h2g2 The Hitchhiker's Guide to the Galaxy: Earth Edition

American exceptionalism was established gov't policy for the longest time and went something like "America is better and therefore morally and politically superior becuase it is America" It is an ingrained attitude in the vast majority of Americans and is the root of most of the issues that cause "American bashing"

I live in America.
My parents drive an SUV.
The guy next to me owns a Hummer that he was able to write off as a "buisness expense" on his taxes.
My brother is going to a private school next year.
Something is incredibly wrong with America.

My friend's father is an architect, a very sucessful one, in fact. Somehow, though, expenses caught up with them just as my friends dad was in-between clients, looking for a job. Now they are $10,000 in debt, with no contracts in sight. My friends' dad still insists on paying his employees, practically out-of-pocket.

Things like these are happening everywhere, and no one is saying anything. The media is controlled by the government, so how are we supposed to find out whats really going on in our country? We certantly cant step outside and see for ourself. For example, during a concert last night that I was preforming at in a theatre on the University campus, I had to go to the bathroom. As I began to walk out of the section reserved for the preformers, an old lady, perhaps 65 years old, confronted me. "You cant go to the bathroom alone" she said. "Something bad might happen, and we would be held responsible" "What am I supposed to do?" I asked. "Just let me escort you to the bathroom" she said. So there I was, walking to the bathroom with a 65 year old lady as my bodyguard. And there I was, in a bathroom in the most well-thought-of part of town, in the classiest theatre in the city, with an old lady breathing down my back as I took a piss.

I've walked through the worst sections of Philly without getting confronted or hurt in anyway. I can routinely walk home at night anytime between 10 PM and 5 AM or any other time without even feeling worried.

Most people I know don't drive SUVs, the government doesn't control the media. The NY times routinely points out how the job growth hasn't materialized, and criticizes the administration routinely.

Crispy - are you taking back what you said? Cause otherwise, my humble american friends are still better than you.

dave

<>

This was exactly the point I was trying to make. And, though I respect the NY times for its bare-all approch to reporting, there are so many other newspapers, TV news programs, and radio shows that are so biased as to never even question the governments activities. Perhaps I was a bit rash to say "the media is controlled by the government", but just watch fox news, or read a southern small town paper, or cruise the AM dial on your radio. I'm confident that you've noticed the blatent pro-gov slant those media outlets have. Some are so bad as to be propaganda! I'm not trying to say that there is something wrong with being pro-gov, but most people who never think to question the governments dicisions dont read the NY times, if you know what I mean.

Why would I take back what I said? Somebody asked why Canadians don't like Americans, so I explained. If you take issue with it, then please, by all means offer refutation to what I said, but don't get stuck calling me an idiot because you couldn't be bothered to read more than my concluding remark.

Why don´t you all stop trying to find out differences between yourselves and the others form different nationalities. Everywhere exists safe and dangerous places: may it be in New york, Berlim, London, Paris, Toronto, Sidney or Iraque!!!!

We all have different cultures and ways of thinking. So the only way we can all work better is with respect and common sense.

I actually believe U.S. is being lead by a bad group of leaders, but thank to any gods there are or simply to the existence probabilities, there is Democracy and so they have the chance to change, this year, their next government and leader.

Another big line of view is that i see the U.S. citizens being let to be lead by a mediocracy. I have U.S. cable channels and i am amazed by the quantities of newsthings they simply don´t show ( like foreign meetings or quotes of critics by foreign leaders and the arrogant reaction U.S. representatives show sometimes).

But we cannot define an american simple by the actitudes of a majority. Maybe everyone start to see the importance of starting a worldwide communitie, were we all came from a contrie, but we all have different points of views, and so we cooperate and progress.

<>
Yes.

Dave:

*Why don't you grow up and realize that america is different from you and better because of it?*

(post 6900)

Dave, Dave, Dave......

Are you serious? How many other countries have you visited to come to this conclussion? That statement is so wrong on so many different levels. If *america* (the US) is so different, is that why it's trying to make the rest of the world in it's own image? If it's better because it's different does that mean the entire rest of the world is the same? Who gets to decide that it's better?

How many times do we have to state that this thread is not a hack of each and every US citizen, or even the country itself. It's about a few annoying traits of some individuals and dangerous neo-isolationism and extreme nationalism of the current and sometimes past governments. I admire Clinton, FDR, JFK, even LBJ before he bent to politics. I admire Martin Luther King, Humphry Bogart, Frank Zappa, and Steve Jobs. All of whom had problems, all of whom had flaws. It's some other flaws we're talking about, some other politicians, some other national and international policies.

So who needs to grow up here?

Bill Hicks, Noam Chomsky, all of the Red hot Chillie pappers, Chuck D and his flaws (otherwise known as Flavor Flav and proffessor Griff).

Americans I dont have much nice to say about- R Kelly, George Bush,(both of 'em), Bruce Willis (songs and films).

Zoomer

Did you read post 6894?
"American exceptionalism is a myth, so grow up and realize that the rest of the world is different from you and better because of it."

Look familiar? I just cut and pasted, but changed a few words. When I make the statement about America with respect to the rest of the world, you jump all over me. If someone says the reverse, you let it go. Who's being biased and needs to grow up? Thanks for demonstrating your impartiality so clearly.


Pocket jeesus
I don't think the media outlets you refer to are "pro-government" so much as pro-republican. If the government was controlled by the democrats, they would be fiercely anti-government.


CrispyCritters
I read your whole post - it doesn't nullify or change, or put in context your arrogant & rude closing remark.


dave

Yes, Dave I read post 6894. And I agree with it wholeheartedly. Exceptionalism is a myth, not that it exists but that it is a reasonable, rational doctrine. Some of your own established, somewhat small *c* conservative media tends to agree:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-srv/style/longterm/books/chap1/americanexceptionalism.htm
Read the first paragraph at least:
*As G. K. Chesterton put it: "America is the only nation in the world that is founded on a creed."*

As to my bias, you must know that by now. I wouldn't have stayed on this thread if I didn't have one. I do maintain, however that it is a reasoned, reasonable bias that is willing to accept alternate ideas and doctrine if they are backed with fact and research.

Zoomer - if you're willing to say it's OK for others to say they are better than americans, but not allright for the reverse, than you have proven you are not "willing to accept alternate ideas". For you to accept that EVERYONE is better than americans, a statement which is too sweeping to be true, demonstrates this. Thus you have proven yourself to be here for "yank bashing", flaming, trolling, etc. and not much more.

Dave, I have to be off to work so I'll be brief. Being *better* doesn't mean in *everything*, obviously. That would be a sweeping and therefore ridiculous statement. *Better off generally* was what was implied, and I agree with that. So do a lot of organisations, like the UN. Find the list of *best places to live* and the US is seldom in the top 20. Find lists of consumer debt ratios and it is seldom in the top 100. At the same time there are lots of list where the US is on top. But generally, for individuals it isn't, for a lot of things that are difficult to measure because they deal with happiness it isn't. See? Once again you are trying to look at the whole when we are talking about individuals and individual things, measurements of happiness and policies that hurt non-US citizens.

no zoomer, the quote was
"American exceptionalism is a myth, so grow up and realize that the rest of the world is different from you and better because of it."

Better!! not better off, just plain better. Not standard of living nothing else, just simply BETTER.


If you're willing to admit you're so biased as to let this one slide, and keep trying to spin it, then I can throw all of you arguments in the trash, b/c that's what your biased approach is worth

Slightly jumping back to three days ago, I should have said reiterated that I have nothing against Americans in general, and that yes I felt embarassed because I'm an English speaker and I haven't got a brilliant grasp of Cantonese. But my point wasn't that the tourist was speaking slowly and loudly, like so many Englishmen , was that he wanted to know an obsure price of something convertyed for him into american dollars. I don't think I've ever heard any other tourist from any nation make such a ludicrous demand.
But yes it was a one off, and the English are notoriously xenophobic, due to our loss of power and envy of people that have it, that's why I have nothing against Americans, or French, Canadians, Germans (which I happen to like through choice WWII aside) etc.

Dave, we've both made our interpretation of what he said. Let's wait until he says what he meant and go from there, OK?
You know I don't hate ya, mate. Well, not everything about you.....

(Irony alert! Humour!)

the fact is is canadians are americans with unversal health care

Crazyhorse you never cease to amaze me. That post is the single funniest thing I have ever seen you post, mostly because it has a kernel of truth. Thank you for my laugh of the evening.

Do Canadians have a National Health Service?
I know Americans need insurance to be treated.
The British has the NHS but it forever needs funding or it collapses at the seams, does the Canadian NHS suffer this problem.

Yes, we have a single tiered public health system which means you can't buy medical anywhere. Drugs, dental, and optometry have to be paid for by the individual. All else is paid out of taxes with some small user fees in some cases. Now and then some people go to the states to get something done that they might have to wait for here. A troubled system but all in all it works. If you think our systems are flawed, you should talk to a US citizen about the big multinational healthcare companies that squeeze every penny there.