1) What does America stand for to you?
2) If the state of American government could be improved, how would this be done?
3) In America, there are rules to follow to keep the peace and public order; but overall people are generally free to live as they see fit. Do you value living in a country where people are allowed to be who they choose to be without having to submit to a certain lifestyle, creed, religion, or political belief system?
Since most posts were prefaced I should preface mine too...
I have been all over the world...born in california...grew up in saudi arabia until age 9...then back to california...I have visited over 30 countries...and been to many states...some for an extended amount of time...one commonality between all? you can't really group people by the country they live in...btw I am 32 now so my perspective may differ from a lot of you because of the age gap...
1. America is a land of diversity...more than any other country the many different values and cultures broaden our experience...We can be accepting but also very wary of others different from ourselves...the larger cities tend to be more friendly to different cultures...smaller segregated communities may be less so...but this is not always the case...
America is a land of hopes and dreams...we were founded on the principles of freedom and equality...some may not agree but I would argue that more than any other country a person here has the ability to become a millionaire/billionaire without a college education...
We are a HUGE military power... I am about to end my enlistment next month in the US Army national guard...I enlisted shortly after Katrina because I wanted to help the people that were in need...I don't believe war is the best solution...but I know that some are not willing to negotiate...I know that pre-emptive attacks can save lives...drawn out war causes 100s of thousands of lives...but loss of life still saddens me even if it saves countless more...unfortunately I don't have access to all our intelligence...we aren't told everything...long term goals are not put out there...sometimes actions are made on purpose made to look as mistakes...meant to push popular opinion in the opposite direction...if you felt strongly about a particular political move you were probably manipulated...some of the smartest people in the country are in government and making our decisions...I will have to trust them as I am not in politics...yet...
I am not saying that they always make the best decisions...
2. If there was one thing I believe that america (US) could improve it would be education...my little brother is a high school teacher and I have knowledge of how flawed the education system is...I feel sorry for the youth of today...to improve education only two things need to happen (other things may help but in reality only these two things HAVE to happen to make it better) reduce class size and give school boards the ability to fire bad teachers...
Other improvements imo...reduce reliance on government jobs...they force us to employ and keep people that may not be fit for the job ( I have first hand knowledge of this through the military and second hand knowledge from my brother)... this causes taxes to go up and unemployment to go up...neither which is good for the common citizen...
Cut back spending on welfare that does not seek to remedy the initial cause of the problem...
Communicate to our citizens the programs and services we have that can improve well being...we have so much that can assist our people but there is very little in our government's budget to communicate these possibly life changing programs (for some reason the army can sponsor nascar teams =/ doesn't quite sound right)
3. Having living in Saudi Arabia I absolutely value the freedoms we have in the US...its not perfect...freedom comes at a price...it disturbs the peace...it inflames arguments...and makes it hard to identify with the country as a whole (differences can be divisive)...but it also gives us the opportunity for understanding and acceptance...
Our Country is everchanging...like our government...like our people...and its meant to be...if it was perfect the world would shout "they've done it....they've found the answer!!" we hope to reflect our values and our beliefs as a whole through our government...and it is as close as it can be at that particular moment
2) If the state of American government could be improved, how would this be done?
3) In America, there are rules to follow to keep the peace and public order; but overall people are generally free to live as they see fit. Do you value living in a country where people are allowed to be who they choose to be without having to submit to a certain lifestyle, creed, religion, or political belief system?
Since most posts were prefaced I should preface mine too...
I have been all over the world...born in california...grew up in saudi arabia until age 9...then back to california...I have visited over 30 countries...and been to many states...some for an extended amount of time...one commonality between all? you can't really group people by the country they live in...btw I am 32 now so my perspective may differ from a lot of you because of the age gap...
1. America is a land of diversity...more than any other country the many different values and cultures broaden our experience...We can be accepting but also very wary of others different from ourselves...the larger cities tend to be more friendly to different cultures...smaller segregated communities may be less so...but this is not always the case...
America is a land of hopes and dreams...we were founded on the principles of freedom and equality...some may not agree but I would argue that more than any other country a person here has the ability to become a millionaire/billionaire without a college education...
We are a HUGE military power... I am about to end my enlistment next month in the US Army national guard...I enlisted shortly after Katrina because I wanted to help the people that were in need...I don't believe war is the best solution...but I know that some are not willing to negotiate...I know that pre-emptive attacks can save lives...drawn out war causes 100s of thousands of lives...but loss of life still saddens me even if it saves countless more...unfortunately I don't have access to all our intelligence...we aren't told everything...long term goals are not put out there...sometimes actions are made on purpose made to look as mistakes...meant to push popular opinion in the opposite direction...if you felt strongly about a particular political move you were probably manipulated...some of the smartest people in the country are in government and making our decisions...I will have to trust them as I am not in politics...yet...
I am not saying that they always make the best decisions...
2. If there was one thing I believe that america (US) could improve it would be education...my little brother is a high school teacher and I have knowledge of how flawed the education system is...I feel sorry for the youth of today...to improve education only two things need to happen (other things may help but in reality only these two things HAVE to happen to make it better) reduce class size and give school boards the ability to fire bad teachers...
Other improvements imo...reduce reliance on government jobs...they force us to employ and keep people that may not be fit for the job ( I have first hand knowledge of this through the military and second hand knowledge from my brother)... this causes taxes to go up and unemployment to go up...neither which is good for the common citizen...
Cut back spending on welfare that does not seek to remedy the initial cause of the problem...
Communicate to our citizens the programs and services we have that can improve well being...we have so much that can assist our people but there is very little in our government's budget to communicate these possibly life changing programs (for some reason the army can sponsor nascar teams =/ doesn't quite sound right)
3. Having living in Saudi Arabia I absolutely value the freedoms we have in the US...its not perfect...freedom comes at a price...it disturbs the peace...it inflames arguments...and makes it hard to identify with the country as a whole (differences can be divisive)...but it also gives us the opportunity for understanding and acceptance...
Our Country is everchanging...like our government...like our people...and its meant to be...if it was perfect the world would shout "they've done it....they've found the answer!!" we hope to reflect our values and our beliefs as a whole through our government...and it is as close as it can be at that particular moment