The USA

[FreakyLocz14]

Without equal rights or protection (California does have protection though) that doesn't matter to me.

And I do not believe marriage is a right. I believe the legal status you gain when married and the multiple benefits that come from it are rights though, and I believe creating something out of thin air just for gay people is discriminatory. The perfect compromise would be to make it so religious institutions can deny gay people marriage, but courts cannot. That way, we still have the ability to get married and religious institutions are unaffected by the change unless the want to be affected.

Domestic partnerships are for all people, regardless of sexual orientation.

You said:
"And I do not believe marriage is a right. I believe the legal status you gain when married and the multiple benefits that come from it are rights though."

If that's true, domestic partnerships are good enough since they bestow all the same rights as marriages does. You said it's not marriage itself that's necessary; rather what's necessary are the legal rights it gives.

 

[LadySurreal]

It sounds and looks brilliant but I wouldn't go due too racists and the KKK.

The Ku Klux Klan lost it's influence anyway and they can be taken down quickly if they lay a hand on any minorities or Catholics, or Caucasians who are against them (People left out the Catholics and Anti-Racist Caucasians).

Racism? It's everywhere, even in my country and yours. Those Anti-Muslims in the UK to Reverse-Racists here. I basically have no right to speak against South Africa because of my appearance despite me carrying the Semite and Scandinavian/Anglo genes. To be honest, I wouldn't travel to most of the world, my country's reputation is obviously being torn down little by little.

 

[Amai]

Domestic partnerships are for all people, regardless of sexual orientation.

You said:
"And I do not believe marriage is a right. I believe the legal status you gain when married and the multiple benefits that come from it are rights though."

If that's true, domestic partnerships are good enough since they bestow all the same rights as marriages does. You said it's not marriage itself that's necessary; rather what's necessary are the legal rights it gives.

Love how you cut half the sentence off and only replied to what you want to instead of the entire thing, which is why I am not going to bother continuing this.

It's pointless to argue with someone when you say there is a wolf behind them, they turn around thinking it's a nice little puppy because they only cared enough to realize that there is a member of the canine family behind them, instead of paying attention to the details and actually replying to what was meant to be said.

 

[22sa]

Made in America plays a big role in my life, as much as the Asian countries. And America has never done anything wrong to Canada, so over all I am very grateful to everything America is.

All the information, file-sharing, any sort of intelligent place worth me going to on the internet are usually hosted in America. I owe America my life. :x

 

[Trap-Eds]

I kind of hate what we try to be, we try to please everyone in the world, and that's a good thing but some countries don't want our help...it's like a kid trying to help another and the other kid punches you in the face for trying to help them...

You have to understand American political culture to understand why we value low taxes. We're a capitalist society, so we don't believe that the government should be providing services that we prefer private businesses to handle. Call it selfish if you want, but Americans have a "Government: Stay out of my way!" political attitude for the most part.

We like to whine about everything wrong with country, from SS to our infrastructure, yet we don't seem to want to pay up to fix it. The emphasis on individualism and materialism is disgusting.

Yeah, that's the only thing I dislike about America: the hypocrisy. We promise equal rights for everybody, and freedom for everybody, and nag against corrupt politicians and other governments and all of that...while hiding all of our OWN corruption. Oy. It doesn't help that our media absolutely loves to exaggerate all of this too.

But you know, I like America. Despite all of its craziness, it is an alright country to live in. We have good intentions. :D

 

[femtrooper]

I am Canadian, and I love the United States. They are our big brother!

There are many aspects of it that I dislike, but oh well, it's a great place! I visit the United States often and always have a great time!

I suppose the things that bother me about the United States are the fact that people don't have free Health Care...almost all the first world nations in the world have it...so it makes me sad for the Americans that they do not get this privilege. I also don't like all the gun stuff, the educational system, and the fact that religion interferes with politics and education. I also don't like that the United States claims to be a free country but there is discrimination to many people, like Gays, Muslims, Blacks, etc. It really bugs me. It's so archaic to think that people can't serve in the military because of someone they love! IT'S 2010!!!

Honestly though, having said all that, it's still a wonderful place. I would live there if a job came up and I had great health insurance, but honestly, I love Canada. New York is my dream city to live in!

But yeah, my love is for Canada though; it's like the US, but without the drama, haha.

 

[SonicThrust]

For my opinion on the US: Not a terrible country, if you want a horrid developed country, try Greece, it's a mess over there, to the point people suggest they leave the Euro Zone. If you've never been there, your insults on them is invalid.

Is Greece really that bad? Or are you exaggerating as much as you were when you mentioned Canada living in the USSR style? And yes I've been to Greece.

The perfect compromise would be to make it so religious institutions can deny gay people marriage, but courts cannot. That way, we still have the ability to get married and religious institutions are unaffected by the change unless the want to be affected.

This is the system we've had in Canada since 2005 :).

Personally, I don't mind the USA. It has it's good points and bad points, but that's to be expected.

I vacation there quite often and really enjoy it. Do I agree with everything that happens there? No. I think their "right to bear arms", as someone mentioned, is a horrible idea. I also completely disagree with their health care system among other things. Despite this, I do think it's a good country.

 

[LadySurreal]

Is Greece really that bad? Or are you exaggerating as much as you were when you mentioned Canada living in the USSR style? And yes I've been to Greece.



This is the system we've had in Canada since 2005 :).

Personally, I don't mind the USA. It has it's good points and bad points, but that's to be expected.

I vacation there quite often and really enjoy it. Do I agree with everything that happens there? No. I think their "right to bear arms", as someone mentioned, is a horrible idea. I also completely disagree with their health care system among other things. Despite this, I do think it's a good country.

Greece ask the EU for some financial aid, Germany (or some other country, I don't remember) declined to do so, France got salty over it and suggest Greece to leave the Eurozone. The recession has hit Greece really hard.

 

[Mr. X]

America... the land of double standards.

Why do i call it that? Simple... This country was founded by slave owners who wanted to be free. They wanted religious freedom, yes, but either way they were seeking a form of freedom.

Now lets go foward a few hundred years. Dont ask, dont tell. This here is another reason why i don't like my country. We hear soliders preach about how its a honour to serve your country in the military. We have a entiire group of people who wish to serve their country but the government forbids them to do so unless they hide their true selves.

And as for this war we are in... Were not going to win it. It will forever be a stalemate unless we surrender.

 

[Livewire]

Is Greece really that bad? Or are you exaggerating as much as you were when you mentioned Canada living in the USSR style? And yes I've been to Greece.



This is the system we've had in Canada since 2005 :).

Personally, I don't mind the USA. It has it's good points and bad points, but that's to be expected.

I vacation there quite often and really enjoy it. Do I agree with everything that happens there? No. I think their "right to bear arms", as someone mentioned, is a horrible idea. I also completely disagree with their health care system among other things. Despite this, I do think it's a good country.

That. ^ I agree.

Also, like you mentioned with the right to bear arms, the Second Amendment has been wildly taken out of context.

 

[Ivysaur]

Greece ask the EU for some financial aid, Germany (or some other country, I don't remember) declined to do so, France got salty over it and suggest Greece to leave the Eurozone. The recession has hit Greece really hard.

Adding to that, Greece had manipulated their balances so they could get into the Eurozone. When the trick was found out, they asked for a help plan because the investors were obviously running away and the national debt was going sky-high. Germany, well, Angela Merkel (their PM) declined to do so so the citizens wouldn't feel they were saving Greece's ass with their money right before some regional elections. A few months later, after her party lost said elections, she approved the help plan before the Eurozone imploded, since Greece's issue had only gone worse since then. So yeah, SonicThrust, it's that bad.

Now they are using the same plan to help Ireland, ruined (32% GDP deficit) because of their low-tax policy and lack of control over banks... and because, after Greece's mess, the investors ran away from certain countries (those two ones + Portugal, Spain and Italy, although it's not as bad in the latter two yet).

Sorry for the slight off-topic, but I needed to clear that up XD

 

[twocows]

Someone said something about basing laws on religion.

The government should be secular. Maybe it was or wasn't in the past, but that's irrelevant. Right now, it needs to be secular (and for the most part, it is). It's fine to base your own morals on religion, but please don't impose your particular set of values on the rest of us. Morality exists independently of religion, and we can almost always find a common ground where we can say "this protects the citizenry from injustice without trampling on our freedoms." Religions tend to have a lot of nuanced rules that have little to do with harm toward fellow humans. For instance, if the country was predominantly Jewish, it still wouldn't be all right to outlaw bacon just because it's bad to eat bacon in that religion. It's not something that society at large considers wrong outside of the Jewish faith. Likewise, there are plenty of things in the Christian faith that nobody else really considers "wrong," mainly because it doesn't bring harm to anyone else. Outlawing such things isn't going to help anyone, it's just going to get in the way of our freedoms. If you want to believe that a particular behavior is evil, go right ahead, but we shouldn't outlaw that behavior just because of your beliefs. We should make laws in order to protect our freedoms and our livelihoods, and religion should be independent from that process.

 

[FreakyLocz14]

Someone said something about basing laws on religion.

The government should be secular. Maybe it was or wasn't in the past, but that's irrelevant. Right now, it needs to be secular (and for the most part, it is). It's fine to base your own morals on religion, but please don't impose your particular set of values on the rest of us. Morality exists independently of religion, and we can almost always find a common ground where we can say "this protects the citizenry from injustice without trampling on our freedoms." Religions tend to have a lot of nuanced rules that have little to do with harm toward fellow humans. For instance, if the country was predominantly Jewish, it still wouldn't be all right to outlaw bacon just because it's bad to eat bacon in that religion. It's not something that society at large considers wrong outside of the Jewish faith. Likewise, there are plenty of things in the Christian faith that nobody else really considers "wrong," mainly because it doesn't bring harm to anyone else. Outlawing such things isn't going to help anyone, it's just going to get in the way of our freedoms. If you want to believe that a particular behavior is evil, go right ahead, but we shouldn't outlaw that behavior just because of your beliefs. We should make laws in order to protect our freedoms and our livelihoods, and religion should be independent from that process.

That's all fine, but people also have the right to base their voting decisions on whatever they want, including religion.

The 1st Amendment doesn't outlaw legislating morality, or even some ideas that have roots in religion completely. Many laws are rooted in morality and/or religion (i.e. the illegality of polygamy in the U.S.).

The 1st Amendment is intended to keep the government from establishing an official, government approved religion that its citizens must follow; as well as prohibiting the government from infringing on people's right practice the religion of their choice (or to be nonreligious, if they wish).

 

[Ivysaur]

Aaalso I don't know whether you have heard about the Cablegate scandals- messages from US embassadors talking about a possible war against Iran, suggesting that Pakistan is the biggest problem for the world's safety right now, trying to get some soldiers accused of war crimes against a Spaniard free of charges by manipulating the Spanish Prosecutor's office, asking for reports about the Argentinian president's mental health or exposing other countries' views on their regional allies:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/world/statessecrets.html

The founder of Wikileaks is currently under an arrest order from Interpol, and says he'll release 4gb's of secret info if he's apprehended.

 

[Livewire]

That's all fine, but people also have the right to base their voting decisions on whatever they want, including religion.

The 1st Amendment doesn't outlaw legislating morality, or even some ideas that have roots in religion completely. Many laws are rooted in morality and/or religion (i.e. the illegality of polygamy in the U.S.).

The 1st Amendment is intended to keep the government from establishing an official, government approved religion that its citizens must follow; as well as prohibiting the government from infringing on people's right practice the religion of their choice (or to be nonreligious, if they wish).

True, they can vote whomever they want in, based on religion, however that becomes a problem when one religion and its views dominate politics and shape our policy, which is exactly the thing the Establishment Clause is designed to protect against.

Aaalso I don't know whether you have heard about the Cablegate scandals- messages from US embassadors talking about a possible war against Iran, suggesting that Pakistan is the biggest problem for the world's safety right now, trying to get some soldiers accused of war crimes against a Spaniard free of charges by manipulating the Spanish Prosecutor's office, asking for reports about the Argentinian president's mental health or exposing other countries' views on their regional allies:

http://www.nytimes.com/interactive/world/statessecrets.html

The founder of Wikileaks is currently under an arrest order from Interpol, and says he'll release 4gb's of secret info if he's apprehended.

I've heard about this recently. That's more important than people think. What I'd like to know, is how Wiki leaks became privy to so much secret information like this.

 

[dragoniteuser]

Really USA is a world of it's own!
I think I'm kind-of accustomed to it, due to film industry, but I'm not so sure about that... :/
But I can say for certain that Europe and US are world apart!

 

[FreakyLocz14]

True, they can vote whomever they want in, based on religion, however that becomes a problem when one religion and its views dominate politics and shape our policy, which is exactly the thing the Establishment Clause is designed to protect against.

The Establishment Clause is violated when said policy amounts government preference for one religion over others, the establishment (hence the name) of an officially government religion, or the government endorsement of a preexisting religion and an official state religion.

 

[Constantinople]

I find the USA to be a good country. I do not, however, find the US government to be a good government. That's the tricky part of classifying most countries. Almost all countries either have a terrible government and great people, or a pretty reasonable government yet a rather bad general population. I happen to find this country very diverse and suitable for my needs. People who classify the US as a bad country are nearly always referring to the government.

 

[chiperoo]

I find the USA to be a good country. I do not, however, find the US government to be a good government. That's the tricky part of classifying most countries. Almost all countries either have a terrible government and great people, or a pretty reasonable government yet a rather bad general population. I happen to find this country very diverse and suitable for my needs. People who classify the US as a bad country are nearly always referring to the government.

IA with the last statement. Our government has major issues and has pretty much always had major issues and it all just kinda snowballs and ends up all dkjcnhlfsjdkv and its extremely hard to fix djbcjkldfkli lol. The people here aren't all bad though. For as many homophobic/bigoted/racist/etc. people there are just as many awesome people. The rude ones just happen to be the loudest =/ I think where I live plays a big part in my opinion though. I live around LA so its not hard to find friends who aren't as racist/homophobic/bigoted etc. I'd probably hate it here if I had the same views I have now but I was surrounded by people that could easily belong to ~the tea party~.

 

[Livewire]

I find the USA to be a good country. I do not, however, find the US government to be a good government. That's the tricky part of classifying most countries. Almost all countries either have a terrible government and great people, or a pretty reasonable government yet a rather bad general population. I happen to find this country very diverse and suitable for my needs. People who classify the US as a bad country are nearly always referring to the government.

As bad as that sounds, it's essentially right. The Government has also done a good job of propagating this sense of division and discord, but outside Washington that's simply not the case. We aren't as divided as we seem. It's just that Washington and the Media have this negative air about them.