[mofo]

Why?

[Arado]

I never understood the anti americanism on this forum.

[mofo]

There are good things everywhere.

[Gavin1234]

(08-28-2011 08:10 AM)mofo Wrote:  

Being born in America is the best thing one can wish for.

Sentences like that usually piss off many non-Americans like me. But generally you are right, Americans or Westerners have not the same kind of issues as people in developing countries. It's complaining on a high level. Yet, the times that I was in America, I was kind of glad to leave the country again and go back to Europe.

[Mace]

Most of the beef is with American women and American government policy.

Having said that, there are countries with better women and better quality of life. The Mediterannean and Scandinavia come to mind.

[Roosh]

Links to someone here complaining about being an American citizen?

[Gmac]

It's a double-edged sword.

My problem is not the "freedoms" (I use that term loosely) that we enjoy, but society itself. Stereotypes are great, because they're so often true. I am probably one of the least politically correct people you will ever meet, so if you didn't know that before now, well anyway...

American Men are generally workaholics and alcoholics with tempers the size of Texas... obsessed with sports, women, and generally anything else that leads to them making more money. They tend to ignore the simpler things and get so tied up in their own mundane lives that before they know it they're 40, fat, balding, and chained for life to a succubus wife... complete with two selfish poop machines, a family dog, and a houses and cars they can't afford. Although completely maxed out on debt... they still find a way to buy that shiny new 50" plasma TV.

American Women are some of the biggest manipulating schemers and liars that I have ever met. They never say what they mean. There's nothing worse than a "true" American girl... even Osama Bin Laden wouldn't 70 of our virgins in hell. Not only do our women spend more time and money idolizing and imitating celebrities than any other country on earth, they do it with pride. Now go get your hair and nails "did." Then make me a sandwich.

Two words, "Rumor Mill." You can't trust a woman with a secret because the second you turn your back she'll be texting 9 of her "besties." Why are our women so obsessed with other people? You don't see their counterparts in most other countries so tied up in other peoples lives. Maybe it's because they know they'll never become that person themselves. Here in America, we have some of the biggest materialistic, narcissistic, ego-maniacal princesses on earth who would rather sit around and talk about Oprah or Britney Spears all day than oh I don't know, actually be useful. And that's when they're not banging half the town behind your back.

Either way, it's a sad, sad time to be living in America. Sure, the plethora of pussy is great... and it's nice to not have to walk 50 miles to fetch water (I get it) but what with obesity, feminism, and governmental control on the rise, I'm getting the fuck out of here as soon as I have the means to do it right. I won't be a willing prisoner in my own country.

[Arado]

(08-28-2011 10:42 AM)Gmac Wrote:  

It's a double-edged sword.

My problem is not the "freedoms" (I use that term loosely) that we enjoy, but society itself. Stereotypes are great, because they're so often true. I am probably one of the least politically correct people you will ever meet, so if you didn't know that before now, well anyway...

American Men are generally workaholics and alcoholics with tempers the size of Texas... obsessed with sports, women, and generally anything else that leads to them making more money. They tend to ignore the simpler things and get so tied up in their own mundane lives that before they know it they're 40, fat, balding, and chained for life to a succubus wife... complete with two selfish poop machines, a family dog, and a houses and cars they can't afford. Although completely maxed out on debt... they still find a way to buy that shiny new 50" plasma TV.

American Women are some of the biggest manipulating schemers and liars that I have ever met. They never say what they mean. There's nothing worse than a "true" American girl... even Osama Bin Laden wouldn't 70 of our virgins in hell. Not only do our women spend more time and money idolizing and imitating celebrities than any other country on earth, they do it with pride. Now go get your hair and nails "did." Then make me a sandwich.

Two words, "Rumor Mill." You can't trust a woman with a secret because the second you turn your back she'll be texting 9 of her "besties." Why are our women so obsessed with other people? You don't see their counterparts in most other countries so tied up in other peoples lives. Maybe it's because they know they'll never become that person themselves. Here in America, we have some of the biggest materialistic, narcissistic, ego-maniacal princesses on earth who would rather sit around and talk about Oprah or Britney Spears all day than oh I don't know, actually be useful. And that's when they're not banging half the town behind your back.

Either way, it's a sad, sad time to be living in America. Sure, the plethora of pussy is great... and it's nice to not have to walk 50 miles to fetch water (I get it) but what with obesity, feminism, and governmental control on the rise, I'm getting the fuck out of here as soon as I have the means to do it right. I won't be a willing prisoner in my own country.

But you realize, though, that being born an American citizen gives you the freedom to do that that you don't have in many other countries. Everyone here waxes melodically about Europe, but because those societies are so homogenous and have 0 defense spending (because they free ride on the US), they can afford their 35 hours workweeks and 6 week vacations. But, even those chickens are coming home to roost as the European economies collapse.

And in Europe, the immigrants there do far worse than the US, as right wing political movements are stoking anti-foreigner sentiment.

Would you rather be born in Russia, where you have to kill and bribe your way to get any level of success?

Would you rather be a 70 hour a week factory monkey in China?

A starving child in India?

A woman in any Muslim country?

A genocide victim in Africa?

A miserable salaryman in Japan who is now eating radiation contaminated food?

A peasant in Bolivia living on subsistence wages?

A victim of kidnapping and extortion in Mexico?

A sex slave in Southeast Asia?

A 90 pound adult male in North Korea?

Seriously...there's a reason why hundreds of millions still want to live in America....

I'm surprised that with so many travelers on this board they don't realize how few opportunities (AVERAGE) people have in the countries they travel to.

[Gmac]

You're right, land of opportunity... and people are squandering it. You can't make me feel bad. It is what it is, and I was born who I am, where I am. Everything has a downside. We just have to deal with the deck we're given.

[Kish]

(08-28-2011 11:16 AM)Gmac Wrote:  

You're right, land of opportunity... and people are squandering it. You can't make me feel bad. It is what it is, and I was born who I am, where I am. Everything has a downside. We just have to deal with the deck we're given.

I agree. Adapt or Die. There is no Utopia.

[Samseau]

Quote:

In which country would you have rather been born? Where would you live?

I'm glad I was born in America, but I'll be even more glad if I do not die in America.

This country was great when I was born, but now it's on the decline. You're blind if you can't see the trajectory.

[Andreas]

ao85: sorry but i prefer European countries which have a surplus of hot thin women rather than the American obese Mcdonalds addicts.

It doesnt look like the land of free judging from past events. For example, Nikola Tesla, an inventor found a way to give the world free electricity but this stupid JP Morgan motherfucker black listed him because he wanted to run his billion dollar oil company or whatever he had. Nikola Tesla traveled from Europe to American hoping that his dream will come true but it didn't.

There is just one thing i dont like in Europe. The American magazines that women read and feel jealus of American lifestyle. Stop spoiling our women with your American magazine crap

[jariel]

(08-28-2011 11:11 AM)ao85 Wrote:  

But you realize, though, that being born an American citizen gives you the freedom to do that that you don't have in many other countries.

Your perspective is incredibly too naive and simplistic to be taken seriously.

How free can a society full of debt slaves be?

[Dash Global]

I dont think anyone is complaining about being an American citizen.

They are complaining about the WOMEN & LIVING in America!

Two VERY diff things! haha

[mofo]

We should all just appreciate life.

[Roosh]

mofo has been banned for one week.

"Fuck you guys. Seriously."

That will not be tolerated here. I gave him a chance to defend his anger, but he couldn't come up with one person who made a complaint about American citizenship.

[Excelsior]

(08-28-2011 11:11 AM)ao85 Wrote:  

But you realize, though, that being born an American citizen gives you the freedom to do that that you don't have in many other countries. Everyone here waxes melodically about Europe, but because those societies are so homogenous and have 0 defense spending (because they free ride on the US), they can afford their 35 hours workweeks and 6 week vacations.

That is not true.

Quote:

But, even those chickens are coming home to roost as the European economies collapse.

1. The American economy is in great shape, though, isn't it?

2. Not every European economy is on the verge of collapse, nor can it convincingly be argued that America is much better off than many of its European peers at the moment. One could even contend that some currently struggling European economies have simply been hit by aftershocks of the main American financial crisis, which have driven their own struggles. It is certainly not a given that the welfare state is, in and of itself, the root cause of the current turmoil (some of the largest welfare states are located in some of the healthiest current European economies). Chickens are returning to roost, but it is not a given that they were sent solely by the welfare state.

Regardless, the debt crisis is hitting across the western world, not just in Europe.

Quote:

And in Europe, the immigrants there do far worse than the US, as right wing political movements are stoking anti-foreigner sentiment.

I don't buy for a second that European immigrants are any worse off than American ones in the aggregate.

Some situations are clearly horrendous for immigrants/non-whites(gypsies in Romania and any non-whites in Russia, for example), but that conclusion does not follow for the entire continent.

My background, for the record: I am a Jamaican. Branches of my maternal family emigrated to both the Northeastern US and England during the middle of the twentieth century. Their descendants still reside in both places.

My mother and aunts were born in London, and spent much of their early life there before heading back to Jamaica. They then split up once again-my mother came here to the USA(where I was born) to live with some of my other relatives already up here, and everyone else went back to London.
I have relatives in Austria and Germany as well as many throughout England and the Northeastern USA. Some are only recent migrants to Europe, having stayed in Jamaica for a longer time, and many others just stayed on the island(with short stints overseas).

Getting to the Point: The point of this mini-biography is to illustrate that I am intimately familiar with the immigrant experience on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as the third world experience. My mother has lived, worked and studied on both sides, as have many of my relatives. I am a citizen of both the EU and the USA. I have also lived in Jamaica(although I will concede that my family's status there was and still is very far from average).

I know the 3rd world experience (having witnessed more than a fair share of its darker side) and the first world immigrant experience on both sides of the ocean, and I'll say this based on my own perception:

A. Of all the options, the USA has the most opportunity(or, at the very least, it used to). It is dog-eat-dog and very much a pressure cooker, but if you can tough it out there are/were few places where one could raise their socio-economic profile quicker.

B. For this opportunity, you pay a steep price in terms of quality of life. I was happier in both Jamaica and England, as was my mum. She sacrificed that contentment(and all of the status she enjoyed in Jamaica) to come here, start from rock bottom and give me greater opportunity. She is not exceedingly happy here and will likely leave upon retirement, but that is beside the point. Her plan was designed not to please herself but to give me the best shot at life, and the USA may have been the best ticket for that.

C. It worked. I am a citizen of the both the world's (arguably)most prosperous civilizations(the EU and the USA), I attend an Ivy League school (arguably the best undergrad in the country) and am poised to make something of my life a quarter of a century after my mother came here and re-started her life from the bottom.

We pay a high price for this-it is likely that I would have been happier in Jamaica or England. But we cannot have it all. I wouldn't be who I am today without the struggles I went through here.

To sum up my perceptions: I find that the USA does indeed provide great opportunity. It is harder to make it here and you won't be exceedingly content doing it, but if you can there are great rewards. All of my relatives have done well here. There is/was no better place to get rich quick.

Western Europe also provides plenty of opportunity, and my relatives there are also in a good place. Though it is harder to get rich there, contentment is a little easier to come by (read: less dog-eat-dog). This, in my estimation, is the most balanced option.

The third world(in my case, Jamaica) can actually be quite nice as well if you're near the top already. In fact, I might argue that it is tough to live much better than some of the elite in these developing countries unless you are an elite in the USA(top 1-3%). Jamaica's elite live like kings there, though crime is an issue that touches everyone, moneyed or otherwise. That will be the price you pay there-everyone, rich or poor, deals with the results of rampant drug trafficking, poverty and violence.

Conclusion: I understand the anti-Americanism-it is a challenging place to live, and that takes a deep psychological and emotional toll.

I will not say that I am happy here.
While I may not love the USA, however, I can say I truly do respect it.

It is a good place to work and make money (hence the masses of immigrants wishing to come here), but not the greatest place to live in my estimation. You can be much, MUCH happier (romantically and socially) elsewhere, which I suspect is the reason you see so many complaints about it on this site and others. People are starting to realize that money isn't everything, and happiness is just as important. That type of happiness is elusive here, which becomes more obvious as you travel.

I would contend, however, that Western Europeans have balanced these things (opportunity and quality of life) a bit better than Americans have, though they have not built utopia either. That simply doesn't exist, though the Europeans are a little closer (and happier) than we are in the states.

My two cents...make of it what you will.

[UrbanNerd]

Just like it was mentioned earlier, many American men would prefer that the American woman was not so "entitled" to so many "perks". Yeah, yeah, I understand that they give birth and all but the "perks" are just overkill. In order to deal with it, a male (like myself) has to adapt to the unfair rules and choose women based on the rules FIRST then physical attributes instead of more blind and more "organic" way of just her outside appearance ONLY.

[dk902]

(08-28-2011 11:11 AM)ao85 Wrote:  

But you realize, though, that being born an American citizen gives you the freedom to do that that you don't have in many other countries. Everyone here waxes melodically about Europe, but because those societies are so homogenous and have 0 defense spending (because they free ride on the US), they can afford their 35 hours workweeks and 6 week vacations. But, even those chickens are coming home to roost as the European economies collapse.

I generally defend Americans when people talk shit about them because I know that the stereotype of narrow-mindedness and 'screw the rest of the world unless they get in line with us' mentality doesn't apply to everyone. And I know some cool Americans, hence my reluctance.

Nonetheless, when you come out with a statement like this, is it any wonder people have such a dim view of Americans? The fact you think that all of Europe takes a free ride on the US is simply ridiculous, and going around thinking that for the rest of your life will not endear you to anyone outside of the US.

And as Athlone has mentioned earlier, little bit pot calling the kettle black when you talk about European economies coming from the US isn't it?

I think many Americans struggle to break free from the indoctrination/ethnocentrism they get as children where America is the best nation on earth. Sure in many aspects it is and to be honest I do respect this mentality in many ways, I admire American patriotism and sense of identity that is starting to be lost in the UK, because we let people trample on our values. However you need to learn to be more objective and see things from the point of view outside of America. Americans lack empathy, plain and simple.

[oldnemesis]

(08-28-2011 11:11 AM)ao85 Wrote:  

Everyone here waxes melodically about Europe, but because those societies are so homogenous and have 0 defense spending (because they free ride on the US), they can afford their 35 hours workweeks and 6 week vacations.

I really wonder how some of you people can keep repeating the same bullshit again and again without even bothering to check whether what you're saying is actually true. Don't you understand that you lose all your credibility this way?

Zero defense spending? France has the third largest military budget in the world. Germany has the 7th.

Quote:

Would you rather be born in Russia, where you have to kill and bribe your way to get any level of success?

I was born in Russia. Hasn't killed anyone so far. Didn't bribe my way to success either. You're being incredibly ignorant.

Quote:

Would you rather be a 70 hour a week factory monkey in China?

It's a feeling shared by many Americans who know that simply working hard isn't enough anymore. To get ahead, a 70-hour work week is the new standard.

The rest of your examples is just ridiculous. Do you really think being a sex slave, a victim or genocide or kidnapping is better in America than in any different country?

[bmn200]

(08-28-2011 08:10 AM)mofo Wrote:  

Fuck you guys. Seriously.

Anybody who complains about being a US citizen (except some very fuckin rare occasions) is an idiot.

In which country would you have rather been born? Where would you live?

Being born in America is the best thing one can wish for.


Come at me bro!

Why do you care so much?

[Gunner]

Interesting topic, as a foreigner I would like to have a US passport but maybe a Canadian is better...

[whosyourdaddy]

(08-28-2011 01:22 PM)Athlone McGinnis Wrote:  

(08-28-2011 11:11 AM)ao85 Wrote:  

But you realize, though, that being born an American citizen gives you the freedom to do that that you don't have in many other countries. Everyone here waxes melodically about Europe, but because those societies are so homogenous and have 0 defense spending (because they free ride on the US), they can afford their 35 hours workweeks and 6 week vacations.

That is not true.

Quote:

But, even those chickens are coming home to roost as the European economies collapse.

1. The American economy is in great shape, though, isn't it?

2. Not every European economy is on the verge of collapse, nor can it convincingly be argued that America is much better off than many of its European peers at the moment. One could even contend that some currently struggling European economies have simply been hit by aftershocks of the main American financial crisis, which have driven their own struggles. It is certainly not a given that the welfare state is, in and of itself, the root cause of the current turmoil (some of the largest welfare states are located in some of the healthiest current European economies). Chickens are returning to roost, but it is not a given that they were sent solely by the welfare state.

Regardless, the debt crisis is hitting across the western world, not just in Europe.

Quote:

And in Europe, the immigrants there do far worse than the US, as right wing political movements are stoking anti-foreigner sentiment.

I don't buy for a second that European immigrants are any worse off than American ones in the aggregate.

Some situations are clearly horrendous for immigrants/non-whites(gypsies in Romania and any non-whites in Russia, for example), but that conclusion does not follow for the entire continent.

My background, for the record: I am a Jamaican. Branches of my maternal family emigrated to both the Northeastern US and England during the middle of the twentieth century. Their descendants still reside in both places.

My mother and aunts were born in London, and spent much of their early life there before heading back to Jamaica. They then split up once again-my mother came here to the USA(where I was born) to live with some of my other relatives already up here, and everyone else went back to London.
I have relatives in Austria and Germany as well as many throughout England and the Northeastern USA. Some are only recent migrants to Europe, having stayed in Jamaica for a longer time, and many others just stayed on the island(with short stints overseas).

Getting to the Point: The point of this mini-biography is to illustrate that I am intimately familiar with the immigrant experience on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as the third world experience. My mother has lived, worked and studied on both sides, as have many of my relatives. I am a citizen of both the EU and the USA. I have also lived in Jamaica(although I will concede that my family's status there was and still is very far from average).

I know the 3rd world experience (having witnessed more than a fair share of its darker side) and the first world immigrant experience on both sides of the ocean, and I'll say this based on my own perception:

A. Of all the options, the USA has the most opportunity(or, at the very least, it used to). It is dog-eat-dog and very much a pressure cooker, but if you can tough it out there are/were few places where one could raise their socio-economic profile quicker.

B. For this opportunity, you pay a steep price in terms of quality of life. I was happier in both Jamaica and England, as was my mum. She sacrificed that contentment(and all of the status she enjoyed in Jamaica) to come here, start from rock bottom and give me greater opportunity. She is not exceedingly happy here and will likely leave upon retirement, but that is beside the point. Her plan was designed not to please herself but to give me the best shot at life, and the USA may have been the best ticket for that.

C. It worked. I am a citizen of the both the world's (arguably)most prosperous civilizations(the EU and the USA), I attend an Ivy League school (arguably the best undergrad in the country) and am poised to make something of my life a quarter of a century after my mother came here and re-started her life from the bottom.

We pay a high price for this-it is likely that I would have been happier in Jamaica or England. But we cannot have it all. I wouldn't be who I am today without the struggles I went through here.

To sum up my perceptions: I find that the USA does indeed provide great opportunity. It is harder to make it here and you won't be exceedingly content doing it, but if you can there are great rewards. All of my relatives have done well here. There is/was no better place to get rich quick.

Western Europe also provides plenty of opportunity, and my relatives there are also in a good place. Though it is harder to get rich there, contentment is a little easier to come by (read: less dog-eat-dog). This, in my estimation, is the most balanced option.

The third world(in my case, Jamaica) can actually be quite nice as well if you're near the top already. In fact, I might argue that it is tough to live much better than some of the elite in these developing countries unless you are an elite in the USA(top 1-3%). Jamaica's elite live like kings there, though crime is an issue that touches everyone, moneyed or otherwise. That will be the price you pay there-everyone, rich or poor, deals with the results of rampant drug trafficking, poverty and violence.

Conclusion: I understand the anti-Americanism-it is a challenging place to live, and that takes a deep psychological and emotional toll.

I will not say that I am happy here.
While I may not love the USA, however, I can say I truly do respect it.

It is a good place to work and make money (hence the masses of immigrants wishing to come here), but not the greatest place to live in my estimation. You can be much, MUCH happier (romantically and socially) elsewhere, which I suspect is the reason you see so many complaints about it on this site and others. People are starting to realize that money isn't everything, and happiness is just as important. That type of happiness is elusive here, which becomes more obvious as you travel.

I would contend, however, that Western Europeans have balanced these things (opportunity and quality of life) a bit better than Americans have, though they have not built utopia either. That simply doesn't exist, though the Europeans are a little closer (and happier) than we are in the states.

My two cents...make of it what you will.

This is right on the money. It's the quality of life that sucks in America. Not to mention:

1.Universities can cost over $50K a year, where they are free or low cost in many parts of Europe.
2. The relentless pursuit of money in the United States without thought to quality of life or how things may affect greater society. Corporations only care about their bottom line.
3. The different mentality that exists in the US and some other English speaking countries. Sometimes i see that Germans and Chinese will have more in common that Germans and Americans!!


However, i've come to realize that America has its own benefits too, especially compared to Northern Europe where the weather sucks pretty much everywhere, except a few places on the Mediterranean, and how you're really linguistically limited in Europe. It's one thing to know enough of a language to be conversational and get around, and it's another to file all of your paperwork in the language and try to work in another country that has a different language.

[Roosh]

I will say that America offers the best opportunity for indie writers due to a large reader market that is increasingly preferring ebooks.

My lifestyle would be very different if I came up in a European country. I'd probably still be a scientist.

[Arado]

(08-28-2011 01:22 PM)Athlone McGinnis Wrote:  

(08-28-2011 11:11 AM)ao85 Wrote:  

But you realize, though, that being born an American citizen gives you the freedom to do that that you don't have in many other countries. Everyone here waxes melodically about Europe, but because those societies are so homogenous and have 0 defense spending (because they free ride on the US), they can afford their 35 hours workweeks and 6 week vacations.

That is not true.

Quote:

But, even those chickens are coming home to roost as the European economies collapse.

1. The American economy is in great shape, though, isn't it?

2. Not every European economy is on the verge of collapse, nor can it convincingly be argued that America is much better off than many of its European peers at the moment. One could even contend that some currently struggling European economies have simply been hit by aftershocks of the main American financial crisis, which have driven their own struggles. It is certainly not a given that the welfare state is, in and of itself, the root cause of the current turmoil (some of the largest welfare states are located in some of the healthiest current European economies). Chickens are returning to roost, but it is not a given that they were sent solely by the welfare state.

Regardless, the debt crisis is hitting across the western world, not just in Europe.

Quote:

And in Europe, the immigrants there do far worse than the US, as right wing political movements are stoking anti-foreigner sentiment.

I don't buy for a second that European immigrants are any worse off than American ones in the aggregate.

Some situations are clearly horrendous for immigrants/non-whites(gypsies in Romania and any non-whites in Russia, for example), but that conclusion does not follow for the entire continent.

My background, for the record: I am a Jamaican. Branches of my maternal family emigrated to both the Northeastern US and England during the middle of the twentieth century. Their descendants still reside in both places.

My mother and aunts were born in London, and spent much of their early life there before heading back to Jamaica. They then split up once again-my mother came here to the USA(where I was born) to live with some of my other relatives already up here, and everyone else went back to London.
I have relatives in Austria and Germany as well as many throughout England and the Northeastern USA. Some are only recent migrants to Europe, having stayed in Jamaica for a longer time, and many others just stayed on the island(with short stints overseas).

Getting to the Point: The point of this mini-biography is to illustrate that I am intimately familiar with the immigrant experience on both sides of the Atlantic, as well as the third world experience. My mother has lived, worked and studied on both sides, as have many of my relatives. I am a citizen of both the EU and the USA. I have also lived in Jamaica(although I will concede that my family's status there was and still is very far from average).

I know the 3rd world experience (having witnessed more than a fair share of its darker side) and the first world immigrant experience on both sides of the ocean, and I'll say this based on my own perception:

A. Of all the options, the USA has the most opportunity(or, at the very least, it used to). It is dog-eat-dog and very much a pressure cooker, but if you can tough it out there are/were few places where one could raise their socio-economic profile quicker.

B. For this opportunity, you pay a steep price in terms of quality of life. I was happier in both Jamaica and England, as was my mum. She sacrificed that contentment(and all of the status she enjoyed in Jamaica) to come here, start from rock bottom and give me greater opportunity. She is not exceedingly happy here and will likely leave upon retirement, but that is beside the point. Her plan was designed not to please herself but to give me the best shot at life, and the USA may have been the best ticket for that.

C. It worked. I am a citizen of the both the world's (arguably)most prosperous civilizations(the EU and the USA), I attend an Ivy League school (arguably the best undergrad in the country) and am poised to make something of my life a quarter of a century after my mother came here and re-started her life from the bottom.

We pay a high price for this-it is likely that I would have been happier in Jamaica or England. But we cannot have it all. I wouldn't be who I am today without the struggles I went through here.

To sum up my perceptions: I find that the USA does indeed provide great opportunity. It is harder to make it here and you won't be exceedingly content doing it, but if you can there are great rewards. All of my relatives have done well here. There is/was no better place to get rich quick.

Western Europe also provides plenty of opportunity, and my relatives there are also in a good place. Though it is harder to get rich there, contentment is a little easier to come by (read: less dog-eat-dog). This, in my estimation, is the most balanced option.

The third world(in my case, Jamaica) can actually be quite nice as well if you're near the top already. In fact, I might argue that it is tough to live much better than some of the elite in these developing countries unless you are an elite in the USA(top 1-3%). Jamaica's elite live like kings there, though crime is an issue that touches everyone, moneyed or otherwise. That will be the price you pay there-everyone, rich or poor, deals with the results of rampant drug trafficking, poverty and violence.

Conclusion: I understand the anti-Americanism-it is a challenging place to live, and that takes a deep psychological and emotional toll.

I will not say that I am happy here.
While I may not love the USA, however, I can say I truly do respect it.

It is a good place to work and make money (hence the masses of immigrants wishing to come here), but not the greatest place to live in my estimation. You can be much, MUCH happier (romantically and socially) elsewhere, which I suspect is the reason you see so many complaints about it on this site and others. People are starting to realize that money isn't everything, and happiness is just as important. That type of happiness is elusive here, which becomes more obvious as you travel.

I would contend, however, that Western Europeans have balanced these things (opportunity and quality of life) a bit better than Americans have, though they have not built utopia either. That simply doesn't exist, though the Europeans are a little closer (and happier) than we are in the states.

My two cents...make of it what you will.

In Geoffrey Miller’s Spent: Sex, Evolution, and Consumer Behavior Miller discusses how there might be a move away from a consumerist culture. To do this, there is a need to develop and maintain social norms that could act as an alternative to the typical displays of wealth. For example, in a religious community, signalling could be through time and resources given to the church.

However, Miller stated that there is a major legal obstacle to establishing these norms. The obstacle is that the laws about property ownership and rental do not allow discrimination. Despite the good intentions, Miller considers that “they have toxic side effects on the ability of voluntarily organized communities to create the physical, social, and moral environments that their members want.”

There is no shortage of literature on the effects of diversity on trust and cooperation within communities. Miller notes some of Robert Putnam’s work:

For example, the political scientist Robert Putnam has found that American communities with higher levels of ethnic diversity tend to have lower levels of “social capital” – trust, altruism, cohesion, and sense of community. He and his colleagues analyzed data from thirty thousand people across forty-one U.S. communities, and found that people who live in communities with higher ethnic diversity (meaning, in the United States, more equal mixtures of black, Hispanic, white, and Asian citizens) tend to have lower:

trust across ethnic groups
trust within their own ethnic group
community solidarity and cohesion
community cooperation
sense of political empowerment
confidence in local government and leaders
voter registration rates
charity and volunteering
investment in common goods
interest in maintaining community facilities
rates of carpooling
numbers of friends
perceived quality of life
general happiness
These effects remained substantial even after controlling for each individual’s age, sex, education, ethnicity, income, and language, and for each community’s poverty rate, income inequality, crime rate, population density, mobility, and average education.

As communities cannot group on norms, Miller states that communities group based on income. Wealth becomes the measure of status and competition between individuals in the community is then dependent on displays of wealth. He states that “if the local majority cannot impose some distinctive social norms on our forms of trait signaling, conspicuous consumption will remain the only game in town.” You are limited to choosing your neighbours through the use of economic stratification.

------------------------------------------

A plausible explanation for increasing consumerism in the US.