Jo and Mav, thanks for answering.
The idea behind the "poll" was to get the people on all sides of the "I hate America and I am embarrassed to live here" to "I love America and everything about it" and the "America and Americans are a bunch of stupid/lazy/greedy/overweight/uneducated/corporate greed....the list goes on" To Think About What They Type.
No country is perfect. That is the point. Pointing out all the "flaws" of one country serves no purpose except to cause dissention and arguement. Calling the President names does the same thing.
I like the USA. As Abbandon pointed out on another thread, there are positives and negatives. Negatives to me include: Urban sprawl without adequate public transportation, inability to educate (needs a total overhaul), Kansas (lived there in what I term Pergatory for 3 years in Wichita), tax system, IRS, electoral college, healthcare, prescriptions.....my list goes on and on.
Positives include: Freedom, the ability to be totally uninformed and still be allowed to voice my opinion, the shopping, the blue sky, the freedom to move from one income bracket to another without being sold into marriage....my list goes on and on.
All I can do to effect change is by voting and volunteering I can treat people as I want to be treated (and I do) and try to help people who are not as priviledged as I. (this is done by giving $$ to various chairities)
I have visited other countries. Some I liked; some I did not. Big deal. Will my voicing my disdain for the other country make changes? No. Resounding.
My personal thought is this:
There are quite a few countries with nukes. We can lay down all our weapons and military and hope that they don't hurt us. Or we can keep our weapons and play a "hands off game" with the other countries that could hurt us. Like we did during the cold war.
I am sure that China will take over someday as "the world power". Will I care? Only if I am alive. I doubt I will be. They have a lot of people who need to climb out of the illiteracy pit.
As far as "free everything"....of course that does not and will not exist. Except in the new system...
I don't want more tax dollars given to social programs. They are failing. When social programs come from people who are really trying to make a change in that persons life, with their particular problem, they do better. I would much prefer to go to a chairity than a government institution to get a hand out. At least the people at the chairity will leave me with dignity....the person behind the government desk, deciding if I should get welfare, could care less if I leave with dignity and it shows.
Education is key. We as a country need to have a better educational system. Do I know how to fix it? Not a clue. However, I can see it needs fixing.
As for the "left" screaming that Bush is an idiot/murderer/like Saddam/etc.....I really find that sad. Clinton was a snake dressed as a penis and everyone thought what a great guy he was. I don't like or agree with Bush's religious stance. I hate it. When he is up for re-election, I will really evaluate other candidates and perhaps vote for someone who does not "thank God" at every chance he gets.
I guess the point of my whole thread was to make people think. It is easy to point out flaws....since so few responded, yet so many read the thread tells me that all the complainers have no answers. But they want it "better"....better than what--define better.
I think the "paradise" thought is in the back of the minds of many people still here. The naysayers (about paradise) are the ones calling for "give more to the poor", "stop funding the military", "the rich should pay more", etc. This is nice; noble. However, it ain't gonna happen. I have my mind set firmly around the idea that the world might settle down for periods of time, however, there will always be war, suffering, less educated, lower income people.
My thoughts on the "war" are that it could have been handled much better. How? I don't have a clue. I was never in the military, nor have I ever been in charge of 230 million lives.
