Comments on: America, Fuck Yeah!

By: Tc

Tc — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 21:47:44 +0000

I’ll back up the island comment because it appears Mark is taking it literally. Our citizens have no idea what is going on in the rest of the world. It’s like we bunkered ourselves in with only missile turrets and there is no room for siege tanks. We all live on an island without any care what happens in the world.

By: MARK

MARK — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 21:21:34 +0000

America is an island?

I could comment on like 1000 things but I will say this..

America has the best beer of any other country. While Germany and Belgium usually get this honor I feel that their beer is kind of one-denominational. American beer has such variety (goes along with your “US pulls from every nationality” thing) well, speaking of craft breweries.

By: Brookes

Brookes — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 19:42:36 +0000

I think it would be an interesting exercise to look at music production – country by country. Pretty sure England would dominate (Beatles, Rolling Stones, Led Zeppelin, The Who, The Clash, The Sex Pistols, The Smiths, Radiohead, Oasis, Eric Clapton, etc.). US has some stong entries – especially considering the R&B/Hip-Hop/Rap genres – and the Blues. Wales has Tom Jones. Iceland has Sigur Ros and Bjork, etc. Perhaps another post?

I think 2 things you missed discussing in the post were Education, Healthcare and Crime/Violence.

Education
For instance, as an American citizen – Germany will pay for my college if I attend in Germany. But the US won’t. That’s a problem – or at least a discussion. American Student Loan debt will surpass the combined debt of mortgages and credit cards within the coming years – if not already. It is the largest financial obstacle most Americans face. It also doesn’t “go away” when you die (like credit card debt) – but passes on to your wife, kids, family, etc.

Healthcare
Pros & Cons to each side (re: socialized or private). Don’t think we have figured it out just yet.

Crime / Violence
This is a pretty obvious one I think. We are probably the most violent country in the world (per capita) – re: violent crimes, gun violence, etc.

We have got a lot of things right over the years, but I think there are many things left to tackle. Unless we all move to Norway. 😉

By: jkash

jkash — Fri, 31 Jul 2015 18:11:08 +0000

Pretty solid post because it’s thought provoking. Some interesting points and figures you cite. The Olympic medal count and defense spending are pretty startling.