Lucky

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a woman, my individual rights have been dismantled over the past year. No, I don't feel lucky to live here.

What rights have been dismantled? I’m a woman and wasn’t tracking this

Abortion rights in red states have been severely limited. The takedown of DEI. Defunding programs outside of the US like HIV prevention for pregnant women. USAID was destroyed and it mainly helped women and children. Birth control that was meant for countries in Africa wasn’t sent. It sits rotting in a warehouse because this administration just doesn’t care.

Yes, that's what USAID meant to be but it wasn't running that way and those countries and kids were not getting the help they deserved. It is fill with corruption and right for us to stop and then re-build.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a woman, my individual rights have been dismantled over the past year. No, I don't feel lucky to live here.

What rights have been dismantled? I’m a woman and wasn’t tracking this

Abortion rights in red states have been severely limited. The takedown of DEI. Defunding programs outside of the US like HIV prevention for pregnant women. USAID was destroyed and it mainly helped women and children. Birth control that was meant for countries in Africa wasn’t sent. It sits rotting in a warehouse because this administration just doesn’t care.

What does USAID or abortion rights outside of the DMV have to do with your specific civil rights?

[Anonymous]

What benefits it a man to gain the world if thereby he lose his soul?

Warrantless searches of houses, quasi-fascist paramilitaries acting with complete immunity shooting mothers in the face, threats to invade our closest allies whose soldiers gave their lives for us in Afghanistan, politically motivated prosecutions of honest public servants? No, I see a lot of reasons for shame in this country right now, whether the stick market is up or down.

[Anonymous]

I do feel very lucky to be American. It has been good for me economically and from a freedom perspective. I was a Peace Corps volunteer in a village without electricity and running water for two years. Most of you all have no idea what real poverty and human rights outside the U.S. looks like.

When people make comments about adversity in the U.S. I have to keep my thoughts to myself.

[Anonymous]

Yes. The U.S. economy, business climate, educational system, and employment environment has enabled me, over a long period of time, to build wealth which would have gone to taxes and a resultant lower quality of life in most other developed countries.

I recognize that not everyone takes advantage of the structural benefits and opportunities inherent to life in the U.S., but there's a reason it has been a lodestar for immigration for centuries. This is where people come to have more opportunities, in preference to a more assured low standard of living in socialist environments.

[Anonymous]

I feel lucky not to

[Anonymous]

^ that said, I do recognize that US salaries/wealth are much higher. But I don't need unlimited money, I already have what I need. It is a very greedy mindset, but that's why there are billionaires I guess.

[Anonymous]

Living in the US from a standard of living perspective costs ungodly $$$. Yes there's opportunity and yes you can make money here but if you started life on the wrong side of the tracks it's super duper hard to get to the "good" life. You may not be as poor as living in a hut but it's def not an easy life because it is indeed the "rat race" you will be living.

Unless you are actually in a slum somewhere literally, you are not "better" off in the US.

Unless you have tons of energy, desire, ambition and some luck, life in the US is harder than anywhere else that you're not homeless or persecuted in. Why? Because this is one of the richest countries in the world. Thus, you gotta make more than average in order to find comfort here.

So what I mean is if you take a look at who comes to the US it's either those on refugee status or those who are 10000% capable of working their asses off 24/7. These days are different from the old days when you could actually make your own opportunities here.

These days you better be awesome at sales and marketing and extroverted enough to own your own business or you aren't gonna strike it rich here - life is too expensive esp with a family. Working at that corp job without any sort of family money, cushion, savings or big funds is not going to earn you the "good" life. You could side hustle but with Internet you would be better off side hustling and living a less expensive standard of living in a less expensive country so you save more.

You can't actually retire here early unless you've made millions since there's no national healthcare plan. There's no robust parental leave that supports you when you start a family working for most companies . There's no good education unless you shell out a ton of $$$ for it upfront or if school loan, yep you'll have to make even more money to settle your debt! All these you have in place in other countries civilized countries.

This country is for extroverted sales marketing oriented folks with either means or a top tier ambitious streak and I do mean top tier It's just too expensive here in the US to do it otherwise. That's really what it's about - less that there's no opportunity but how to survive until you're able to leverage it!

You can certainly made more money here to send back home to poorer family there which is what 75% of most immigrants do but you're purpose isn't to live some sort of fairy tale life then, it's to ensure your family is taken care off, and that priority differs from the "American dream."

[Anonymous]

^different cultures for different folks. The American culture requires a certain ambition and hardness that some don't care for or aren't suited for. The US from this perspective isn't a better or worse country than any other civilized country. The diversity makes it more interesting and attractive certainly it's a strength but I really do not believe it's "better" quality.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Living in the US from a standard of living perspective costs ungodly $$$. Yes there's opportunity and yes you can make money here but if you started life on the wrong side of the tracks it's super duper hard to get to the "good" life. You may not be as poor as living in a hut but it's def not an easy life because it is indeed the "rat race" you will be living.

Unless you are actually in a slum somewhere literally, you are not "better" off in the US.

Unless you have tons of energy, desire, ambition and some luck, life in the US is harder than anywhere else that you're not homeless or persecuted in. Why? Because this is one of the richest countries in the world. Thus, you gotta make more than average in order to find comfort here.

So what I mean is if you take a look at who comes to the US it's either those on refugee status or those who are 10000% capable of working their asses off 24/7. These days are different from the old days when you could actually make your own opportunities here.

These days you better be awesome at sales and marketing and extroverted enough to own your own business or you aren't gonna strike it rich here - life is too expensive esp with a family. Working at that corp job without any sort of family money, cushion, savings or big funds is not going to earn you the "good" life. You could side hustle but with Internet you would be better off side hustling and living a less expensive standard of living in a less expensive country so you save more.

You can't actually retire here early unless you've made millions since there's no national healthcare plan. There's no robust parental leave that supports you when you start a family working for most companies . There's no good education unless you shell out a ton of $$$ for it upfront or if school loan, yep you'll have to make even more money to settle your debt! All these you have in place in other countries civilized countries.

This country is for extroverted sales marketing oriented folks with either means or a top tier ambitious streak and I do mean top tier It's just too expensive here in the US to do it otherwise. That's really what it's about - less that there's no opportunity but how to survive until you're able to leverage it!

You can certainly made more money here to send back home to poorer family there which is what 75% of most immigrants do but you're purpose isn't to live some sort of fairy tale life then, it's to ensure your family is taken care off, and that priority differs from the "American dream."

What you say is true but understand it is far worse in the vast majority of countries to get ahead in life.

[Anonymous]

Lucky, no, my ancestors were here before there was an America. Prod, yes, fortunate, yes. Just hope we don’t abandon the shared cultural heritage that made this country great.

It is not too late to look at what has and is happening in Europe and to apply the lessons learned.

[Anonymous]

I want less crime, less people, less advertising crap, healthier food, cleaner air, and cheaper health care.
Investing in stock market is available in other countries too.
US is fine, but the things I want, specially later in life, can be found elsewhere too.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:As a woman, my individual rights have been dismantled over the past year. No, I don't feel lucky to live here.

Woman here, and I think you need a little more perspective. Have you traveled much? Do you ever talk to people who are different than you?

I currently make 150k per year and not an “elite” person of any sort. I know that it’s not much on DCUM, which actually makes this point sharper: it is extremely rare for anyone, especially a woman, especially someone not pedigreed or elite, to be able to achieve that salary level in the vast majority of the rest of the world and that includes nearly all “first world” countries like Japan, South Korea, and most of Western Europe.
I’m an out lesbian, and a mom. And still getting promoted on merit and having a pretty nice life at work and at home, even though Trump was supposed to make Handmaid Tale happen…. Not only that, but there are also POC men and women where I work, doing amazing things and getting paid well for it! Not to diminish the bad and dumb things that have happened, but I thought Trump was gonna fire everyone who wasn’t a straight white male and the rest of us be living in cardboard boxes by now?

Outside of a very few select countries, this would not be possible. There are still tons of opportunities here, including for non-white, non-male, and non-straight people. I do feel lucky, because I would not have this kind of life anywhere else.

Some people love to focus on the negative and are totally blind to the many good things about our country. I would rather live here and work on fixing the problems than just tear it all down.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:As a woman, my individual rights have been dismantled over the past year. No, I don't feel lucky to live here.

What rights have been dismantled? I’m a woman and wasn’t tracking this

Abortion rights in red states have been severely limited. The takedown of DEI. Defunding programs outside of the US like HIV prevention for pregnant women. USAID was destroyed and it mainly helped women and children. Birth control that was meant for countries in Africa wasn’t sent. It sits rotting in a warehouse because this administration just doesn’t care.

I'm a woman and see where you are conflating a lot of things.

Defunding programs IN OTHER COUNTRIES has nothing to do with your own rights. We may not like the changes ending programs in other countries, but that has nothing to do with your rights.

On DEI: you didn’t lose a right, you lost a program. Rights are protected by the Constitution and civil-rights laws. People can’t legally be denied a job, an education, or fair treatment because of who they are... that still exists. What ended were specific initiatives labeled ‘DEI,’ not your civil liberties. 

[Anonymous]

In the top 3% and always thinking about the 97%
No should should be lucky if it's the doom of others