Of Things I Don’t Like About America

I know in certain circles it’s become fashionable to dump on the USA, and while I generally try to avoid jumping on such bandwagons, I’ve been keeping this list for some time and have decided to get it out of my head

Things I Don’t Like About America (And Don’t Have Any Right to Complain About Being a Canadian)

• Congress/Politicians/Government in General
  • This has been on my list for a long time, but the recent debt ceiling fiasco really just cemented it for me. Democracy in America is a facade and the two party system has become a parody of itself.
• The NRA/Gun “Control”
  • The statistics speak for themselves. The typical pro-gun arguments are baseless.
• Health “Care”
  • Like much of America, this is all under the control of corporations. The unfettered capitalist ideology is ridiculous as is America’s status as the only G8 country not to provide its citizens with universal health care.
• The Media
  • More often than not, the media becomes part of the problem rather than the solution. The idea of journalistic neutrality has long been a complete farce. Most of the popular talking heads (pundits/commentators) are paragons of ignorance and hate. Many of the same claims can also be made against the American judicial system.
• Racism
  • Clearly still a significant problem in America, and one they seem to try so hard to ignore or “whitewash.” The melting pot has boiled over.
• Litigation
  • What used to be a flood of personal and business suits has now been surpassed by endless patent litigation that stifles innovation and undercuts honest competition.
• Wall Street
  • Greed. Keep the rich rich and the poor poor.
• Big Brother
  • The extent to which America is systematically attempting to (1) legislate morality and (2) monitor and control the lives of its citizens both publically and privately is horrifying. Fascism is not far off as the USA becomes the epitome of 1984, Metropolis, a Brave New World.
• Policy
  • The hypocritical pursuit of foreign wars at tremendous cost (economically and otherwise) in contrast to a complete lack of progressive economic and energy policies, just for starters.

With Hope,
Joseph