What it means to be an American

[slang]

= Seeing large numbers of non-Americans flood into what you used to think of as your country while seeing large numbers of what you used to think of as American jobs fly out with the same velocity.

[Kitsune]

We live to work, not work to live.

[xoxoxoBruce]

That ain't me, Kitsune.

[Kitsune]

Well, okay, it isn't me, either.

We don't mind prime time television showing people being shot to death, but we fear the nipple.

I'm not American , so I cannot say what it feels like to be an American . I can however give you an outside-looking-in idea . The thing I find extraordinary about Americans is how they work so hard . You hardly have any holidays , compared to the holidays we have in Europe . And yet you all seem to radiate relaxedness . Very paradoxical .

[Trilby]

Originally Posted by Buddug

I'm not American , so I cannot say what it feels like to be an American . I can however give you an outside-looking-in idea . The thing I find extraordinary about Americans is how they work so hard . You hardly have any holidays , compared to the holidays we have in Europe . And yet you all seem to radiate relaxedness . Very paradoxical .

Wow. That's the nicest thing I've heard about American's in a damn long time.

And, we radiate relaxedness because of the

[Spexxvet]

We appear to be relaxed because we don't have to think. Our busy lives are laid out for us, all we have to focus on is the doing - and that's easy.

6:00 am get up, void bladder.
6:10 am eat breakfast.
6:20 am shit, shower, shampoo, shave, and shine.
6:45 am leave for work.

See, it's relaxing when you're too busy to think.

[Happy Monkey]

When you radiate all your relaxedness, you don't have any left for yourself.

[Kitsune]

Originally Posted by Spexxvet

6:20 am shit, shower, shampoo, shave, and shine.

Wow, that's busier than my schedule! I take time to do most of those things separately!

[primal muse]

oh noes, you got me started.

the first american principle is greed. we are greedy by nature due to our second rate capitalistic ideals. we will push any one or anything out of the way without a second thought of the long term reprocussions to get what we want. (i.e. foriegn oil)

secondly most americans are emphatically uneducated and far too trust worthy of our corrupt system. people are too ignorant to even see ro care that we're being conditioned on a mass scale daily to keep us fat, happy, and submissive.

which brings me to my third and final. americans are some of the most gluttonous, lazy creatures in exsistance. we are unhealthy both mentally (but hey why not just pop a pill) and physically (gastric bypass is a quick fix). we expect big brother to keep us safe just as long as we dont have to lift a finger or figure anything out for ourselves.

i mean no offense to any one remotely patriotic on this forum but plz, wake up.

[jonesieQ]

Nice job, Primal...and don't apologize for seeming unpatriotic....bottom line, the real patriots are the critics...without them, we'd lose our democracy - or what's left of it.

[jonesieQ]

Originally Posted by Buddug

I'm not American , so I cannot say what it feels like to be an American . I can however give you an outside-looking-in idea . The thing I find extraordinary about Americans is how they work so hard . You hardly have any holidays , compared to the holidays we have in Europe . And yet you all seem to radiate relaxedness . Very paradoxical .

That isn't relaxedness...it's apathy. Caring is too costly in this country.

[primal muse]

Originally Posted by jonesieQ

Nice job, Primal...and don't apologize for seeming unpatriotic....bottom line, the real patriots are the critics...without them, we'd lose our democracy - or what's left of it.

we dont have one
thomas jefferson said that deomcracy probably wouldnt last for more than 200 years. he was right.
i dont even see why people bother to vote. its complete symbolism of freedom. unless the electoral college ok's the vote of the majority of the people then to hell with that. or in some cases if you have a brother who is a governer in a certain state it doesnt matter what the rest of the country says.
they leave us under the false pretense of having freedom of choice and take it away very subtly.

[primal muse]

Originally Posted by Buddug

I'm not American , so I cannot say what it feels like to be an American . I can however give you an outside-looking-in idea . The thing I find extraordinary about Americans is how they work so hard . You hardly have any holidays , compared to the holidays we have in Europe . And yet you all seem to radiate relaxedness . Very paradoxical .

we work so hard so we stay distracted from the bigger picture.america tries to uphold capitalistic ideals, if you arent being productive in some form or another then that screws the whole system up.

i probably sound like an uber conspiracy theorist but i swear im not. its just the way things are.

[jonesieQ]

No question, we're losing our guaranteed freedoms everyday. But one good thing about this democracy is that it cycles historically. There are social movements that keep and/or restore democratic principles on a fairly regular basis. Some are more notable than others, but the history of this country says they go on far more frequently than in most histories. I think that's the problem....we're long overdue....it's been building for quite a while...I don't know about you, but I have a sense of pressure building, of something imminent. Many of us seem to be holding our breaths, waiting for the upheaval. I'd rather have that than this suffocating, paralyzing disintegration of our rights. And if we handle the upcoming upheaval intelligently, we might be able to prove Jefferson wrong...and wouldn't he be proud!