Politics America: Right or Wrong Direction

Do you feel that, overall, America is today heading in the ...?

  • I am an American; Right direction

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I am an American; Wrong direction

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I am NOT an American; Right direction

    Votes: 0 0.0%
  • I am NOT an American; Wrong direction

    Votes: 0 0.0%

  • Total voters
    0

Azhria Lilu

Captain
Place specify the option that fits you --- if you are an American or not and if you think America is heading in the right direction overall or not.

Please also post and discuss your choice :smiley:
 
I am an American and I feel that, overall, as a society, we are heading in the wrong direction.

44 million Americans lack health care coverage that could help save their lives yet we are spending billions ($400 billion a year) on a military system and weapons designed to take away people’s lives, all while accruing trillions of dollars of debt (so much, in fact, that we have to pay $318 billion in interest every year to the holders of the debt).

We execute people who could very well be innocent, take away people’s rights and hold people without charges. We deny people equal rights and protections under the law because of their sexual orientation, and allow companies to fire people because of their bosses think they may be gay.
 
America is unfortunately definitely moving in the wrong direction. It is disheartening to witness the gradual erosion of the great ideals upon which this great nation was conceived. Right to a speedy and fair trial. Religious freedom. Freedom of speech. These are but a few of the rights that are slowly and surreptitiously taken away. During the latest protests at the site of the RNC, protesters are only permitted to protest in free specch zones. Free Speech Zones? Are not all of America a free speech zone?

We live in an age of terrorism. But terrorism comes in many forms. We must battle not only the terrorism against our lands, but also against our ideals. We speak of it as a war, but this is so much more. The prism of war has distorted the vision of important segments of Washington, especially within the Bush administration. This has produced bad strategy. We must adopt a global strategy that look beyond military force and recognize the importance of social and idealogical reform, reforms that must start at home.

We must start with better education for the next generation of Americans. We must not only teach them how to count, but also how to be counted on. We must not only teach them what it means to be Americans, but also what it means to be citizens of the world. We must not only teach them about truth, but also that even truths may contain many shades of gray.

Some of what we've done in the past years have been necessary. Others have been gross overreactions. Now that the dust have settled. We must step back as a society and reflect. Whoever becomes our next president must not take on the role of a crisis manager, but that of a strategist, shaping american policy not for the next four years, but for the next four decades.

Xin Li
 
First off, I don't really like saying bad things about America when I'm not American. Also, the population of the US is huge, and it's impossible to generalise. :blush:

But....

There are some things about America today that worry me. The government of country has more or less decided it has the right to police the entire world, and with that has come a huge abuse of power. Many countries, including my own (Australia) are curently blindly following America's lead. Our Prime Minister recently accused the Australian people of being 'un-American'! He seems to forget we are a nation in our own right, not just an arm of the US. It's like telling the people of Iraq they are un-American. It just makes no sense.

Also, I have got into rather large fights with Americans who belong to one of the scary, fanatical, conservative Christian religions that operates in America. It scares me the way these people try and force their beliefs onto other people, and also that the current US government seems to base their decisions on issues such as homosexuality and abortion on their Christian beliefs.

While I certainly understand what Bush may be trying to achieve in his war on terror (and we do have to act against the terrorists), I think a lot of terrible mistakes have been made. I watched live on TV as the statue of Saddam Hussein was pulled down. It was a great four seconds or so. Ruined immediately by a group of arrogant US soldiers putting the American flag in its place, like they were conquering forces. And don't get me started on those human pyramids.

I guess the thing I don't like about present-day America (I mean the government by the way, not the general population), is that they want to be in charge of the entire world, and yet so many people involved are so arrogant, or ignorant, or just plain stupid, that they just end up making more and more problems, and upsetting more and more people.

That said, I am currently planning a trip to New York, and have a lot of American friends from my various trips overseas, so don't hate me too much! :smiley:
 
I voted wrong and I'm american....we were heading the the right direction when clinton was in office..but then sorta got sidetrackted....but that's just my opinion....we can change and when we do I shall change my vote....but until then
 
I am American and choose right.

It depends what you are talking about society, politics, ethics or the government.

Society: A little of both. Some things bother me like people are so sue happy, celebrities can sometimes get away with murder (I won't name names) and people who think they are owed privileges. But I also see a lot of stories about people helping others out.

Politics: I'm sick of all political ads on TV and when the side of the road is littered with signs. It is out of hand.

Ethics: Over all American ethics are good. I'm glad we aren't big on cloning. I also like Bush's stance on stem cell research. It compromises by allowing stem cell research but respects life by discouraging creation of life for the purpose. Speaking of compromise I wish people would agree to allow gay unions as long as the are not called marriages.

The Government: Since I an republican I think we have been heading in the right direction. Unlike VaughnsAHottie I think the Clinton years were in the wrong direction. Some things should be changed. I agree with Natalia in that the U.S. shouldn't police the world. But I think a lot of countries expect it. Which leads me to a question for Non Americans. If the U.S. agreed not to police the world only protect itself, would you still agree if it meant we took all the funding we give other countries away. Personally I don't think we should give money to other countries. I think we should use it here. As for the war i don't think we are policing I think we are protecting ourselves. Any countries that harbors terrorist I see as a threat.
 
phase272 said:
clinton was a good president, a bad guy, but a good president.  i just don't want to see hilary in the office.
[post="982622"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​

Why? What's wrong with Hilary? I like her.

What I'm very unhappy of is, how can people say you're heading in the right direction?

Economic growth has slowed under Bush. 44 million people DO NOT HAVE HEALTH CARE. How can one think this is sensible? I don't care what anyone says, BUSH LIED. HE LIED to go to war. Read the 9/11 commissions report. Look at the facts yourself. Bush is a polluter, and he's KILLING the environement. Bush has policies that are INFRINGING on your rights! How can you say that it's fair to arrest an American, saying they're suspect terrorists, yet never give them a trial? Bush is against gays serving in the military. What's wrong with that? Aren't they human as well? The poverty rate has increased every year for 3 years under Bush. Your deficit, over hundreds of billions of dollars wasted. The US dollar has fallen against virutally every major world currency. Is this the picture of a bright future?
 
phase272 said:
clinton was a good president, a bad guy, but a good president.  i just don't want to see hilary in the office.
[post="982622"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​
I LOVE Hillary she's my idol along with Laura bush and martha stewart but that's another story :lol:

AliasHombre said:
Theres a reason gays arent in the military.  Its not discrimination.
[post="982702"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​
Actually it's mainly for discrimination...They think they can't hadle...If they went and signed up and stated that they weren't gay they would get into the military :smiley:
 
FROM PUNKROCKGIRL:
The Government: Since I an republican I think we have been heading in the right direction. Unlike VaughnsAHottie I think the Clinton years were in the wrong direction. Some things should be changed. I agree with Natalia in that the U.S. shouldn't police the world. But I think a lot of countries expect it. Which leads me to a question for Non Americans. If the U.S. agreed not to police the world only protect itself, would you still agree if it meant we took all the funding we give other countries away. Personally I don't think we should give money to other countries. I think we should use it here. As for the war i don't think we are policing I think we are protecting ourselves. Any countries that harbors terrorist I see as a threat.


Sorry, quote thingy isn't working AGAIN.


The US isn't the only country helping out other countries! You guys certainly are powerful, but the biggest problem with the way the US government approaches things is that they forget the whole world isn't like America, and the whole world doesn't acknowledge it as the greatest place in the world. I will use the example of the Saddam statue again. The government says they are going in to help out the people of Iraq, and they try to stop people worrying they are going to go and conquer the place. They say that isn't their intention, and yet first thing they do is start flying THEIR flag in somebody else's country!

I think it's fine to help out other countries, which is what any country of reasonable size, wealth and stability does. I don't think its fine to act like a bully, even when you are trying to do something good.
 
im an american, right direction
but im more on the fence
i think there are things in this world that need to be dealt with - but not necessarily by america
i dont know.... its too early in the morning to argue :asleep:
 
Okay, to completely turn around on everything I have just said. :smiley:

The thing that really annoys me about the attitude of other countries towards the US is that they usually blame America for everything, no matter what the US government does.

For example, if the US tries to help out in certain African countries, the people of that country have huge anti-American riots. If something terrible happens and the US hasn't had a very large presence in the country, the people have huge anti-Americn riots. They want as much help as they can get, but they also want somebody else to blame for everything. It seems that sometimes the US just can't win either way.

I guess that's what happens when you become a superpower...
 
I'm American and believe we are headed in the wrong direction. But so is the rest of the world. Every day, we accept more and more perversion and moral compromise. We're on a downward spiral that I do not believe will end until the world itself comes to an end.

But I do think America is doing one of the best jobs trying to hang on to the last shreds of decency... Although perhaps some other countries are doing better (though I am unable to think of any right now...).
 
The US isn't the only country helping out other countries! You guys certainly are powerful, but the biggest problem with the way the US government approaches things is that they forget the whole world isn't like America, and the whole world doesn't acknowledge it as the greatest place in the world. I will use the example of the Saddam statue again. The government says they are going in to help out the people of Iraq, and they try to stop people worrying they are going to go and conquer the place. They say that isn't their intention, and yet first thing they do is start flying THEIR flag in somebody else's country!
Sorry I didn't mean to make it sound like we were the only country that helps out. It just seems like other countries want our money but don't want to hear our opinions and suggestions. Yes the American flag was put up for a few minutes, but if you keep watching the tape someone took it down and put up the Iraqi flag. They didn't want it to seem we were taking over their country. I understand other countries aren’t like America, but I wish everyone had as much freedom as we do.
 
PunkRockGirl said:
Sorry I didn't mean to make it sound like we were the only country that helps out. It just seems like other countries want our money but don't want to hear our opinions and suggestions.  Yes the American flag was put up for a few minutes, but if you keep watching the tape someone took it down and put up the Iraqi flag. They didn't want it to seem we were taking over their country. I understand other countries aren’t like America, but I wish everyone had as much freedom as we do.
[post="983829"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​
Well under Bush your rights are decreasing! People are being arrested, under even the slightest suspiscion that they're terrorists and being thrown into prison without trial. That is wrong. Right now, the American prescence in Iraq is essentially an occupation. Other countries help out a lot more than the US, which at times is more destructive than helpful.
 
ALIAS_RULES said:
Well under Bush your rights are decreasing! People are being arrested, under even the slightest suspiscion that they're terrorists and being thrown into prison without trial. That is wrong. Right now, the American prescence in Iraq is essentially an occupation. Other countries help out a lot more than the US, which at times is more destructive than helpful.
[post="983988"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​
Well not here...since were the border of Mexico we know and have loads of illegal immagrants...and they dont get trials there just here...and if they get caught then usually they just get shipped back...but who wants to be a illegal immagrent? I mean legal ones that eventually become citizens get bennifets....
 
VaughnsAHottie said:
Well not here...since were the border of Mexico we know and have loads of illegal immagrants...and they dont get trials there just here...and if they get caught then usually they just get shipped back...but who wants to be a illegal immagrent? I mean legal ones that eventually become citizens get bennifets....
[post="984131"]<{POST_SNAPBACK}>[/post]​
I'm talking abuot people being suspected of beign terrorists, under The Patriot Act. Quite Ironic name...
 
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