DrunkFace wrote:
Kmarion wrote:
DrunkFace wrote:
Socially not so much. Way too many are stuck in your heyday of the 50s.
Yes we did grow socially. Civil rights, Women's rights, equal opportunity. They all came around relatively quick in our brief history.
You think there are too many that are stuck in the 50's. I do not get that impression at all. You severely underestimate our diversity.
All of which were achieved by the 50's (except black rights), and all which were achieved in many other countries years before.
But lets look at some current issues.
Abortion - people are murdered over this issue, clinics are bombed, daily protests... and thats just the mega passionate ones.
Stem cell research - Banned (or was it just made legal?) but still huge number of people against it.
Death penalty - Still legal in many states, still lots of support for it.
Wealth inequalities - Highest of any developed country.
Gay rights - Non existent.
Sex education - Poor or nearly non existent from what I've heard. Abstinence still taught as primary sex ed program. Consequently highest teenage pregnancy of developed world.
Age of consent - 18, Highest of any developed nation, completely going against social trends.
Legal Drinking age - 21, same as above.
Health care - Only developed nation without some kind of universal health care system.
Education - University is unattainable to some without money, financial aid is highly regulated.
I'm not saying every other nation is perfect (far from it), or that there is a definite right and wrong for the above issues. But almost all developed nation except the US are moving in one direction.
Electing a minority to our highest office is the wrong direction? Of course it is not the end of racism, but it a big step towards dismantling human prejudice.
This country has had
a lot on it's plate since day one. There were talks of equal rights from the very beginning. (It's in the Declaration of Independence). Yes it took some time and even a war to get everyone on board. But some of the most hardcore abolitionist were very religious. 150 years is very brief when put into historical context.
Abortion, Psychopaths come in many flavors. People are killed over stupid things.These mega passionate ones are not a true representation of either side of the debate. You'll note that when these rare events happen both sides are generally quick to condemn it.
Teen pregnancy, how would religion encourage this?
Age of consent, is impairing development?
Legal drinking, again this has little to do with expanding/developing.
Death Penalty, that is a choice given to the state. Allowing people to decide and govern themselves is not a developmental problem. It's freedom.
Gays have every right except the word marriage in most states. There isn't too many countries that allow homosexual
marriage. Here they are afforded Domestic partnerships and Civil unions.
Sex ed? You've heard wrong. Everyone gets it.
How it is taught depends on the county.
Health care, cost are out of control. However I would not change the quality for anywhere else in the world. Most Americans do not want a single payer system. This isn't to say we don't think everyone should have the opportunity for healthcare. We have safety nets in place, but we need reform in a variety of different ways.
Continuing Education is expensive. However, more than half of my friends have gotten financial aid in some way. I would like my government to regulate itself when writing checks.
No other country receives more immigrants than the US. We get along just fine
considering our population diversity and size. I suggest you ask someone who has visited the US to give you their take. The media is not the best representation for true social interaction. Most comparable countries aren't even first world. You are making a mistake by thinking what is right for country (A) is right for country (B). It happens all the time in this forum. The ultimate goal of a society is for it to govern itself the way it happily desires. The knee slapping irony here is that our ancestors of European descent left the old world with the hopes of escaping religious persecution.
