the media has too much power. i don't need to know everything that's put on the airwaves. when we see every idiot ever born into this world doing something incredibly stupid, we start to believe there aren't any 'normal' people left.

i used to watch the news every nite. now if i watch it for 10 minutes in the morning, i'm doing good. i just don't care what's going on with paris hilton, any random sports figure, the politicians, or joe schmoe off the street. my life is good, i feel & show compassion for my fellow man, i pay my taxes, & don't try to piss anybody off. while this may make me sound complacent &/or narrow-minded, my world revolves around my life, my family, my friends, & of course packer football. i'm not interested in making a difference or changing the world - just want to live my life & enjoy it.

I would that if we continue seeing 'celebrities' and high profile people doing stupid things, it also gives us a built in excuse when we do something stupid. "oh so i drank an drove, so did Charlie Sheen and he's doing alright for himself".

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ignorant generalizations much? christ. friendly does not necessarily mean engaging you in banal conversations about the local sports teams or the weather. every town, country or city has it's people and every person has their issues. i was born in Appleton and have lived in Milwaukee, Boston, New York and now Chapel Hill. New York was one of the most openly friendly places i've been...something outsiders and tourists just don't get or see though. during a particularly beautiful blizzard two random pedestrians came rushing up to catch me as a i slipped on a hidden ice/slush patch. and then i went on my way. we never spoke a word. this is just one example out of a handful of incredible years in that city. and you may not believe this one...but moving to Boston from Milwaukee actually made Boston seem pretty friendly (it's not exactly the general feeling a n00b in that city feels, trust me). and when i moved down to the south and witnessed that "southern hospitality" what i really saw was that instead of busting balls back and forth with people, they smile and nod and talk shit behind your back. yeah...real hospitable. but when it comes down to it, no place i've lived is any more or less "American" than the other. i loved and hated different things about each one...and they're the kind of things you can only feel or notice about a place if you've truly lived there. much like the rest of the world's generally ignorant/naive idea of what kind of country or people we all are.

p.s. this is *not* a "God Bless America" post by any means.

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I completely agree that we as a country, generalization yes, have forgotten "where we come from".

How this country was built and the premise that our freedoms were set upon, "we the people".

The question was poised why we have no respect for our leaders, well to be honest, what have our leaders of the past couple decades done to earn that respect?

Yes the constitution promotes gridlock as a device to promote democracy.. but being brutally honest, we are far removed from a democracy as intended. The voices of the people have been ignored for decades.. the ironic part is with the advances in communication it seems to degrade effective communication with our leaders in the opposite direction.

The country has very little trust left for one another.. communities which in size should be close knit and strong seem to be weathering right along the national path.. and it is sad. Heck, some town politics mimic Washington more and more.. ignore the citizens and spend like there is no limit. Tearing the very fabric of the country apart.. the moto echoed time and time again.. if we don't take advantage of the federal aid someone else will. Even if the local economy can't handle any more debt load than it already has.

Brilliant..

The hope I hold to is that sooner or later we will hit rock bottom and change because we have no option left.. from the top down or the bottom up... the only fear is that we will be to far gone to rebuild.

That time is nearing.. it has been building for years or decades.. they push that we are recovering economically, while I challenge that idea, one thing is for sure, we are not pulling together as a society.

Is it wrong to be individualistic? Self Serving? I am certainly not qualified to answer that.

But there is no doubt that we are a radically different country than we were a quarter to half century ago. Hell are we even honestly worthy of the name "United" States?

In my opinion, as it stand now.. no.

Katrina, the oil spill and the recession (depression) are living proof of that. And now that unemployment for thousands has run out.. it will become even more apparent. The division of this country will be exposed even further, yet we still fight the never ending war to the tune of what 8 to 10 billion a month.

I am all for protecting our freedoms and thanking those that sacrifice for us, our country... but unless things improve rapidly, what will be left that they fought for?

At the end of my ramblings.. I will summarize with this.. I think there are more questions about the direction of this nation than answers.. and that is never a good position to be in.

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i so wish the country could have stayed in the era of the 50's. at least my mom waxes poetic about those days. never had to worry about going on your bike to see friends a few blocks away. there weren't 'bad' people lurking around every corner. the economy was good. people sat on their front porches & socialized with their neighbors etc...

i am fortunate to live on a dead end street in a very quiet part of our town. mostly retired people live on our street & i know none of them would ever let anything happen to my boys. they're all at least 65 over older & love watching the boys riding their bikes & razor three wheelers up & down the street. whenever we're out, magically the old crowd get out of their recliners & head out to their porches. those nights are wonderful.

Please.

The reason people make generalizations is because they're generally true. Heck, I live in SF and agree with RP. Beautiful city. Has some generally nice people but you take your average SF person and your average mid-Westerner and 4 out of 5 times, I'd rather be friends with your average mid-Westerner.

The SF guy might be more sophisticated. He'll also be more of a prick.

While we're at it, white people can't dance. Black people don't know how to cross the street. Asians can't drive. There. I said it.

Will you meet black people who can cross the street, Asians who can drive, and white folk who can dance? Sure. Will you meet a New Yorker who's genuinely friendly? Sure. I've met them. But as much as SF people are egotistical pricks, I'd take one over a New Yorker any day of the week.

I sometimes miss the mid-West. Then I remember the Winters. And the mosquitoes. And actually taking effort to get chicks nekkid. Then I appreciate SF.

Good and bad about everywhere, my friend. And generalizations exist because they're genuinely true.

Here's one more. SF genuinely has better weather than Chicago. Am I ignorant? Or a realist?

EDIT: Forgot to add, Canadians are friendlier than Americans. I'd still rather live in America. I need sunlight.

NSD - If I were running this country, one of the first things I'd do will be to dismantle the TSA and put every single one of them on the unemployment line.

Completely useless organization. It's a waste of tax money but even worse, it's showing Americans that it's acceptable to trade your freedoms for a delusion of security. Plus, they're a bunch of retarded pricks. You think the DMV has retarded employees? They're Mensa members compared to TSA people.

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Edit, and you deleted your post?

Edit2, Twinkie deleted his post therefore I edited it out of mine.

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Kind of humorous that you bang on the generalization with well a milder generalization based on your accounts...



Now.. someone break out a study showing a broad stroked friendly meter for every society ASAP to end this little tit for tat.. lol.

Also I think we need to locate a stick remover... one that can remove sticks wedged in a confined space. 😉

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From my experience, people in the Midwest may be nicer (read: faker), but people out East are a whole hell of a lot friendlier. I think being truly friendly is far more important than being nice, because sometimes the friendliest thing you can do is not be nice to someone.

Nice is being afraid to point out to a stranger that he's walking down the sidewalk with toilet paper stuck to his shoe, out of fear of momentarily embarrassing him. Friendly is having the balls to point that embarrassing fact out to him and save him further embarrassment. The Midwest is full of the former kind of people, while the East Coast is populated with the latter.

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I'm going to have to disagree based on my experiences. While in Virginia and Maryland ... I didn't experience any care in the world from others, nor did I witness it occur with anyone else. They were too wrapped up in their own agenda to take a second to help someone else.

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