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squisher said:
I'm definitely a nationalistic guy. The problem for those that don't feel that way is it's somewhat insulting to those of us that do. Like either you're in or you're out. You want to keep your home and your loved ones safe, but you don't love the nation that's given you that lot in life? To me that seems ungrateful. If you believe in the 'lottery' of life and souls you could have just as easily been born into some lesser nation where you and your loved ones would've had what you perceive as your basic rights brutalized.

Let alone the standard of living. I'm talking atrocities.
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Because you live a "good" life has more to do with your immediate surroundings than what country you were born in.

Values, inheritance, education, social abilities, etc. are instilled more by family, and "the village" so to speak than a nation, which is merely an artificial border between commercial, religious, or tribal interests.

Case in point: do all in your glorious nation have the same life as you? Are they all as happy, have the same money, and intelligence? Of course not...they were born and/or raised of different circumstances.

Do we have better odds at a better life in some places in the world than others? yes, but it is certainly not the main deciding factor of what type of life you will live in most places I think.
 
I'd like to know how many people on this forum actually had their personal life impacted by Colin not standing at some football game. I hardly paid any attentional to it. To me it was just a peaceful protest, something supposedly protected by the first amendment, and didn't hurt anybody. Except for the hypocrites that argue in favor of the first amendment's freedom of expression, unless, of course, it is different than "their" point of view.
 
Levi said:
I love my country as well.
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Then, you should stand for it... and be PROUD!

tomb-unknown-soldier-picture.jpg


But, that's just me.
 
Wave erosion is eating away coastlines faster than people are likely to believe, then if you have a hurricane or tidal wave, the process gets much accelerated. Oddly, even the most staunch nationalists don't seem to have any problem with that.
 
Levi said:
And Ray giving a thumbs up for your little lecture? You guys have nothing better to do?
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Doggies Levi, because someone has a different point of view doesn't mean they're lecturing you. Just expressing the same blood bought right of free speech that you are. It's what makes America and Canada great.
 
Fiddler said:
Case in point: do all in your glorious nation have the same life as you? Are they all as happy, have the same money, and intelligence? Of course not...they were born and/or raised of different circumstances.

Do we have better odds at a better life in some places in the world than others? yes, but it is certainly not the main deciding factor of what type of life you will live in most places I think.
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Definitely not the case with me, I'm struggling. No time to worry about anything else other than trying to pay my bills. Don't like it? No I don't. Move if I don't like it! Right? Sure, I would. Do I have the money to move? Nope.
 
But my thought would be that to have a 'tough go of it' in a lesser nation would mean, struggling for shelter and starving.

Here in Canada, you can struggle and still have cable.
 
I don't have cable either, and I'm not trying to belittle yours or anyone else's struggle. Just saying, it could be a lot worse in another poorer nation.
 
Plenty of folks struggling to eat and have no place to stay here. Homeless beggars in about every city, many of the mentally ill and have been turned out in the streets....ya, it could be worse right here, not jsut in "poor" countries.
 
The lady down the street from me, in her 60s went the last two winters with no heat or water. Just scavenged firewood in a fireplace. Definitely no cable. Not an isolated case by any means.
 
I hear what you guys are saying but how do you feel your country compares to some like Sudan, Chad, North Korea, on and on. Do you believe that Americans see the same hardships as civilians of countries like those?
 
In general, I'll give you we have a somewhat higher standard of living (although higher murder rates/pop also).

I, and several friends, have spent time behind bars as a political prisoner here in the US for challenging certain things, so that is off the board as a measure of comparison some might think to use.

All countries have rich down to destitute I imagine. some take care of their poor and some don't. But I think it still comes down to the start you are given and the support you have "locally/family/traditionally,etc. that is the main factor in ease of life and not the nation you live in (although the time you live in that place could be factored in).

Sudan: the right clan =better life... Chad: in the oil money=better life. North Korea, the world's only necrocracy, is a toilet unto itself.

So to sum it up, geography doesn't necessarily dictate quality of life, in my estimation, as much a the luck of the draw in the other things I've mentioned. the US maintains our standard of living on credit, and the fact that our currency is the standard for trade. The country itself, and the majority of the populace are actually bankrupt. If the debts are ever called due our true standard of living will be learned. The same goes for changing the standard trading currency. We teeter on the edge and could fall into the abyss at any time, as we've come close to learning not long ago.
 
True words.

I would also add that one could make a strong case for the opinion that the reason many things are so shitty for less developed nations is the greed and tyranny of the West.

Africa and Mesopotamia are perfect examples.
 
True words, but the numbers just don't add up.

Chad= 80% population live in poverty.
USA= 15% population live in poverty.

a quick Google as my source.

An estimated 44.8% for Sudan. Much better odds of that 'privileged' upbringing than Chad I guess but nowhere near the odds North Americans or other developed nations have of being able to afford a decent life.

Also say in Chad, the 20% living above the poverty line, I wonder how awesome it is there for them? Lots of open spaces, parks, recreation? Basic personal safety for them and their loved ones?

USA is ranked 14th for murder, but you guys try pretty hard at it down there. Canada is 80th on the same list.
 
Claiming greed and tyranny of the west as a cause for poverty in less developed countries, as in Africa, without first saying anything about corruption within the countries, is surely an oversight. Corruption is endemic in Chad, as well as in many other places. African leaders having Swiss bank accounts is a pretty regular thing.
 
That's not at all what I was saying or ever had said. I was saying we should be thankful to live in such privileged nations. To compare the lifestyle of North America against truly impoverished nations is false imo. Life is much easier here with much more opportunity for everyone. Including the poor.

Which had stemmed from the discussion on the singing of national anthems.
 
Ahhh.

It's interesting to me to note that the wealth of a nation doesn't necessarily equate to the people having a great love of their nation.
 
I agreed we have it better (right now). Things change faster as time goes on. I don't feel the difference is that big...things fluctuate.

CA may be in better shape than the US. Maybe solvent?

We certainly are not, and the outlook isn't bright when we don't seem to be able to find enough middle ground to govern ourselves decently. Bad things can happen when a government is stagnant and the people complacent for too long.

A nation Is nothing but a political corporation...big ones eat the little ones.

GDP per capita, being a driver, tends to favor the big.

Productivity is the wild card...Sometimes it needs a bit of cheering on...that is where most have succeeded or failed to boost their quality of life in general. It can be gained through subjugation or motivation. I think motivation works generally quicker and longer.


holy crap, I just re-read this and I'm not sure if I'm stoned or been conversing with Jim too often:lol:
 
So when things eventually hit the fan, which person comes out better...
Person 1 lives paycheck to paycheck, in debt up to his eyeballs, and makes minimum payments just to get by.
Person 2 pays as they go, has no credit card debt, and if an unexpected $500 expense crops up it doesn't really put them in a bind.
 
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