- 18 Nov 2013
- 28
- 3
- 13
*sigh* :frown: It hurts me to say this, it really does.
Like other Americans, I've been told that I live in the greatest country in the world. I've been told that America is a place for opportunity, where hard work is rewarded with a decent living and a bright future. I've been told to be enthusiastic about supporting my country and to trust that our government will do the right thing. And I've been told that I wouldn't want to live anywhere else but here. Yet when looking at the current status of America, I don't feel anything resembling affection for my country.
Every morning while I was at school (elementary, middle and high school), before class started for the day, I among many other students were told to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Under the Pledge of Allegiance, I am suppose to swore by this country, to fight for liberty and justice for all, and to believe that we're a country under God (what?). Literally almost every day we had to do this and each time, this repetition became more irritating. The value of these words I'm supposed to believe in have been devalued to the point where I simply don't believe in them anymore. They've just became words to speak every morning and nuisance to take up the first few minutes of class. Not having to say it anymore at college was a godsend for me.
Having been in college for nearly two years, I have been going back and forth on what I want to do with my life. I still haven't decided on a major yet, but I've considered various science majors like microbiology, engineering, video game designing, etc, although only recently have I realized my interest lies more in something related to traveling the world, exploring the world outside of the bubble I'm in (the USA) and doing new things with my life. And at this same time, I've been wondering for year why that affection for the USA I once had wasn't here anymore and why I felt so ambivalent towards the country. I then realized the truth; whatever love I had for this country was artificial at best, instilled by the US government to condition me to accept what was a flat-out lie.
Nothing indicates that the United States has earned it's title as the greatest country ever; even in the 1950s during the "American Dream" era, minorities were strongly discriminated against economically and politically and were treated as second-class citizen. It especially can't claim the title now. Today's America is a very pessimistic bunch; it is very common to hear people never trusting anything the government said (and they're right). A couple of days ago, while I was eating lunch, I was overhearing a conversation by a few people and one of them stated that the government was cloning humans. I found that to be nonsense and told them that but they were insistent that the government was hiding the cloning of humans because they didn't want to upset the religious people and have a war started because of it.
While all of the "cloning human" business seems very implausible at best to me, it's not hard to see why people resort to such extreme pessimism about the government. We have not seen a government that can be considered trustworthy by many since the Clinton administration. With disasters like Benghazi, the NRA scandal, the War on Terror (the irony), the worst economic recession since the Great Depression and the national government frequently lying behind our backs, how can any rational person be optimistic about the government? Unless the person is liberal, a person who doesn't mind being on hand-out, or a LGBT person, chances are you hate how the government is being run today. Heck, I'm a bisexual (mostly gay) male who's known to be naive and I don't trust my government at all (I'm also on social security, but I hate being reminded of it. At least I actually have a job I guess).
The education system in American's public school is embarrassing in regards to first-world countries. Many students today have no desire to learn because they were not taught the value of education properly by their parents, but also a big problem are the schools themselves. Many public school place too much emphasis on extracurricular activities and not enough on critical areas like social studies, writing, math and science (especially the latter two). I've had quite a few teachers that could not teach effectively and it showed because they failed to engage the students into learning. It frustrated me that some teachers spent half of the classes disciplining kids and thus wasting valuable time that should be spent teaching us what we need to know going into the real world. If I were to ever have kids, there is no way I would put them through public school when education is declining in America by the day.
I also find the notion of the USA being this amazing defenders of freedom to be a joke. Just because I am an American doesn't mean that I'm fooled into believing that we're #1 in morality. Every country is susceptible to committing or at least allowing horrific acts to occur and the USA is no exception of this rule. We have seen the USA support Augusto Pinochet, who made 3,000 of his opponents disappear, We have seen the USA allow Saddam Hussein to go on his savage reign of terror for too long. Pol Pot was supported by the United States, despite the fact that he killed at least two million people during his reign. The United States supported these terrible regimes because they served the U.S. interest, not because of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
And after all of this, after how disappointing the government has been for the past thirteen years, with such a weak education system by first-world standards (at least in the public sector), the USA supporting terrible regimes and other issues the country face on both domestic and foreign grounds, I'm still expected to believe that we're the greatest nation on Earth? I'm sorry, but I find this notion to be ********. Aside from the fact that there are no such thing as the greatest nation ever, even if I were to mention one to be the greatest today, I definitely wouldn't say the USA is that country. Realizing this truth has eroded whatever love I had for the country and resulted in me feeling indifferent about the country. I feel as I am here because I was born here, not because I desire to be here.
In a way, this reminds me of my artificial commitment to Christianity when I was younger. Looking back, I was a Christian because I was raised as one, not because I wanted to be. When I was a teen, I began questioning the religion I grew up in. Then two years ago, I realized that I didn't really believe in the Christian faith so much as I was told to because of fear and dropped that for good. Since then, I have been an agonist (though I have looked into Buddhism and Shintoism lately), although I have not told anyone in my family about it (and don't plan on doing so anytime soon).
Unfortunately, however, moving to another country is a much, much more complicated process than changing religion (which was already a difficult thing to change) and I don't even know if I will even move in the first place. There's also the matter that the realities of the current countries that I would want to immigrate to must be considered. I myself would love to move to Japan someday. Aside from some of my favorite pieces of entertainment coming out from the country as well as my strong interest into diving in into Japanese anime, manga and video games (as least older ones), I also love the traditional music and the culture the country provides. Living in Japan would be like going to a new world and one I want to be part of. Unfortunately, there is also the problem of poor gender equality in Japan, as well as bad working balances and the strongly xenophobic nature of native Japanese makes immigration very difficult.
What particularly concerns me is the fact that Shinzo Abe is in power. It's pretty clear that Abe wants to militarize Japan and if his visit to Yasukuni visit is any indication, he definitely doesn't care about the people that put him in charge so much as he cares about his own self-interest. Japan (along with China and North Korea) also fails to realize that it has the potential to launch a devastating war that makes the wars in the Middle East look like child's play, potentially involving us in the worst war since World War II. If anything could keep me from moving from Japan, it's definitely the threat of militarization. It doesn't help that the secrecy law is in effect (which stifles civil rights) as well as the government white-washing Japanese history. But at least I can say that I have affections for Japan for other reasons than because I was told to at a young age, which is a big reason why I am hoping that Abe does not get his way with militarizing Japan (which unfortunately is a real possibility) so that I can start working towards moving there someday even with being aware of the issues surrounding this country.
Don't get me wrong here, I don't hate the USA (I find the concept of hating countries to be absurd). I strongly respect its history and the numerous positively accomplishment it has made over the the 237 years the country has been alive.. I also remember the great American men and women in our history that have changed the world for the better and realize that when looking at the world today, this is one of the better places to live. I also don't plan on revoking my U.S. citizen even if I did move to another country.
But I just don't have any love left for today's America. It seems as today's government have forgotten why the United States was made and with a declining education system and being lied to about how this is the greatest country ever, it leaves me with no patriotic spirit for the country. To me, the USA is just another country, I definitely wouldn't call it my country, just happens to be the one I live in. And frankly, I don't really believe in the country anymore.
I apologize if this sounds whiny/unappreciative, but I really wanted to get this out. At this point, with the world being as unstable as it is, perhaps it would be better if I find something else that can't be found by country lines (and I don't mean material goods).
Like other Americans, I've been told that I live in the greatest country in the world. I've been told that America is a place for opportunity, where hard work is rewarded with a decent living and a bright future. I've been told to be enthusiastic about supporting my country and to trust that our government will do the right thing. And I've been told that I wouldn't want to live anywhere else but here. Yet when looking at the current status of America, I don't feel anything resembling affection for my country.
Every morning while I was at school (elementary, middle and high school), before class started for the day, I among many other students were told to recite the Pledge of Allegiance. Under the Pledge of Allegiance, I am suppose to swore by this country, to fight for liberty and justice for all, and to believe that we're a country under God (what?). Literally almost every day we had to do this and each time, this repetition became more irritating. The value of these words I'm supposed to believe in have been devalued to the point where I simply don't believe in them anymore. They've just became words to speak every morning and nuisance to take up the first few minutes of class. Not having to say it anymore at college was a godsend for me.
Having been in college for nearly two years, I have been going back and forth on what I want to do with my life. I still haven't decided on a major yet, but I've considered various science majors like microbiology, engineering, video game designing, etc, although only recently have I realized my interest lies more in something related to traveling the world, exploring the world outside of the bubble I'm in (the USA) and doing new things with my life. And at this same time, I've been wondering for year why that affection for the USA I once had wasn't here anymore and why I felt so ambivalent towards the country. I then realized the truth; whatever love I had for this country was artificial at best, instilled by the US government to condition me to accept what was a flat-out lie.
Nothing indicates that the United States has earned it's title as the greatest country ever; even in the 1950s during the "American Dream" era, minorities were strongly discriminated against economically and politically and were treated as second-class citizen. It especially can't claim the title now. Today's America is a very pessimistic bunch; it is very common to hear people never trusting anything the government said (and they're right). A couple of days ago, while I was eating lunch, I was overhearing a conversation by a few people and one of them stated that the government was cloning humans. I found that to be nonsense and told them that but they were insistent that the government was hiding the cloning of humans because they didn't want to upset the religious people and have a war started because of it.
While all of the "cloning human" business seems very implausible at best to me, it's not hard to see why people resort to such extreme pessimism about the government. We have not seen a government that can be considered trustworthy by many since the Clinton administration. With disasters like Benghazi, the NRA scandal, the War on Terror (the irony), the worst economic recession since the Great Depression and the national government frequently lying behind our backs, how can any rational person be optimistic about the government? Unless the person is liberal, a person who doesn't mind being on hand-out, or a LGBT person, chances are you hate how the government is being run today. Heck, I'm a bisexual (mostly gay) male who's known to be naive and I don't trust my government at all (I'm also on social security, but I hate being reminded of it. At least I actually have a job I guess).
The education system in American's public school is embarrassing in regards to first-world countries. Many students today have no desire to learn because they were not taught the value of education properly by their parents, but also a big problem are the schools themselves. Many public school place too much emphasis on extracurricular activities and not enough on critical areas like social studies, writing, math and science (especially the latter two). I've had quite a few teachers that could not teach effectively and it showed because they failed to engage the students into learning. It frustrated me that some teachers spent half of the classes disciplining kids and thus wasting valuable time that should be spent teaching us what we need to know going into the real world. If I were to ever have kids, there is no way I would put them through public school when education is declining in America by the day.
I also find the notion of the USA being this amazing defenders of freedom to be a joke. Just because I am an American doesn't mean that I'm fooled into believing that we're #1 in morality. Every country is susceptible to committing or at least allowing horrific acts to occur and the USA is no exception of this rule. We have seen the USA support Augusto Pinochet, who made 3,000 of his opponents disappear, We have seen the USA allow Saddam Hussein to go on his savage reign of terror for too long. Pol Pot was supported by the United States, despite the fact that he killed at least two million people during his reign. The United States supported these terrible regimes because they served the U.S. interest, not because of life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness.
And after all of this, after how disappointing the government has been for the past thirteen years, with such a weak education system by first-world standards (at least in the public sector), the USA supporting terrible regimes and other issues the country face on both domestic and foreign grounds, I'm still expected to believe that we're the greatest nation on Earth? I'm sorry, but I find this notion to be ********. Aside from the fact that there are no such thing as the greatest nation ever, even if I were to mention one to be the greatest today, I definitely wouldn't say the USA is that country. Realizing this truth has eroded whatever love I had for the country and resulted in me feeling indifferent about the country. I feel as I am here because I was born here, not because I desire to be here.
In a way, this reminds me of my artificial commitment to Christianity when I was younger. Looking back, I was a Christian because I was raised as one, not because I wanted to be. When I was a teen, I began questioning the religion I grew up in. Then two years ago, I realized that I didn't really believe in the Christian faith so much as I was told to because of fear and dropped that for good. Since then, I have been an agonist (though I have looked into Buddhism and Shintoism lately), although I have not told anyone in my family about it (and don't plan on doing so anytime soon).
Unfortunately, however, moving to another country is a much, much more complicated process than changing religion (which was already a difficult thing to change) and I don't even know if I will even move in the first place. There's also the matter that the realities of the current countries that I would want to immigrate to must be considered. I myself would love to move to Japan someday. Aside from some of my favorite pieces of entertainment coming out from the country as well as my strong interest into diving in into Japanese anime, manga and video games (as least older ones), I also love the traditional music and the culture the country provides. Living in Japan would be like going to a new world and one I want to be part of. Unfortunately, there is also the problem of poor gender equality in Japan, as well as bad working balances and the strongly xenophobic nature of native Japanese makes immigration very difficult.
What particularly concerns me is the fact that Shinzo Abe is in power. It's pretty clear that Abe wants to militarize Japan and if his visit to Yasukuni visit is any indication, he definitely doesn't care about the people that put him in charge so much as he cares about his own self-interest. Japan (along with China and North Korea) also fails to realize that it has the potential to launch a devastating war that makes the wars in the Middle East look like child's play, potentially involving us in the worst war since World War II. If anything could keep me from moving from Japan, it's definitely the threat of militarization. It doesn't help that the secrecy law is in effect (which stifles civil rights) as well as the government white-washing Japanese history. But at least I can say that I have affections for Japan for other reasons than because I was told to at a young age, which is a big reason why I am hoping that Abe does not get his way with militarizing Japan (which unfortunately is a real possibility) so that I can start working towards moving there someday even with being aware of the issues surrounding this country.
Don't get me wrong here, I don't hate the USA (I find the concept of hating countries to be absurd). I strongly respect its history and the numerous positively accomplishment it has made over the the 237 years the country has been alive.. I also remember the great American men and women in our history that have changed the world for the better and realize that when looking at the world today, this is one of the better places to live. I also don't plan on revoking my U.S. citizen even if I did move to another country.
But I just don't have any love left for today's America. It seems as today's government have forgotten why the United States was made and with a declining education system and being lied to about how this is the greatest country ever, it leaves me with no patriotic spirit for the country. To me, the USA is just another country, I definitely wouldn't call it my country, just happens to be the one I live in. And frankly, I don't really believe in the country anymore.
I apologize if this sounds whiny/unappreciative, but I really wanted to get this out. At this point, with the world being as unstable as it is, perhaps it would be better if I find something else that can't be found by country lines (and I don't mean material goods).