Tuesday November 3, 2009, 12:15 am
Fascinating ex pat rant but I would like to know what an "American" is! If he means the recently arrived destructive collection of Europeans who only uncivilised the country by an error of navigation a few hundred years ago then what have they got to crow about. There sum achievement is the exploitation of all before them the rape and murder or the land and indegenous people and the inheretance of an increasing desert punctuated by fast food joints and centres of mediocraty the UK can only dream of emulating as we paddle in our small sized muck pool! If big is better then you can keep it bigger pollution bigger abuse bigger vehicles bigger bodies bigger bills. there is probably a lot more biggesr than I can comprehend. On the up side there a bigger lot of caring folk not tainted with biggger is beautful syndrome! Why be shy about knocking the downside of somewhere you live especilly if the good stuff keeps you there. The UK has it's share of crap and of course was responsible for endowing America with much that is undesirable such as rednecks and right wing extremist and their extremist religionist supporters we als suppiled America with slaves from our empire so we have no elevated moral platform to preach from. We of course tended to crap on other people's doorsteps in the Middle East, Africa, India, Australia and of course the Americas etc so you have learnt much from us! A significant number of Brits indulge in American style pastimes like stuffing them selves with fast food and botox to arrest their aging appearence or hunting animals for the pleasure of killing them so we are co hosts of many unpleasant activities. Far better to have one's opinion aired than bottled up inside and turning into some form of paranoia! However I would also want to celebrate the wonderful things that the US and UK have done but I don't have a conveniemt pin head to write the list down the side of the Lord's Prayer, on" For those that don't understand the last comment it was a feat of microengineering that some person engraved the Lord's Prayer on a pin head some years ago and the space around it would be far too large a space to accommadate the US and UK's good deeds! Well if you haven't worked out by now that I'm a cynical old git then you have not been paying attention!

Tuesday November 3, 2009, 4:37 am
thanks daphna

Tuesday November 3, 2009, 6:29 am
Great way of pointing out America's "biggest" areas that need improvement. As an American, I am very disappointed with the dirty habits we've developed over the years. I do think that things are beginning to change here though, slowly but surely. I think that it starts with ordinary people working hard to make a difference. I like to follow to two guys from South London who are pointing out the green action being taken by ordinary people and bringing them together. They're definitely worth checking out: http://changents.com/projectdirt

Tuesday November 3, 2009, 9:51 am
Thannnxxx.. oh my they are things we love to hate....

Tuesday November 3, 2009, 1:30 pm
Interesting list but as someone who has spent the last 15 years doing international business there are some things I have to disagree with
"Dependence on the Motor Car
It's an obvious one, but critical. I've always been amazed at how hard it is to get around this country if you don't drive one." This may sound like it makes sense, but the population density in the US is roughly 20% or less of that of western Europe and only about 12% that of the UK. That accounts for a lot of this. Ever try to get around China? Besides the crazy car drivers, there are about 500 million smoke belching motorbikes you have to dodge. Who really wants our population density to increase? I'll take an electric car.
"Mistrust of Government
Now for the deeper cultural divides. I find it hard to get my head around the hostility evident toward any kind of government intervention in people's lives." This country was founded by people who mis-trusted the government. Put me down on the mis-trust the government list. Besides the fact that the government rarely does anything well or efficiently (and who can truthfully argue with that), who in the heck prefers MORE government intervention in their lives?
"Weird Meat
Sure, there are plenty of vegans out there who will tell me that any kind of meat is a) murder, and b) utterly unsustainable" Weird meat is a matter of perspective. I'll take juiced up US meat any day as compared to the fish heads, eyeballs, snakes, rats, pigeons, goat stomachs, rooster nuts, ox tails, etc that I have been served around the world. First thing I do when I land in LA from Asia is get a good old cheeseburger and fries.

I've been around this old world many times in both directions, but give me the USA anyday!

Tuesday November 3, 2009, 9:55 pm
"Besides the fact that the government rarely does anything well or efficiently (and who can truthfully argue with that), who in the heck prefers MORE government intervention in their lives?"

I can argue with that and I do. I regard that as "if we say it often enough it will beome true". Medicare overhead 3-5%; private insurer overhead 14%. The private sector has had decades to provide sustainable and affordable health insurance. They haven't done it. It's time for the government to step in. The financial crisis was the result of malfeasance by the private sector and not enough government keeping an eye on them. Our crumbling infrastructure is the result of too little government. The Katrina debacle was the result of too little government.

Acid rain from industry devastated my part of the world, killing ponds, small lakes, vulnerable forest areas and
damaging structures. Government stepped in with the Clean Air Act and greatly reduced the damage. Of course, industry resisted, just as it resisted seat belts, shoulder harnesses, safer auto design and pollution controls. Always, -always-, saying we couldn't afford it, providing cost projections that were 10 times the actual cost. So it will be with Cap & Trade. It was long enough ago that many have no memory of the choking and toxic air, water and soil of the 1950's and 1960's. The philosophy of the private sector was let's turn the water black if there's a buck in it. Some still believe that industry has an inherent right to poison us.

Government had to step in to defend human rights and end segregation. Before Social Security over half of all seniors lived in poverty. When the high cost of medical insurance threatened to make that happen again, Medicare was introduced. Some forget the way it was before these programs were instituted.