Are you really that stupid?
- Thread starter pyromaniac
- Start date
Pictures don't do the Manx justice. The first time you see one in the flesh you realize that there truly is ART in motorcycling, plus the sounds they make are music (at least to my fairly jaded ears).
slickpuss
Sponsoring Member
- Jan 19, 2002
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I think some pretty retarded kids are getting turned out of Americas schools. More than I care to see. And maybe more parents and schools should teach a little bit of pride like all these angry old dudes have. Then I wouldnt see them leaving trash in all the parking lots and throwing it out thier car windows. They could use a few lessons in respect also. You ever wonder why its cheaper housing now a days next to a jr or high school?
Hows teen pregnancy in Sweden? How many kids now move out when they are 18 to 20? I see a awfull lot of them still living at home in thier mid to late 20's with sorry jobs just hanging out with thier other lame friends.
I guess this subject just pisses me off cause of all the problems ive had with kids today. Including the decline of value in my house because of neighbors having like 8 and 9 cars because the kids never move out because they are too lazy to commit to a good job or be responsible.
Hows teen pregnancy in Sweden? How many kids now move out when they are 18 to 20? I see a awfull lot of them still living at home in thier mid to late 20's with sorry jobs just hanging out with thier other lame friends.
I guess this subject just pisses me off cause of all the problems ive had with kids today. Including the decline of value in my house because of neighbors having like 8 and 9 cars because the kids never move out because they are too lazy to commit to a good job or be responsible.
Okie, sorry about the delay replying, but it was 2 am and I had a pretty good bang on the head etc yesterday so I went to bed. Now then :-
1 Tame market - perhaps the word tame was a slight misnomer, but still should have been understandable. What I meant is that a US entrepeneur has a vast domestic market at his disposal. I would hope that most Americans would prefer to buy from their countrymen if possible. Common sense. I'm sure it is competitive, an that fat would hone the business skills required to succeed. Incidentally, camera lenses aren't the only thing cheaper. Fuel is too.
Protectioinism - I wasn't commenting on the complexities of this in general, or euro protectionism. I was merely pointing out your error in proclaiming that the US has none.
2 Raising of kids - I said exactly what I meant, and it was put forward as one of the reasons for the rise the of the US. I hope you can agree that it is a major reason for success, and something to aspire to. I did not comment on what happens in the UK as it would be irrelevant to the point in question, but in point of fact it is one hobby horses that immigrants to the UK are not currently asked to declare allegiance, something which I hope may soon change. I believe the reason why you did not understand my point is that you were looking for an argument where there was none.
Bill Gates - why on earth does everyone love to hate him ? In this country we revere our successful entrepeneurs, and are very grateful for their contribution, and they serve as shining examples of what is possible.
3 I believe that is what my point was originally! I am pleased to see that you agree. I do not think that I referred to the US as a money lusting super power, or alluded to that in any way. Those are your words. I fail to understand why you always seem to think that people are criticising the US, and look for argument where none exists. I can appreciate that in recent times you may have become super-sensitized to criticism, but really I sometimes think that it verges on paranoia. If so, that is regrettable but hopefully will be overcome with the wisdom of advancing years. Now, I might go for a spot of tea :laugh:
1 Tame market - perhaps the word tame was a slight misnomer, but still should have been understandable. What I meant is that a US entrepeneur has a vast domestic market at his disposal. I would hope that most Americans would prefer to buy from their countrymen if possible. Common sense. I'm sure it is competitive, an that fat would hone the business skills required to succeed. Incidentally, camera lenses aren't the only thing cheaper. Fuel is too.
Protectioinism - I wasn't commenting on the complexities of this in general, or euro protectionism. I was merely pointing out your error in proclaiming that the US has none.
2 Raising of kids - I said exactly what I meant, and it was put forward as one of the reasons for the rise the of the US. I hope you can agree that it is a major reason for success, and something to aspire to. I did not comment on what happens in the UK as it would be irrelevant to the point in question, but in point of fact it is one hobby horses that immigrants to the UK are not currently asked to declare allegiance, something which I hope may soon change. I believe the reason why you did not understand my point is that you were looking for an argument where there was none.
Bill Gates - why on earth does everyone love to hate him ? In this country we revere our successful entrepeneurs, and are very grateful for their contribution, and they serve as shining examples of what is possible.
3 I believe that is what my point was originally! I am pleased to see that you agree. I do not think that I referred to the US as a money lusting super power, or alluded to that in any way. Those are your words. I fail to understand why you always seem to think that people are criticising the US, and look for argument where none exists. I can appreciate that in recent times you may have become super-sensitized to criticism, but really I sometimes think that it verges on paranoia. If so, that is regrettable but hopefully will be overcome with the wisdom of advancing years. Now, I might go for a spot of tea :laugh:
For what it's worth, I think what gets to non-Americans is how Americans tend to go on about how great the USA is. To you it probably seems like most Europeans hate Americans, but that's really not the case at all. The one thing everybody I've talked to gives out about Americans for is arrogance. Not so much in the derogatory sense though.
I have absolutely nothing against Americans, hell I hang out on mainly US forums every day, I'm coming over there on holidays this week and I regularily think about heading over to work the for a few years. But the whole "US is the greatest" attitude does get a bit irritating. America is not the "greatest" country in the world. Neither is Ireland, England, France, Germany.... Every country has it's issues and of the developed countries I really can't see one that is any better then the other.
The problem is different attitudes; the American attitude tends towards bragging (no offence there, I'm just pointing it out as I see it), Europeans don't tend to do this as much from what I see. This difference in attitude is what causes all the friction IMHO; we get irritated hearing how the US is the greatest and greatest at everything (which inheritantly means Europe is worse) and you get annoyed when we come over as though we dislike everything to do with the US. I mean I think Ireland is a great place to live, but accept it has issues and is not really any better then anywhere else so won't go on about how great we are.
pyro - Do you mean who invented these forums, the world wide web (British scientist at CERN in Europe), the Internet (USA), the screen, the computer, the transistor, discovered electricity, started using metal over stone? Don't think that's gonna prove much tbh...
I have absolutely nothing against Americans, hell I hang out on mainly US forums every day, I'm coming over there on holidays this week and I regularily think about heading over to work the for a few years. But the whole "US is the greatest" attitude does get a bit irritating. America is not the "greatest" country in the world. Neither is Ireland, England, France, Germany.... Every country has it's issues and of the developed countries I really can't see one that is any better then the other.
The problem is different attitudes; the American attitude tends towards bragging (no offence there, I'm just pointing it out as I see it), Europeans don't tend to do this as much from what I see. This difference in attitude is what causes all the friction IMHO; we get irritated hearing how the US is the greatest and greatest at everything (which inheritantly means Europe is worse) and you get annoyed when we come over as though we dislike everything to do with the US. I mean I think Ireland is a great place to live, but accept it has issues and is not really any better then anywhere else so won't go on about how great we are.
pyro - Do you mean who invented these forums, the world wide web (British scientist at CERN in Europe), the Internet (USA), the screen, the computer, the transistor, discovered electricity, started using metal over stone? Don't think that's gonna prove much tbh...
truespode
Moderator / Wheelie King
- Jun 30, 1999
- 7,980
- 249
Zenith said:
First, every person I have ever read slam the USA starts by saying "...we don't have these problems here {insert non-USA country of choice}." That statement implies that the non-USA country mentioned is somehow great in its own right (which I'm sure it may be but if you don't belittle us we won't have to show you how great we trully are).
Second, we go on about how great it is because IT IS ****ING GREAT!
Ivan
Zenith said:
I agree :cool: We are arrogant b@st@rds... not jesting at all. Just take a minute and think about how cocky we are?
However, I think that our arrogance is a big part of why this country strives. Just like anything else you do in life... if you don't THINK you can do it... you won't.
We're also the second hardest working country in the world, right behind Australia... only because we have more holidays.
To paraphrase Mr. Robin Williams:
If there ever was another atomic bomb dropped in war, Sweden will be the only ones saying, "What was that noise?" :uh:
Yes, we have European ancestry, but we're American. We won that war of independence. To say that we're "smart" because we have English in our blood is pretty ignorant. Intelligence is nothing without action.
Remembering HISTORY isn't our youth's biggest concern. Just because they don't know who won the civil war, doesn't mean they couldn't tell you exactly how computers work, or how engines work, or how to make a lot of money in business.
I believe the best country in the world is Italy. :nod: I think that the more I hear of a new drug that someone developed to conquer obiesity, depression, anxiety, etc... or when the ACLU, PETA, and looney-left do or say anything.
Guess what the Italians (and most other countries) do for anxiety, depression, etc...? Work less, live life, drink wine, eat foods that we say will kill you, drive some of the best engineered bikes and cars in the world... :ride:
One of the biggest advantages the US has is opportunity. Anyone in this country has the opportunity to do anything. That's tough to beat :boss:
Ryan
You're right, I'm not talking about people like that, they're equally as wrong as Americans saying the same thing. Every developed country in the world has problems serious enough to equal the problems of other countries. No one is better then the other. The US has high medical costs, Ireland has corruption and high petrol prices, England has high taxes, Italy has a serious economic problem, blah blah blah. All the same...
Ryone - I agree with most of your points and I'm not trying to agree with Pyro, of course not knowing who won the civil war doesn't say anything about your intelligence, and three kids don't define a nation.
Define hard working? I wouldn't define it by the number of days holidays you take that's for sure. One person can do the same amount of work in 50 days as another who spends 365 at it, is the second guy "harder working". Anyway, as you say later - working less is better. Money money money, work-to-live or live-to-work? I agree with you; the likes of France, Italy and Spain are better countries in terms of working because they do less of it and more living.
There's a big difference between having confidence in your abilities and arrogance. You don't have to rub your perceived abilities in people's faces to succeed, you can do just as well with modesty.
That's just it Zenith... if your market is open, you will have to work harder to compete with the likes of Japan, China, Korea, etc. If on the other hand your market is closed, meaning everything that comes in is taxed to be 5x more expensive than local products... your "worker" and his job is protected. If you don't think that takes the competitive edge away from the guy on the assembly line, you are mistaken. Between protectionisum and unions, we've developed a worker that simply does the job well enough not to get fired. America has/is learning that very thing, we've lost virtually all consumer level manufacturing. While Americans are buying stuff produced elsewhere, the unions are on strike for another $10 an hour to turn a screw. And who makes-out? The unions. Who loses? We all do, including the guy PAYING the union to put his backside in the unemployment line.
Now comes the part where all the socialists blame "management".
Now comes the part where all the socialists blame "management".
Ol'89r
LIFETIME SPONSOR
- Jan 27, 2000
- 6,961
- 45
pyromaniac said:
Pyro.
I used to enjoy watching a show called Monty Python's Flying Circus. If I would have believed everything I saw on that show, I would think that people from England were a bunch of crazy idiots, dressed up as ugly women, dancing around and throwing dead animals off of castles. :yikes: And then there was the way they portrayed the Scottish. :laugh: :rotfl: Too funny.
Of course, being a halfway intelligent American, I realized it was just a tv show designed to make me laugh. Don't take it too serious. Today, stupid sells. It seems like the dumbest shows get the best ratings. But then, you're smart enough to know that aren't you? ;)
We Americans are a proud bunch. Call it arrogance. Call it confidence. Call it whatever the hell you want, but we are proud of our country. Most of us anyway.
- Aug 3, 2004
- 1,003
- 0
A few points to take away from this:
USA is awesome, Everyone else is not.
Mediocracy is for the rest of the world. If you want it, and you work hard/smart enough, in america you will have it.
We (humans) have evolved from APE's, not monkeys. I don't care to tell you the difference, look it up and you'll remember it.
We have more freedom's left than any other "modern" country in the world.
:aj:
USA is awesome, Everyone else is not.
Mediocracy is for the rest of the world. If you want it, and you work hard/smart enough, in america you will have it.
We (humans) have evolved from APE's, not monkeys. I don't care to tell you the difference, look it up and you'll remember it.
We have more freedom's left than any other "modern" country in the world.
:aj:
Okie - I wasn't really commenting on the closed/open market issue, I hadn't really thought about it.
I was just saying that bragging about being the hardest working country in the world based on the amount of holidays you take is slightly flawed. Apart from the fact that I don't see breaking your back, working every hour of every day as a good thing. People should work enough to support the life style they want to live and leave at that. I'd sooner live in a country that had 30 days holidays a year over one with 20.
I was just saying that bragging about being the hardest working country in the world based on the amount of holidays you take is slightly flawed. Apart from the fact that I don't see breaking your back, working every hour of every day as a good thing. People should work enough to support the life style they want to live and leave at that. I'd sooner live in a country that had 30 days holidays a year over one with 20.
LOL, you're getting the hang of it now! Throw in a few claims of liberating and protecting the world and you'll be a pro. :)
You say that, but have you ever actually looked into it? I'd say you might be surprised. This is really typical of what I'm getting at; you say stuff like that as though it's fact when really there's no basis for it at all. Have you visited many other "modern" countries out of interest and seen how they live?
xsnrg
Member
- Jul 20, 2004
- 728
- 0
The US is the best country in the world. I hope you feel the same way about yours, but that is exactly how I feel about ours. Lot's of other places around the world I plan to go visit and places I'd like to spend time, but the US is the best place to call home IMO.
And, BTW, we have liberated quite a few countries and are in the process of liberating Iraq. Kuwait we invaded for the purpose of liberating it from Iraq. Iraq we invaded because we were the only ones in the UN willing to lead the effort after 10 years of threatening "serious consequences" in response to Iraq's refusal to comply with the UN's resolutions concerning WMD and inspections.
And, BTW, we have liberated quite a few countries and are in the process of liberating Iraq. Kuwait we invaded for the purpose of liberating it from Iraq. Iraq we invaded because we were the only ones in the UN willing to lead the effort after 10 years of threatening "serious consequences" in response to Iraq's refusal to comply with the UN's resolutions concerning WMD and inspections.
