My point was that, like your little brother, they think they mean well. I figured someone would've picked up on that. I never actually said that they mean well, because if they meant well, people wouldn't be dying every day.
It's alright. I should've made myself way more clear seeing as how the metaphor I used could've been interpreted either way, which it was.
Yea but the thing is, attacks like that aren't shit compared to the devestation that the USA (and Australia, Britian etc) are causing in Iraq and the rest of the middle east right now. America wants the world to know who's boss. No they don't want complete control, just a huge influence over everyone. Pisses me off no end, the way our culture is becoming more like America every day. No offence anyone, I just don't like hearing my little sister talk with an American accent.
My thoughts exactly HARLZ, In the last month we have had two soldiers dead and one wounded in the last couple of days PISSES ME OFF:angry:
What I'm trying to say is that just because you're on the US' side it's not that much better. They're still attacks on civilians, and we still have people like Mahmoud and Kim as potential enemies thanks to the US.
Isn't it nice to have a decent alternative? In the U.S. it doesn't really matter who wins. You've got the Republicans which is a party of bad ideas, and the Democratic party, which is a party of NO ideas. I find it amusing that Barrack Obama (who is supposed to be our knight in shining armor) has said that he would attack Al-Qaeda in Pakistan if he was president. Yeah, great fucking idea Obama. That's what we need to do, invade another country.
I suck at discussing things in english, mainly because I cannot find the right words so I'd like to say that I agree with some views of Dusan but also some views of Tim. I feel that America is trying to rule everything aswell, they want to be the biggest in everything, always in war, too. Don't get me wrong but I always have the impression that most Americans are brainwashed by their government thus acting arrogant while in fact, they're just plain dumb. So yeah, the government sucks imo.
I'm really glad that most people here from US are not brainwashed and that they do realize their current government is not acting right.
Oh! Yeah I see what you're pointing out. I don't want anyone to feel attacked or anything on here, basically what Dusan said.
If I didn't know any better, I'd say he was just saying that to get the votes he needs to become president. Unfortunately, our leaders aren't that smart.
That's the sentence of the year. Though, I don't know if potentially dragging us into another war is gonna get him a lot of votes. It's sad that the democrats have to shoot for the middle to get elected. The only one out of all the candidates I would consider a true liberal is Dennis Kucinich, and there's no way in hell he'd ever get elected (much like Ralph Nader in 2000/2004). I hate having to vote for who I dislike the least.
I just don't wanna end up with I president I really don't like, because I didn't vote for someone who I kinda don't like. Does that make sense? I just wish there was a candidate that really stood out in either party, but there isn't. Their just a bunch of faceless robots who spout off endless slogans and empty-promises so they can get in office. I wasn't old enough, but I know of a lot of people who didn't vote in 2000/2004 because they didn't like either of the candidates. In hindsight, as much as they disliked Gore and Kerry, either one would have been better than George Bush (so would a dishwasher). I don't want something like that to happen again, that's why I feel like I have to vote.
After reading through a lot of this thread, I'd like to respond to everything, but seeing as I don't really have the time to do so, I'm just going to say something brief. The truth of it is, as much as it's not necessarily right to compare the United States to the Roman Empire or the Empire of Alexander, America is still a great super-power. The two can relate. America isn't necessarily an Empire, but the behavior, in some ways, is the same. It's only been around for roughly 300 years, yes, but that doesn't mean it doesn't have the power to behave like the Roman Empire. The way I see it, America is a very barbaric nation, but in a different sense than you might think. America wants to hold its power at all costs, but it wants to hold a decent reputation while doing so. America's not old enough to know how to manage such a task without fucking up one of those things. The United States doesn't have to invade a nation to show a message. If they didn't invade, that's upholding a good reputation, but that's, in a way, showing a vulnerability. If the United States invaded, that's upholding the power aspect, but it's showing a hole in the reputation. Every great power falls. Whether or not America will be a power to fall in one hundred years, or one thousand years, it will eventually collapse. The truth of it is, democracy is designed to destroy itself. I'm optimistic that America will find a way to uphold both a reputation and its power for a long time, but we can't expect it to last forever. The Greeks were a democratic empire and they still fell. The Roman Empire was a great Republic that turned into a long-lasting Empire, but they fell too. You can deny it all you want, but history repeats itself. We'd like to believe that we can hold our power and deny the fate that history has thrown upon us, but it's simply going to be the future. At this point, America is not yet mature enough to uphold power and reputation. Right now, America's primary focus is power. In the early 1900's, it was reputation. Things have changed. And things will continue changing. Be ready for it.
Don't get me wrong... I love the U.S. I only criticize it because I think it could be better, that's all. I'm gonna need a bit more motivation than that to move across the globe. @Louis: Believe me, I have no delusions of America lasting forever (at least as a superpower). I just thought the ancient Rome comparison was pushing it. Then again standards have changed, so the point may be well taken.
You do have a choice whether to vote or not. But the argument is that if you don't vote, you have no right to complain about the leadership of the country, since you didn't do anything to try to change it yourself. In a way, I agree with that. You can still have your opinions and whatnot, but if someone were to ask you if you voted or not and you said "no," then they'd just tell you to shut up and you wouldn't be taken seriously by them anymore. The way everyone sees it is that if you have strong enough opinions, you should vote to have things changed in your favor.