July 4, 2008

Reasons to Love and Hate the United States
Miami Beach, United States

It's the Fourth of July—sometimes referred to America's birthday. Today the nation commemorates its declaration of independence from the Kingdom of Great Britain, back in 1776.

For the past two months Tatiana and I have kept a piece of paper taped to the refrigerator, divided into two columns: Things I love about the USA and Things I hate about the USA. Whenever a particular moment struck us as relevant to one of those two topics, we'd jot it down.

Well, I figured today as good a time as any to share our list. Feel free to contribute your own thoughts/reasons in the comments.

Things I Love about the USA

  1. Vehicular traffic often yields for pedestrians
  2. No one attacking you with offers for transport at every turn, or taxis honking at you as they pass on the street (regardless the direction)
  3. Potable tap water and water fountains
  4. The whole alphabet in bra sizes
  5. Shopping, online shopping
  6. Return policies
  7. Innovation
  8. Select sodas (such as Cherry Coke Zero)
  9. Mufflers on vehicles
  10. The Price is Right, Plinko
  11. Inexpensive vitamins
  12. FDA-approved baby formula
  13. Eggnog
  14. Luther Burgers (whoa)
  15. The right to keep and bear arms
  16. Diversity
  17. Bribe-free government offices/paperwork
  18. Flushed toilet paper
  19. FM radio channel variety
  20. Do it yourself coin-operated laundry facilities
  21. Kiosks for printing digital photos
  22. Hot water on demand
  23. Military policing of the civilian population is the exception, not the standard
  24. Trash receptacles on the streets, beaches
  25. Trash not thrown out of vehicle windows
  26. Freedom of Speech

Things I Hate about the USA

  1. Petty, controlling laws and their enforcement
  2. Sales tax
  3. Celebrity idolization and tabloid magazines
  4. Taxi car seat laws
  5. Tipping (well said, Mr. Pink)
  6. Suing, lawsuits
  7. The 'live to work' instead of 'work to live' work culture
  8. The cost of drugs and the doctor prescription need to purchase them
  9. Sexually repressed
  10. Culture of bitching, complaining
  11. Any type of Presidential election news coverage
  12. Local news, and their branded Channel X Doppler 9000 Storm Center
  13. The look of the currency
  14. Hospitals and health care system
  15. The TSA
  16. No sense of history

Recently in this country...

Comments:

Canada

Erik

July 7th, 2008

Sales tax? Well then, enjoy the VAT and the annoying hassle of recovering that in Europe. :)

China

Zictor

February 26th, 2009

I would put the "right to bear arms" on the other list, but that is just me.

The United States

SPC Smallwood

January 27th, 2011

I have to admit. You have it pegged pretty well there. There are only a couple of points that I want to raise about the list. I approve of the sales tax because it is not at an excessive rate. In most of Europe the VAT tax is 19% plus they are taxed more than a third of their income every paycheck. The US taxes are a lot lower than most areas because of the free enterprise system and the fact that the government stays less involved in the personal lives of its people than other places. I have been stationed in Germany for the past 3 years with the US army, and you can not get a drivers liscense as a German citizen for less than 3,000 euro. As for being sexually repressed, I do not beleive that the younger gerneration is, or at least, is as repressed as previous generations. Sexual exploration is much more commonplace than it was twenty years ago. Men and women are now free to discuss in open forum something that would have been taboo just a little over two decades ago. So I do not FULLY agree with that statement either.

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