- Being such a young country:
- We don't have our own mythology or deep, rich history.
- We have no distinct food culture. Most of our food is borrowed from the originators.
- We have no tradition of respecting our elders like some older countries/cultures. Or if we did, it's long gone now. Aging is looked at as something to "prevent" rather than revere.
- We don't practice separation of church and state even though it's written in our Constitution.
- The President of the United States is sworn into office with his hand on the Bible.
- "In God We Trust" is emblazoned on our money.
- Gay marriage is not completely legal yet. The only reason it's not is because of a definition of marriage found in THE BIBLE.
- Our "Pledge of Allegiance", that is said in the majority of grade schools across the country, contains the line, "One nation, under God".
- I could go on.
- Our ethnocentric views.
- Our culture of consumption and "Bigger is Better".
- SUVs.
- Super-size meals.
- McMansions.
- No Dia de los Muertos or happy/alternative way to celebrate our dead.
- No great ruins or ancient castles.
- We work too hard.
- Other countries take more vacation time and maternity/paternity leave. They are less stressed and get to spend more time with their family. We are more worried about 'productivity' than our quality of life.
- Our justice system.
- Our jails are FULL of people with minor marijuana infractions among numerous other things while much worse crimes go unpunished.
- We do not have a good program to reintegrate former criminals into the general public and most of them end up back in jail. We have the highest incarcerated population of any country in the world.
- Our dominating two-party political system.
- There are myriad views on any one issue but we are forced to choose between two extremes. There is no happy medium.
- Our divorce rate.
- Racism is still rampant.
- Our "news" media.
- The sensationalism.
- The fact that the antics of the latest spoiled, drug-addled celebrities are top stories while real issues and injustices get swept under the rug.
- Nancy Grace & Bill O'Reilly.
- Etiquette & manners are dead (mostly).
- In light of the Occupy Wall Street movement going on:
- The distribution of wealth.
- The cost of a higher education. We are taught that, in order to get a good, high-paying job, we have to go to college. But then it is made impossible for us to find a job after graduation with the unemployment rate and our resulting student debts.
- Our healthcare system.
- The fact that Columbus Day is a holiday.
- Black Friday.
- Extreme consumerism. People trample each other just to buy things before the sun is up.
- Mount Rushmore.
- Indian reservations.
- Our entire history with Native Americans, really. We destroyed entire cultures. Cultures that were here FIRST. Ugh. Probably one of the number one things that makes me ashamed to be American.
aug 3 2008 ∞
oct 6 2012 +
oct 6 2012 +