What's your opinion of Americans?

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/me makes no comment



No seriously, everyone prefers the place they are born *shrug* Its called patriotism, and not only americans have it

 

LMAO, Damona! Last I heard Bioware was a CANADIAN company!

 

Yeah, but TSR wasn't. Without Forgotten Realms, there'd be no BG.

 

And without Lord of the Rings - created by a British author - there would be no Forgotten Realms.

See, I told you Americans were stupid. In my rant I forgot to also mention they are overly sensitive about any criticism of themselves.

Cheers,
Old Iron Balls

And don't you dare knock Australia, we invented snail killer and the infra-red chicken brooder... http://www.maths.uwa.edu.au/~adrian/ozinvent.html ... so count yourself lucky that the world hasn't been overrun by snails!

 

At least the US wasn't started as a British prison colony. Now THERE'S something to be proud of.

 

Americans? Hmmm....

People can be real nice or complete bastards, no matter where they're from.

Okay, that was the polite answer. Now the not-so-polite: the American moralism sucks. Big time.(Note: Moralism, not morale, if you don't know the difference, get a thesaurus) They should take a look at what's going on in their own country before starting to tell others what to do.

My sis lives in the States, and I visited her once. The people I met were nice, but that could have been because I was a mere 12-year old...

Ara
(Hating school, what else is new, hating writing an ExtendedPaskaEssee...)

 

I've got nothing against Americans, but is it symptomatic of their insecurity that they always look for everyones approval and love? Bit like a younger brother looking to old brother Europe to see if he did it right?

Refer to the fact that this is the third invitation we've had in a year or so to tell the Americans how much we love, admire, etc, etc. All threads started I believe by Americans.....

 

OK. You know that I had to pipe in.

I think that the world in general judges us (Americans) by 1. Our Political Beliefs, 2. Our education, 3. Our food, and 4. Our media circus.

1 Our Political Beliefs : The theory is sound and many ideas are good. However, don't confuse that with our financial attitudes. Unfortunately, everything here is motivated by business. The motivation behind getting involved in other countries is money and the big players in that scheme. Not the average American! The average American is born, goes to school, works, and dies. Such is the case of the majority of the world's population. One thing to always consider is what is refered to as "The Silent Majority." Every country has one. I'm not saying that this is good, I'm saying that this is reality.

2. Our Education: This is also politically motivated. Since the advent of the "Cold War," our education consisted of strong emphasis on Math and Science. This was designed for the advancement of new technology. We have excelled in that area. However, we ignored the areas of the Arts, and I believe that has caused the decline of morality in the U.S.. People here have a hard time dealing with the rights and wrongs of life.

3. Our food: American Society is VERY time oriented. With that comes the need for fast food. Hence, very bad choices in the American diet. We do have good places to eat, but they take back seat to our schedules. I must say that people are starting to get back into a healthier diet in America.

4. Our Media: I could go on forever about this, but in a nut shell, this is the single most influencing factor in American Culture. The pictures on the "Boob Tube" effect our lives from making us happy to making us angry to making us weep. I think that in many countries, this also applies. A point to note: I have visited many countries and I have found from the people that I have spoken with, they believe America is like TV shows such as Dallas, Dynasty, and various soap operas. Some countries still play those pathetic shows. I also know that our news shows aren't the greatest. I like CNN International.

On a final note, I think that the general populace of the world is very much alike in their basic attitudes and want to believe in the advancement of the human race. Don't judge a particular people by the few people that are in power of the respective country's government. Just because they are in power doesn't mean that everyone agrees with all of the policies put into effect. The good part is that we get to elect new leaders on a regular basis. Some other countries have this same setup. However, others don't have that luxury. I believe in America and that we stand for the advancement of all facets of humankind. America is the greatest of All countries (My Patriotism showing through)
P@ACE to ALL!!

 

Damona Silvercloud, please get your facts right.

'Then go ahead and smash your computer, throw your television and telephone out the window. After that unscrew all your lightbulbs. All invented by those stupid Americans.'

John Logie Baird is remembered as the inventor of mechanical television and he was Scottish
The first incandescent electric light was made in 1800 by Humphry Davy, an English scientist.
The telephone was invented in 1876 by Alexander Graham Bell who was Scottish

Most devices are like the computer :

Invented in Britain.
Perfected by America.
Mass produced by Japan.


'At least the US wasn't started as a British prison colony.'
Are you sure ?
A lot of prisoners were sent to America as well as Austrailia


I shan't say any thing about Americans as the facts speak for themselves.


[This message has been edited by Fergus (edited January 14, 2002).]

 

"At least the US wasn't started as a prison colony"

Fergus is right, look at the colony of Georgia.

 

Fergus, becareful of your research. Some people here will grade your homework. Like me.

1. TV- Mechanical TV invented by John Logie Baird around 1927 at the same time as Philo Taylor Farnsworth. Farnsworth's Image Disector (TV) would prove to be better and be considered the standard. Baird had many more inventions that would contribute to today's society.
2. Incandescent Elec Light- Invented by Thomas Edison in 1879. Humphry Davy invented the safety lamp for miner's hats. His most significant invention would be Electrolysis (i.e. Plating).
3. Telephone- OK, I'll do the lame thing. He moved from Scotland went to Ontario and then on to Boston. In Boston he started inventing things and in 1875 he invented the telephone. (This is the really Lame Part) So by definition of a modern American, he was an American (yes it's reaching). Side note: I think there was a German scientist working on the idea at the same time, but I can't remember.

BTW: England used all of Her colonies back then to send prisoners. Would you want them around?

(I'm sure this thread is geared to the Non-Americans, but just like everyone else, I'm not going to fall over and play dead)

Lord Sarevok you just HAD to do this (not meant in an angry sense, just tired) . The best way to find out about people is to meet them face to face. People tend to be emboldened by anonimity. I remember the "French Language" thread. I'm surprised the "Anarchists" haven't put their 2 cents in yet. It is their right.

[This message has been edited by Garret Jax (edited January 14, 2002).]

 

Shralp: Yesterday his profile said that his occupation was "Vomit God". Only a genius could come up with something so unique. Must be an Aussie thing.

Oh and by the way Mirkwood:

Who's being overly sensitive about criticism that HASN'T even been given yet

 

Ok just to prove a point :

The first incandescent electric light was made in 1800 by Humphry Davy, an English scientist. He experimented with electricity and invented an electric battery. When he connected wires to his battery and a piece of carbon, the carbon glowed, producing light. This is called an electric arc.

Much later, in 1860, the English physicist Sir Joseph Wilson Swan (1828-1914) was determined to devise a practical, long-lasting electric light. He found that a carbon paper filament worked well, but burned up quickly. In 1878, he demonstrated his new electric lamps in Newcastle, England.

The inventor Thomas Alva Edison (in the USA) experimented with thousands of different filaments to find just the right materials to glow well and be long-lasting. In 1879, Edison discovered that a carbon filament in an oxygen-free bulb glowed but did not burn up for 40 hours. Edison eventually produced a bulb that could glow for over 1500 hours. The incandescent bulb revolutionized the world.

It's a little known fact that if Lewis Latimer (born Chelsea, Massachusetts in 1848) hadn't been on Thomas Edison's team (the only African American) that the light bulb might have been too impractical for most people to use. You see, Edison's light bulb used bamboo as the filament and the light bulb burned out after only 30 hours. Carbon lasted much longer and made the light bulb practical. Latimer, with Joseph V. Nichols, came up with both idea to use carbon filaments and the process for manufacturing the carbon filaments.
Before his work Edison had settled on bamboo for the filament. This didn't last long but it worked. However, the carbon filament that Latimer and Nichols developed worked much longer. While not his first patent (that was for a water closet for railway cars in 1874), Latimer and Nichols received a patent for an incandescent light bulb with a carbon filament as well as the process for manufacturing them in 1881.

America can have that one but Edison doesn't deserve the recognition.


In August 1924 Baird moved to London and in April of the following year he unveiled the Televisor at Selfridge's Department Store in London. Awed spectators gathered in a small dark room, straining to see the flickering image of a doll on a screen that was barely four by two inches. Although little more than a silhouette, the image represented a significant achievement. This was the first time a picture had been created from reflected light.

In October 1925 Baird succeeded in transmitting full television in his small attic laboratory in Soho, London.These were the true television pictures which picked up reflected light and showed light and shade effects. The first human being to be televised was a frightened teenage office boy, William Taynton, who had to be bribed to stay in front of the hot lights.


Philo Taylor Farnsworth's, born in Beaver, Utah, August 19, 1906.
In 1926 he produced the first all-electronic television image. Crocker Research Laboratories was later reorganized as Television Laboratories, Inc., and in May 1929 was renamed Farnsworth Television Inc., of California. Farnsworth's basic television patents covered scanning, focusing, synchronizing, contrast, controls, and power.

It's fair to say that Philo's was the first TV to use an electronic method of the the zig-zag building of the picture which is used in most TVs today but Baird got the patent for an idea of sending a moving image electronically.

This is really not the point of this thread.

 

I see the point in the thread as learning from one another through our diverse cultrual back grounds. I do like information. Thanks Fergus

 

Don't worry all you Americans as probably more people hate the English.
The only 100% safe place to travel with a British passport is England or the US.

I don't mind Americans but find some of them gullable and noisy but then again a lot of people are the same around the world.
What I don't understand is why they (like the English) don't understand sarcasim but their best comedians and TV shows use it so well.

Wouldn't the world be better off if we did what the Americans do and pledge allegence to our country every morning at school ?

I always thought this was a good example of brainwashing. No offence intended to any Americans but the government must have been working 100% the day they came up with that idea.

Can you imagine it working in Northern Ireland or other countries with religious divides

 

As far as all the inventions go, I didn't know that I had to specify that I meant the ideas that were patented, then widely used and taken as a fact.

Philo Farnsworth, Thomas Alva Edison, both Americans. The computer wasn't really invented by one person, but the seprate working parts created by many. Konrad Zuse (A German) actually invented it, to be technical. The US Army put it into use in 1943.

The whole point of my rant is, sure Disney, Hollywood, and McDonalds suck. Lots of Americans even think that, but that isn't representative of even a fraction of the population. Read Hemingway. Read Steinbeck. Tell me you've visited here and seen exactly the type of stereotype everyone seems to have. As far as capitalism goes? People are just mad because they didn't come up with it first. While other countries were still struggling under monarchies and communisitc ideas, Americans were having an industrial revolution. It's that early work ethic that made this country what it is today. It gave big business a platform, for better or worse.

People see America through their own county's eyes. You see what your media feeds to you. If that's how people make judgement, then whatever, but it looks uneducated.

 

People! Do you really benefit the question at hand?

 

Wow. Some pissing contest. The only comment that I (an American) wish to address directly came from mirkwood: "They have little knowledge of anything outside their own borders".
And you do? You ooze ignorance.

To the rest, I understand that if you have never been here, you can only go by what you see, the government and the media. I don't agree with some of what my government does and most of what the media does.

Lastly, don't lose sight of the fact that America is a big place, populated primarily by Europeans and their descendants (my mother is from Ireland). The people here are as diverse in their ideas, beliefs, and culture as anyplace else in the world. You wouldn't make blanket statements about "Europeans" because the cultural differences between (for example) Italy and Sweden are fairly dramatic. The same goes for here. The average person living in Los Angeles has very little in common with the average person living in Columbia, South Carolina.

Yes we are under the same federal government, but other than that, we are (like most people) all quite different.

 

As being a Canadian I have always been angry when people said an american made the telephone. The first telephone was made in brantford ON in Canada. Also the first ever telephone call was made in the same town by Mr. Bell. They do not call Brantford the telephone city for no reason at all... Also I wonder if anybody around here has seen a Canadian TV show called This hour has 22 minutes. This show has a segment where they inteview americans, and ask them what they know about canada. You have to wonder how people can believe that we have an ice building, and that we ship all the old people off on ice floes to die...sheesh people learn some facts about your nothern(and southern) country

 

You are telling me it wasn't a woman who invented the phone? *g*

I love americans. Untill they prove otherwise.