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You are blind to the facts my friend. How can you even sit there and say that sitting back and accepting unjust laws is the correct thing to do? How do you think womens suffrage, civil rights, and all that other shit you mentioned came into being? Someone has got to stand up for their beliefs, and the idea that it is unpatriotic to do so is absurd. This country was found upon people standing up for their beliefs and will continue to.

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Maybe if you did a little research yourself instead of just blowing down Psilo'squotes as bullshit you would find out where the come from, and find out they are reliable sources. I mean geeze, I learned some of that shit in modern history class in highschool, and to dismiss it as bullshit is very naive.

 

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Thanks , I was pretty sure I wasent talking out my ass. 

Like I have said before, .......some people have education, and some ONLY have opinions. 

silversoul7 said:

All governments suck, not just the US Government.

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but by and large we've done a hell of a lot more good than any other country on the planet, can you refute that?

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Yes, with numerous reliable sources

First of all, America hasent even paid its UN dues for countless years(over 10 for sure, but I dont know the exact number

For years they have been using this as leverage , and then  never paying.

If they did it would be a huge help to the UN, but its all a tease.

Furthermore, on average the United States contrbutes little to help the world($$$)when the size of america and its wealth is factored in.......leaving smaller western countries with more to do , and in many cases, the worlds worst dictatorships were created , funded , or assited by the US government.

Even the "food for peace" program that was set up BY the government, and was funded by PUBLIC DONATION, was a ruse to buy more weapons for the war on Coca in latin america.

Books are fun

jono1 said:

why isn't it pathetic?  that is the real question. 

name a government, or form of government, that exist, and has relatively fewer problems than ours?

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Norway, Sweden, and Denmark.

There's 3...

No time to get into it right now, I'll be back later

Alan Stone said:

I won't read the whole post, because it's getting late, but here's a few reasons the US of A aren't as free and great as you think you are:

- A political system where the only real power lies with two parties, who are both basically right-wing, as in: capitalist & nationalistic.

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- A health care system that costs twice as much per capita as for example Belgium's does, while the results are (among others) much longer waiting times in hospitals, higher costs for procedures and less skilled doctors.

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- Way too little vacation in a work year (compare the USA to Europe and do the math)

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- Higher goods prices and comparably lower wages

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- Media that distort reality

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Oh ya, and we're completely alone in that department.

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- A government that does what it thinks is right and lies to the public to be backed up. There are countries out there that are way more democratic, as in: the people decide what's important, not the politicians.

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- nearly 50 million illiterates

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- legalised guns

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There are others (among which cultural trends) but these are off the top of my head.

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US citizens are still better off than 2/3's of the world no matter how much people piss and moan."

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YES, because America is 5% of the worlds population, added to the other western countries , WE(the western world) make up 20%, so I could say I have it better then 80% of the world.

But that no reason to not examine my own government, for example, the corruption is so obvious its on the news daily(sponsership scandel)

Snakes will continue to wiggle through the grass if we dont stomp them where they stand.  

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US citizens are still better off than 2/3's of the world no matter how much people piss and moan.

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Dr. Wiggins said:

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US citizens are still better off than 2/3's of the world no matter how much people piss and moan.

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well, that depends on your definition of "better off"

personally, i would much rather be barefoot in the rainforest,
drinking Yage and eating insects and magic stones...

than breathing flourocarbons, slurping corn syrup,
and staring at a radioactive screen for 8 hours a day.

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If only our economy were truly capitalist..

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We actually have some of the best doctors in the world, and waiting times aren't nearly as bad as they are in Canada.

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Compared to whom? My family once had an exchange student from Denmark, and he was amazed at how cheap Levi's jeans were over here compared to his home country. As for wages, which income bracket are you talking about?

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Name some.

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Not that bad in the big scheme of things.

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How the fuck are we supposed to fight off tyranny if you take our guns away?

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I can think of plenty of things that suck about the US government, but that was a shitty list.

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It's not my fault our interpretations of what's important and what constitutes fundamental freedom differ. I'm sorry I care about health access, affordable education, pensions for everyone, welfare for the unemployed, world peace and diplomacy. Yeah, you're right, pretty shitty fucking list.
A government's merit should be asessed by judging how it treats its worst-off denizens, and on that criteria yours fails miserably. The U.S. might be a good country for the rich to live in, but that's because it's an aristocratic oligarchy, where the power stays within a small group of a few clans.

Alan Stone said:

Granted, no single market on this planet is entirely free. That doesn't change the fact that there is no real political left in the USA. In a free country, any political party should have equal opportunity for marketing themselves and their ideas, which includes budget limitations for political parties (that also serve to hedge out corruption and lobby influence).

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We actually have some of the best doctors in the world, and waiting times aren't nearly as bad as they are in Canada.

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There are Western countries that aren't located in North America, in case you hadn't noticed. If you can't be helped here in Belgium rightaway, the waiting times in E.R.'s are ten minutes tops. What's more, EVERYONE can afford the best doctors here, whereas the best doctors in the U.S. are limited to the richer individuals.

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Compared to whom? My family once had an exchange student from Denmark, and he was amazed at how cheap Levi's jeans were over here compared to his home country. As for wages, which income bracket are you talking about?

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I was tired, I meant higher living cost, and was talking about average wages and the difference between the richest and the poorest.
While gasoline, jeans, computers, etc might be cheaper in the U.S., we (in most European countries) have affordable insurance, health access for everyone and cheaper schools which are just as good as U.S. universities. I pay only 500 euros per year to enlist at my college and it's one of the most reputed of the country in its field.

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Name some.

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Holland, Belgium, and France to name some. Our votes actually matter and lead to changes in policy. Can you tell me your vote matters?

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Not that bad in the big scheme of things.

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So you don't think "the greatest country in the world" should have a lower illiteracy rate than 20%? Doesn't that tell you anything about your educational system, or about the vulnerability of that fifth of the population to indoctrination?

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I can think of plenty of things that suck about the US government, but that was a shitty list.

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It's not my fault our interpretations of what's important and what constitutes fundamental freedom differ. I'm sorry I care about health access, affordable education, pensions for everyone, welfare for the unemployed, world peace and diplomacy. Yeah, you're right, pretty shitty fucking list.

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And I'm sorry that I care about letting people have their own money and make their own decisions about what to do with it, instead of it being stolen by the government and then rationed out as they see fit.

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A government's merit should be asessed by judging how it treats its worst-off denizens, and on that criteria yours fails miserably. The U.S. might be a good country for the rich to live in, but that's because it's an aristocratic oligarchy, where the power stays within a small group of a few clans.

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No, a government's merit should be assessed by how much it lets people live their own lives.  That government is best which governs least.

jono1 said:

the DEA tries to keep coke out of my sister nose, or dope out of her veins. thats good in my book. sorry if i'm mistaken.

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And I'm sorry that I care about letting people have their own money and make their own decisions about what to do with it, instead of it being stolen by the government and then rationed out as they see fit.

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