Ah, America.

[pyat]

Currently occupying two foreign nations, dealing with ongoing violence in both, with a worrisome economy, a major port city still crippled by natural disaster, more than 1 in 100 adults currently in prison, tax rolls supporting a defense budget larger than that all the other nations of the world combined, spending more per capita of state money on healthcare than any other nation yet no socialized healthcare and a declining life expectancy, serious questions about the conduct of the military and CIA, the perpetrator of 9/11 basically forgotten, and there's an election in a few months.

And of course, the most important topics in that election are gay marriage and abortion.

Comments

[relee.livejournal.com]

I worry about my American friends all the time. Will they die of a common illness? Will they be crushed by the secret police? Will they get shot in one of their tens of thousands of random murders?

So far only two of them have. One to a semi-common illness, one with questions of conspiracy and possible murder. But what about the rest? Are they going to be next? They tell me about their lives and they seem so emperiled, but casual. It's so natural for them to be in danger, they don't realize that things don't have to be that way.

[kianir.livejournal.com]

I realize it doesn't have to be this way. But escape is only feasible for the well-heeled -- who are those least needing to do so.

I don't have health insurance, or savings, nor do I make anything close to a living wage, and I'm supporting two + pets. Yet I know there are much worse off. Hell, I have coworkers who are much worse off. Easily half of them are on foodstamps, while working n+1 jobs to keep their homes.

I find myself wishing, at times, that McCain gets elected, because the further into this abyss we descend, the more people will realize it's kinda dark down here. I don't, honestly, know what will make the US citizenry wake up, if not their empty stomachs and the lack of a roof over their head.

[relee.livejournal.com]

*shakes her head* The way I see it, it's going to get a lot worse before it gets any better. A president isn't going to change that.

The situation may be pathetic but the people are satisfied. They won't change things untill it becomes unbearable. Untill then, while bearable, it will be painful. And when it becomes unbearable, there will be horror and pain and death and all those terrible things that come as a part of change. Then... who knows what will happen?

As long as the dog is satisfied, he doesn't mind the leash or the cheap food, and he can even endure the cruel master's whip. But no matter if he is satisfied, I feel sorry for the abused dog.

[zenten.livejournal.com]

*shakes her head* The way I see it, it's going to get a lot worse before it gets any better. A president isn't going to change that.

The right president, on their own could make things better to some degree. The right president with the right congress and the right senate could to a heck of a lot of good, especially if they have 8+ years to do it in (that would be at least two right presidents btw, not saying you should extend your maximum term limits or anything).

[relee.livejournal.com]

They're not my term limits. ^.^;;

I feel really awkward about the whole thing because on a whole other level I don't feel it's my right to tell another country how they should do things. They have their own ideas of what's right and wrong...

[zenten.livejournal.com]

I think an individual that doesn't actually represent their country (so not a diplomat or politician or whatever) can certainly say "Hey, if you do this this other problem will probably work out better for you" to a foreign nation.

[relee.livejournal.com]

Can? Definately. Should? I dunno.

Canada's a great place, and we've got a lot of good things going... but we're hardly perfect. And I'm not exactly doing a lot to make things better. Plus if things went wrong, we could be as bad as the U.S. in as much time. A lot can happen in 8-10 years. Maybe when I'm 40, the U.S. will be nice again. ^.^

Also maybe hell will freeze over and Satan will give sleigh rides. ^.^

[zenten.livejournal.com]

OK, what harm is there in doing so?


Canada's a great place, and we've got a lot of good things going... but we're hardly perfect. And I'm not exactly doing a lot to make things better. Plus if things went wrong, we could be as bad as the U.S. in as much time. A lot can happen in 8-10 years. Maybe when I'm 40, the U.S. will be nice again. ^.^

I can't think of a time when Canada was worse than the US to live in (I can certainly think of times when Canada was worse to live in than it is now of course). Maybe before Confederation, or not too long after it.

[relee.livejournal.com]

Well, I can offend people who like the way things are, or who think that they should go a different direction.


Even if I say that Canada can become as bad as the U.S. is now, that's not saying the U.S. can't get worse. We're their neighbors, and lately our government seems to like to parrot theirs... Or at least in issues important to me. ^.^;;

[thebitterguy]

OK, what harm is there in doing so?

Americans have feelings too, Josh.

[zenten.livejournal.com]

And? If someone from say Sweden wants to give suggestions in someone's LJ on how to make Canada's medical system work better, how is that bad or something that would hurt the feelings of Canadians?

[notthebuddha.livejournal.com]

It's not that bad in most places, but the US is so large and heterogeneous that you can't broadly generalize and the worst places tend to be very bad so they drag down the average for everyone. Montana, for example, is very tranquil but there's less than a million people there.

[relee.livejournal.com]

Mostly I'm worried about my friends. There's a limited scope I can handle at once. The world is huge, and full of both joy and suffering, but only a small fraction of it is 'my world'. My friends suffer in some of the worst places in the states, and even the ones in some of the nicer parts are emperiled.