McCain/Palin. god we'd be the laughing stock of the world... wait i think we are that already...

[sunnyside]

I wonder if it's a downside of democracies that people tend to be unhappy with the way things are. It's so much easier to get people on your side by getting them upset at the other guy that everything is essentially negative. And if people start liking how things are they tend to stop volunteering or donating to elections, so you have to keep the pressure on. Here in the US the democrats/liberals are winning on all fronts, it's only a question of how quickly they're gaining ground. But from my experience they're none the happier about the overall direction of things. Granted we're kind of going broke as a nation, so on the fiscal front there's that...

News tends to go negative as well when it doesn't have some state control/censorship. I'd be curious to see what a graph of freedom of the press in a country vs the percent of the population that likes the directions it's heading looks like.

[Nekogami]

Long ago I was happy with the direction of my country, but maybe because I was still innocent.

1. Prime Minister won election by cheating.
2. He said prices (of all sorts) will go down after election.
3. 2 months later, oil, electricity, basically cost of living peak up.
4. People went on protest and the government called them traitors. (What the actual f)
5. Letting fellow ministers' companies to take over some big job and monopolize it, lots.

It's a small country. but the cost of living is grozit high.

Hell I'm not happy now.

[Nanobyte]

ITT: Cleverly disguised American complaining thread. :^)

In all seriousness, I just hope we won't become Sweden 2.0.

[Яequiem]

Long ago I was happy with the direction of my country, but maybe because I was still innocent.

1. Prime Minister won election by cheating.
2. He said prices (of all sorts) will go down after election.
3. 2 months later, oil, electricity, basically cost of living peak up.
4. People went on protest and the government called them traitors. (What the actual f)
5. Letting fellow ministers' companies to take over some big job and monopolize it, lots.

It's a small country. but the cost of living is grozit high.

Hell I'm not happy now.

What country is this?

[Nekogami]

What country is this?

Malaysia. That one country that nobody ever look at.

[sunnyside]

ITT: Cleverly disguised American complaining thread. :^)

We're actually fairly cosmopolitan here, with a fair number of countries represented. I like that about this forum.

Sort of on that note, maybe I feel good about the direction my country is headed relative to how others are doing. It's kind of a rough time in a lot of places at the moment. I suppose some countries lucked out with the quantities of mineral resources relative to their population or something like that.

[DeathBlade/13.666]

Malaysia. That one country that nobody ever look at.

You're more looked at then Slovenia and Slovakia.

[Nekogami]

You're more looked at then Slovenia and Slovakia.

Probably because of those airplanes.

[Mystelinth]

I don't even know what my country is doing! //10

[DeathBlade/13.666]

Probably because of those airplanes.

That and the tag on products saying "Made in Malaysia".

[ZombieWolf2508]

Psh

My country is a cocky, know-it-all bully who won't stay out of others' business and is so far up on it's high horse that it thinks the world worships it. It acts like it does the world a favor by butting into every conflict and pressuring it's own beliefs on others, yet doesn't even realize that half the world despises it. It can't see the forest for the trees and it can't smell it's own crap on it's knees.

Tl;dr: Totally, wooo, go country, 'murica.


Oh yeah, and I love how voting for a president is so important that people complain if you don't vote, because our votes matter, right? Nope. Our votes don't determine the next president. The Electoral College decides that. Citizen votes don't affect the presidency. The Electoral College of each state votes. So no, citizen votes don't matter.

[DeathBlade/13.666]

Should stay on topic though.


If America actually had a direction, then I could like or dislike it. Being that our government and industries seem to be hellbent on keeping the country in mere cycles, all I can really say is boehica. And people wonder why America isn't the great nation it used to be (if it ever was that great to begin with).

[ZombieWolf2508]

Should stay on topic though.


If America actually had a direction, then I could like or dislike it. Being that our government and industries seem to be hellbent on keeping the country in mere cycles, all I can really say is boehica. And people wonder why America isn't the great nation it used to be (if it ever was that great to begin with).

I'd say it was great arounf the times of the industrial revolution, when we were actually ahead of every other country on everything.

[sunnyside]

If America actually had a direction, then I could like or dislike it. Being that our government and industries seem to be hellbent on keeping the country in mere cycles, all I can really say is boehica. And people wonder why America isn't the great nation it used to be (if it ever was that great to begin with).

A lot of our systems are inherently cyclic. But we still have a sort of net direction. Kind of like how the winds are spiraling in a cyclone but the thing as a while still moves along a certain path. See below.

I'd say it was great arounf the times of the industrial revolution, when we were actually ahead of every other country on everything.

People say stuff like that. But the US still had slavery going on back then.

When questions like the one in this thread come up the general trajectory on civil rights issues never seems to actually make anybody happy.

The US is still number one for GDP and military might. Those might be going down relatively. But in part that's because we're buying fair trade coffee and not claiming islands for ourselves anymore. You'd that that should be making somebody happy.

Does the US get points for being the center of the blogosphere and the twitterverse? Coke and Big Macs conquering strip malls all around the globe? Olympic gold and driving around on Mars?

Is this a hipster thing and one can only like the direction their country is going ironically?

[DeathBlade/13.666]

I'd say it was great arounf the times of the industrial revolution, when we were actually ahead of every other country on everything.

Yes, but the last half century (short of a few great accomplishments) seems to have been squandered over petty arguments that, imo, should have never been an issue anyways.
Still, we are a major superpower and a leader of nations. I just wish we'd act like it at least a little sometimes.

A lot of our systems are inherently cyclic. But we still have a sort of net direction. Kind of like how the winds are spiraling in a cyclone but the thing as a while still moves along a certain path. See below.

A crooked squiggly circle is still not a direction.

People say stuff like that. But the US still had slavery going on back then.

Not quite. Most of our industrial revolution was after 1865 and after the 13th-15th Amendments were ratified into law. Still in much of that time period blacks were still treated like crap, segregated, had to deal with extensive racism, and forced to survive on pittance rather than a proper wage. But at least they were free.

When questions like the one in this thread come up the general trajectory on civil rights issues never seems to actually make anybody happy.

As well it shouldn't. But that's just my opinion.

The US is still number one for GDP and military might. Those might be going down relatively. But in part that's because we're buying fair trade coffee and not claiming islands for ourselves anymore. You'd that that should be making somebody happy.

A GDP with 17-18% of it being pissed away on not even a 3rd rate health care system(meanwhile other nations are spending less and receiving better), more stupid toys that only military recruiters can use to show how "cool" the military is (instead of replacing the aging systems, vehicle platforms, and general infrastructure of the U.S.), weapons that we may never use, and still we can't manage to simply agree to a budget without crashing (or trying to crash) the government, mainly because someone "doesn't like the president and/or his party".

Does the US get points for being the center of the blogosphere and the twitterverse? Coke and Big Macs conquering strip malls all around the globe? Olympic gold and driving around on Mars?

Doubt it, as nice as they are, they have little to do with everyday life (unless you make them physically or mentally apart of your life).

Is this a hipster thing and one can only like the direction their country is going ironically?

Part of irony is it's hilarity. We've stopped laughing in the '80s.

[sunnyside]

A crooked squiggly circle is still not a direction.

Aw. I thought it was a good simile.

I mean like:

with the spinning but with overall direction over time.

Maybe tacking into the wind would be more fitting as our system structure tends to have us alternating between veering politically to the left and right though with a general direction. However I don't think enough people know how to sail to use it.

Not quite. Most of our industrial revolution was after 1865 and after the 13th-15th Amendments were ratified into law.

I'd consider that the technological revolution (sometimes called the second industrial revolution). But I guess it's been a while since that class and maybe they meant that time period anyway.

As well it shouldn't. But that's just my opinion.

Ok. I'm not sure if we're miscommunicating or not (you do indicate you're in Alabama). Are you saying that you do not like the direction and the changes that our country had made and is making in civil rights regarding minorities, women, orientations, etc?

A GDP with 17-18% of it being pissed away on not even a 3rd rate health care system(meanwhile other nations are spending less and receiving better)

Well, it's less equitable, but by many metrics bettter...and certainly better for some. Although the direction we're going is Obamacare so I suppose it depends on if you like moving closer to one payer or not. Again I'd expect somebody to be happy about that. Do we not have any liberals on this forum?

and still we can't manage to simply agree to a budget without crashing (or trying to crash) the government, mainly because someone "doesn't like the president and/or his party".

That's not the reason. But we are in increasing fiscal trouble with entitlement programs we can't pay for in the long run (or in the short run without some painful reductions elsewhere or tax hikes). So on that front I get people on all sides not liking the countries direction.

Doubt it, as nice as they are, they have little to do with everyday life (unless you make them physically or mentally apart of your life).

Part of irony is it's hilarity. We've stopped laughing in the '80s.[/QUOTE]

[Clayton_n]

Absolutely. The governments collapsing and when it does I'll be able to ditch democracy (A flawed system at best) and take over. People are finally getting over that silly Christian religion. We've focused most of our hatred on bigots.


Seriously it gets better by the day. If we just had those matter rearranging machines from Star Trek we'd all be good.




---------- Post added at 05:54 PM ---------- Previous post was at 02:23 PM ----------

[Albear]

Probably because of those airplanes.

Yep. The whole world had their eyes on Malaysia for almost 2 months.

On topic, I don't know all the things our government is planning, but cost of living is still reasonable for me. So I don't really have problems.

[DeathBlade/13.666]

Aw. I thought it was a good simile.

I mean like:

with the spinning but with overall direction over time.

Maybe tacking into the wind would be more fitting as our system structure tends to have us alternating between veering politically to the left and right though with a general direction. However I don't think enough people know how to sail to use it.

It's not a bad one, but you assume we're maintaining some general ideal or concept of a direction. Whereas I am of the opinion that the direction we are seeing is merely either a fallacy or a short term direction only to end up repeating the same cycle again in the long term.

I'd consider that the technological revolution (sometimes called the second industrial revolution). But I guess it's been a while since that class and maybe they meant that time period anyway.

Technically you are correct, but the U.S. was a bit further behind on both from War of 1812 as well as the Mexican-American War and later the Civil War. In actuality, our inventions were still caught up with the rest of the world, but in practical use we were further behind due to the wars and a controversial railroad infrastructure. And Thus much of our reconstruction era was simply catching up and healing old wounds until the 1880's and almost the 1900's.

Ok. I'm not sure if we're miscommunicating or not (you do indicate you're in Alabama). Are you saying that you do not like the direction and the changes that our country had made and is making in civil rights regarding minorities, women, orientations, etc?

What does being from Alabama have to do with anything? Nevertheless, the point I was making is that "the general trajectory of civil rights issues never tend to actually make anybody happy" is true, and in my opinion it shouldn't. Why, because as human beings we still have a long way to go before any of our rights are truly equal or civil. But this holds true for all things that evolve as the culture of a species does. So because we've got a black president or even if we had a woman, gay, latino, or even a Native American (which I would love to see) as a president, doesn't mean that the bigotry in our culture and misunderstandings of stereotypes are gone or lessened.

Well, it's less equitable, but by many metrics bettter...and certainly better for some. Although the direction we're going is Obamacare so I suppose it depends on if you like moving closer to one payer or not. Again I'd expect somebody to be happy about that. Do we not have any liberals on this forum?

Well if Obamacare hadn't been watered down to nothing but mere drivel, then it might have been a worthwhile piece of legislation. That being said, there's still a long way to go before we truly see the effects and whether we screwed ourselves over or not. Keep in mind that there is a living example of how the Affordable Healthcare Act would have been if not watered down. See Switzerland, who's been running this system since Clinton was President.

That's not the reason. But we are in increasing fiscal trouble with entitlement programs we can't pay for in the long run (or in the short run without some painful reductions elsewhere or tax hikes). So on that front I get people on all sides not liking the countries direction.

Doubt it, as nice as they are, they have little to do with everyday life (unless you make them physically or mentally apart of your life).

Part of irony is it's hilarity. We've stopped laughing in the '80s.

You're semi-correct. You have a government that's ran itself overbudget for way too long, that the only proper way out is to raise taxes, but apparently every retard in America feels that they are being taxed too much (save for Warren Buffet and myself). And instead of trying to actually come up with a way to properly balance the budget, they simply try to cut the things THEY feel aren't important. Like let's say Foreign Aid! Which barely would even help the budget out but 2%. But don't mind the fact that over 60% of the budget is pissed away on the DoD, DoH, and Social Security. BUT! instead of trying to logically figure out how to provide lean measures to these systems and bring the actual cost down (because how much of the funding is wasted on their inefficiencies, the big idea is to just cut the funding to them and hope they figure it out or die trying. Which btw, would pretty much send the U.S. back into a recession because those are the systems we've built our economy around since the '90s and particularly after 9/11 and the housing crash.

[sunnyside]

It's not a bad one, but you assume we're maintaining some general ideal or concept of a direction. Whereas I am of the opinion that the direction we are seeing is merely either a fallacy or a short term direction only to end up repeating the same cycle again in the long term.

I'm not sure what you're referring to. In terms of the markets it isn't called the "business cycle" for no reason. In terms of ther things I think there is a general drift in public opinion in a certain direction. That makes the pressure that moves the hurricane or that chooses when to tack with the boat. I particularly like the boat analogy because one side is always trying to go to the right to the Reagan Shore, and the other wants to go out to sea to the left where some Marxist utopia island totally exists...somewhere. The public just gets to decide how far to go toward either before turning.

we still have a long way to go

if Obamacare hadn't been watered down

Ok. Not untrue. And I can appreciate that it's likely impossible for people to be satisfied with any present condition. It just isn't how people operate.

But still, you'd think someone would be happy with the direction of things.

[Chris]

“The languages of many hunter-gatherer groups contain very few number words. For instance, the language of the Piraha tribe of Brazil has only three number words, which, translated to English, are one, two, and more than two. The Piraha do not count. In one experiment, tribe members were shown sets of nuts containing from 1 to 9 nuts. Then the researcher placed the nuts in a can and drew them out one by one while asking, as each nut was removed, if any nuts were left in the can. Most of the tribe members were correct for one, two, or three nuts, but were incorrect for larger sets. If the Piraha wanted to keep exact counts of things or to think mathematically, they would have to start by inventing or learning number words.” (Peter O.Gray – Psychology).

The moral of this story is that the culture itself can deprive people the ability in constructive thinking. Most Americans imbibe with their mother's milk the idea that the possibility of unrestricted accumulation of wealth is inalienable right of any person regardless of social interests. Greed as a part of human nature steers to the right that is to greater wealth disparities between the few and the majority. Imperialism is inevitable consequence of the capitalism. The most profitable capital investments are not in production of material values (the market can collapse) but in arms production, drug trade, political and economic enslavement of nations, etc.

See my previous posts.