Well I bet we send over a bit more than a few Hungry Man TV dinners! But your last point really rattles my cage too. I knew what you meant on the previous post, I know how it works. You raise an excellent issue that boggles my mind. But it is our nature as a people to help.
What exactly is your problem with that? The US can do whatever we (actually whoever is in power) want to do. No force on the earth can stop the US military. Why do you need the French to agree? And you should not really care whether French soldiers are willing to risk their lives to jump-start the US economy, since I am sure you yourself have not volunteered to go to Iraq and participate in the war. So if you don't feel like dying there how can you expect the French to?
Exactly! It is our nature as individuals and as a people to help those in need. I am so confident in that statement of yours that I suggest cutting welfare down to a minimum. No-one will starve in this country if we take away their government benefits. It is our nature to help, it shouldn't be our law. Also, I never intended to badmouth America. I just think that the real purpose of free speech and press is to not only allow, but seriously hear as many different opinions and aspects of every problem as possible. If America were just a nation of drones chanting "Bush good, Saddam bad", how would we be different from our enemies? I might also add that a great number of my posts are honestly meant as questions. I'm not saying things are bad so we need a revolution. I'm addressing certain issues in a pointed manner to evoke an equally pointed response. Plus it's no use saying "It's so easy to start up a business in America! I just have an idea, file a little application, pay $20 (or $220, depending on my location), and within minutes I am a business owner. Whenever I have questions about taxes or regulations, I just research it on the well-organized websites or call the government directly, and they are usually very friendly and helpful." All that is true, and I really mean it, but it already works almost perfectly and is the best system I have seen anywhere in the world. So there is no need to talk about it. It wouldn't accomplish anything. But other government agencies are not up to speed. It DOES make sense to complain about the slowness and inefficiency of the INS or the USPS, because there are definitely major problems, and just by talking about them, we open up opportunities for someone to suddenly come up with an idea or just the initiative to improve certain weaknesses. That's all. I've seen Europe and I've seen the US, and all in all I would say Europe is 30% "good" and 10% efficient, while America is 60% "good" and 80% efficient. It's a crude estimate, and it's obviously very difficult to put a whole continent into two numbers, but I just wanted to quantify my personal opinion (which of course might be far from the "objective" truth) so that no doubt arise as to my allegiance.
Thanks for the link. I didn't know they were exactly what I'm looking for. At least they say they are. I always thought they were some sort of anarchist/socialist retards. But if you believe what it says on their website they should represent my opinions quite well. Now there is one more thing I need to find out (since the libertarians are obviously negligible): Are my opinions highly unpopular or is there a problem within the LP that makes them unacceptable to the reasonable voter in spite of their official program?
Lobster, Thanks voicing your opinion so eloquently. I agree with most of what you say. But I would have to disagree with your optimism. The US is not very efficient. You mentioned just a few government agencies that are ineffienct... apply that to the rest. And as an earlier poster already mentioned... we really don't need liberals... we need libertarians.
If I had to put it simply: people are afraid of responsibility... they want someone else to tell them what to think, what to wear, what to eat...etc. etc.
My sentiments exactly. When I practiced medicine, 20% of my time was spent with those who couldn't get to or pay for a doc. I didn't deduct my time or expenses. The look of appreciation from those folks was more payment than I could ever receive. They gave what they could, a smile, a hug. A simple thank you made all the difference to me.