What do you think is America's biggest problem?

[IROC]

If I had to pick one thing that could be listed as a "problem", I was agree with the suggestion of the lack of personal responsibility.

But, I often think that there are two big factors at work these days:

The first is the fact that we have easy access to and are constantly bombarded with information. It didn't used to be this way. In order to generate ratings ($), the main outlet of this information - the media - whips people into a frenzy over relatively insignificant issues (Elian Gonzales and Terry Schiavo come to mind). I'm not trying to say that people shouldn't be informed, educated, etc., but that the media et al really plays a big part in driving wedges between people (and countries). I see this as a problem.

Number 2 isn't really a problem, but I think it is the way in which we view the world. I grew up in the '60s and '70s and when I reflect back on my childhood, my memories are of a simple, more peaceful world. Obviously, this was not the case. The world was just as violent and scandalous as it is now (e.g. Vietnam, Watergate, the 6 Days War). I just wasn't so keenly aware of it. Using my logic, my 15 year-old son will look back at this decade 30 years from now and wish for the "good ol' days" of the '90s and this decade.

So...after all of this rambling...I am finding myself saying that we have problems for sure, but are they really that much different than they have been over the past few decades? Wipe away the dirty film that we view this country through if you watch CNN or Fox News 24 hrs a day and this is a great country. For all of our "problems", deep down I believe that. But maybe I'm naive.

Mike

[techweenie]

I think there are two aspects to what bothers me most about the American political dialog today:

Closed-mindedness

Anger addiction

As has been pointed out, there's a lot of free-floating anger in America. Some clever folks (on all points of the political compass) have exploited that anger to their benefit. So like a lightning rod, Joe Sixpack can now hate the 'other guys' and impute their every word and deed into something evil.

Lots of people find comfort in their hatred. They never have to listen to the 'other side.' As in a religion, the anger-channeling demagogues only have to use code words to dismiss the views of non-believers. After all, to consider other options and to make choices induces stress. To close one's mind to everything the opposition says is both stressless and energizing.

[techweenie]

The End of The Innocence

Remember when the days were long
And rolled beneath a deep blue sky
Didn’t have a care in the world
With mommy and daddy standing by
When happily ever after fails
And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers dwell on small details
Since daddy had to fly
But I know a place where we can go
That’s still untouched by man
We’ll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
You can lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
O’ beautiful, for spacious skies
But now those skies are threatening
They’re beating plowshares into swords
For this tired old man that we elected king
Armchair warriors often fail
And we’ve been poisoned by these fairy tales
The lawyers clean up all details
Since daddy had to lie
But I know a place where we can go
And was away this sin
We’ll sit and watch the clouds roll by
And the tall grass wave in the wind
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair spill all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence
Who knows how long this will last
Now we’ve come so far, so fast
But, somewhere back there in the dust
That same small town in each of us
I need to remember this
So baby give me just one kiss
And let me take a long last look
Before we say good bye
Just lay your head back on the ground
And let your hair fall all around me
Offer up your best defense
But this is the end
This is the end of the innocence

[Paul K]

I said 'ignorance' earlier, and I'll stick to it. But the cause of a lot of the responses posted by readers is simple. We live in a society which is under the very powerful influence of a time famine. Many of the woes of society (in many countries, I might add) are caused by this. If we had more time, or more power over how we spend our time, I believe life would be better.

Thoughts?

Have a great weekend.

Paul.

[speedkillz]

I get a kick from all the RW people on the board. They all feel we should end welfare... cut spending on all social issues, ban all personal rights to a woman, and attack anyone who has an idea or life style different then them. It's OK to kill if we do it in the name of "Freedom". It's OK to persecute in the name of "Righteousness"
I'll take Ignorance and neo- con anarchists as the two things wrong with this country. God help you if some day you might need state aid, unemployment insurance, or Medical.

[M.D. Holloway]

Craig - helping people who want to help them selves but might not be able to is great, helping people who are lazy and crimminal is unacceptable.

Too many take advantage of good people like you. Some of us just have too short a fuse to put up with it or just are not made of the really good stuff others are made up of.

[lendaddy]

Originally posted by speedkillz
I get a kick from all the RW people on the board. They all feel we should end welfare... cut spending on all social issues, ban all personal rights to a woman, and attack anyone who has an idea or life style different then them. It's OK to kill if we do it in the name of "Freedom". It's OK to persecute in the name of "Righteousness"
I'll take Ignorance and neo- con anarchists as the two things wrong with this country. God help you if some day you might need state aid, unemployment insurance, or Medical.

This is what you think we stand for and you claim ignorance is the countries biggest problem??? Now that's rich, thanks for the Friday laugh.

[911teo]

Originally posted by LubeMaster77
Craig - helping people who want to help them selves but might not be able to is great, helping people who are lazy and crimminal is unacceptable.

True
but i'd rather help a lazy person than risking refusing it to a needy person...

I moved to the US 2 years ago... I lived in Italy, France, England and Germany... Americans are not that much different than Europeans... on a one to one basis.

This is a beautiful country with great people... Republicans or Democrats.

I am fortunate to have achieved financial stability... but what still scares me is the lack of a social safety net...
Granted I come from Socialist Europe.... but the idea of being poor in this country is daunting.
And the funny thing is I pay as much taxes here as I was paying in England and slightly less than Germany.

No wonder everybody is obsessed with makin money and very few people have the time to relax and enjoy life as it is a little bit more...

[ken_xman]

US needs to model Amsterdam
"Kens Apartment"

[turbo6bar]

Originally posted by Paul K
I said 'ignorance' earlier, and I'll stick to it. But the cause of a lot of the responses posted by readers is simple. We live in a society which is under the very powerful influence of a time famine. Many of the woes of society (in many countries, I might add) are caused by this. If we had more time, or more power over how we spend our time, I believe life would be better.

Hi, Paul. I think too many Americans have associated "The American Dream" with material goods and wealth. I think many issues would become non-issues if one did not work so many hours, commute the many hours, and create so much debt. I believe a drive for more is healthy for humans, but the drive must be balanced with a comprehension of needs vs. wants, as well as an honest appraisal of what really makes you happy.

Curbing the addiction to consumer goods would:
1) Reduce workload.
2) Reduce our dependence on oil
3) Reduce our dependence on cheap crap from Asia
4) Allow parents to be parents
5) Reduce money pressures and stress
6) The list goes on

[M.D. Holloway]

Matteo - the safety net is nice in theory but a joke in practice. On a dialy basis there are thousands that scam the system here and yet others who need legitimate help end up suffering because they don't know the game or how to play it.

You can help the needy and to he11 with the lazy crooks.

[skipdup]

Originally posted by LubeMaster77
... On a dialy basis there are thousands that scam the system here and yet others who need legitimate help ....

And, we don't have infinite resources. So, for every person that scams, there's a person that goes without.

[911teo]

Originally posted by LubeMaster77


You can help the needy and to he11 with the lazy crooks.

Mike
this is also nice in theory. The hell with the crooks...
But it is very difficult to differenciate and just help the needy in practice.
I'd personally prefer a society that is geared towards the risk of helping a crook vs the idea of leaving the real needy person behind.

On the other hand in I have never seen people give so much to charity as they do here in the US. Republicans and Democrats together.

So what's not done at the central level might be accomplished by private organizations.

When we first moved to the US my wife was 7 month pregnant. We didnt yet have health insurance and even though we could have paid for all the expenses ourselves (and did until the work-related policy kicked in) it was very difficult for us to find a doctor that would car for my wife.

I guess we both agree in principles.. we are just on the opposide sides of the same river...

[Mulhollanddose]

Originally posted by skipdup
And, we don't have infinite resources. So, for every person that scams, there's a person that goes without.

No worries, that is where the co-mingling of social security with the general fund comes in...Big porky-bank...Precisely why Democrats do not want to fix it.

[M.D. Holloway]

You can have the help without the gov getting to wet in that river. You are correct, Churches, various organizations and even various clubs do a little bit to relieve this. I wonder if the gov got out of the charity biz if other pilthrant[pic organizations would get more involved?

[Bill Verburg]

Everyone has rights, no one has responsibility

[Mulhollanddose]

Originally posted by LubeMaster77
You can have the help without the gov getting to wet in that river. You are correct, Churches, various organizations and even various clubs do a little bit to relieve this. I wonder if the gov got out of the charity biz if other pilthrant[pic organizations would get more involved?

Proven fact.

[Superman]

Didn't have time to read all the responses, but just from the title I formed an opinion. One that I know you will all adopt as your own once you hear it. In the broadest sense, I guess you could say it is "values," but I'll be much more specific than that. It is the placement of commerce at the top of our national value system, with the twisted belief that all other good things will naturally flow from it. Don't get me wrong, I like commerce and I very much like many of the helpful mechanisms of capitalism. But let's just take one simple example: Television and the Media. They are not in the business of informing or entertaining. They are in the business of selling. And there is a big difference between how that industry operates today, versus how it would operate if informing, or entertaining, or helping people were its goal.

[928ram]

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