Who Agrees That We Should Americanize The World?

Man, sometimes I wish we acted a little less like Americans. Other cultures don't need 10 credit cards and surround sound.


I hope the rest of the world manages to become peacefully prosperous. You don't have to act like America to do that, and I hope they all won't. Travel is a lot more satifisfying if you don't have to look at Harley Davidson t-shirts in Marakesh.
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Yeah,That!

Yup. We need to shovel the crap out of our own backyard before we start shoveling in someone else's.
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Yeah, That too!

Rimrock
 
Hnady
Other cultures don't need 10 credit cards and surround sound.
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You missed the point...

It is having access to things we don't need that epitomizes FREEDOM!

It is also what makes America's economy so great...

It is also what is making the world a better place to live...

Just because the Amazon natives don't NEED a telephone... doesn't mean they wouldn't make good use of it... :D :D :D
 
I didn't miss the point. You might have missed mine, though.

America has problems. Social, economical, political and educational. Our fast food, buy on credit culture is an unfortunate out growth of prosperity, not a happy result. I would hope other cultures would see the problems we have and work to avoid making our mistakes.


Freedom is quite definitely not the ability to buy a 52" television. Even slaves can own property.
 
America has problems. Social, economical, political and educational. Our fast food, buy on credit culture is an unfortunate out growth of prosperity, not a happy result. I would hope other cultures would see the problems we have and work to avoid making our mistakes.
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Maybe we should adapt other culture's cultures.

For example, Korea and Japan are more wired than we are, yet their educational levels and literacy rates are higher.

Some folks carp all the time about "freedom". Maybe they really mean license.

WildjustbecauseitsamericandoesntmakeitthebestAlaska
 
Remember:

All men are endowed by their Creator by certain inalienable Rights...

That's all men. Everywhere.

And while yes, the spread of American consumerism IS contributing to the spread of capitalism and individual liberty, it should and could be promoted by all available means.
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1. And women.

2. Not everyone believes in a creator to begin with.

3. Not everyone agrees that those are inalienable rights.
 
Other cultures don't need 10 credit cards and surround sound.
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What's this about NEED, anyway?

Other cultures don't need AR15's, either.

Freedom is quite definitely not the ability to buy a 52" television
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No it isn't - but, as some thinkers - non-american ones! - have pointed out, consumerism does work in some ways to promote freedom.
 
I say it that way because I've been there.

Back in 1979, I had occasion to visit Turkey for a month. I had heard that there was a decidedly anti-American attitude there. I bothered to learn a little of the language, enough to ask where things were in a grocery shop.

I'd walk into a shop and say a few words and suddenly the clerk was answering me in English. Every time. I guess it was obvious I spoke little but still had the nerve to play the haggling game. I always got a good price on things.

In fact, on my 3rd and last trip, in 1985, I had a friend visiting Israel. He stopped in Istanbul on his way back home. We took a bus then a cab to Ansofia, a big mosque. The cab driver got such a kick out of the fact that I insisted on speaking Turkish (I knew more by then) he gave us the cab ride for nothing.

People everywhere are the same that way. They have their pride. You look down your nose at them, they're going to react accordingly.

I went to Bologna, Italy on business for 2 weeks. I don't know any Italian (even though I'm half) but being from Miami, well, I can get by with Spanish some. Pretty much, if you talk to an Italian in Spanish, they can get the idea what you're after. The same thing happened. Two of my coworkers complained because nobody spoke English. Another one, a Cuban, seemed to love the place. So I figured I'd try asking for things in Spanish. I shudder to think what I actually said. But after the first few words it didn't matter. They all spoke English after that.

Everybody on the planet knows what America is. They all want to be it. Our politicians want us to think they're "not like us". That, my friends, is horses**t. Leave them alone in their internal affairs, treat them with dignity, and they'll Americanize themselves.

Force it down their throats and you get what we have now.
 
For example, Korea and Japan are more wired than we are, yet their educational levels and literacy rates are higher.
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Korea and Japan have extremely homogeneous societies...this is a big reason why they perform so much better in school...their society actually values education...it's not just a commodity to them like it is to so many Americans.

I love America, but I think we need to leave other people/countries the hell alone...if they want to Americanize their countries, let them...otherwise let's just worry about our own problems (we have plenty).

To Handy...I agree completely...people fail to realize the number of 'good ole Americans' that have become slaves to their possessions (like TVs and surround sound) by maxing out their credit cards and working two jobs (driving in traffic, etc...) instead of doing something meaningful like spending time with their children.

I could go on and on...but I won't...I have to go teach my Differential Equations class...:D
 
NOPE! I am disgusted by the current state of this country, its' citizens' failure to accept personal responsibility for their failings, the sense of entitlement to "the joys of life" (whatever they are) without having to strive and work hard to accomplish, and their sense that they can dictate "terms" to others notwithstanding the laws of the country seem otherwise.

Export it? Why?
 
I think the world in general would be a better place if religion were left out of it.
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People need something to believe in. Whether it's a supernatural being or their adherence to science just about everyone in the world has a need to understand their existence and the world around them. Religion causes many problems in the world but so does money, technology, and general human greed.

Let people worship whoever or whatever they please however they please. Just keep it out of the government.
 
Handy wrote:

Freedom is quite definitely not the ability to buy a 52" television.
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True. But I just got my 52" HDTV Widescreen WITH Dolby Digital Surround Sound.....and it DOES make me feel kinda.....free....;)
 
Did we not Americanize the world after World War Two? This is espically true with Japan. They were an empire until we changed their form of government. Was that a good thing, or not? Their economy sure benefitted from our intervention.
 
REDWORM
So, are you saying the Americanizing of Western Europe and Japan was not a good idea? I wonder how the Soviets viewed that move!
 
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