Is America Really That Bad?

Submitted ⁨⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago⁩ by ⁨Cannizzaro@feddit.ch⁩ to ⁨[deleted]⁩

Been seeing a lot about how the government passes shitty laws, lot of mass shootings and expensive asf health care. I come from a developing nation and we were always told how America is great and whatnot. Are all states is America bad ?

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Franzia@lemmy.blahaj.zone ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
I find the first world problems in my life literally inescapable. I mean I am stuck being lonely and stressed because of political policies. More broadly though, Americans are bolstering the progressive leftism we will need to change our conditions, so in my lifetime these most immediate problems will be fixed. Is america bad? Yes, it is, and American’s are angry about it enough that we have prevented a lot of those shitty laws from getting passed and put into effect. We’ll be okay.

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jbrains@sh.itjust.works ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
From Canada it seems like this: poverty down there is a trap from which escape is almost impossible and it’s a trap that’s constantly threatening everyone except the richest 5% of the population. Very high risk and very high reward and success seems to depend much more on luck than hard work and intention.

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DanglingFury@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
It’s not bad at all (for me). Social media likes to take shots at it but the reality is it’s quite enjoyable. Mass shootings are overblown by the media (they happen, they suck, but they effect like .000001 percent of the population per year, your more likely to be killed by a deer than I vlolved in a mass shooting). Gun crime exists but is mainly restricted to poor or inner city areas. The other 99% is safe

Healthcare is expensive but if you have a job the company pays most of it. The care provided is really good though most of the time.

Everyone everywhere is very nice, it’s extremely rare to find an exception to this. If you are brown or Muslim then you may find descrimination more often outside the city, but again that’s rare unless you go to a few areas that no one goes to anyway.

Stuff is cheap (relatively) compared to elsewhere. You can get a cheap 65" TV for like 350 bucks.

It is corrupt politically. That is going downhill but day to day it doesn’t effect us much.

The air is pretty clean, the food and water is safe to eat and drink, there are plenty of jobs available, etc.

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infyrin@lemmy.world ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
To all and every non-american - the only reason you’re ever told that America is great, is because it is being compared to, to where you are now. America is NOT everything though. It’s got it’s own problems.

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Blamemeta@lemm.ee ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Short answer: No.

Long answer: Everything is played up by the media, for ratings. Mass shootings are extremely rare, America is just huge and we have other issues. (of course any number above zero is bad) Health care is built around having insurance, but there is government insurance like Medicaid and Medicare available. If you don’t have insurance, you can often talk it down by just saying you don’t have insurance.

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zlatiah@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
Interesting question...

As an overall answer: humans are incredibly adaptable, so as a person living in the US, it almost never subjectively feels bad. For goodness' sake, I knew people who lived in Chicago's Hyde Park (one of the most dangerous neighborhoods) and happily biked to work. I personally lived in what people would describe as a "hood" and a "third-world country" for a good year and a half, and honestly felt really safe over there. Because of this, I honestly don't think anyone can give an objective answer solely from their living experiences.

Objectively, the US is a developed country and is not terrible, but regarding your specific points:

Yes, the government passed shitty laws, and chose to not pass a lot of not-shitty laws.

Yes, there are more mass shootings than the country should have. I'm not going to say why.

Insured healthcare isn't expensive. However, uninsured healthcare is incredibly expensive, and unfortunately people without employment/self-employed have to purchase their own insurance... which is also stupidly expensive. Also, a lot of things that should be insured aren't.

The different states are certainly different. US politics is very polarized, so heavy-blue and heavy-red states are quite different in their approaches to... many things in life. Whether they are good or bad is up to you.

I mean, people living in Switzerland complain about their countries all the time, even though almost everyone else in the world envy the way they live... so it is possible that some might be a bit overblown.
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- Nemo@midwest.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  Calling Hyde Park one of Chicago’s most dangerous neighborhoods makes this comment impossible to take seriously.
  
  For reference, Hyde Park is the neighborhood where President Obama taught law and got his famous haircut. His home was a few blocks outside the neighborhood in Kenwood, one of the richest neighborhoods in the city; also the location of Louis Farrakhan’s mansions and former mayor Rahm Emmanuel’s house.
  
  You might have already figured this out from the law school thing, but Hyde Park is home to, and dominated by, the University of Chicago, one of the best schools in the world. It’s got buildings by Frank Lloyd Wright and other famous architects. It’s pumped to the gills with historic wealth and private security.
  
  Muggings are a problem. Gang violence is not. Get real.
  
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- Semi-Hemi-Demigod@kbin.social ⁨1⁩ ⁨year⁩ ago
  
  Insured healthcare isn't expensive.
  
  Yes it is. I have "good" insurance and it still cost me $3,000 for a few stitches, a CAT scan, and a night in the hospital when I slipped and hit my head. That's on top of the almost $600 a month I'm paying, and the $1200 a month my employer is paying.
  
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