traveling open your eyes to how terrible the US is in many ways?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:No it’s the opposite.

Americans have a unique sense of optimism and ambition that is rarely seen in other countries.

This is a very outdated view and reinforces tbe OPs point.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Definitely not. I live in Germany, and I have to laugh when so many Americans fantasize about moving to Europe and talk about it like some kind of utopia. It's insanely naive. Every place has its problems and issues

The problem in the US is not that we have problems. It is our obstinate refusal to solve any of them while new problems continue to crop up. While many of these problems are sort of relegated to the poorest people in our country, they are increasingly “trickling up” to the middle class.

People are routinely dying from a lack of healthcare or going bankrupt from medical problems. This should have been resolved ages ago, and is simply not such a crisis in other countries.

Same with gun violence. Yes, there are a multitude of tertiary issues related to gun violence but the main issue is simply guns.

And now, we have a huge mentally ill homeless population suffering in our cities and it’s only growing.

And I think the worst part is that people seem so lonely and unhappy.

Why do we tolerate this?

When I go to my parents’ home country, it just isn’t so miserable. I’m staying in a middle class neighborhood, not a luxury hotel. I have been here often over the last 2 decades: People are grinning and bearing it. No one is shot in the street. If I need medicine I can just walk into the pharmacy and buy it for $2. People are out past 8pm having fun. People are just enjoying being with other people more.

Something is just broken at home. I really feel like I get a break abroad, from the horrible political news and violence and apocalyptic weather events. I have not felt this way before.

^^exactly. Compared to other countries we cannot do anything to improve or solve collective problems. our infrastructure is decaying because of it - it is well known. even making the smallest improvement to traffic or public space is incredibly costly because we’ve set up a system where people can easily throw wrenches into the works - and we have become so miserable and individualistic that people seem to enjoy crusading against change.

Who.appointed you to speak on behalf of the country. You don't know what is going on in people's heads. Your entire goal is to tell people to feel despair. "You need to hate America, I say, this is why!". You have an agenda.

yes … my agenda is that we should have a transit system on par with equally wealthy countries! And for my neighbors to have more of a sense of collective good so that they don’t spend their time crusading against housing development for example.

Beta bicycle YIMBY has entered the chat. Keep your nose out of your neighbor’s business.

Thanks for providing an example in realtime of the toxic attitude I’m talking about.

Can reasonable minds differ about development of infrastructure? Of course. But your frankly psychotic “beta bicycle YIMBY” nonsense is not a bona fide attempt to do anything except get your rocks off in a very weird exhibition of your oppositionality.

It is not an example, it is a command to stop telling people to embrace the “collective good.” This my “oppositionality” to your psychotic belief in the collective.

Well good thing you sir are not an elected representative (I hope!) I don’t think it’s crazy to want & hope that our elected representatives work to find a common good they can promote.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Recently went to Taiwan, where they rank higher on the freedom index than even the US. It's amazing how things function when everyone obeys the law and it is clean everywhere. Never worried about crimes and guns anywhere. Public transport? Amazing. Regional railways that took over one hour long cost a grand total of about $2.80 FOR TWO TICKETS. Amazing when infrastructure is not built around cars and catering to car culture. Food, much higher quality. Next stop was in Thailand, where one in our party got sick. Went to the hospital and was seen immediately. Got checked out by the attending physician, took a stool sample to determine if there was an infection, and had the results in less than one hour. All of this without using insurance cost a grand whopping total of $83. Imagine how terrible it'd be in the US. Probably at least over $2000 for the same treatment and it'd take triple the amount of time. Even Thailand is so much safer with respect to gun violence and crime. Traveling really opens your eyes to how terrible the US has gotten. I honestly think we are borderline 2nd world. We aren't really that free, healthcare is unaffordable, zero guaranteed vacations, high cost of living, toxic food, terrible infrastructure, severely obese population, and out of control crime and gun problems.

Went to Denmark in September and had same impression. US has become a dump after letting millions of new immigrants in

We should focus on helping our own citizens first.

But both parties are in collusion to bring in cheap labor, and the middle class gets screwed. Housing more expensive , health care explodes

We need to stop all immigration now

OP is sitting around thinking of an excuse to use to tell us that we need immigrants and how our country is so bad because we have not let in more. If he were so concerned about schools and infrastructure he would acknowledge that increasing our population by 100+ over the last few decades was a poor idea. Also lots of immigration is a hamper to collectivism and social cohesion, which he loves. But he won't admit that. This is why he has been silent for a few minutes, he doesn't know what to say.

I think it’s worthwhile to talk about immigration but how is reduced immigration going to build bridges faster and improve the quality of education?

DP. By freezing up resources that are being diverted to people who should not be here in the first place. Honestly, it’s elementary.

Building isn’t a money issue though. We spend more than other countries and build less. And while I’m not saying immigration policy is great, it’s clear to most people with eyes that immigrant labor makes up a huge percentage of the workforce.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really hate when people go to another country for 1-2 weeks on vacation and think that everything is idyllic there because they had a good experience during that short period of time.

I’m by no means a jingoist or believe that America is superior in everything. I lived in two separate Asian countries, one as a teen and one as an adult, for two years each.

Yes, some countries do other things better than we do. Most have gun control much better handled.

But education, taxes, politics, economics and societal norms are complex, and you can’t tell just from a cheap hospital visit or train ride how good things are.

Taiwan is not even recognized as its own country by China and many other foreign powers. They could be invaded by China at any time. China still claims Taiwan as its own.

Thailand is a kingdom, and it isn’t exactly pro-democracy sometimes.

It’s too complicated to go into in a DCUM but, your one glimpse into foreign life doesn’t mean everything is better everywhere else.

+100
Well said. I've also lived abroad in several different countries - Europe and Asia. While each country had its high points, I never fail to be incredibly thankful and relieved to be an American and to be able to return to the U.S. Visiting a foreign country is one thing. Most people who say things like the OP have never *lived* there. Totally different ballgame. I'd choose the U.S. every time.
NP

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Recently went to Taiwan, where they rank higher on the freedom index than even the US. It's amazing how things function when everyone obeys the law and it is clean everywhere. Never worried about crimes and guns anywhere. Public transport? Amazing. Regional railways that took over one hour long cost a grand total of about $2.80 FOR TWO TICKETS. Amazing when infrastructure is not built around cars and catering to car culture. Food, much higher quality. Next stop was in Thailand, where one in our party got sick. Went to the hospital and was seen immediately. Got checked out by the attending physician, took a stool sample to determine if there was an infection, and had the results in less than one hour. All of this without using insurance cost a grand whopping total of $83. Imagine how terrible it'd be in the US. Probably at least over $2000 for the same treatment and it'd take triple the amount of time. Even Thailand is so much safer with respect to gun violence and crime. Traveling really opens your eyes to how terrible the US has gotten. I honestly think we are borderline 2nd world. We aren't really that free, healthcare is unaffordable, zero guaranteed vacations, high cost of living, toxic food, terrible infrastructure, severely obese population, and out of control crime and gun problems.

So, you were a tourist for a few days. You didn't actually live in Taiwan or Thailand? This explains your extremely simplistic world view. Good grief.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:China is about the same size as the US and now has high speed rail connecting almost every part of the country. They're testing trains that could potentially travel at 220-250 mph. Meanwhile, people are paying $300 for Amtrak, lol. American education ranks near last doe so called first world nations. Public safety is horrendous due to guns.

I mean it is honestly a huge eye opening experience when you can go to a foreign country and pay <$2 for a 30 mile regional rail ride and <$100 as a fully uninsured person who was sent to the ER, got seen by a doc immediately, and had lab tests back in <1h.

US healthcare alone makes it a backwards 2nd world country.

Who cares about China. We don't want to be like China. I don't care about trains. We like car culture. Many of us are happy with our health insurance. You only can speak for yourself.

And you and your delusions speak only for yourself.

I see the lack of education in America all over this thread, with you as a sterling example.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:China is about the same size as the US and now has high speed rail connecting almost every part of the country. They're testing trains that could potentially travel at 220-250 mph. Meanwhile, people are paying $300 for Amtrak, lol. American education ranks near last doe so called first world nations. Public safety is horrendous due to guns.

I mean it is honestly a huge eye opening experience when you can go to a foreign country and pay <$2 for a 30 mile regional rail ride and <$100 as a fully uninsured person who was sent to the ER, got seen by a doc immediately, and had lab tests back in <1h.

US healthcare alone makes it a backwards 2nd world country.

Who cares about China. We don't want to be like China. I don't care about trains. We like car culture. Many of us are happy with our health insurance. You only can speak for yourself.

And you and your delusions speak only for yourself.

I see the lack of education in America all over this thread, with you as a sterling example.

You "see"? Who cares what you see? You are not an authority on anything.

[Anonymous]

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Anonymous wrote:Definitely not. I live in Germany, and I have to laugh when so many Americans fantasize about moving to Europe and talk about it like some kind of utopia. It's insanely naive. Every place has its problems and issues

The problem in the US is not that we have problems. It is our obstinate refusal to solve any of them while new problems continue to crop up. While many of these problems are sort of relegated to the poorest people in our country, they are increasingly “trickling up” to the middle class.

People are routinely dying from a lack of healthcare or going bankrupt from medical problems. This should have been resolved ages ago, and is simply not such a crisis in other countries.

Same with gun violence. Yes, there are a multitude of tertiary issues related to gun violence but the main issue is simply guns.

And now, we have a huge mentally ill homeless population suffering in our cities and it’s only growing.

And I think the worst part is that people seem so lonely and unhappy.

Why do we tolerate this?

When I go to my parents’ home country, it just isn’t so miserable. I’m staying in a middle class neighborhood, not a luxury hotel. I have been here often over the last 2 decades: People are grinning and bearing it. No one is shot in the street. If I need medicine I can just walk into the pharmacy and buy it for $2. People are out past 8pm having fun. People are just enjoying being with other people more.

Something is just broken at home. I really feel like I get a break abroad, from the horrible political news and violence and apocalyptic weather events. I have not felt this way before.

^^exactly. Compared to other countries we cannot do anything to improve or solve collective problems. our infrastructure is decaying because of it - it is well known. even making the smallest improvement to traffic or public space is incredibly costly because we’ve set up a system where people can easily throw wrenches into the works - and we have become so miserable and individualistic that people seem to enjoy crusading against change.

Who.appointed you to speak on behalf of the country. You don't know what is going on in people's heads. Your entire goal is to tell people to feel despair. "You need to hate America, I say, this is why!". You have an agenda.

yes … my agenda is that we should have a transit system on par with equally wealthy countries! And for my neighbors to have more of a sense of collective good so that they don’t spend their time crusading against housing development for example.

I don't want collectivism. So look I have an opinion as well.

fabulous, then enjoy the decaying bridges, flight cancellations, endless traffic jams, and uneducated children that are the result. Congrats!

You keep on talking at us here. But you mean nothing to us, so your curses of doom and gloom fall flat. You can't make things terrible by your mere declarations.

Oh so there aren’t flight delays and cancellations, decaying bridges, and heinous traffic? And we’re supposed to be taking your opinion seriously?

Put down the pipe, moron.

I don't feel bad about the U.S. despite your command of "hate yourself!"

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I go to Tanzania every year or so on a mission trip and it’s a good reminder how lucky I am to have been born in the US. If the US is so terrible, why are millions of people trying to enter illegally every year? If you feel the US is terrible you are welcome to go elsewhere. Your exit will help with our housing crisis.

How simplistic …

Consider this - the U.S. can be “terrible in many ways” but still be desirable to certain illegal immigrants at the same time. Wouldn’t that address your illegal immigration point?

Doesn’t mean the U.S. is hitting on all cylinders - it just means the U.S. is perceived to be at least marginally better for them than their current station.

The U.S. is not not terrible.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Recently went to Taiwan, where they rank higher on the freedom index than even the US. It's amazing how things function when everyone obeys the law and it is clean everywhere. Never worried about crimes and guns anywhere. Public transport? Amazing. Regional railways that took over one hour long cost a grand total of about $2.80 FOR TWO TICKETS. Amazing when infrastructure is not built around cars and catering to car culture. Food, much higher quality. Next stop was in Thailand, where one in our party got sick. Went to the hospital and was seen immediately. Got checked out by the attending physician, took a stool sample to determine if there was an infection, and had the results in less than one hour. All of this without using insurance cost a grand whopping total of $83. Imagine how terrible it'd be in the US. Probably at least over $2000 for the same treatment and it'd take triple the amount of time. Even Thailand is so much safer with respect to gun violence and crime. Traveling really opens your eyes to how terrible the US has gotten. I honestly think we are borderline 2nd world. We aren't really that free, healthcare is unaffordable, zero guaranteed vacations, high cost of living, toxic food, terrible infrastructure, severely obese population, and out of control crime and gun problems.

Went to Denmark in September and had same impression. US has become a dump after letting millions of new immigrants in

We should focus on helping our own citizens first.

But both parties are in collusion to bring in cheap labor, and the middle class gets screwed. Housing more expensive , health care explodes

We need to stop all immigration now

OP is sitting around thinking of an excuse to use to tell us that we need immigrants and how our country is so bad because we have not let in more. If he were so concerned about schools and infrastructure he would acknowledge that increasing our population by 100+ over the last few decades was a poor idea. Also lots of immigration is a hamper to collectivism and social cohesion, which he loves. But he won't admit that. This is why he has been silent for a few minutes, he doesn't know what to say.

I think it’s worthwhile to talk about immigration but how is reduced immigration going to build bridges faster and improve the quality of education?

DP. By freezing up resources that are being diverted to people who should not be here in the first place. Honestly, it’s elementary.

Building isn’t a money issue though. We spend more than other countries and build less. And while I’m not saying immigration policy is great, it’s clear to most people with eyes that immigrant labor makes up a huge percentage of the workforce.

test

[Anonymous]

Every country I’ve been to looks beautiful and clean. Of course I stay at high-end resorts or upscale areas. But I’m sure that has nothing to do with it!

Nepal was awesome as a well off tourist, but there has to be a reason there is so much emigration. Let’s not be naive and think a 2 week trip represents a country. If you want to know how a country is to live in, look toward emigration per capita…nobody makes the decision to leave their country lightly (and the US scores well here).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Taiwan is under constant threat of attack and has mandatory military service. They tried to reduce the time but had to extend it again because of the increased threats from China.

Thailand also has a conscription process. You are required to either volunteer or enter a draft lottery.

By the way, Thailand is also a monarchy where you cannot speak badly of the royal family or you can be imprisoned for up to 15 years.

Ah yes, so much freedom in the US where residents can't even go to the grocery stores, church, or school without being shot. So much freedom loving Americans that have exported Democracy with bombs and deaths squads in Iraq to Afghanistan to Vietnam to Chile to Indonesia and to virtually all of Central America. So much freedom in America where their Gestapo, aka the police, routinely execute citizens in the streets without due process and confiscate private property via civil forfeiture. So much freedom in the US a single billionaire bought the 2024 election. So much freedom in the US women have zero reproductive rights and cent even have time off after having children. So much freedom in the US food corporations write the laws for safety and Americans eat foods containing chemicals banned virtually everywhere else in the world.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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Anonymous wrote:Recently went to Taiwan, where they rank higher on the freedom index than even the US. It's amazing how things function when everyone obeys the law and it is clean everywhere. Never worried about crimes and guns anywhere. Public transport? Amazing. Regional railways that took over one hour long cost a grand total of about $2.80 FOR TWO TICKETS. Amazing when infrastructure is not built around cars and catering to car culture. Food, much higher quality. Next stop was in Thailand, where one in our party got sick. Went to the hospital and was seen immediately. Got checked out by the attending physician, took a stool sample to determine if there was an infection, and had the results in less than one hour. All of this without using insurance cost a grand whopping total of $83. Imagine how terrible it'd be in the US. Probably at least over $2000 for the same treatment and it'd take triple the amount of time. Even Thailand is so much safer with respect to gun violence and crime. Traveling really opens your eyes to how terrible the US has gotten. I honestly think we are borderline 2nd world. We aren't really that free, healthcare is unaffordable, zero guaranteed vacations, high cost of living, toxic food, terrible infrastructure, severely obese population, and out of control crime and gun problems.

Went to Denmark in September and had same impression. US has become a dump after letting millions of new immigrants in

We should focus on helping our own citizens first.

But both parties are in collusion to bring in cheap labor, and the middle class gets screwed. Housing more expensive , health care explodes

We need to stop all immigration now

OP is sitting around thinking of an excuse to use to tell us that we need immigrants and how our country is so bad because we have not let in more. If he were so concerned about schools and infrastructure he would acknowledge that increasing our population by 100+ over the last few decades was a poor idea. Also lots of immigration is a hamper to collectivism and social cohesion, which he loves. But he won't admit that. This is why he has been silent for a few minutes, he doesn't know what to say.

I think it’s worthwhile to talk about immigration but how is reduced immigration going to build bridges faster and improve the quality of education?

DP. By freezing up resources that are being diverted to people who should not be here in the first place. Honestly, it’s elementary.

Building isn’t a money issue though. We spend more than other countries and build less. And while I’m not saying immigration policy is great, it’s clear to most people with eyes that immigrant labor makes up a huge percentage of the workforce.

Trying again to respond. This censorship is ridiculous; it’s not like I’m using slurs.
I do think it is primarily a resource issue, based on how I’ve seen the illegal population in my area hoover up resources in the public school system. Also, it’s not the illegal border crossers who are out there building bridges. The visa folks aren’t out there building bridges either.

[Anonymous]

I can only assume Jeff is in this thread right now censoring wrong think. You must be so, soooo triggered, Jeff. Unbelievable.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Recently went to Taiwan, where they rank higher on the freedom index than even the US. It's amazing how things function when everyone obeys the law and it is clean everywhere. Never worried about crimes and guns anywhere. Public transport? Amazing. Regional railways that took over one hour long cost a grand total of about $2.80 FOR TWO TICKETS. Amazing when infrastructure is not built around cars and catering to car culture. Food, much higher quality. Next stop was in Thailand, where one in our party got sick. Went to the hospital and was seen immediately. Got checked out by the attending physician, took a stool sample to determine if there was an infection, and had the results in less than one hour. All of this without using insurance cost a grand whopping total of $83. Imagine how terrible it'd be in the US. Probably at least over $2000 for the same treatment and it'd take triple the amount of time. Even Thailand is so much safer with respect to gun violence and crime. Traveling really opens your eyes to how terrible the US has gotten. I honestly think we are borderline 2nd world. We aren't really that free, healthcare is unaffordable, zero guaranteed vacations, high cost of living, toxic food, terrible infrastructure, severely obese population, and out of control crime and gun problems.

Look beyond the surface and the main economic issues that dominate Taiwan are the same as those in the U.S. - high cost of living, affordable housing, lack of employment opportunities, lack of quality health care. From someone who has been visiting Taiwan since the 1980s, the comparisons are not always what they seem.

Ok but you are remarkably free of concern about gun crime, which is such a pleasure when traveling to many destinations outside of the United States. We are such idiots to tolerate the level of gun crime that we do in this country. It is our country and we don't have to have it. Gun violence is the number one reason our children die. Shame on us.

Gun violence is not even in the top 10 for causes of death to minors in Thailand.