twisted_wizard said this in post #24 : look what I found:
· Twenty percent of Americans think the sun orbits the earth. Seventeen percent believe the earth revolves around the sun once a day (The Week, Jan. 7, 2005).
it doesn't !?!?!?!?!
quote:
twisted_wizard said this in post #24 :
Our workers are so ignorant and lack so many basic skills that American businesses spend $30 billion a year on remedial training (NYT, Dec. 12, 2004). No wonder they relocate elsewhere! [/B]
That's an easy one - its because the company hired the person to perform job duties that they were never trained or educated for - or that person is just stupid.
"The European Union leads the U.S. in...the number of science and engineering graduates; public research and development (R&D) expenditures; and new capital raised" (The European Dream, p.70). [/B]
Easy again - because we cannot afford college any more. Because all our scholarships and tuition benefits are going to illegals who cannot speak english. Also, less people are pursuing a field in engineering and science. This is bothering the colleges as less Americans are enrolling in these fields. Exchange student rate is still high in this field but americans aren't. This has nothing to do with anyone being better or worse.
Another problem is a lot of Americans are to the point where they do not want to attend college or they cannot afford it.
I'm in the cannot afford it area - i may have to skip out my credit card payments, destroying my credit just so i can stay in college and not lose my financial aid.
Lack of health insurance coverage causes 18,000 unnecessary American deaths a year.
This does suck - but in countries that have health insurance for the people of that country - isn't great either.
I have a friend up in canada who had a serious infection of the throat - now the doctor was free for him - but it took 3 weeks to get into the doctor and it nearly killed him.
Women are 70 percent more likely to die in childbirth in America than in Europe
this one doesn't make any sense unless the women is just unhealthy.
The United States has lost 1.3 million jobs to China in the last decade
this is because they work for 1 dollar a day instead of 10 dollars an hour. go nike. they make 100 shoes a day for a dollar and people are dumb enough to pay 150 for the shoe. waste of money
One-third of all U.S. children are born out of wedlock. One-half of all U.S. children will live in a one-parent house
thanks to our sex education program that gets kids interested in humping in the 4th grade. I wasn't interested in girls till i watched this video at the beginning of 6th that explained how great sex felt and how to use a rubber and how to do it. was damn near a porno. Showed a guy actually putting a rubber on, explained the process and showed naked chicks. Even showed the couple in bed and explained that man on top was the way to go. i was 11 going on 12. And guess what? just about everyone in my class got laid for the first time that year! i had a girl wanting to "try it out" a week after we saw the video. she didn't even like me, she just wanted to know what it was like. i knew what sex was but i'd not known how to do it.
And people ask stupid questions like - why are 12 year old and 13 year olds having babies? duh, because you taught them to.
Also, people marry for the wrong reason, and have sex for the wrong reason. I love how dumb people are. within a week they are sleeping together, in a month she's going to have a baby, and 3 months later he or she leaves the other for another person. Thanks to the way parents either bring their kids up with no morals, and thanks again sex education for 6th graders. I hear they are showing these videos in the 4th grade now.
Nearly one out of four Americans [believe] that using violence to get what they want is acceptable
this statement is bull crap - i don't know anyone like this and i know a couple hundred people.
Forty-three percent of Americans think torture is sometimes justified, according to a PEW Poll
i don't need a poll to tell me this - of course it is. if its a terrorist who knows where the nuke is, torture it out of one person or let millions die. Every country in the world would do it if this was the case.
The USA is "No. 1" in nothing but weaponry,
that's right, have to be or we wouldn't be here now.
You can complain all you want about what they show children, but from experience the way my parents raised me played a far greater role in my choices than anything the school or TV showed to me. The problem isn't the school, it's the parents who aren't parents. The people who let the TV raise their children rather than sit down with them with a book, or take them to a park. "Hey Johnny, here's a new video game console!" As a society, we need to get our kids off their butts and get them involved in something and support them. Hell, I know parents who play more games than their kids do and get upset when they have to take time away from that to be a mom or dad. THAT is the problem. Forget the video in class, I found a porno when I was 7, I still never got a girl pregnant until I had been married for a couple of years. I didn't even have sex until I was almost out of high school, and I never went through the phase when I didn't like girls or thought it wasn't cool to like a girl.
The problem is, we as a society find every reason in the world to blame something else or someone else for our mistakes. Some kids shoot up a school and the first thing they say is that it must have been the music, or it had to be those video games... as harsh as it may sound, it was the parents! Take a day off of work every once in a while and take your kids out for the day. Spend the weekend at home and stay off of the golf course. Learn to find that place where you're still a parent, but your children can still share their day with you, or what they've been up to without you chastising them or making them feel stupid. Kids do dumb things, and they have for eternity. The only way they learn is when someone nutures them and teaches them... holds them accountable for their actions. There are obviously exceptions to the rule, but if your kid robs a convenience store take a look in the mirror before you throw out the TV, radio, and game console.
The reason why this country is "weakening" is not because of our leadership, it's because of the things I've just discussed above. Nothing is ever anyones fault and we're all owed something from the government. Nonsense. Get out and do something with your life.
Know thyself and seek improvement.
Don't blame your misfortunes on anyone but yourself. If you need help from the government, seek it. Once you are able to sustain yourself, get off of it. You don't need to go to college to learn anything, you just need the desire. Last time I got a library card it didn't cost me a cent. Sure companies don't hire on book reports, but you'd be amazed at how far a great interview will get you. I'll give you a personal experience on this for good measure.
I sent my resume to a company who did contract work for the government with aircraft. The gentleman who was doing the hiring was in California and I'm in Misery, I mean Missouri, so it had to be a phone interview. One stipulation of the job was that I had to travel to Okinawa for six months and then return to the States. I told the guy that my wife wasn't on board with that, I appreciated the offer, but I had to decline. He called me back and told me he was going to CREATE A POSITION for me so he could hire me, I would just have to be willing to deploy eventually. I didn't even have the necessary certifications, only the experience.
Moral of the story is, hard work, education, and determination pays off. Pointing a finger at the world, claiming that your a victim does not.
If we could all stop worrying about who is better than who, and focus on ourselves, this whole damn world would be a much better place.
America is great, because you have the right to question it.
I think that's it... if not I'll be back.
Give me your tired, your poor,
Your huddled masses yearning to breathe free,
The wretched refuse of your teeming shore.
Send these, the homeless, tempest-tossed, to me:
I lift my lamp beside the golden door.
I've been an American for over half a century and assert America is a decent place to live. "Great"? What standard do you use to determine what constitutes a "great" country?
On second thought; If you did have a standard you would not necessarily be asking your question.
By my standard, almost any country is great. The standard I use to determine "great" is the democracy routinely available. Many countries qualify.
I think America has its share of problems, but is a great place to be. Out of the 6 billion people on Earth, less than 1.4 billion have the standard of living we can claim to have. This also applies to Europeans and many other countries. Any of these places is a great place to live.
"Vengeance is mine, sayeth the Lord."
"Judge not, let you be judged yourself."
I live my life highly accordingly to these two quotes, and pray I'm never wronged to the point of forgetting them.
i imagine that everywhere else in the world sues a lot less than america. i personally feel that only in america can someone sure for millions of dollars over missing pants.
08-03-2006 02:44 AM
