Has the United States turned to sh*t?

[100k]

Its always been a shit hole. Let it burn and rot in hell.

 

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[Almantas]

If you took one-tenth the energy you put into complaining and applied it to solving the problem, you'd be surprised by how well things can work out... Complaining does not work as a strategy. We all have finite time and energy. Any time we spend whining is unlikely to help us achieve our goals. And it won't make us happier.

 

[Longinus]

It is a very easy time to hate on America right now.

Not just America.

It's easy to hate the right, the left, the black, the white, the religious, the non-religious,... even the male or female gender for F*ck's sake. You know, the gender you need to reproduce, so you can also hate your own kids for existing.

If there's one thing very significant these days, it's probably polarisation. Setting up people against each other, each with their own victim mindset.

But it's your own choice to be a part of that.

 

[Laughingman21]

lol. I'm sure those smart motherfuckers included something productive in or after their complaints, instead of just a jumbled plea for attention cumulating with "I think we're F*cked."

But where's the evidence for you to make baseless assumptions like that? Do you know me personally?

I'm from the UK so my American History probably isn't as good as others on the thread, but I thought the Founding Fathers wrote things like the US constitution and the Declaration of Independence before building a whole new nation.

 

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[MiguelHammond10]

USA is in a mess because of politics, It's a great country and always be,they just need the right leaders to lead the country.

 

[Vigilante]

Its always been a shit hole. Let it burn and rot in hell.

Lol

 

[Raoul Duke]

This thread needs a bit of sprucing up.... I know! I have just the thing.

 

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[ZF Lee]

Vigilante I missed that call - I was traveling all day. Enjoy that smoke though buddy!

I always loved my time in the states - everyone is super friendly, you can taste the opportunity in the air, and you can easily reinvent yourself and go chase your dream.

It is a very easy time to hate on America right now. You can pick and choose from dozens of options and have all the data you need to back you up. But it is just as easy to see it as the best time ever in the most free country on the planet (and in history).

It is all about perspective. Everyday you decide what to focus on.

Don't hate America. Just hate the sad negative ideologies that threaten to ruin all the good things in life.

And then work towards doing more productive stuff to override the bad.

It was an American that wrote the book that changed my life and showed me a new way.

It was the Americans who perfected the economic system, various technologies and means to make the Fastlane more possible.

It was an American who generously shared his business experience the other day...which could prop me up well for the future. And yes, @Fox, it was a shame you missed it.

I don't see why I should hate a country whose citizens have given a lot.

 

[JAJT]

If you want the government to look after you while you live a normal life on auto-pilot like pretty much everyone else - then you're right. There's a lot of shit that needs to be improved in the "do nothing and still get ahead" department of the US Government.

If you have ambition and a strong internal locus of control - then you live in one of the best places on earth and it's pretty F*cking hard to deny that.

You live in a place that is better than many, many, many other places on earth, objectively speaking. Everything is so damn good that you have to complain about things that basically boil down to nit-picking on the grand scheme of things. Even the bloody homeless in North America live better than many other parts of the world.

Your government isn't stealing or destroying your homes, your police aren't demanding bribes to get out of made up charges, you aren't starving in the street, you are a country with a damn near fully educated population, you have the ability to vote and that vote means something instead of being tossed out the window while whoever is in charge proclaims another "glorious democratic victory" for themselves for the 10th, 15th, 20th year in a row. The military is organized and isn't a rogue faction hiding out in the hills waiting to descend upon your towns, nor is it a direct arm of your president to be used however he damn well feels like it. You have free speech. You can be a public nuisance and nuisance to your government without being killed for it. You have human rights - that's more than a lot of places can say. You have access to insurance for when your house accidentally burns down or your car gets t-boned by some jackass. You have legal recourse to just about every wrong that can come your way.

Call the US 'not perfect', and that would be correct but holy hell I could write all the "positives" of your country all damn day.

Put down the news and start placing your energy and effort in things you CAN control. Because you live in one of the best places on earth to exert that control.

 

[G-Man]

Wow. I ignore the forum for one evening, wake up, and it’s become the comments section at CNN.

Normally, I at least have to drive into the office before I’m blessed with this kind of bitching.

#landfill

 

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[Mr.Brandtastic]

So what are you going to do? There's a way things SHOULD be. And then there's a way things are. Leading up the fall of the Soviet Union, people also knew shit was messed up, they kept going through the motions though. That's all that will happen.

But one big difference between the Soviet Union then and the U.S.A. now. Opportunity. You can move anywhere and you can start an online business and make an income anywhere. You are more free than almost any of your ancestors were thanks to the internet, you're no longer tied to land for a job or even a business.

Trust me, I used to serially complain about the United States online as well. Where did it get me? Nowhere. So you can either accept things as they are and change yourself or go on forum after after forum complaining about it. Trust me, we're not dumb, we know things are bad. We just make the best of ourselves and move on.

Relying on your nation for answers is a bad idea in this fast changing world. Almost as dangerous as relying on government welfare, traditional employment, and any other money-making scheme that's not a business where you have control.

 

[Fox]

If you want the government to look after you while you live a normal life on auto-pilot like pretty much everyone else - then you're right. There's a lot of shit that needs to be improved in the "do nothing and still get ahead" department of the US Government.

If you have ambition and a strong internal locus of control - then you live in one of the best places on earth and it's pretty F*cking hard to deny that.

You live in a place that is better than many, many, many other places on earth, objectively speaking. Everything is so damn good that you have to complain about things that basically boil down to nit-picking on the grand scheme of things. Even the bloody homeless in North America live better than many other parts of the world.

Your government isn't stealing or destroying your homes, your police aren't demanding bribes to get out of made up charges, you aren't starving in the street, you are a country with a damn near fully educated population, you have the ability to vote and that vote means something instead of being tossed out the window while whoever is in charge proclaims another "glorious democratic victory" for themselves for the 10th, 15th, 20th year in a row. The military is organized and isn't a rogue faction hiding out in the hills waiting to descend upon your towns, nor is it a direct arm of your president to be used however he damn well feels like it. You have free speech. You can be a public nuisance and nuisance to your government without being killed for it. You have human rights - that's more than a lot of places can say. You have access to insurance for when your house accidentally burns down or your car gets t-boned by some jackass. You have legal recourse to just about every wrong that can come your way.

Call the US 'not perfect', and that would be correct but holy hell I could write all the "positives" of your country all damn day.

Put down the news and start placing your energy and effort in things you CAN control. Because you live in one of the best places on earth to exert that control.

Should contain trigger warning for OP.

 

[eliquid]

I would have liked to post more introspectively on this thread but I was too busy building and selling a company in the United States to speculate on how my life might have been better in some 3rd world country.

The American dream is still very tangible, very achievable, and very real.

I have an opus X cigar that I bought for a special occasion but time came and went and I never smoked it on that special occasion. When I get back to Tampa today, I think I will light it up on my patio under my palm tree sitting next to my fire table with a drink in hand as I count my blessings for living in a country that you can still become something.

Life moves pretty fast. If you don't stop and look around once in awhile you might miss it.

Damn, I was going to ask if you would send it to me since you didnt smoke it.... but looks like you are. lol

 

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[Scot]

It’s almost like OP didn’t read the book this forum is based on...

Don’t seriously see how you can complain about the economy and the gubment keeping me down on a forum full of entrepreneurs and millionaires.

Agreed with @G-Man

#landfill this dumpster fire.

 

[eliquid]

The USA has it's issues, and it certainly can't be called the greatest country in the world anymore, but it's still very much a land of opportunity with a ton to offer. I mean, you could do a whole hell of a lot worse.

Rather than creating a thread complaining about every bit of unfairness, why not do your small part in improving it? Or just move?

Oh enlightened one, I do not possess the intellect, self-restraint, and selflessness that you do, please teach me your ways. Aren't you just the modern day Gandhi/Henry Ford?

On a real note, the United States was founded on a bunch of smart motherf*ckers COMPLAINING about the British and their ways of governing.

This is my home, why would I just leave it, even if it turning to sh*t? Plus it's not that easy, what a dumb comment. I hate people when make that "why don't you just move" remark.

What if the Founding Fathers said f*ck it and decided to go to Mexico

@bettereveryday , that isnt the point of @C-Jay 's thread.

Let's turn this around from "US is shit, oh no's" to a more focused topic like "My job is shit, oh no's"

If you would have came in here and mentioned your job is shit and all the various reasons why ( like you did about the USA ), you would have got the same remarks and advice. You know, stuff like:

AppleBees's has it's issues, and it certainly can't be called the greatest diner in the world anymore, but it's still very much a place of opportunity with a ton to offer. I mean, you could do a whole hell of a lot worse ( like McDonalds ).

Rather than creating a thread complaining about every bit of unfairness, why not do your small part in improving it? Or just move to another job?

This isn't a clap back at you. When you look at it as a third party objectively, you can see where I am going here.

No one giving you advice has to live in the USA or work at AppleBee's to be right.

If you don't like your job, situation, country, wife, baseball team.. instead of complaining and doing nothing.... how about making active change that suits you better like getting a different job, changing the situation, moving, divorcing, or changing over to the Yankees?

.

 

[ZCP]

We have a young staff at the office, I am involved in the local scout troop, and I coach a LOT of kids in basketball...... I am nothing but encouraged with the group coming behind us. They live within their means, know there is no 'gold pocket watch' out there, and want to do something that makes a difference. They are connected to each other and to any information they need.

Their only downfall will be people like yourself telling them how horrible everything is and how horrible they are.....

Encourage, build, make better....... create and show a better way......

 

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[C-Jay]

@eliquid thanks for that. I didn't have the patience after his childish first reply to explain that I wasn't trying to attack him, more just to emphasise that "when the deck is stacked, you gotta count cards or change tables."

 

[farmer79]

I am Canadian but have spent a fair bit of time in US and 2 siblings are married to Americans. This may be simplistic but I think America is a great country with the exception of the cost of education and healthcare. Unfortunatley those 2 areas coupled with some brainwashing are saddling millions with debt they will never payoff or in the case of the ACA siphoning most of their disposable income.

 

[PedroG]

There's a lot wrong, and I admit to feeling very nervous about the fact that a new poll found that almost half of millennials would prefer to live in a communist/socialist country than in a capitalist one.

To me, this is our greatest threat. People don't get it.

While I joined this forum back in 2013, it really wasn't until 2017 that I started to visit this forum daily.

Before that, it was a political forum I used to visit, and I would spend most of my free time reading and writing about politics. I even had a political blog I was trying to grow for years.

But what did that do for me? Was worrying about these things getting me closer to living an unscripted life? No. I was wasting time.

It wasn't until 2017 that I decided I would dedicate any free time I have to learning, and creating a business. Now instead of bitching about politics online, or arguing with idiots on Facebook, I visit this forum. I listen to entrepreneurship podcasts. I read books that help me grow as a person and that help me get closer to my ultimate goal. I spend my time putting the things I learn into practice.

Even during bad times there are those living a great life. Just focus on becoming one of those people. Focus on joining the 1%.

Once you're there, you can spend some energy, and money, on trying to influence things. That's my plan. But worrying about these things now isn't gonna help me get into a position where I can actually influence anything.

Focus on the Fastlane first. Then you'll have the time and money to try to change what you feel is wrong with society.

 

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[G-Man]

@bettereveryday I decided to try to not be as dismissive of you here. My knee-jerk reaction to complaining is to either ignore it, or get hostile. What you may not know is why: I used to be a giant complainer. I used to think the US was shit, that nobody can get ahead anymore, and all that jazz, because, frankly, as @JAJT pointed out, I felt entitled to live my life on auto-pilot.

I get hostile to this, because it makes me think about the years of opportunity and youth I wasted not doing what I could have done. Sure, I saved money and went to work, but there was no point in making any kind of extraordinary effort because "they" keep "us" down, and the best days are in the past, blah, blah blah.

There's a dude by the name of Thomas Sowell whose books you should read. He introduced me to the concept of "Compared to what?"

Education is pure sh*t. Degrees usually cost a high 5 figures, 6 figures even, and it does very little to prepare you for the modern day job market, which has become the Wild Wild West.

Compared to what? My library card was free. I went to college for free. My great grandparents were illiterate.

Healthcare is sh*t. Costs are ridiculous, the system is broken, doctors and pharmaceutical companies are in bed together to get as much money possible from patients, and the quality of care is pure sh*t.

Compared to what? My grandpa died of something that can be fixed with a quick operation now,... an operation that even poor people can get because it's covered by Medicaid. A few generations before that, you could be a billionaire and get polio. When's the last time you saw somebody with polio?

Politics is as decisive as ever. I feel like people don't even care about what policy is most reasonable and beneficial to the country as a whole, they just wanna impose their ideological views and spew out rhetoric. Washington has become a sh*t show man.

Compared to what? We literally had a civil war at one point.

Capitalism and free enterprise has essentially become corporatism and a bunch of wealthy people (the elites as they say), in bed with politicians, doing whatever they can to rig the system and sustain their power.

Compared to what? You can file for an LLC in a few minutes, and have instant access to hundreds of millions of potential customers all over the world via the internet. Not that long ago, you needed major capital to have access to more than a few thousand potential customers.

Turn off the news.

 

[Mr.Brandtastic]

Compared to what? We literally had a civil war at one point.

Exactly. We used to have political assassinations and attempts like clockwork every couple decades for the longest time.

List of United States presidential assassination attempts and plots - Wikipedia

 

[MidwestLandlord]

Dude, things are just different, on all fronts. People are afraid more than ever, you can just sense the fear, it doesn't help that this fear is being perpetuated by the news, social media, entertainment, etc.

Corruption is rampant and now visible, people are seeing how fu*cked everything is. All these leaks, all these scandals, it's crazy.

Culturally and morally, I don't wanna get too deep into this one because I might have some controversial opinions. But just look at the entertainment industry, the music industry, what kind of values and lifestyles are being promoted to the youth, it certainly isn't positive or constructive. It was never this bad.

I haven't been involved in a political debate online for awhile, I'm a little rusty, is this the point where I scream "MAGA!" ??

In all seriousness,

"It was never this bad"

Yes, yes it was.

The difference is now, thanks to creative entrepreneurs, you know about it thanks to the internet, social media, and citizen journalists.

I agree a lot with you, some things are bad. But some things have always been bad. Always. That's just the way the world works (as I say to my kids repeatedly)

Before current tech, we were just more ignorant to what goes on around us.

And anyone that doesn't believe Hollywood and politics haven't always been that f*cked up is choosing to be naive and ignorant. (I get it though, ignorance is much more comfortable than the truth)

 

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[Iammelissamoore]

A very huge thing I've learnt about life is that it is all about perspective.

Depending on which side of the spectrum we stand, we see things in a particular light. When I was old enough to recognise that negative news get big headlines and front pages for ratings and positive news are in tiny corners, hidden to the back of newspapers where all the excitement of news does NOT exist, I knew it was time that I tuned out totally from the news altogether. A lot of my fellow citizens complain about how negative the news is, yet they continue to purchase newspapers and tune in to news, not even paying attention to the fact that news houses do carry different agendas.

While I will not disagree that the US is a great country, I can also admit that there are people living in countries where opportunity is a "stroke of luck" and YET, there are people every-living-day finding ways to work around the system and they are bringing mind-blowing solutions to their communities and by extent, their countries.

In my tiny dot of a caribbean country, corruption is the order of the day, is it frustrating - Oh YEAH, don't get me wrong, it's not as corrupt as a lot of other countries are, but, corruption is corruption at the end of the day - regardless of the "size" - also, this doesn't mean that every single citizen is about that corruption. Of all 1.3 million of us, it's a handful of lazy idiots who are corrupt, enjoying every bit of squeezing the country in their favour; however it doesn't prevent the rest of the country from working hard (even if it's in a shitty job) so they can squeeze a few of life's fun events into their lives.

I overstand, life isn't perfect, but because of these imperfections we are granted opportunities to create solutions and show others that life is not a one-sided coin. This is not about turning the other cheek, but, it is about using what we know/have to do what is necessary to positively get ahead without all the "negative-noise" purposely being created around us.

I see it as an obstacle-course, on in which negative nonsense is thrown at us just to beat us down, it's up to us to find ways, create techniques along the way and similar to still get ahead, no matter what.

 

[Raoul Duke]

@bettereveryday

I would love to hear your thoughts on participation trophies.

 

[MJ DeMarco]

I love my country.
I hate my government and the media that serves it.
Politicians are the scum of the earth, and it doesn't matter if there's a (D) or an (R) next to their name.

For the machine to work, it needs conflict.

CNN/MSM is in the business of conflict, and it's not a true representation of America. That was seen on the streets of Houston in the aftermath of the hurricane. Peace and harmony doesn't sell tickets, clicks, comments, viewers, or ratings.

 

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[Hyrum]

Three years ago I was finishing up my very expensive degree, my wife and two kids were living with me in my parents basement (it is a very nice basement). Graduation quickly approaching, and I was looking forward to living the SCRIPT-ed dream! New car, new house, new 401K, all the pieces were falling into place.
Then I read a book, took a risk, and my (non-Fastlane) business is heading towards 2m in revenue in 2017 (will probably be a little short, my rolling 12 month is sitting at 1.87m with 6 weeks left FY2017). Just think about how much more I could have accomplished had I been in a non-shitty country, right?

Yes, this country still has its problems. I'm even on a non-profit legislative committee to help review state-level legislation for my industry. There are some large issues we are trying to tackle, but politics and government moves so slow it may be a few more years before it gets to a vote. So instead of waiting for the government to fix the problem, I'm in the process of building a solution myself. I suppose I could just wait until all my problems are fixed by the powers-that-be, but I'm just too damn impatient.

 

[socaldude]

Instrinsic in capitalism is ying and yang. Recessions happen. Bubbles happens. Corrections happen.

What used to work before no longer works, that's because in capitalism and economics everything is evolving.

I think a lot of what your complaining about is undergoing exactly that.

For example I predict education will move to a private and personalized setting rather than the traditional go to a place called college with big buildings and learn things that are 30 years outdated and spend $50k. Most of which perfectly meets the criteria for a scam and bubble. But because its still going on there is resistance to the idea that it isn't a scam.

But I do kinda echo what your saying, I don't trust the government at all. I don't trust the media at all.

 

[Iammelissamoore]

I love my country.
I hate my government and the media that serves it.
Politicians are the scum of the earth, and it doesn't matter if there's a (D) or an (R) next to their name.

For the machine to work, it needs conflict.

CNN/MSM is in the business of conflict, and it's not a true representation of America. That was seen on the streets of Houston in the aftermath of the hurricane. Peace and harmony doesn't sell tickets, clicks, comments, viewers, or ratings.

You DEFINITELY hit the nail on the head - The (D) and the (R) could easily well stand for Divide and Rule in addition to the official Democrat and Republican. We see it every living day. Politicians go at each other's throats when it comes to running the country, but at night - they're dining at fine restaurants - Together; they party hearty - Together; they sit in the same circles and puppeteer the world - Together and if people cannot recognise this, then those of us who don't recognise it are more at fault than the politicians who are playing and winning at the game they've created.

There's one thing about governance, it must be ran in a particular way to keep the masses leached onto them for needs to be fulfilled.

This is the exact concept where classism, racism and all the other "isms" are concerned, after all:

Without inferiority, there's no superiority.

Without the lower class, there's no upper class - while the "middle class" concept is created to make one feel like - "well, lucky you, you're not in the lower class - but some day (that will never come) you just may reach the upper class." Like a dangling carrot in front a rabbit, the determining factors are constantly moved to keep one stretching but never reaching.

Without poor countries, there can be no rich countries.

Etc. Etc. Etc. Labels that are drawn to make us feel that if we're not the "lucky" one, we're the "unlucky" one, which can easily make one feel as if they've lost before they've even begun. The (D)ivide and (R)ule of Democrats vs Republicans and varying governing styles throughout the world is simply a facade into making the masses 'think' their governments care about them and that their well-being as a nation is being taken care of, when the truth of the matter is, a membership club of politicians is being created to care for their own well-being and assurances against the rest of the population.

While we may not be able to 1000% overcome set systems in place, we can definitely work around it and still get ahead - The Millionaire Fastlane , Unscripted , this forum and the actions taken/discussions we have daily are representative of individuals beating this system regardless of what part of the world we live in.

 

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[StevieB]

It's all a matter of perception. News is addictive and many times we use it for confirmation bias.

Confirmation bias is like a drug, it makes us feel better. You turn on your chosen news channel or go to it's website and they bust on the daily punching bag XXX politician or the police killed XXX. "See look! I knew it, this just confirms what I knew all along, those bastards!". You get your assurances that you're right and your viewpoints are correct. Then this repeats everyday. This gives you permission to go back to what you've been doing everyday with the assurance that you've chosen correctly. Your problems have a tangible target you can blame.

The media know this and have become very good at knowing what grabs attention and eyeballs. You're a consumer of their drug, and this has an effect on your perception of the world.

Try not watching news for a month. Go to the beach, go camping, exercise. Avoid the news like the plague. Go out with friends.

Life is much more than the shit the news is feeding you. It's a distraction designed to keep you tuned in and it's not healthy.

 

[Olivia K]

Hi everyone I am not from the US but from England and yes the same can be said here as it is there. All doom and gloom but hey come on let's some of us just try and make a better world. I still believe there are more nice people in the world than bad.
Also I totally agree that you should stop watching the news. I have done that for 2 months and it is liberating.
Sorry to butt in with me not being from here it just makes me sad that I can't help you! Olivia xx