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Originally Posted by (castille,) Actually, you're wrong.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
Just because you say it, doesn't make it true.
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Originally Posted by (castille,)
Nationalism has ALWAYS been a character of the US since its founding. Most countries also have nationalism....when I joined Youth Pioneers (Chinese compulsory thing), we sang nationalistic songs, learnt how we kicked the Americans off Korea, and how Tibetians are pretty stupid (we all agreed on that actually). In Europe they also have nationalism....go to Germany and say "Germans are wankers!" and see how they react.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
Nationalism is a really stupid concept. "I love this piece of land I just happen to live on! I'm the best because I was born behind the borders of so-and-so country, even though borders are man-made anyway!"
I mean, really... look at it from an outside perspective. Loving your country is retarded.
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Originally Posted by (castille,) You mean Saddam killing his civilians for no reason? Russia exterminating Chechen villages? Rwanda setting loose youth mobs to kill off unwanted political opponents? Zimbabwe? Libya? Syria? Go to those countries, and tell me the US has a disdain for human rights.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
I, and many other people consider privacy a human right. I also don't think allowing cops to walk into people's houses without a warrant is acceptable.
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Originally Posted by (castille,) You mean how Communists blame the US and corporations for everything? "Oh no, I kicked the table! Lets all blame capitalism!"<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
No, more like how the Arabs (terrorists, sorry) are blamed for all of the problems.
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Originally Posted by (castille,) You mean North Korea, who spends 25% of their GDP on their military? Or Japan's spending, who is larger than that of China? Or do you mean Saddam, whose military spending topped 47% of Iraq's GDP (while his non-military people starved). The US doesn't spend more than 3% of the GDP on the armed forces....<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
I recall the Gulf War 2 being played on CNN like it was a sporting event. I think that qualifies for too much militarism.
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Originally Posted by (castille,) US mass media companies are private companies, controlled by shareholders (the US public). In contrast, countries like Libya and Saddam's Irak and Zimbabwe have state-controlled media. Did you hear about Mugabe shutting down another independent newspaper? I guess not - you're too busy sprouting hate against America.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
Can you tell me how many mass media companies there are in the US? I'm not sure myself, but I do know it's a very low number.
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Originally Posted by (castille,) Every country in the world is obssessed with national security since the terrorist attacks. Australia has been fretting on about security since the Islamic bombing in Bali. Russia has been....well they've been shooting Chechens to protect their national security.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
I have no problem with worrying about national security, but when things like the Patriot Act are passed, there's a problem. And I really don't care what Russia is doing.. the fact that you have to talk about Russia's atrocities to make America not seem so bad is scary.
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Originally Posted by (castille,) Just because you hate religion doesnt make it evil (unless your name is Hitler). So Bush used some religious sayings in his speeches....so did Clinton. And so did the Vatican.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
No leader should ever say anything religious, especially in a country with so many different religions.
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Originally Posted by (castille,) You mean the guys who sue McDonalds because they spill coffee over their hands? Or people who sue Microsoft (and win!) because they accidently dropped their computer while installing Windows 2000. Its stupidity thats being protected in America, not corporations.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
Can't say I feel bad for Microsoft ;). I do agree though, the fact that you can sue for just about anything is absurd. But you also have to remember that corporations DO seem to have more rights. The RIAA can have ISPs give out people's personal info, but there's no way I could get it.
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Originally Posted by (castille,) Oh no, the workers are no longer supporting unions now! Boo hoo....unions never did much for workers except make their conditions worse (and pocket the money for themselves). Japan doesn't even bother with unions, and their workers are fanatically devoted.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
Can't say I like the idea of unions. And actually, this is one of the points in the article that didn't remind me of America.
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Originally Posted by (castille,) Would you prefer a society that allows psycho serial killers out? I recall the democrats allowed a man named Willie Horton out of jail....he killed a couple and rape a girl before being arrested AGAIN.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
Face it, the laws in the US are fairly draconian. The Patriot Act. The DMCA. Those both infringe upon too many rights for comfort.
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Originally Posted by (castille,) You've never left the US, have you? Over in China, we bribe teachers to treat our kids better. My parents used to treat my teacher to little gifts in order to get them to help me with my schoolwork.<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
Who was talking about China? On that note, I think China is worse than the US in almost every respect.
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Originally Posted by (castille,) Prove it. Prove BEYOND DOUBT, legally and technically, Bush rigged the elections. On a similiar note, Bush would be in jail if he was caught rigging elections. Sorry, but this isn't some Communist country, you know. Just because Castro is good at making up election polls doesnt mean Bush is....
I bet if the Democrats won, you wouldnt be complaining about rigged elections?<hr size="1" /></blockquote><span class='postcolor'>
I'm not sure what it takes for you to consider something "beyond doubt" proof, but my perception of you so far is that not a lot of things would be worthy enough. If you want, I could dig up lots of evidence, but will it be good enough? I don't know if it's worth my effort.
I noticed a few fundamental flaws in almost everything you said.
1. You constantly compare to places you consider "worse". Nobody was talking about these places. This is a sign that you're accepting less than perfect, simply because it's not the worst it could be, and that's a formula for disaster.
2. You're starting responses with interrogative sentences. The Socratic method won't work on me, sorry. When people answer questions with more questions it usually means they're unsure of themselves.
Have a nice day :)
Oh, and I'd just like to add that I'm not a leftist in any way, and I don't care for the democratic party :p.