[foxdemon]

There are many on here who hate the U.S. (Igor, Rei etc.) Please briefly list 3-5 things that you think the government should change and try to be somewhat specific. Examples are; leave Afghanistan as soon as possible, stop funding Israel, and put an end to extensive NSA spying.

Hello and welcome to the forum.

I don't think Igor 'hates' the U.S.. It is important to recognise the difference between haters and critics.


OK, so what could the U.S. government do to change it's international image.


1/Try to be effective at presenting the image that the USA operates by the political ideas it espouses

To not do so means no one, friend or foe, can take the US seriously. It is completely contemptable to claim to represent high ideals while blantently flu=aunting those ideals. It is even worst to then judge others by those standards and use a negative judgement in an attempt to legitamize subjugating those others.


2/ In all things present an image of reasonableness.

This will make the U.S. government seem respectable and less partisan, thus more trustworthy. In recent times there has been a lot of jingoism coming out of the U.S. government. An example is the guy who said "Bring it on" during the Iraqi invasion.


3/ Get back to listening to junior members of the government organisation.

American once had great strength due to the compedence gained when superiors listened to their juniors when they offered good advice. I guess it fits in with '1', in that the values the U.S. government once had involved a bottom up (NYC style) approach to managment.


So nothing drastic about a return to isolationalism or becoming a communist country. Just recognise the turds in power these days are horrible, look horrible, don't even try to hide the fact they are horrible and it is that has a very negative impact on the perception of the U.S, around the world.

[Godstud]

I don't think Igor 'hates' the U.S.. It is important to recognise the difference between haters and critics.

No. You are incorrect. Igor really does hate the US.

[Potemkin]

No. You are incorrect. Igor really does hate the US.

That merely shows that he has good taste.

[SpecialOlympian]

He also loves North Korea, which just goes to show how irrational people who hate America are.

[EvilDeadII]

The U.S. can't improve it's image if it wants to control the world. A choice must be made, unfortunately it will be the wrong choice for the people of Medicine Hat, Alberta.

[Istanbuller]

There are many on here who hate the U.S. (Igor, Rei etc.) Please briefly list 3-5 things that you think the government should change and try to be somewhat specific. Examples are; leave Afghanistan as soon as possible, stop funding Israel, and put an end to extensive NSA spying.

- Intervene into Syria and put an end to the civil war.

- Decrease foreign aid to Israel (that doesn't mean you shouldn't support Israel).

- End Iran sanctions (especially, economic and trade ones).

And, here are my personal thoughts on America directly.

- Decrease the level of immigration into the US.

- No citizenship to illegals.

- Deportations

- Abolish birthright citizenship in the US.

This is the only way to get back to the US i remember.

[blackjack21]

1. End crony capitalism: government spending, ObamaCare, etc.
2. Stop abusing anti-terror measures: NSA, TSA, etc.
3. Abolish the TSA. It's vulgar, retarded and un-American.
4. Stop using the IRS for political measures. Seriously, land of the free?
5. Stop preaching about how the US is all about human rights, while 1-4 are still problems.

[Tainari88]

Remove US military bases from most places in the world and dock most of the carrier fleets. Quit trying to project power(through the military) in an age where economic power is far more important.

Quit meddling in everyone else's affairs, especially politics. Quit being a bitch to large corporations.

Leave Israel to fend for itself.

Lose the US against THEM, attitude.

This is excellent advice that I can agree with 100%.

The biggest issue the USA government has is being totally owned by private corporations and not serving their constitutients and being imperialistic with overblown and bloated military budgets. Sixty minutes just did a piece on Lockheed Martin building planes for the military that cost about half a trillion bucks. When schools are in disrepair, people don't have decent affordable housing and health insurance is still too expensive and confusing. The USA has to stop the imperialism via military power immediately. If it continues with the power hungry bloated budgets for militarism it will become a defunct power. It deserves it for not reading the wasteful spending, lobbyist and corruption with the corporations and being totally unresponsive to the needs of the average citizen. It needs to quit and desist immediately with this crap!

[skeptic-1]

The U.S. can't improve it's image if it wants to control the world. A choice must be made, unfortunately it will be the wrong choice for the people of Medicine Hat, Alberta.

How about we call it a day and go home and Let the Ruskee's handle their own squabble. The only ones to profit from this mess are the "Money Changers" that were thrust from the temple and moved elsewhere to flourish to this very day.

We already look like ass holes why continue until there's NO DOUBT ?

[Godstud]

USA should totally go into the Crimea, gather any resources for itself after a bloody conflict and only go home after even more people thoroughly hate them for their meddling.

[SpecialOlympian]

I'm sure the Crimeans will happily join with Russia and its mandatory 12 month conscription for all young males into the most dangerous and incompetently run army the world has ever seen.

And of course, after we've saved them from joining a failed state so corrupt it fucked up its own Olympics, we will be viewed as the bad guys because insecure loser countries hate watching others succeed.

Russia has proven that it can barely build hotels given 7 years notice. I wouldn't let them run a hot dog stand, much less Crimea.

[OllytheBrit]

Stop trying to be the world policeman - your president/military don't have the nous for it.

[fuser]

And, here are my personal thoughts on America directly.

- No citizenship to illegals.

- Deportations

- Abolish birthright citizenship in the US.

This is the only way to get back to the US i remember.

I don't think Europe would be able to handle such sudden increase in Population.

[Political Interest]

My advice is as follows:

1. Stop thinking your country is the greatest or that it has a right to guide the little countries. Do not think you are exceptional or that there is anything special about your country above others.
2. Stop viewing certain countries like China, Russia, Iran or the wider Islamic world as your inherent enemies who you cannot negotiate with. Instead negotiate and take a more diplomatic policy towards them where possible.
3. Stop aiming for global unipolar hegemony. This is the most important. Your desire for a world led by you where no other great powers can exist is the reason why you are pursuing confrontational policies and being aggressive by starting wars. Your desire for global hegemony makes you incredibly unpopular. Instead you should seek to have hegemony in your immediate sphere of influence, i.e. the Americas and stay out of Europe, the Middle East or Asia. Disband NATO. Take soldiers out of the Middle East, Asia and Europe.
4. Stop giving a preferential diplomatic, economic, political and military bias towards Israel. You should not defer to it anymore than you would any other Middle Eastern state. Yes the alliance with Israel benefits you on a strategic level but you can also get strategic alliances with other states in the Middle East. Your reliance on this state to the detriment of relations with potential Arab partners and Iran does not make sense.
5. Stop dictating to the world what it should do as if you are a moral policeman and as if you have a right to an opinion on every issue that exists. For example, if Iran want nuclear weapons why do you stand in their way and put sanctions on them? Shouldn't you try to pursue good relations with Tehran so that you would never have to go to war with them in the first place? Can you not get what you want from Iran without doing it aggressively or with threats?
6. Improve your cultural products in your media (less sex, violence, banality and trash popular culture). A big reason why America is disliked in more conservative societies is because they view your country as decadent, corrupt and immoral (I know this is not the case but this is how a lot of people think it is). I recommend you have stricter censorship but in your society people do not like it. So maybe a change in the content of what your media produce is a better solution.
7. Get rid of your rugged individualist social mentality.
8. Stop being hyper-individualist. You do not have to become collectivist but individualism in the US is too extreme now days.
9. Learn about other nationalities, cultures and peoples, do not see them as your enemy just because they are different. Learn to speak a second language.
10. Again it is important to reiterate that your aggressive foreign policy and quest to rule the world is the most frightening thing for non-Americans. If you stopped being imperialist and stopped aiming for global hegemony people would like you more.
11. Solve your race relations issues once and for all.
12. Do not dictate morality to the world or try to force countries to accept your liberal stances on social issues.
13. Reduce the levels of violence in your country and make the streets safe.

An important point is that America does not need to stop defending its interests but it can change the way it does this. It can stop pursuing its interests in a way which annoys people or makes it hated around the world. Also it is important to consider that what constitutes American interests is open to debate.

[Godstud]

American culture doesn't need to change, PI, just their foreign policy. Censorship, and things like it, for the sake of others, is absurd, and complete nonsense. You will NEVER satisfy everyone.

[keso]

My advice is as follows:

1-13

An important point is that America does not need to stop defending its interests but it can change the way it does this. It can stop pursuing its interests in a way which annoys people or makes it hated around the world. Also it is important to consider that what constitutes American interests is open to debate.

Good points. They would require, however, a high amount of critical thought, and willingness to believe that -we are not perfect- and that -we are not number one-

There are too many Americans who will not even entertain that line of thinking. The problem is outlined, of course, in your American Exceptionalism.

[SpecialOlympian]

Dear America,

I would like it very much if you stopped doing the things that made you successful and instead did things that gave power to us, because we are better than you because we are not as powerful. Our lack of power should be taken as a sign of our benevolence and not our own ineptitude, btw.

Sincerely,

Losers

[Godstud]

Tairari88, in an unrelated thread, made a good statement about where the problem lies, although she was not talking directly about this. I suppose the problem DOES lie in the culture, and how Americans view themselves.

USA is a land where you work a lot of hours, for fairly bad pay, you are a slave to bill paying and many have many thousands dollars of credit card debt, and also where many people have extremely weak community and family relationships. The USA has very few solid traditions and abysmally bad memories for history and a sense of continuity. Most people will live and die within their own socioeconomic class without making any changes to the present system. Extreme individualism and selfish stuff is the norm. And tremendous waste is accepted and rarely confronted. A place in which a total lack of real understanding that other cultures have and find meaning in their own culture, and the American way is of no interest or value to those societies.

This then translates into the US foreign policy.

[Tainari88]

That is the problem Godstud. Americans really believe that their way of life is the one that will work for every other society. Like a magic bullet for the ills of the world. They are taught to believe this from the cradle. It is a lie of course. But, it is a lie that is thought of as truth. Along with the "American Dream" myth. Rarely are they taught about how their economic system works and who has power to shape the economy and how it affects the large groups of people who live all over the world. There is very little in real analysis of why the USA has this need to implement war in consistent actions over the centuries. It is all about a lot of bullshit. I especially don't like it when I go to military towns run by military bases in the USA and I am stopped and they say things to me like, "Can you contribute to our fighting men and women who fight for our freedom and for our rights abroad." I usually say, "No, thank you." But I am thinking, "What damn freedom and rights? Do you think freedom and rights for USA citizens are secured by occupying other peoples' countries and nations and neighborhoods and using the military to back up the corporations and the greedy ass politicians that are sellouts in DC? Just exactly describe to me how a USA military soldier armed to the teeth that is in someone else's nation and is really there for oil, or for some resource that the USA needs to keep being dominant in the world is securing my freedom and my rights? How do you make that connection? Isn't it fair to negotiate and respect other peoples' and nations' rights in order to obtain those needed resources by treating them like friends and equals and giving them help, support and respect and by mutual respect and fairness and not by force you might reach mutual interests? How the hell does a military occupation gain me freedom?" But rarely do these questions come up.

[OllytheBrit]

Dear America,

I would like it very much if you stopped doing the things that made you successful and instead did things that gave power to us, because we are better than you because we are not as powerful. Our lack of power should be taken as a sign of our benevolence and not our own ineptitude, btw.

Sincerely,

Losers

But you must admit that everything, but everything you get involved in goes seriously pear-shaped; not only that, you're skint and can't afford to keep starting wars.