Tuesday 12 March 2013

'Murica?

The United States of America.
You can love or hate this post all you want, but I definitely have some things to say about the United States of America.
I also want to point out that this is PURELY my opinion on things that have happened, are true, what I've experienced and my understandings.

If I was writing a masters thesis on international development, it would be centred on the United States as an underdeveloped nation.
I genuinely believe that I have evidence and back up for this position. They may have had al lthe right numbers at all the right times, they can have as many billionaires, organizations, discoveries and innovations they want. Write all the rules and make all the game changes, but in the end, the country, and the people, are not at a developed standard in my eyes.

The education system?
approximately 32 million Americans are unable to read this blog.
The warped media?
Fox News, enough said.
Health care?
The right to health care is still debated, in the United States.
Not to mention the subliminal patriarchy and religious obsession. How often is god thanked in award shows anywhere else in the world?

I guess that I should clarify that I'm NOT anti-American. I realize this is a generalization of a LARGE population, I realize that
As a Canadian, our neighbours' actions affect me, dramatically. Their elections affect us, their culture affects us, their international image definitely affects us (being mistaken for American? No thank you).

One of my biggest problems with the American culture is the gun laws and the relaxed attitudes towards death machines. Guns have one purpose, to KILL things. Why do we need to KILL things? I strongly doubt that every gun in the US is used to find dinner.
The gun topic affects me because their lax restrictions means that smuggling into Canada is easy. If you do not need a permit to obtain a weapon, how does anyone know your record, how often you go into Canada, etc?
Not to mention, its just common criminal sense, that they can make a fortune sellling
under the table weapons in Toronto.

I just believe that a country with such a grandiose opinion of itself, should be able to back it up with a healthy, literate population.

More on American Literacy:http://usatoday30.usatoday.com/news/education/2009-01-08-adult-literacy_N.htm
More on Health care: http://healthcare.procon.org

9 comments:

  1. From beginning to end, I couldn't agree more.

    I love how you didn't bother getting into Fox News, if by chance someone had no idea what you meant, a quick YouTube search would be enough to do that point justice.

    I thought your distinction on not being Anti-American was not only valid and justified but it needed to be said. I see where you're coming from.

    And, besides, there are Americans that agree with this too. They are facts, after-all. Not that the word "fact" means anything to a lot of people anyways, which brings me to the religion section of this post... but I don't want to get in to that either.

    Honestly, you couldn't have summed it all up more perfectly. Anyone would be hard pressed to find a more accurate adjective to describe the way "'Murica" thinks of itself.

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  2. I've had quite a few friends comment on the fact that guns are so esaily accessible in the States, yet there are strict laws banning Kinder Surprise Eggs, and if you are caught trying to 'smuggle' one in, you can be fined hundreds of dollars! A rather funny juxtaposition, I think!

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    1. What a fantastic example of rediculousness.

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  3. Is it okay to criticize our neighbouring nation when there are definitely things in Canada that should make us ashamed, too? I found this news article predicting that by 2013, nearly half the Canadian population would have low literacy skills (http://www.canada.com/topics/news/national/story.html?id=e16e374c-cf0c-40bc-b131-51b9de7058f0). Should we expend our effort solving these things instead of complaining about other countries of which we are not a part?

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    1. TRUE ENOUGH, Bailey. The reason I chose to look at the United State is because it is so vocal, and has a larger impact on a global scale than Canada.
      And Literacy is just ONE part of the American 'dream' ...

      And as I said, the American 'dream' may not represent our country politically, but we are associated with it.

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  4. I couldn't agree more,

    A failing education system where teachers are paid ~1/3 of their Canadian counterpart; higher education is not government subsidized and therefore far out of the reach of the average family. Where I currently reside the average pre-tax family income is less than 1 year tuition to the closest university (yes, family income). Sports scholarships are the only option for many and propagate a culture of praising the select few who make it through to earn an obscenely inflated salary.

    A place where guns are a right and not a privilege; the first amendment when actually read does not give the "right" to any single individual to bear arms. Only to a regulated (ie: governed) militia (more than one person) to defend a group or community. Unfortunately many have never read past the TITLE of the amendment to understand the underlying principle.

    Media, education and the general view of most individuals is very US-centric with little or no understanding of the world outside the United States. I cannot blame the individuals but only the environment and culture which they are immersed in. Only the select few who are educated and well traveled seem to comprehend the global vision.

    On an individual basis the Americans I have interacted with are some of the nicest, kindest people I have had the pleasure of meeting. With ideals and entitlement prevailing, and horse blinders firmly on, I feel the collective gets lots in translation and so does the 'dream'. The decision makers have all the power and money, corporations rule, and those near the poverty line are not armed with education and news to make an informed judgement.

    Sincerely, a Canadian living in Ohio

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    1. I think you should write my next blog.
      Also, I wasn't aware of the technicalities of the 'bear arms' amendment! Just another example of horse blinders.

      Honestly, anyone could go on for hours, but at the same time I think we could about any country. America is just such an easy target.

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  5. I think it's good you emphasized you're not anti-American and focused on the issues, not the people. Some of the nicest, smartest people I know are from the U.S. and I know a lot of them are as frustrated as I am at the state of some things in the country (Pizza is a vegetable...really?). But that's kind of how I feel in Canada right now as well. The government is basically getting rid of Environmental Assessment, CIDA just got mushed into foreign affairs, and Calgary has had some of the largest turnouts for white supremacy rallies in a while. I think it's embarrassing and we need to start looking at our own nation, as we fall back down the hill of progress.

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    1. That is all very true and I agree 100%. I feel as though we are starting to loose our identity as Canadians - We have always had a good reputation for foreign affairs! What next.

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