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

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It's hard to have a sense of collective good when theres nothing that unites a diverse population.

The famous Lee Kuan Yew quote comes to mind.

There’s a ton of research that shows that increased diversity leads to less societal cohesion and trust. You could combat this by trying to inculcate a sense of citizenship and unity in being American, but the same party that pushes diversity also spends most of its time crapping on this country, and telling people that assimilation is bad. It’s a terrible combination.

+1. But yet the message “diversity is our strength” will continue to be forced down our collective throats.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

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?

Less diversion of funds to English language education, assisted housing and medical expenses among a zillion other reasons.

what municipalities or states are giving immigrants housing and covering medical care?

I’m naming just the easiest example here, but NYC is providing free housing to illegal aliens at taxpayer expense. Hospitals everywhere are providing healthcare via emergency rooms, etc., to illegals. It’s happening in my area so I know this straight from the medical personnel’s mouth.

It's interesting that MAGA want us to be a Christian nation, but don't want to actually follow Christ's teachings about loving thy neighbor, welcoming the foreigner, taking care of orphans and widows.

I think MAGA need to really stop pretending they are Christians. They are just populists, hiding behind "Christianity".

Guess what, bub? You are the ones going on about separation of church and state and fearing “Christian nationalism.” I’m totally fine with separation of church and state. Ergo Christ’s teachings are 100% irrelevant to how I think the government should be run.

You can’t have it both ways. Nice try though.

Okay, here's the thing. Christians are called to be Christian no matter what. The separation of church and state just means they are different things not that ideas that come from the church can't inform our policies.

I am entirely confident you’d be squawking if someone vying for senate confirmation with a R next to their name stated they would work to implement policies that were informed by their Christian faith. Again, nice try, but no. Also, I live in a community with a high illegal immigrant population. I treat everyone with whom I come in contact with respect and civility, regardless of what I know or suspect their immigration status to be — it has no bearing on my personal interactions with others.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the duty of the US government to uphold the law and to protect the rights and interests of its citizens. The US government should have zero consideration for Jesus’s teachings as they relate to other countries’ poor people. It is simply not the government’s role. To say otherwise is preposterous.

[Anonymous]

I lived abroad for prolonged periods both in Europe and the Middle East. Have many things I admire and miss about both places. At the same time, on the whole I have a higher QOL in the US. Grass isn't always greener on the other side of the fence.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

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?

Less diversion of funds to English language education, assisted housing and medical expenses among a zillion other reasons.

what municipalities or states are giving immigrants housing and covering medical care?

I’m naming just the easiest example here, but NYC is providing free housing to illegal aliens at taxpayer expense. Hospitals everywhere are providing healthcare via emergency rooms, etc., to illegals. It’s happening in my area so I know this straight from the medical personnel’s mouth.

It's interesting that MAGA want us to be a Christian nation, but don't want to actually follow Christ's teachings about loving thy neighbor, welcoming the foreigner, taking care of orphans and widows.

I think MAGA need to really stop pretending they are Christians. They are just populists, hiding behind "Christianity".

Guess what, bub? You are the ones going on about separation of church and state and fearing “Christian nationalism.” I’m totally fine with separation of church and state. Ergo Christ’s teachings are 100% irrelevant to how I think the government should be run.

You can’t have it both ways. Nice try though.

Okay, here's the thing. Christians are called to be Christian no matter what. The separation of church and state just means they are different things not that ideas that come from the church can't inform our policies.

I am entirely confident you’d be squawking if someone vying for senate confirmation with a R next to their name stated they would work to implement policies that were informed by their Christian faith. Again, nice try, but no. Also, I live in a community with a high illegal immigrant population. I treat everyone with whom I come in contact with respect and civility, regardless of what I know or suspect their immigration status to be — it has no bearing on my personal interactions with others.

This has absolutely nothing to do with the duty of the US government to uphold the law and to protect the rights and interests of its citizens. The US government should have zero consideration for Jesus’s teachings as they relate to other countries’ poor people. It is simply not the government’s role. To say otherwise is preposterous.

+ a million
I can't believe this even has to be explained.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

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?

Less diversion of funds to English language education, assisted housing and medical expenses among a zillion other reasons.

what municipalities or states are giving immigrants housing and covering medical care?

I’m naming just the easiest example here, but NYC is providing free housing to illegal aliens at taxpayer expense. Hospitals everywhere are providing healthcare via emergency rooms, etc., to illegals. It’s happening in my area so I know this straight from the medical personnel’s mouth.

It's interesting that MAGA want us to be a Christian nation, but don't want to actually follow Christ's teachings about loving thy neighbor, welcoming the foreigner, taking care of orphans and widows.

I think MAGA need to really stop pretending they are Christians. They are just populists, hiding behind "Christianity".

Guess what, bub? You are the ones going on about separation of church and state and fearing “Christian nationalism.” I’m totally fine with separation of church and state. Ergo Christ’s teachings are 100% irrelevant to how I think the government should be run.

You can’t have it both ways. Nice try though.

And when muslim students in Detroit push for footbaths at the University of Michigan and the ACLU pushes for government funding of them, you democrats are the first ones to forget about "Separation of Church and State".

If it weren't for double standards, democrats would have no standards at all.

[Anonymous]

I've mostly spent time in countries worse than the US, and what bothers me is how much more like them we have become in the last decade.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've mostly spent time in countries worse than the US, and what bothers me is how much more like them we have become in the last decade.

Yes, this. It’s an impending crisis of competency that will have vast and extremely undesirable ripple effects. To your point, it’s not really impending. It’s upon us.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:If you aren’t interested in moving to these places, then there is your answer.

Not necessarily. The only reason I am not considering it is that I can’t leave my family. We have grown kids and aging parents. We aren’t going to leave them.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:If you aren’t interested in moving to these places, then there is your answer.

Not necessarily. The only reason I am not considering it is that I can’t leave my family. We have grown kids and aging parents. We aren’t going to leave them.

You can leave after the parents die. The kids can visit you.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It's hard to have a sense of collective good when theres nothing that unites a diverse population.

The famous Lee Kuan Yew quote comes to mind.

There’s a ton of research that shows that increased diversity leads to less societal cohesion and trust. You could combat this by trying to inculcate a sense of citizenship and unity in being American, but the same party that pushes diversity also spends most of its time crapping on this country, and telling people that assimilation is bad. It’s a terrible combination.

+1. But yet the message “diversity is our strength” will continue to be forced down our collective throats.

Diversity in the ethnic foods is definitely a strength of the US, and I'm super grateful for it.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I've mostly spent time in countries worse than the US, and what bothers me is how much more like them we have become in the last decade.

We have allowed ultra religious people to impact our politics. That is the hallmark of a 3rd world country.

[Anonymous]

Yep. I have done very little international travel, but I recently went to New Zealand, and it was eye-opening. Admittedly, I don’t know a lot about their politics, but according to locals, it doesn’t matter so much because they don’t have daily political turmoil that dominates their lives like we have here.

It struck me how airport security was so different, highlighting how much less of a concern it is for them. Of course they screen, but it just felt obvious that it obligatory more than necessary, if that makes sense.

For the entire three weeks, I did not see any consumable plastic or styrofoam. I did not see any litter. There was no need to have trash cans on every corner.

Tipping is practically non-existent.

Domestic flights are inexpensive. We were able to fly between cities for about $40 per ticket.

Their native culture seems to be incredibly highly regarded and respected.

Other than airports, we never had to go through security or metal detectors.

Bathrooms! Most public restrooms were a row of actual small rooms, each with an actual door, toilet and sink.

The food was not great (other than the savory pies everywhere), but there was much less food with artificial ingredients.

They comply with the rest of the world by using the metric system. I noticed that everyone in the tourism field, even the teenagers, had learned a bit about customary just so that they could explain things to Americans. In a large group with people from multiple countries, they would mention how many kilometers or meters something is and then look at us and explain how many miles, yards, or feet that would be. Embarrassing but also helpful. Lol.

I could live there.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

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?

Less diversion of funds to English language education, assisted housing and medical expenses among a zillion other reasons.

what municipalities or states are giving immigrants housing and covering medical care?

I’m naming just the easiest example here, but NYC is providing free housing to illegal aliens at taxpayer expense. Hospitals everywhere are providing healthcare via emergency rooms, etc., to illegals. It’s happening in my area so I know this straight from the medical personnel’s mouth.

It's interesting that MAGA want us to be a Christian nation, but don't want to actually follow Christ's teachings about loving thy neighbor, welcoming the foreigner, taking care of orphans and widows.

I think MAGA need to really stop pretending they are Christians. They are just populists, hiding behind "Christianity".

Guess what, bub? You are the ones going on about separation of church and state and fearing “Christian nationalism.” I’m totally fine with separation of church and state. Ergo Christ’s teachings are 100% irrelevant to how I think the government should be run.

You can’t have it both ways. Nice try though.

And when muslim students in Detroit push for footbaths at the University of Michigan and the ACLU pushes for government funding of them, you democrats are the first ones to forget about "Separation of Church and State".

If it weren't for double standards, democrats would have no standards at all.

How about Catholic Biden pushing his anti death penalty stance on all of us with his commutation of child killers? Double standards.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It's hard to have a sense of collective good when theres nothing that unites a diverse population.

The famous Lee Kuan Yew quote comes to mind.

There’s a ton of research that shows that increased diversity leads to less societal cohesion and trust. You could combat this by trying to inculcate a sense of citizenship and unity in being American, but the same party that pushes diversity also spends most of its time crapping on this country, and telling people that assimilation is bad. It’s a terrible combination.

+1. But yet the message “diversity is our strength” will continue to be forced down our collective throats.

Trump continues to embolden racist trash.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

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.

It's hard to have a sense of collective good when theres nothing that unites a diverse population.

The famous Lee Kuan Yew quote comes to mind.

There’s a ton of research that shows that increased diversity leads to less societal cohesion and trust. You could combat this by trying to inculcate a sense of citizenship and unity in being American, but the same party that pushes diversity also spends most of its time crapping on this country, and telling people that assimilation is bad. It’s a terrible combination.

+1. But yet the message “diversity is our strength” will continue to be forced down our collective throats.

Trump continues to embolden racist trash.

Weren’t you supposed to emigrate to Canada by now?