| The mightiest country in the world?; thoughts on recent news articles | |
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| Tweet Topic Started: Aug 2 2007, 12:32 PM (179 Views) | |
| Dominic Guglieme | Aug 2 2007, 12:32 PM Post #1 |
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the human MICROscope!!
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I have always considered myself a utilitarian patriot. I am bred, born and raised in the US. And, simply put, I am happy with that. The United States is more or less the strongest country in the world. We are generally agreed to have economic vitality and prospects for more people than other countries do. I despise people who complain about this country because it is so powerful. If they find the country so objectionable, they can leave. Along similar lines, I am no fan of blind or habitual patriotism. Loyalty to a regime, system, or country should be based on practical concerns. Sadly, in practical terms, this country has been failing miserably the last few years. We have managed to bungle even basic infrastructure. Last year, a partial collapse in a Boston tunnel killed a motorist, and wounded her husband. Many people considered this a symptom of Massachusetts's (well known) ineptitude. But, frankly, the rest of the country is not doing much better. In Minnesota, a bridge over the Mississippi collapsed. According to reports on NPR, and CNN, it was known the bridge was in need of repair and maintainence. According to NPR, such collapses are not as uncommon as one might hope. For the amount of money this country (especially Massachusetts) spends on foolish make-work/pork-barrelling, is it really too much to ask that this make-work involve monitoring the soundness of bridges and other vital infrastructure? (As of now, there are no reliable estimates on dead in Minnesota, but given the sheer number of cars that went into the river, we can expect dozens, even scores dead.) This bridge is pretty much the only route between Minneapolis and Saint Paul. And, according to reports, the repairs could take as many as 2 years. (Having crossed the Mississippi once, I can attest to the sheer scale of the span needed to cross the river.) Apparently, this country does as poorly as many third-world countries at keeping its roads open. And, it is not just crumbling infrastructure. A recent report on the BBC serves to remind us of how inept we were about 2 years back. For all the hoopla about Mardi Gras, much of the south is still in dire straights. We have large refugee camps throughout the region. Not only did we fail (utterly) at evacuating the region, but we have not even begun to rebuild. For all the petulant complaints about tthis country, not many people leave. But, how much inteptitude will it take for people to look elsewhere for a better deal. America hardly has a lock on economic vitality and industrial might. And, there are more countries than ever seeking to usurp our place at the top. It may well be a lucky thing that we ar the mightiest country on the planet. Given the skill we have shown in recent years, we need to be able to take (even avoidable hits). But, how long until we are surpassed, either by comptitors, or our own failures? |
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Keep it local. The healthiest leper in the colony is still very very sick. www.theanimalrescuesite.com | |
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| Trench Knife 19 | Aug 2 2007, 04:56 PM Post #2 |
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Spammenator 3.0
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Wow! Talk about openning the proverbial "can of worms"! Dom, I must say this, you never shy away from the uncomfortable topics. I find that for the most part I agree with what you have to say on this. I have often thought to myself that as a country we could do far more in terms of health care and coverage, feeding of the poor and sheltering the homeless, but the fact of the matter is that capitalist countries never intended to do those things. We say that the strong rise to the top and the weak fail. However, with that being said, we don't like to see the results of this type of callous disregard for those who cannot rise above poverty. We want our ghettos and mobile home neighborhoods away from our "nice" homes. We want police to keep the "bums" off the streets. We want to ignore the problems which our system of government creates. When you are rich it's easy to isolate yourself and not worry about "other" people's problems. I guess it all boils down to greed and the people with money sure aren't going to volunteer to give it up. The pork-barrel spending is epidemic and a great example of the rich taking care of their own. The politicians in this country are bought and paid for and as long as the system is set up the way it is, nothing's going to change. At least, not as long as those with the power and the money can look the other way... |
| I am Vince Gortho, Keymaster. Are you the Gatekeeper? | |
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| Viper Commander | Aug 2 2007, 07:02 PM Post #3 |
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Unregistered
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Don't forget to mention the fact that in spite of all the talk about terrorist threats and homeland security, our government still refuses to secure our borders and ports. Another thing comes to mind, seeing as how this country is so huge with so much fertile land, why is there a need to import dangerous and unsafe food from other countries? Couldn't we grow/farm/produce everything we need here? I'll bet if we really tried, we could be a completely self sufficient country in terms of energy, food, and other essential needs. Hey its my 300th post! This is a great thread for it, kudos to you Dom! |
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| Dominic Guglieme | Aug 3 2007, 02:12 PM Post #4 |
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the human MICROscope!!
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Agriculture and fuel are a bit more complicated than simply having them accessible in the country. I have seen articles describing this in detail, but in a nut-shell, it can actually be cheaper (in terms of money) to ship food from over-seas to sell here than to grow it ourselves. (This is due primarily to costs of labor here and in say, South America.) Of course, given that we subsidize farmers to *not* grow things, it is true that we have ample resources. Of course, that would involve rationing, which besides being an unsellable idea, may also cause dangerous discord across the country. Perhaps the rich simply have the option to do what the rest of us cannot. The social ills that lead to ghettos and trailer parks are called "wicked problems". They defy easy solutions. (Think of the "nature v/s nurture" debate here.) The rich may simply decide that the best thing they can do is to mind their own affairs, and they have the practical option. (Mind you, I do not endorse this philosophy whole-heartedly, but I can comprehend it.) Pork-barrel spending is not purely for the benefit of the rich. If you live in a town where a defense contractor is the biggest employer (and those guys have to be US based), they you benefit from pork-barrel spending. The key should be that the labor be productive labor. And, the system does allow for change. People can still vote as they choose. How many actually consider their interests and vote intelligently is another question. Remember, we live in a country that returned NeoCons to office, after their ineptitude became apparent. John "Straigh Talk Express" McCain was one of the Keating 5 back in the 80s. (Legalistic quibbling over him not being convicted does not change this.) I could write a litany about Massachusetts politicians who win on legacy or image. Dom -thinks some nice pork-barrel agriculture might be worth exploring. |
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Keep it local. The healthiest leper in the colony is still very very sick. www.theanimalrescuesite.com | |
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| Superiorraw | Aug 4 2007, 11:50 AM Post #5 |
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You know maybe sliding off the topic slightly.. because I'm switching countries.. not to anywhere in specific but the point you make is a fantastic one. Why? All over the world man continues as a race to build, invest and spend frivolously on things that don't have value. Television has advertisments for million dollar mansions being built either stateside or somewhere in the mediteranean. The USA isn't the only country wasting away its money on things that aren't as important. I'm sure there are many other countries out there with funds to spare not helping out on things that need doing. The bridge situation between Minneapolis and Saint Paul reminds me much of our national rail. Our systems and companies put in place to test the lines are well aware of the tracks needing repair.. yet they only look into it after a train crash or derailment. The whole thing is pathetic as far as i'm concerned. The people we vote into power only look after their own. Then the people voting them in are sucked into believing that the next person will make things better. In most countries its the same.. but it could be alot lot worse.. heck.. we could all be living on MARS right? Rich |
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| Dominic Guglieme | Aug 6 2007, 10:50 AM Post #6 |
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the human MICROscope!!
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Ah, but those frivolous, "wasteful" things do have value. This applies more to the US than the UK, but all advanced countries are subject to it. Consumer economies require purchasing. Cars, homes, home goods, toys, whatever. For all of the talk about a need for saving, if too many people saved even 15% of their income (let alone more), the economy would suffer, and many of those same people would wind up spending their savings in a bad economy. I may not like shopping, but I am glad others do. (It *is* patriotic to shop, in a sense.) Of course, that does not make the system a sensible or healthy one. |
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Keep it local. The healthiest leper in the colony is still very very sick. www.theanimalrescuesite.com | |
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