I don't surf the message boards like I used to, but I'm sure a good number of the TOO membership remembers me from my postwhore trolling days also remembers when my recent five plus year overseas journey began.
Being out of the USA for so long gives one a unique perspective on the changes that have evolved in our beloved country. Five years is just long enough to "remember how things used to be" and compare then to how they are now. The following are a few observations.
1. Prices: Gas is actually cheaper, but the overall cost of living has significantly increased.
2. American's: This one isn't gonna be pretty, but American's are obese, lazy, and IMO some of the stupidest people on this planet. OK, I'm sure this one touched a nerve, but please hear me out. We as a society are pigs. We surfice on fast food which comes from IMO two things. The first is our fast paced lifestyle doesn't allow for time to eat quality food. Because of this we have become to lazy to take the time to prepare healthy meals and it has become the norm to take the family out for fast food vise making a healthy lunch or dinner at home. Second, portion sizes in America are just crazy. Unless you are a marathon runner or super active there is no way your body can use up 4000 calories (especially when they are high in fat) a day.
Lazy: We are a society glued to TV, laptops, iPhones, and facebook. Gone are the days when kids ran around all day playing outside, fishing, riding bikes, and being active.
Stupidity: It's rampant in our country. OMG how can we be this dumb. I've heard comments being said like "don't use them white words around me" (BTW the word was "tangible". I've met so many people who can barely perform basic task in jobs such as cashiers and stock boys at Walmart.
American's are assholes too. (Ohioians are especially rude which explains why I'm also an ass:smiley_coolpeace. The ONLY country I've been to were the people where more rude than us is the United Kingdom.
3. Entitlement: Our culture (at least the younger generation) has this preconceived notion that everyone is entitled to success. Normally that's great, but American's want everything for nothing. I can't believe how many people have told me how the well off folks owe the less fortunate folk something(or essentially something to that effect). I blame a lot of this on our current administration who has slowly tried to steer our capitalist country towards that of a socialist society.
There are a few more bad things and we can discuss them later, but there are some great things about the USA.
1. Quality of life: Our quality of life is unmatched anywhere on this planet. I've been to 38 countries and while a few come close the majority fall way short of the basic comforts we enjoy. Affordable quality housing is something we take for granted, but I can't tell you how many places I've been to were construction standards were sub par to flat out unsafe, multiple generations lived under one roof, and square footage is 1/4 of most American homes, and acreage is only for the extremely wealthy.
2. Convenience: Everything is at our fingertips. Last night my air mattress blew. It was 2230 and my first thought was that I'd have a long night sleeping on the floor (BTW our furniture hasn't arrived yet). Then I realized that Walmart is open 24hrs and 45 minutes later I was sleeping comfortably on a new bed. There is a gas station, grocery store, shopping mall and restaurant on every corner. It's just crazy how good we have it.
3. Travel. It's so easy to travel in the states. It's generally affordable, our roads are nice, there are plenty of gas stations, and believe it or not most American's drive sanely.
I have to admit, I'm kinda let down on how things have progressed. While I listed some good things too, I continually find myself being let down for a variety of reasons. Maybe I just had my expectations too high, but to be honest I think I'm just remember how things used to be and have a unique view to how much our country and society has sunk.
Being out of the USA for so long gives one a unique perspective on the changes that have evolved in our beloved country. Five years is just long enough to "remember how things used to be" and compare then to how they are now. The following are a few observations.
1. Prices: Gas is actually cheaper, but the overall cost of living has significantly increased.
2. American's: This one isn't gonna be pretty, but American's are obese, lazy, and IMO some of the stupidest people on this planet. OK, I'm sure this one touched a nerve, but please hear me out. We as a society are pigs. We surfice on fast food which comes from IMO two things. The first is our fast paced lifestyle doesn't allow for time to eat quality food. Because of this we have become to lazy to take the time to prepare healthy meals and it has become the norm to take the family out for fast food vise making a healthy lunch or dinner at home. Second, portion sizes in America are just crazy. Unless you are a marathon runner or super active there is no way your body can use up 4000 calories (especially when they are high in fat) a day.
Lazy: We are a society glued to TV, laptops, iPhones, and facebook. Gone are the days when kids ran around all day playing outside, fishing, riding bikes, and being active.
Stupidity: It's rampant in our country. OMG how can we be this dumb. I've heard comments being said like "don't use them white words around me" (BTW the word was "tangible". I've met so many people who can barely perform basic task in jobs such as cashiers and stock boys at Walmart.
American's are assholes too. (Ohioians are especially rude which explains why I'm also an ass:smiley_coolpeace. The ONLY country I've been to were the people where more rude than us is the United Kingdom.
3. Entitlement: Our culture (at least the younger generation) has this preconceived notion that everyone is entitled to success. Normally that's great, but American's want everything for nothing. I can't believe how many people have told me how the well off folks owe the less fortunate folk something(or essentially something to that effect). I blame a lot of this on our current administration who has slowly tried to steer our capitalist country towards that of a socialist society.
There are a few more bad things and we can discuss them later, but there are some great things about the USA.
1. Quality of life: Our quality of life is unmatched anywhere on this planet. I've been to 38 countries and while a few come close the majority fall way short of the basic comforts we enjoy. Affordable quality housing is something we take for granted, but I can't tell you how many places I've been to were construction standards were sub par to flat out unsafe, multiple generations lived under one roof, and square footage is 1/4 of most American homes, and acreage is only for the extremely wealthy.
2. Convenience: Everything is at our fingertips. Last night my air mattress blew. It was 2230 and my first thought was that I'd have a long night sleeping on the floor (BTW our furniture hasn't arrived yet). Then I realized that Walmart is open 24hrs and 45 minutes later I was sleeping comfortably on a new bed. There is a gas station, grocery store, shopping mall and restaurant on every corner. It's just crazy how good we have it.
3. Travel. It's so easy to travel in the states. It's generally affordable, our roads are nice, there are plenty of gas stations, and believe it or not most American's drive sanely.
I have to admit, I'm kinda let down on how things have progressed. While I listed some good things too, I continually find myself being let down for a variety of reasons. Maybe I just had my expectations too high, but to be honest I think I'm just remember how things used to be and have a unique view to how much our country and society has sunk.