I have not said any of the things you are claiming I said. You are a very childish little liar. Good bye. (now you make a snide comment, claim victory, etc)
I think the flaw in the OP's reasoning is his use of "Americans" as a catch all. Some Americans are against abortion some are not. Many Americans speak out against deforestation many care less. America is made up of many individual people all with different opinions, ideas and values. Just like people from your country. We have families, jobs, dreams and misconceptions just like people from your country. We even have people who make narrow minded statements and posts like this one, just like your country.
It appears to me that everyone lives in a somewhat false reality, An amalgamation of their experiences, ideas based on what they have been taught and have seen which is almost always from a narrow perspective.
With Lorien its always ad hominem, I have expressed my views in post #16. Post #25 is not related to me. I don't believe I have set up a straw man, feel free to point out where I have.
If everyone lives in a false reality then just reword the question to Do American's have a false reality, more than the rest of us?
OK, what country do you live in? I would like to list bad things about it and see if you have the urge to 'yap' at me heels. EDIT: I also like the fact that almost all the anti-American posts in here come from people who don't have their location set to their actual country. I'd like to know some of the great countries these people live in.
I live in the UK. Rest assured, I'm not a nationalist. I value people over property. edit: Just because someone looks critically at a country, it doesn't mean they think they live in a greater country. Look at the title of the thread, its about America. Hence you will get positive and negative view on America. This is an American based forum, hence the main country of discussion is America. There are other forums too, and other countries discussed.
No, you are just overly simplistic and a generalist. You wrap your prose in arrogance and hawk it as reality. It may well be your reality. I really don't care. I'm just wasting time while I season my skillet.
this has to rank up there with your "freedom means obey laws" quote Why does America, home of the free , incarcerate more of its citizens then pretty much all of the first world? I mean these other countries don't lock up their people and there isn't anarchy etc, why does the US need to lock up so many people? Are americans crazy animals that need to be locked up or something?
Reading my posts to Lorien, I'm sure it seems that way. But he and I do this routine every 5 months, thats why I get so uppity. BUT, I don't believe I have been a generalist in my original post, maybe. Are you really seasoning your skillet or is that metaphor
I think the last time was when you said you'd be happy to have Iran with nuclear weapons, wasn't it? Then you called me a liar there and left last time. I think it is a definite pattern. We've gone through this before, Ferret. If I remember right, you really didn't have a real suggestion as to lower the incarceration rate that'd result in a safer society for everyone. You simply wanted to legalize drugs and prostitution; while ignoring all the side effects of doing so in a welfare state system.
Not a metaphor. Two skillets in fact, along with a griddle. Lorien could probably smell the smoke, I'm about five miles north of Riverview.
So you generalize all americans based on the observation that many mourn the soldiers we lost, but you feel there is not as much concern about gun violence? OR some people protest abortion but they don't help poor kids? etc. Based on these you are trying to say Americans are hypocrites? I guess I am just trying to understand, because it seems like you are trying to associate hypocracy with an entire country and that seems kind of strange. I think with individual human beings you can say they are hypocritical about one issue or another, but not a whole country. Because the whole country does not think exactly the same. Maybe if you narrowed this down to the hypocracy of specific people. Like for example, what about the President of Iran...During the same month he criticized England for having a female soldier (that he took captive)...then in the same month he imprisoned a female citizen of Iran for signing a petition for womens rights. He authorized her torture in which they shoved a rod up her ass and killed her. BUT, according to him England is bad for "putting a woman in harms way." Is that the kind of hypocracy you are talking about?
There is a pattern, see you in November. Sounds like a pleasant life. The president of iran is a self-serving front man who is hated by most iranians. We don't need to bring him up to make our points, do we?
No I don't - in fact I wish they would bring the 3 strikes and you out here in Australia - I believe our criminals get treated softly. What I was pointing out was for the land of the "FREE" many are imprisoned by not just bars, but by poverty, and more. Yes anyone who takes drugs has their own self to blame for their problems, but I wonder what it really being done to address the underlying problems, Locking up people is a partial solution, but the real solution is to tackle the sources of crime - I think JFK had a speech about that! Two - my own - charity begins at home - once I own my own home and I'm debt free, then charity will also spread to others. Probably the smartest reply yet. Mate when your minimum wage was $5 an hour (I know congress has finally lifted it), what is the point of a job - I wouldn't piss for $5 an hour.
The US is the most powerful country in the world. A powerful country makes great accomplishments and great mistakes. Australia, on the other hand, has the second highest poverty rate, and there's no excuse for that.