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American vs. Australian
The harsh loss for Marshal Loss
A couple weeks ago, I came upon the profile of Marshal Loss. I read it, and I was dismayed to see that he had some mightier-than-thou remarks about my country, America. In fact, that tone seems to embody his whole profile. This is everything he says about America, as quoted from his profile:
quote His ProfileIn response, I wrote him a letter, a fairly lengthy one, in an attempt to persuade him that while America is imperfect, it is still a good country. I now share the full context of that letter with whoever reads this.About America.
Listen, America is easily the most powerful and influential country in the world, yet
1. There are alot of religious fanatics ruling it
2. Everone carries a gun
3. Generally the people who carry a gun are religious as well, thus making them 2x dangerous
4. The government is stupid
5. People are just so ignorant!
Sorry, but your great "country" does not give me any confidence in its ability to manage itself and the power that it holds. Once again however, this does not mean I hate ordinary americans, most of my online friends are americans lol. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and if you don't like mine then too bad.
quote RomeI thought my letter was both candid and fair, and I took the time to organize my points in a clear way, so that I could make my overall point to him. About two weeks passed, and I thought very little of it, until tonight. I remembered that he never replied. I checked his profile, with the hopes that maybe he had silently resolved to change the content of profile, having been shown the error of his ways. I could not have been more wrong.I happened to come upon your bio, and I found some of its contents a little disturbing. For specificity, the contents are enumerated in the exact verbatim below.quoteFirst of all, given that you are Australian, I do not know how you can begin to understand how America really is. You make a lot of negative and presumptuous assertions about my country that I find insulting. Plenty of us know that Australia started out as holding ground for Great Britain's prisoners, and I would not say a pure, enduring legacy of triumphant character values emerged from that and shines in your nation today. Now I am not saying that Australia is, by any means, a deplorable country. I have a mildly positive view of it, but I cannot say too much about it, because I do not really know a great deal about it. The problem is that you did just the opposite of this with my country, saying that it is ruled by religious fanatics, that everyone carries a gun, our government is stupid, and that everyone is "just so ignorant".About America.
Listen, America is easily the most powerful and influential country in the world, yet
1. There are alot of religious fanatics ruling it
2. Everone carries a gun
3. Generally the people who carry a gun are religious as well, thus making them 2x dangerous
4. The government is stupid
5. People are just so ignorant!
Sorry, but your great "country" does not give me any confidence in its ability to manage itself and the power that it holds. Once again however, this does not mean I hate ordinary americans, most of my online friends are americans lol. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and if you don't like mine then too bad.
I'll start on religion. It is true that many people in America have strong, religious beliefs. Most people are Christians, of some denomination or another. Some of our religious citizens have extreme views, and yes, some even have power, but they do not rule this country. Take a look at what our government is, a representative democracy. How can religious fanatics occupy a significant amount of offices and positions of power in this country, when they do not even constitute a majority? While religious Americans have influence over our popular sovereignty, the majority of them support secular government, and the vast majority of Americans in general support it. Our government has determined that all citizens are equal, regardless of race, sex, or personal beliefs, such as religion. We do not have a religious state, and we do not make or enforce laws to satisfy religious doctrines. You say that religious fanatics rule this country, but you have no facts to support your claims.
Not everyone carries a gun in America. Yes, it is true that we reserve the right "to bear arms". Many Americans possess personal firearms, and most of them truly believe that gun ownership is a sacred right. However, it is not true that we all walk around with guns ready to kill people, the insinuation that you seem to be making. I never held a real gun until just last fall, when my grandfather died and I got an old shotgun that he had. Here's the clincher: I have no bullets for it. I also couldn't carry that thing around where I wanted. The only use of guns that I have really witnessed ever in my life is hunting. I live in the countryside of North Carolina, where there are still many trees and wildlife. A lot of folks like to go hunt deer and other forest animals. Most of these people like to cook up their quarry and eat them. I don't see anything remotely malignant or backward about shooting your supper or killing a few deer so they aren't getting hit my cars on our roads. Let me tell you that car collisions with deer can be deadly for the driver and the passengers, and the deer ends up dead either way. As far as handguns are concerned, I will concede that these require more regulation and that they contribute to most of the gun-related murders, but most people who own these are responsible enough not to let that happen. Do you really mean to tell me that Australia is without murder? Because it sure seems like you are suggesting that.
Our system of government is not stupid. Like any democratic structure, it does get burdened by the political mudslinging. I doubt Australia is without it. Wherever you go in the world, people are competing for power. In Africa, they do it with genocide. In Afghanistan, they do it by blowing up schools and enslaving women. In China, they do it by stealing the rights of their citizens and holding political prisoners. Be glad that America, like Australia, does it behind a desk or through vigorous campaigns in the media. On another note, our system of government has endured for more than 230 years, and as time has gone by, it has only served to improve our society. We started out as a young nation where only white men with property held power. Since then, we have passed laws and reset the status quo so that all persons born and naturalized in this country enjoy citizenship, full rights, and equal protection under the law. You say our government is stupid, but it has only made the lives of the American people even grander. We have made mistakes in our history, but that makes America no less than any country. If I recall, Australia was not always kind to the Aborginals. It has surely made shameful mistakes in governmental policy.
Lastly, I want to address your claim that Americans are ignorant. Yes, people are ignorant. Much of this has been tied to poverty and old traditions. As I mentioned, we have been rising from those conditions and circumstances, and we have exponentially improved in our education and open-mindedness since the birth of our nation. You can never eliminate it completely, though. Ignorance is a part of human nature and will always exist in society. The best proof of that is the multilateral adherence to the supposition, as proven by your statements. Every single one of your statements was based purely on hyperbolic ignorance. You see, the quality of being ignorant, uneducated, or naturally absentminded exists in both my country and yours, as you have proven. No one will ever be perfectly enlightened about the issues and cultures of all the people in the world. Ignorance can never be fully conquered, and the lesson we take, and that you should take, is that to condescend on people for their ignorance is, for all intents and purposes, hypocritical and a shameful representation of your native Australia.
Now I took the time to write all of this, because I feel that the same problems about which your are complaining are essentially reflective of your own nation, and as a proud, patriotic American, yet a deeply committed citizen of the world, I think it is important to address this apparent ignorance on any front. When Americans act in ways that you described, it is embarrassing, but when you and other people abroad do the same to me and my country, it is offensive. Frankly, I do not know which I find preferable. Both are bad, and both are disgraceful. The goal of international discourse should not be to call each other out on vices that we all ultimately share, but to emphasize the needs of cooperation and respect, for the sake of global, commutative improvement. I hope that you can take a lesson from what I have written. I hope that you will open your mind to a country that, despite its faults, does remarkably well for itself. I hope that you will analyze and look back on what you have written and realize that such impulsive and arbitrary accusation only subjects you to the same level of ridicule and humiliation.
The old, mightier-than-thou bashing of my homeland was still in there, and I saw now a new, mightier-than-moi reply to my letter. Yes, he replied to me in his profile. His public response has prompted me to make the one you see here. This is everything he wrote, "in response":
quote His ProfileI liked that he complimented how well I wrote it. Indeed, I made an effort, as aforementioned, to organize all of my points. I also tried to be abnormally eloquent, so I would not come off as a livid bigot. However, my blunt candor and my somewhat-apparent attempt to be "lexographic" failed to sway him.I recently received a well written PM from Rome about this; I will reply to him shortly.
Needless to say though, although well written, it was really complete bullshit, and highly opinionated - though I myself am opinionated in my writing, as is everyone, he really took it to a new level. Being able to write in a sincerely intellectual style and moderating a forum with the word Intellectual in the title does not make you a genius on all things America, and denying the obvious wrongs with your country is just plain amusing.
I didn't like that he called my whole letter "bullshit" and that I tried to "deny the obvious wrongs" or my country. Everything I said was true, and I never concealed that America had problems. I never specified very much on what I thought were the wrongs of my country, so I will enumerate, so all clouds on my points may be dispersed.
To start, I think the War in Vietnam was a mistake, driven by Johnson's fear that Communists were the Nazis of the 60's, ready to swallow up all countries like the Third Reich did. I am and always have been opposed to the War in Iraq. It was falsely justified from the start, and has been horribly mismanaged for a long time, which ultimately created more terrorists that threaten modern civilization. I still want Obama to make a full withdrawal, without leaving 50,000 troops there. I also think that the government, in the past eight years, has given way to voracious spending, largely because Bush started the War in Iraq and cut taxes. I think the NRA needs to calm down and not be so gun-lovingly bloodthirsty. Fundamentalists should allow for gay marriage and stem cell research funding (I'm glad Obama fixed that). The United States should be leading the world in clean energy efficiency, rather than continue to pollute as it has been for the last several years.
There, that is some stuff that I think is wrong with my country, and please note that I stated these because they are meant to prove that I am not hiding my nation's faults, as alleged by Marshal Loss.
I will dissect the next part that I didn't like. He also says that "Being able to write in a sincerely intellectual style and moderating a forum with the word Intellectual in the title does not make you a genius on all things America..." I find this to be particularly humorous, for multiple reasons. For one, he attacks my excellent use of language. For sure, let it be known that the skillfully verbose are idiotic. Secondly, he thinks that my living in America, for my whole life, does not make me aware of my own country, and by that token, what I said was "bullshit" and "highly opinionated". I will point out the fallacy in his logic. He makes plenty of assertive assumptions about my country. In my letter, I make no such statements about his country, admitting that "I cannot say too much about it, because I do not really know a great deal about it." Why is this? Easy answer: I have never been to Australia. As far as I know, he has never been to my country, and even a short visit is not bound to give one a full range of perspectives about this country. Somehow, he knows more about my country than I do. Does this remotely make any sense, or is he a real kidder?
Another thing, he points out that my mod tag does not give me credibility. Did I even mention that in my letter? It appears not. I think he may be feeling insecure, so he tries to throw the "elistist mod" crap at me...like that hasn't been done before. In fact, he seems to be attacking America, largely because of its prestige.
So I will paraphrase the context of his assessment of my analysis, indicating the "merits":
Given that I have never been to America and that you have lived there for your whole life and that you never hid any negativity about America, I deem your letter to be bullshit and ignorant, because I simply don't like America and am perfectly willing to rant and ramble on about this in an immature fashion, rather than show one piece of evidence to support what I said.
Now I do not know when he updated his profile, exactly, but he said he would reply to me soon in it. I have still received no private reply, and since he took it upon himself, to insult both me and my country publicly, I would think it only fair that I defend myself and America in a similar forum.
Judging by his attitude this far, I think he is too proud to admit how wrong he was on each level, but I will not let that pass. This is why. Again, I quote his profile:
quote His ProfileAlright, fair enough. However, I think that would not agree with his calling my letter "bullshit", especially when what I sent to him was not merely opinion, it was all absolute truth. Everything I have said in this blog is truth as well. I have gone to lengths to prove my points and cover them properly, not hide and dodge. I did not ostracize him publicly either. Since he has done these, I will fight fire with fire and prove to everyone the indignant fool that he is.Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and if you don't like mine then too bad.
God Bless America, my home, my country, my greatest passion in life.
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Personally I wouldn't let him get to ya. It's fairly obvious that he's never been to America and gets his impressions from spoon fed bullshit biased news feeds.
For the record though, I've been to Australia and highly suggest it to anyone looking for a great place to go for vacation. Beautiful country, GORGEOUS women, fantastic food. If there wasn't so much censorship I would have moved there quite a few years ago myself.
I criticize America and Americans a lot, but there are definitely worse places to be, and I'm grateful to have grown up here. This Marshal guy is being hypocrite, refusing to open his mind, too caught up in his own schema.
Listen, America is easily the most powerful and influential country in the world, yet...
1. The Government is filled with higly religious people, which would interfere with intelligent politics to say the least - though Obama is a nice, fresh blast of air.
2. The huge amount of guns in the country - look at all the massacres, it's ridiculous that the government allows it to go on when it could be stamped out.
3. The majority of people there appear so ignorant on the internet I can only base my opinion on their conduct.
"Sorry, but your great "country" does not give me any confidence in its ability to manage itself and the power that it holds." Once again however, this does not mean I hate ordinary americans, most of my online friends are americans lol. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, and if you don't like mine then too bad.
This was written before the Obama Administration and let me say that I have hope for the future of your country and I shall be watchinng his exploits with great interest; the government jab is now out of date.
Obviously a few people (Rome mainly) have taken this completely literally and whilst it is meant to be a jab at the USA anyone who takes it literally is abit cookoo.
Anything between "" is out of date and I will update it later but I am watching how Rome takes this with interest, to say the least."
at least he changed it a little bit =\ he still makes himself look like an ass though, but with many of the posts I've seen of his I saw him like that for a while anyways. =3
Nice picture though. Whoever thumbed it down needs to acquire some humour and learn how to distinguish it.
Also, lots of comments.