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As an American, I feel like my country is actually putting me in long-term danger. The government is making America and Americans enemies of the entire world.

by javert 13y ago

As an American, I feel like my country is actually putting me in long-term danger. The government is making America and Americans enemies of the entire world. If and when I ultimately have to feel the country, will I even be accepted into anywhere else? What if they are suspicious that I work for the NSA? Or what if they just decide to treat Americans the way the US treats would-be immigrants to the US now--no, you can't come in?

smtddr 13y ago
>> As an American, I feel like my country is actually putting me in long-term danger. The government is making America and Americans enemies of the entire world. That has been happening since forever; it's just that the NSA stuff has made that fact visible to people who didn't see America's hypocrisy before. I mean, there are people who actually believe this ---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6HOcLWP-Ls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6HOcLWP-Ls
- javert 13y ago
  I don't want to take the time to watch that video, but I actually do think that 99% of hatred of America historically has been due to the moral inferiority of the haters. For example, fundamentalist Islamists, and all those who wish to sympathize with them, are "right" to hate America. Socialists are right to hate America--the American constitution fundamentally stands for the opposite moral code, and American prosperity is evidence that the American morality is the right one. That said, the GOP is opposed to that very morality, and the Democrat party even more-so, so the country is being rapidly destroyed from the inside (and has been on that path for almost 100 years, just accelerating or decelerating occasionally).
  - marcosdumay 13y ago
    Nope. The reason some people hate the US is because the country interferes (up to the point of overthrowing governments) with the entire world. Yeah, it can be argued that there is some kind of problem with people more prone to hating than to actually dealing with the problem. But there is no excuse to think the reason that they target the US any other than them destroying their country.
Zigurd 13y ago
> The government is making America and Americans enemies of the entire world. Has made. It's water under the bridge now. All there is left to do is watch how it plays out: Which US companies will lose their overseas customers because they cannot assure their customers regarding back doors in their products and services? We have already seen IBM and Cisco take significant financial hits. Which nations are sufficiently independent, or have people sufficiently restive, to take an official position against pervasive surveillance and actually purge their intelligence services of foreign liaisons and cooperation in surveillance? Conversely, we will see which governments agree with and accept pervasive surveillance. Where will new centers of expertise in cryptography develop? How much of this will flow back into other areas of diplomacy? Will nations be generally more wary of intelligence and military liasons with the US?
epo 13y ago
The danger is two-fold: firstly the USA is losing friends abroad, 'allies' are realising that at best they were slightly favoured underlings but never equals. At least this is explicit from the outset with China. Secondly, America's power and influence is fading, slowly admittedly, but fading nonetheless. Like here in the UK your turn will come when you realise what it is like to be yesterday's bully boy. Ours came with the break up of Empire, yours may come when the world calls in your debts or builds walls to isolate your corrupt financial structures. America was once admired and respected. Now it is increasingly like some blundering fat tourist in a brothel, people pretend to be nice to you because they want your money. But really, nobody is your friend.

by javert 13y ago

smtddr 13y ago

>> As an American, I feel like my country is actually putting me in long-term danger. The government is making America and Americans enemies of the entire world. That has been happening since forever; it's just that the NSA stuff has made that fact visible to people who didn't see America's hypocrisy before. I mean, there are people who actually believe this ---> https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6HOcLWP-Ls https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=p6HOcLWP-Ls

javert 13y ago
I don't want to take the time to watch that video, but I actually do think that 99% of hatred of America historically has been due to the moral inferiority of the haters. For example, fundamentalist Islamists, and all those who wish to sympathize with them, are "right" to hate America. Socialists are right to hate America--the American constitution fundamentally stands for the opposite moral code, and American prosperity is evidence that the American morality is the right one. That said, the GOP is opposed to that very morality, and the Democrat party even more-so, so the country is being rapidly destroyed from the inside (and has been on that path for almost 100 years, just accelerating or decelerating occasionally).
- marcosdumay 13y ago
  Nope. The reason some people hate the US is because the country interferes (up to the point of overthrowing governments) with the entire world. Yeah, it can be argued that there is some kind of problem with people more prone to hating than to actually dealing with the problem. But there is no excuse to think the reason that they target the US any other than them destroying their country.

Zigurd 13y ago

> The government is making America and Americans enemies of the entire world. Has made. It's water under the bridge now. All there is left to do is watch how it plays out: Which US companies will lose their overseas customers because they cannot assure their customers regarding back doors in their products and services? We have already seen IBM and Cisco take significant financial hits. Which nations are sufficiently independent, or have people sufficiently restive, to take an official position against pervasive surveillance and actually purge their intelligence services of foreign liaisons and cooperation in surveillance? Conversely, we will see which governments agree with and accept pervasive surveillance. Where will new centers of expertise in cryptography develop? How much of this will flow back into other areas of diplomacy? Will nations be generally more wary of intelligence and military liasons with the US?

epo 13y ago

The danger is two-fold: firstly the USA is losing friends abroad, 'allies' are realising that at best they were slightly favoured underlings but never equals. At least this is explicit from the outset with China. Secondly, America's power and influence is fading, slowly admittedly, but fading nonetheless. Like here in the UK your turn will come when you realise what it is like to be yesterday's bully boy. Ours came with the break up of Empire, yours may come when the world calls in your debts or builds walls to isolate your corrupt financial structures. America was once admired and respected. Now it is increasingly like some blundering fat tourist in a brothel, people pretend to be nice to you because they want your money. But really, nobody is your friend.