Would you rather live in America or Japan?

I love the U.S., am not going back to Japan. I can't wait to get my citizenship so I can vote.
I might sound such a headcase, but here are some facts. The armed society is a safe society. The town I live in now has 9,000 people approximately, many of them own firearms for hunting or target shooting. There haven't been a murder since when, ever. Did you know that the target shooting has the least accidents among the Olympics?

The diversity in the U.S. is one of the things makes me feel welcomed, didn't get that in Japan. Being defferent seems to have very important aspects in the U.S..

Although I miss the health care system they have in Japan, the education sucks. I was hit by several male teachers when I was a rebellious young teen, was lucky enough to go through college, but I don't remember the most of the things I was taught at schools in Japan...

Uh-Oh

The gun debate.

I won't try to argue this one, but I'm not sure an armed society is a safe one.



Btw, I hereby ban all references to Ayn Rand in this thread. LOL

So I went to the Detroit fire works last night, one of our suppliers has land on the riverfront, so I was in a private area, but over in Hart plaza (which is a big park where Detroit holds most of it's festivals) just down the front alittle bit some Jackass opened fire shooting like 9 people. Detroit is such a beautiful place isn't. People can't even come down to see a the fireworks anymore without worrying about this type of ****.

Then this morning the Mayor Big Diamond Kwame was on the news talking about the incident, he said something like a million people come to the River to have a good time and then you get this "ignorant Idiot" that ruins it for everyone. It sounded like he wanted to call the guy an a$$hole but refrained, instead calling him an idiot. The guys still at large. Even though there was like hundreds of cops on patrol that night to work the crowds and traffic.

Detroit...

What happened to RoboCop?

Golgo_13 said:

What happened to RoboCop?

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Replaced. Funding ran out.

im sorry but who would even consider between these two? Japan all the way!!! im sorry im a bit obssessed. i love all things Japan

misa.j said:

I love the U.S., am not going back to Japan. I can't wait to get my citizenship so I can vote.

Although I miss the health care system they have in Japan, the education sucks. ...

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I've gone to school in both countries, and the quality of education in the U.S. (at grade school level) is inferior.

> Btw, I hereby ban all references to Ayn Rand in this thread. LOL

I'm very impressed that somebody actually got that reference. I only read Atlas Shrugged this month hence it was at the top of my mind.

> I've gone to school in both countries, and the quality of education in the U.S. (at grade school level) is inferior.

Or at least it was 20-30 years ago when you were in grade school. What's the situation now?

So what do you think of it? I know many people who think Ayn Rand was off her rocker, but I liked it.

Golgo_13 said:

I've gone to school in both countries, and the quality of education in the U.S. (at grade school level) is inferior.

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I agree...at the high school/college level then I have to say that the U.S. is doing better but that is my opinion and I don't know what the current standards are in the U.S. right now (I'm working off of views 10 or more years ago).

mad pierrot said:

So what do you think of it? I know many people who think Ayn Rand was off her rocker, but I liked it.

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I think it's an excellent book though much too long by at least 200 pages. As a story it's good, but more importantly as a thought-provoking work it's even better. I think it does a good job of defending the capitalistic system and pointing out the fatal flaws in communism/socialism. Objectivisim as a whole lifes philosophy I think is flawed but it definitely has some worthwhile ideas.

Buddha Smoker said:

Is it really getting that bad back there? It's been a long time since I've been in the States?

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No, it's nowhere near that bad.

While the "slippery slope" arguments about free speech are not necessarily without merit--vigilance is certainly required on the part of citizens in any democratic nation if they are to ensure that the government doesn't overstep its bounds--many people are overreacting.

I heard a discussion on CSPAN Radio ("Washington Journal") earlier today about the political polarization of the United States. The guest was a NY Times reporter who had been researching this phenomenon. He concluded that the polarization really began with the 1976 election and has gotten steadily worse over the ensuing 30 years. You can watch the televised show here, if you wish.

I didn't hear the entire program, but it seems logical that this polarization plays a significant role in determing how people interpret and react to governmental actions and current events. Such polarization leads to bias, and the bias sadly leads to both blind support for whatever the president does and blind criticism of whatever the president does.

As for the quality of schools in the United States, it's a mixed bag, of course. There is no single centralized educational system--this authority belongs to the states, not to the federal government. Even within individual states, and sometimes within individual school districts, there is great variation.

Some of the factors affecting the quality of education are fairly obvious:

1. The importance of education to the parents of students and the degree to which this importance is emphasized at home.

2. Students' ability and willingness to learn and behave in the classroom.

3. The amount of stress placed on developing--and supervising the implementation of--solid curricula in states, counties, and individual schools.

4. Teacher education and certification requirements (determined by state), which reflect teachers' professional knowledge and ability to both teach and manage student behavior in the classroom.

I was educated primarily in the U.S. (I spent 4th, 5th, and 6th grade at St. Mary's International School in Tokyo) and I found my education to be excellent. As a teacher, I'm fortunate to teach in an educationally-focused state, county, and school. (Actually, two schools. For the last 5 years, I taught mathematics at a middle school but I'll be teaching mathematics at an International Baccalaureate high school next year.)

I've found the overwhelming majority of my colleagues to be well-educated, bright, enthusiastic, and pedagogically competent. Likewise, though middle school kids are an interesting and varied group, I've found that my students were, by and large, capable and greatly encouraged to learn by their parents.

But I've no illusions that my experiences as a student and teacher are necessarily representative of education in the United States. In fact--and this is the point of my post--there is no single way to represent education in the U.S. It would be no more accurate for me to say, based on my experience, that "Education is top-notch in the States!" than it would be for anyone else to claim that "Education is poor in the States!"

Regards,

Dan

Exactly, Dan! I think I have said something almost identical to what you have said(only a much more compact version) a few times in this here forum.

There are many different factors. You can't just go around saying "Education in America sucks!". It depends on where you are. It varies from state to state, county to county, city to city.

Chances are, an inner-city school isn't going to be like a school in a tightknit and prosperous farming community in rural Virginia with a population of only one thousand.

Also, are we talking public or private education? In general(I say that because I was educated in public school K-12 ), the quality of education is going to be better at private schools than at public schools.

There are many things to take into consideration when talking education in the U.S. I do wish more money and emphasis could be put on the education system as a whole, though.

Kirei na me,

I'm glad to find someone who has similar views on this subject!

kirei_na_me said:

Also, are we talking public or private education? In general (I say that because I was educated in public school K-12 ), the quality of education is going to be better at private schools than at public schools.

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That's an interesting point. But I think it may not be as true as it once was. Don't get me wrong, because there are some truly great private schools out there (there are several notable examples in northern Viriginia alone). However there were a number of students who transferred to my last school who came from various private schools in the area and they were were well below "grade-level" in the core subjects. (Their parents were aware of this and it was the primary reason for the transfer.)

I've read in various sources (some were admittedly rather biased in favor of public schooling) that private schools aren't required to adhere to the same standards of teacher certification/licensure or student testing as are the public schools (presumably this depends on state laws). As a result, there is often no way to reliably make comparisons between public and private schools until students take a standardized test, like the SAT.

Nonetheless, as with anything else in education, it's very tough to make meaningful generalizations here and, based on what I've seen of SAT comparisons, there are many private schools that do very well and many that do not, and the same is true of public schools.

Regarding the original question which asks whether I'd prefer to live in the U.S. or Japan, I'm torn. I'm interested in moving back to Japan but, even if I do, I don't know that I would necessarily stay there for the rest of my life. This is my home...

So I haven't voted in this poll yet. I'm still undecided. :?

Regards,

Dan

id prefer japan

I think japan would be a better place to live just because america is being run by a bunch of idiots (in my opinon) although i dont know how japans system is... all i know is that america is full of overweight lazy people who have nothing better to do then to watch on t.v who wins an oscar. me personaly can live without TV, video games, and movies just give me a house in a quiet area and a place to train in the martial arts. I do in fact like anime (hence my name and avitar) but i could easily live without all that stuff.
Another thing is all the crime that is around america america is one of the top places for crime and death i feel that its kinda scary in a way and that some children grow up around that stuff most likly making them into gangsters and other horrid crap... but all in all i still love america with a passion its just alot of the ppl and the ppl that run this country

Japan most definitely for me.. Why ? Because I'm Canadian, And I love all things Japanese .. Now if you asked me Japan or Canada.. I'd say I have to wait till I experience Japan.. But yeh.. I don't like America.. I Don't wanna be there when they piss off the wrong people and they decide to give a gift in the form of a bomb to America lol.. And Japan rules.. So.. I voted Japan..

Japan for sure.

Knives said:

all i know is that america is full of overweight lazy people who have nothing better to do then to watch on t.v who wins an oscar. me personaly can live without TV, video games, and movies just give me a house in a quiet area and a place to train in the martial arts.

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Then you truly don't know much of anything. Not everyone is overweight or lazy and do nothing but watch TV. That's a ridiculous broad brush stereotype that exposes a terrible level of ignorance. I for one am none of the things you mentioned, so don't lump me into your way of thinking. That annoys me no end!

As for crime, newsflash: it's everywhere! Including Japan! It's all part of the human condition. Is America heaven on earth? Hell no! But I'm still proud to live in this country and wouldn't live anywhere else in the world!

King of Tokyo said:

I Don't wanna be there when they piss off the wrong people and they decide to give a gift in the form of a bomb to America lol..

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That is absolutely NOTHING to joke about!

I could go either way because i always wanted to try japan like daily rootine but the (us)is ok to.

flashjeff said:

Then you truly don't know much of anything. Not everyone is overweight or lazy and do nothing but watch TV. That's a ridiculous broad brush stereotype that exposes a terrible level of ignorance. I for one am none of the things you mentioned, so don't lump me into your way of thinking. That annoys me no end!

As for crime, newsflash: it's everywhere! Including Japan! It's all part of the human condition. Is America heaven on earth? Hell no! But I'm still proud to live in this country and wouldn't live anywhere else in the world!

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Yeh.. some people just like to hate on America.. it's not perfect and nowhere else is either.. but for the crime thing.. I'm sorry but Japan is way better.. there is I think around 150 murders per year in Japan.. In America ? Wow.. THOUSANDS.. Tens of Thousands if I'm not mistaken.. So yeh.. I still prefer Japan over America.. but that doesn't mean it is terrible or anything.. All countries have their pros and cons

flashjeff said:

That is absolutely NOTHING to joke about!

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I guess not.. but I'd rather joke about it then worry myself about it.. let me joke lol..

To hate on anything or anybody does nobody any good. That's why this planet is so screwed up, because people insist on hating people instead of trying to get along.

I think in Japan, in about one year, they had 10 gun related deaths to about 11,000 in the U.S.

Still, for the most part, many of those shootings happen in bigger, more metropolitan areas. Although I know no one is completely safe, it is safer in the more rural communities. School shootings get a lot of media attention because they are rare.

Sure the country is run by sadists, but as I've said before, where I live is home. I don't let the people running the government define who I am. I just happen to live here. Besides, where I live is isolated, it's peaceful(knocks on wood), my family is around and they don't get on my nerves much, you can trust the plumber(or any other repairman) to be at your house right on time, you can expect people to be able to do paperwork without computers and know what the hell they are talking about, and you can trust your neighbor to keep an eye on your children. Where I live, it's like everything is done 'old school', and 'old school' in a good way. At least to me and at least for now.

The one thing about this country that I loathe is our neverending love affair with guns and how we're completely unable to affect serious change to that barbaric Wild West mindset. Even the barest of gun control regulations proposed every year are struck down by politicians in the back pocket of the NRA and railed at by the legions of rednecks from coast to coast who'd rather sleep with their rifles than their women. Admittedly, I don't have statistics, but take away say, half of the guns out there, and this country becomes considerably safer than it is right now.

this is like the question of whether you prefer your dad or your mum

it's never about who is better..it broils down to the relationship you have with them.. what you have went thru with them....

well I like Japan becuase it has that society togetherness, with traditional values and the gracefulenss, just like a mother to me...

i'm obsessed with japan.. i'm not very interested in america... i'll go with hmmm..... japan XD