I admit that the United States has a great many problems. Many of these problems are deadly serious, while others are truly silly. A great many of our problems are imaginary or invented, some are exaggerated. Some of our most hotly debated problems are really nothing more than a matter of opinion.
Still, with all the problems with my country, I love America. I believe that this is the greatest nation in the world.
I do not expect everyone in the world to agree with me. Heck, I don't even expect all Americans to agree with me on this. I will say that I have left this country several times, and probably could have stayed away if I chose. Leaving America is very easy, particularly if you are unhappy here. On a related note, I have never been to another nation which has the same difficulty with people illegally entering that nation and staying there as is the case with the United States. Surely that must serve as evidence that there is SOMETHING to love about this nation...
Many people here in Hyde Park wail and bemoan the state of my beloved nation, and they spend their time here putting forth ideas and suggestions of how to solve these problems. Even in the frequent cases when I disagree with these posters, I respect the fact that they aren't just whining because they want some internet attention. They have a specific goal in mind, and this forum somehow plays a part in achieving that goal. I applaud these people and wish them well, though I do not always wish them success.
Other people are not held in the same esteem. These other people make quite a production tearing at their clothes and gnashing their teeth about how America and her citizens are horrid monsters without virtue. The complaints of these posters appear without any goal other than to garner the attention they surely lacked as children. The internet affords them the protection of anonymity so that they can not be held accountable for whatever venomous tirade they launch. Why would anyone launch a hateful complaint about nation so many people love, except for the internet equivalent "Mom! Hey Mom! Watch me, Mommy!" As for these people, I merely wish that they would choose to shut up.
A poster who recently put forth the startling idea that it's bad that there are homeless people. He couched this beneath a title which was a direct attack upon the character of the nation so many of us dearly love. The title of his post interestingly came from a movie starring someone from another country who now lives in America. In this post and for pages after it, he never once gave forth any idea of how to solve this issue. Everyone is well aware of the homeless problem in America, so his post was hardly informative. His post asked no question, so it did not seek to gather information. Given the lack of these elements, and couched as it was, it was less of an actual complaint than an attention-seeking whine.
America certainly has a great many problems, no one can really argue that point. There are many ways that we can all work to solve many of these problems. Voting in elections is the easiest, but then taking the time to write to your elected officials is even more important. Placing financial pressure on corporations is another means of achieving positive change, as is rewarding companies and organization who are doing good things. Using forums such as this one to spread your ideas and methods of change can be a very valuable resource when these avenues are properly utilized. If you complain, complain with a purpose. All of these examples are closely tied to Americans' Freedom of Speech. When utilized properly, that freedom is the greatest tool of advancement available to us.
Americans have the Constitutionally guaranteed right to whine and complain. I am honestly glad that they do. But when a person uses his freedom of speech to merely run down this nation to no further purpose, then he has shamefully misused that right. When he sets aside his intellectual capacity to be helpful, informative, or inquisitive for the sake of mewling for attention, he should hang his head in shame.
Still, with all the problems with my country, I love America. I believe that this is the greatest nation in the world.
I do not expect everyone in the world to agree with me. Heck, I don't even expect all Americans to agree with me on this. I will say that I have left this country several times, and probably could have stayed away if I chose. Leaving America is very easy, particularly if you are unhappy here. On a related note, I have never been to another nation which has the same difficulty with people illegally entering that nation and staying there as is the case with the United States. Surely that must serve as evidence that there is SOMETHING to love about this nation...
Many people here in Hyde Park wail and bemoan the state of my beloved nation, and they spend their time here putting forth ideas and suggestions of how to solve these problems. Even in the frequent cases when I disagree with these posters, I respect the fact that they aren't just whining because they want some internet attention. They have a specific goal in mind, and this forum somehow plays a part in achieving that goal. I applaud these people and wish them well, though I do not always wish them success.
Other people are not held in the same esteem. These other people make quite a production tearing at their clothes and gnashing their teeth about how America and her citizens are horrid monsters without virtue. The complaints of these posters appear without any goal other than to garner the attention they surely lacked as children. The internet affords them the protection of anonymity so that they can not be held accountable for whatever venomous tirade they launch. Why would anyone launch a hateful complaint about nation so many people love, except for the internet equivalent "Mom! Hey Mom! Watch me, Mommy!" As for these people, I merely wish that they would choose to shut up.
A poster who recently put forth the startling idea that it's bad that there are homeless people. He couched this beneath a title which was a direct attack upon the character of the nation so many of us dearly love. The title of his post interestingly came from a movie starring someone from another country who now lives in America. In this post and for pages after it, he never once gave forth any idea of how to solve this issue. Everyone is well aware of the homeless problem in America, so his post was hardly informative. His post asked no question, so it did not seek to gather information. Given the lack of these elements, and couched as it was, it was less of an actual complaint than an attention-seeking whine.
America certainly has a great many problems, no one can really argue that point. There are many ways that we can all work to solve many of these problems. Voting in elections is the easiest, but then taking the time to write to your elected officials is even more important. Placing financial pressure on corporations is another means of achieving positive change, as is rewarding companies and organization who are doing good things. Using forums such as this one to spread your ideas and methods of change can be a very valuable resource when these avenues are properly utilized. If you complain, complain with a purpose. All of these examples are closely tied to Americans' Freedom of Speech. When utilized properly, that freedom is the greatest tool of advancement available to us.
Americans have the Constitutionally guaranteed right to whine and complain. I am honestly glad that they do. But when a person uses his freedom of speech to merely run down this nation to no further purpose, then he has shamefully misused that right. When he sets aside his intellectual capacity to be helpful, informative, or inquisitive for the sake of mewling for attention, he should hang his head in shame.
