Quote: (11-17-2010 02:48 AM)Rocco81 Wrote:
RAmerica has its problems,
Each culture has its strengths and weaknesses. After visiting EE a few times, and talking to various immigrants here in USA, I appreciate more what is genuinely good about the USA. But nothing can make up for lack of amiable pussy unless the other place has a full-fledged civil war going on.
I'm a bureaucrat, so I'm biased, but I personally have never had a government official even hint at a bribe in hundreds of interactions here. Pretty much everyone waiting on me did what they were supposed to, maybe not totally genially, but that's not a big thing.
I think the _politicians_ are horrific whores in the worst sense of selling out their constituents, but the people that actually work instead of leech, give you license plates, clean the streets, the cops who come when you crash your car aspire to pretty high standards. Even the cops who've given me ticket have almost always been quite polite, even friendly. i know that's not always true, especially if you're driving while Black.
But no government official has _ever_ even implied physical intimidation with me. One of my first interactions with a cop in Ukraine-- he was a kid unprofessionally trying to find something wrong, just being a little inflated prick. He wasn't really trying to frighten me, didn't brandish a weapon or anything, but American cops have been way more respectful.
I had a comic-book moment trying to register a car in Italy. No matter what aspect of the registration we wanted to do, the time to do it was "Tomorrow." Each thing we asked about, he gave a wonderful friendly smile and asked us to come back tomorrow at which time he would eagerly help. It was so funny. I'm still waiting for my passport, when I get my citizenship I'm moving there. Nice slow life, my kind of place.
particularly interesting is how the progress of EE and USA seem complementary and divergent. It seems to me they got the things right that we got wrong and vice versa.
USA: Chicks fat and bitchy, dread admitting love. EE: Hot and compliant, unashamed of passion.
USA: Easy to make money if you're willing to sweat and do dirty work.
EE: Stagnant and corrupt economies report booming GDPs but much seems siphoned of to corruption/oligarchy. ( USA may be sinking here)
USA: Baseline is frantic workaholism, vacations are an aberration.
EE: Enjoy your family, a week off at New Years.
USA: High quality customer service, easy returns to stores, everybody loves you if you have money to spend.
EE: High quality response when you hit on chicks, even if they aren't into you they don't hate you for wanting them, dignified rejection.
USA: Women don't want kids until it's fertility doc time at 34
EE: Women want kids right from adolescence.
USA: Everyone chases a receding golden ring to point of exhaustion, 95% just see their hamster-wheel efforts send money upwards to their owners, continuing the tripling of the relative share of all USA income the top 1% has enjoyed since 1980
EE: People are too fatalistic to chase mythical golden ring, thereby failing to take advantage even when there are opportunities.
USA: Excellent environmental controls, I can sit in the middle of 300 cars on the East Bay bridge toll plaza and the even with all those cars idling, the air is fine. Amazing achievement.
EE: Try the mountains.