qwertyytrewq, you want to leave the US because you hate it, but you want to move to a country who's political structure and economy are modeled after the US, and who's territorial integrity is guaranteed by its close alliance with the US, not to mention the thousands of American soldiers stationed there. Why?

Why Japan, when there are so many countries in this world with no economic inequality, which oppose the capitalist principles you seem to hate, that have no military alliance with the US, or any US military presence on their soil? Why not Cuba, or Venezuela, or Peru, or NK? Why settle for a slight improvement in income inequality, when you can get near-perfect income equality?

Stansfield123 Wrote:qwertyytrewq, you want to leave the US because you hate it, but you want to move to a country who's political structure and economy are modeled after the US, and who's territorial integrity is guaranteed by its close alliance with the US, not to mention the thousands of American soldiers stationed there. Why?

Why Japan, when there are so many countries in this world with no economic inequality, which oppose the capitalist principles you seem to hate, that have no military alliance with the US, or any US military presence on their soil? Why not Cuba, or Venezuela, or Peru, or NK? Why settle for a slight improvement in income inequality, when you can get near-perfect income equality?

Equally bad is not the same as equal. Also, these countries have a rich elite controlling them, making them more extreme in terms of income inequality.

EDIT: Why did you pick on his post twice? And he mentioned tons of other reasons for leaving the US. Hey, I prefer Norway (my home country) over UK (where I study), does that mean I'd thrive in North Korea?

Stansfield123 Wrote:qwertyytrewq, you want to leave the US because you hate it, but you want to move to a country who's political structure and economy are modeled after the US, and who's territorial integrity is guaranteed by its close alliance with the US, not to mention the thousands of American soldiers stationed there. Why?

Why Japan, when there are so many countries in this world with no economic inequality, which oppose the capitalist principles you seem to hate, that have no military alliance with the US, or any US military presence on their soil? Why not Cuba, or Venezuela, or Peru, or NK? Why settle for a slight improvement in income inequality, when you can get near-perfect income equality?

qwertyytrewq Wrote:

sethg Wrote:So, here's my question: why do you want to move to Japan?

Actually, I don't. The grass is not greener on the other side. It's also not less green.

dtcamero Wrote:as for all this historical talk, I feel like a lot of americans really believe what is written in their history books. you know that you won the war right?
do you understand that winners write history books?

try reading about the colonization of asia. the west ruled every pacific nation other than japan and korea, and did truly awful things wherever they went. japan complained loudly about their asian brethren's treatment and was embargoed oil and steel. their only choice was to attack the western colonial armies that caused the embargo... europe and america. (yes hawaii was a colony... attacking pearl harbor was attacking a colonial army) they weren't attacking their friendly asian neighbors. they were attacking the white people enslaving their friendly asian neighbors.
you won't read about that in your history books tho. just how japan committed war crimes. but how about dropping nukes on civilian centers? shouldn't that be an equivalent war crime? everyone did awful things back then so to say that this now-pacifist country hasn't finished coming to terms with it is some real pot-kettle mess considering that americans won't even begin a discussion about their own war crimes.

but I get that it's a real feel-good story if you start paying attention at pearl harbor...

Firstly, all of war is awful and atrocious.

But maybe I've been made aware of the incorrect version of Japanese history in regards to WWII? I didn't think that brethrens invaded each other if their intentions were meant to try and help them out -- how Japan invaded China, Korea, etc during the era of WWII.

And if Japan really used the justification to bomb Pearl Harbor because they were attacking the colonial army, then the US has the justification to attack Mexico because of the Alamo, and the US also has the justification to invade itself in the south because of the Confederate Army. It sounds kind of silly.

I'm pretty sure that Japanese immigrants were living in Hawaii, too. So in a sense they were attacking an area that was full of their own people as well.

On the other side, though, I also think that nuking a country into submission is one of the worst displays of power and weaponry that a nation can express. It's basically the equivalent of someone punching you, and then you taking a bazooka to their face.

One of the legit reasons the US nuked Japan, twice, was to simply test the nuclear weapon in real time situations and to show the world what the US could do if provoked. Fast forward today and an aspect of the US still has that mentality in certain regards.

Although, when millions of people on earth get to die because of a war, nobody really wins.

ふーん

For some reason, most parks and schoolyards here in Japan don't have any grass, just dirt.

So looking at other countries from Japan, it sure does look like the grass is greener. Greener than our dirt anyway.

I'm in my early 30s, so the video games and street racing fascination has worn off. When I leave Japan, I'll miss the reasonable safety, and frugality.

I grew up hearing how expensive Japan was, and it clearly is here and there, but with the discount stores and bargain specials everywhere, it's also extremely cheap and easy to conserve your expenses like most Japanese.

I also shared a ridiculously nice mansion apartment with my gf (before that went kaput) in a bar/restaurant district in Yokohama (overlooking the landmark tower) for $650 a month. Try finding a nice, roomy, almost-new, apartment in a business/nightlife district in another big city, for less than 2 grand in the US. Too bad that we broke up and I left the apartment, because my last job wasn't even a huge paycheck, and most of it would have comfortably ended up in savings.

I honestly am running out of reasons to "love" Japan, but I have a lot of rat-race headaches waiting for me in the USA, greatest country ever.

Came for the interesting international experience but now that it's 5 years later, I think it's time to head back to the US or my career prospects will stall out.

I would prefer to find a job in the US that allows me to travel and work in Japan a few times a year. That would be pretty nice.

dtcamero Wrote:you won't read about that in your history books tho. just how japan committed war crimes. but how about dropping nukes on civilian centers? shouldn't that be an equivalent war crime? everyone did awful things back then so to say that this now-pacifist country hasn't finished coming to terms with it is some real pot-kettle mess considering that americans won't even begin a discussion about their own war crimes.

but I get that it's a real feel-good story if you start paying attention at pearl harbor...

As far as I know, the Americans aren't exactly denying that nukes were dropped, nor are they downplaying the destruction caused by it. Which is in a sharp contrast to the Japanese "nothing bad happened"-narrative.

It seems you all seem to be having just as much trouble coming to terms with the fact the Japanese pacifism has a grotesque, ugly side to it, making the place at least no better than any other country on Earth.

Do remember that this whole debate started by someone implying Japan is somehow "better" than the US since they're a "pacifist" country. Nobody is saying that Japan is worse than other countries, that's a claim you all made up when someone started criticizing the Glorious Nippon.

Betelgeuzah Wrote:As far as I know, the Americans aren't exactly denying that nukes were dropped, nor are they downplaying the destruction caused by it. Which is in a sharp contrast to the Japanese "nothing bad happened"-narrative.

Excuse me, but where exactly are you getting this idea that "the Japanese" have this monolithic nothing bad happened narrative?

I don't think it's a good idea to confuse the ideas of a small portion of the population with the general feelings of the entire population.

Betelgeuzah Wrote:It seems you all seem to be having just as much trouble coming to terms with the fact the Japanese pacifism has a grotesque, ugly side to it, making the place at least no better than any other country on Earth.

Your attempts to connect Japan's pacifism to current non-sense that the conservative old farts have in office, still makes no sense to me. Its as if you are trying to say that their pacifism comes at the cost of people believing, or not knowing, Japan committed horrible war crimes in the past. Or hell, that there pacifist stance is somehow completely negated by the fact that they deny something happened.

And yet, I still don't see why whether the governments openly admits their faults in the past or not, has really any bearing on whether the country is worth living in or not. Especially when you place it up against the censorship, repression, public surveillance, and denial of rights; that occur in many other countries in the West and East, RIGHT NOW!

Betelgeuzah Wrote:As far as I know, the Americans aren't exactly denying that nukes were dropped, nor are they downplaying the destruction caused by it.

Not to join the argument (I didn't read it all), but although this is true, most Americans think the reason for dropping the bomb was what Truman said--that America would need to launch a full-scale invasion that might cost 1,000,000 lives to get Japan to surrender. But, I don't think that was true nor the real reason, and I think the real reasons are harder to justify.

Decided I wanted to move to Japan on a whim years ago and after two years living here I'm fairly sure it was the right decision.

1) My significant other is here
2) It's more fulfilling to be an otaku here
3) My job is here
4) It's safe and quality of life is high.

That's enough for me. I don't need any special sense of belonging to a wide community or a strong sense of national identity to be happy. I didn't have those to begin with anyway. All I really need is money and a good internet connection.

nippon is the only country with 4 seasons, mandarine oranges and the only place in the world where the concepts "mindfulness", "feelings" and "respect" exist, as clearly evidenced by the 100% yamato etymology of the word "mindfulness"

it's also the only place in the world where any sort of comradery exists. you have to wait 15 years for it and break your arms, but it'll be so worth it when your colleagues start openly insulting you. nothing of the sort in the west.

nippon is also peaceful, for example the rising sun flag is an emblem of peace if i ever saw one.

nippon is a highly original country which nobody understands but whose people understand westerners perfectly well. they know about our seasonless climate and our lack of mandarine oranges.

Nice to see some controversy happening.

vix86 Wrote:5) Safe, safe, safe. In most areas of Tokyo/Osaka, I can run at 1am in the morning and not worry about being shot or mugged.

That's a big one, can't believe I forgot it. Just crime in general. You'll get your wallet stolen in every other major city before you get it stolen in Japan.

Also the cleanliness (no Detroit-style ghettos, no graffiti, no bubble gum on public transport seats etc. Japanese people don't shit where they live. Why do Western countries do?

vix86 Wrote:6) Religion. Being an athiest, Japan is great. Religion holds a different place in society in Japan, so its great.

While I am not a fan of superstition, Japan's approach to religion is far more agreeable than America's approach (if you're not Christian then you go to hell, heathen not to mention the anti-social-progress) or China's approach (completely banned and you can only worship the government). While Japan is still a bit too superstitious for my liking (the obsession with blood types etc), at least their views on superstition are not harmful to the world like China's (if you eat endangered tiger penis, then your sex life will improve or whatever.

Stansfield123 Wrote:Please, don't move to Japan, you'll ruin it. Move to North Korea instead. No pesky high paid CEOs there.

To be honest, I think you would ruin Japan too if you moved there.

How about a compromise: I move to North Korea and you move to Somalia?

john555 Wrote:

qwertyytrewq Wrote:9. Similarly, due to them getting their butts seriously kicked in WW2 (atomic bombs, firebombings etc), their pacifist ideals are also refreshing and inspiring. Coming from a violence, war, and military-idolizing/worshipping American society.

Are you kidding me? What about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor? What about the way the Japanese tortured and brutalized American and Canadian POW (prisoners of war)?

What about 'em, pal?

Arupan Wrote:I don't see how they haven't come into terms with it. They are paying reparations to South Korea to this very day (or at least they were until last year as far as I know), although most people who experienced the horrors from then should be already dead by now. The only key difference between Japan and Germany is that the Japanese didn't allow their emperor to be killed, which is why everyone still blames them in my opinion.

Japan is also paying China for being a, get this, "developing country." I don't think they should pay neither.

Yep, South Korea and China always pour scorn on Japan (rightly or wrongly) but they're also always happy to accept the free cash. Looks like a "have cake and it eat too" situation.

Betelgeuzah Wrote:"Throw more money at the problem and hope it goes away while denying all responsibility" is truly The way to deal with any issue.

Well what's going to happen if Japan stops giving aid to SK and China? More riots, more hate speech. It's a lose/lose situation. If they don't want Japan's money, they're free to stop accepting it.

Betelgeuzah Wrote:Every country is guilty of something; which is precisely why the Glorious Pacifist Nippon is not without it's own faults after all.

The implication of your statement being the assumption that I asserted that "Glorious Pacifist Nippon is without fault/perfect." I did not make that statement nor imply it in any way but if I did, please point it out to me. Otherwise it's just a strawman argument.

Stansfield123 Wrote:qwertyytrewq, you want to leave the US because you hate it, but you want to move to a country who's political structure and economy are modeled after the US, and who's territorial integrity is guaranteed by its close alliance with the US, not to mention the thousands of American soldiers stationed there. Why?

Because see the second post after your post.

Stansfield123 Wrote:Why Japan, when there are so many countries in this world with no economic inequality, which oppose the capitalist principles you seem to hate, that have no military alliance with the US, or any US military presence on their soil? Why not Cuba, or Venezuela, or Peru, or NK? Why settle for a slight improvement in income inequality, when you can get near-perfect income equality?

I know economics is your schtick but LOL at this. I forgot what the fallacy is called but just because you present two extreme scenarios does not mean those are the only two options available.

With all the riches and technology the US has, and in the future, the replacement of workers by robots, it is very possible to create a near-perfect good income equality society, instead of a near-perfect bad income inequality society like NK.

Betelgeuzah Wrote:As far as I know, the Americans aren't exactly denying that nukes were dropped, nor are they downplaying the destruction caused by it. Which is in a sharp contrast to the Japanese "nothing bad happened"-narrative.

Nah, most Americans take the "it had to happen" approach. They could be right or they could be wrong. But it's easy for them to say that. They're not the ones being bombed and they're the victors who wrote the history books. So they're not denying it which is a good thing. But they don't need to deny it because they think it was justifiable.

Betelgeuzah Wrote:Do remember that this whole debate started by someone implying Japan is somehow "better" than the US since they're a "pacifist" country. Nobody is saying that Japan is worse than other countries, that's a claim you all made up when someone started criticizing the Glorious Nippon.

I didn't say or imply that. I said that Japan is better than the US because:
1) Americans are fat and Japan not
2) Japanese CEO salaries more reasonable
3) Americans worship guns, Japan doesn't
4) Severity of crime in America is worse than Japan
5) Better to be a homeless bum in Japan than US
6) USA has the Mexico-related problems and crime
7) Japanese are quiet and polite, Americans loud and rude
8) American religious society bad
9) Americans worship war, Japan does not
10) Japanese comic books better

See what you made me do, I just reposted my post again. I like Japan better than US because of at least those 10 points. Point number 9) is only 1/10 of the reasons. Like the other guy who latched only point 2/5, you latched onto 9. Every country is a sum of its parts. I did the calculations and on balance Japan is better than US (to me). You can disagree with facts but you cannot disagree with my opinion.

"Why do you want to move to Japan?"
I like the environment. It's light, cool, smooth.
Also, it would be convenient to study Japanese there.

"What hole do you think it will fill in your life?"
Moving to Japan would force me to challenge my current beliefs and values. I think the experience would give me more perspective about life.

"How do you think it's better than where you are now?"
/I don't have a good answer for this question
I like how they combine culture, science, and technology.

[Zgarbas]

sethg Wrote:why do you want to move to Japan? What hole do you think it will fill in your life? How do you think it's better than where you are now?

1. They gave me this amazing opportunity to continue my education despite being poor and not that well educated by their standards. I'm overwhelmed (in a good way) by how smart and well-read people are around here. You'd probably get this at any good uni's campus, but for me it's a first.
2. People's attitude here is very zen. Ok, I know it's tatemae. I know it's a matter of politeness. Given how the non-Japanese people are also doing it it might be a matter of just not being Romanian. I don't care, this is where I'm first encountering it. Everyone is just so damn positive.
3. It's amazingly easy to get by on minimum wage.
4. I've never had permanent access to such a huge library, nor the motivation to actually benefit from it.
5. It got me out of the "oh my god what am I doing with my life I can't get a job and school takes forever and I'm back living with my mom" slump .

...Too oportunistic?

I want to go back to Romania after this whole ordeal, but so far it's pretty amazing. Though of course, it has its drawbacks (I miss my bars, I miss going out being so affordable it didn't count as a luxury, I miss proper dairy products, I miss the kind of instantly-close interaction that happens there, and frankly being surrounded by so many smart people is also overwhelming in a bad way, though hopefully the latter will change after I've been here a while. Also, to hell with this weather. Cocktails here are also bollocks). I think that my positive impression may have been seriously enhanced by the absolutely awful expectations that I had from this country after hearing so many horror stories over the years.

Girls wise, I am mostly disappoint =(. I miss falling in love with a stranger every time I get on a bus. I never thought of myself as being an eurocentric, but there we have it.

JusenkyoGuide Wrote:The people are, by and large, if not overly friendly, are polite to a fault. There's a sense of actually caring what the other person thinks and thus trying to not get in their way that I miss when I return to the States for a visit and it seems that "Hey Buddy, ***** you" is the order of the day. Safety, politeness, cleanliness, common sense, all of these are reasons why I still like it.

qwertyytrewq Wrote:You can disagree with facts but you cannot disagree with my opinion.

In light of recent news, not only can you people not disagree with my opinion (because opinions are subjective and not inherently right or wrong), but now you cannot disagree with this particular fact which has been making the worldwide news and internet recently:

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/footb...39793.html

This is proof that we live in a sick world. It is a world where what should be simple decency (soccer fans picking up their own litter, even after seeing their team lose) is not only unexpected, but inspiring. It is as if we expect humans to be selfish and dirty pigs (no offense to pigs) by default. It is as if we expect soccer fans to riot and turn over/burn up cars after seeing their team lose, by default. How else to explain the worldwide surprise at simple Japanese-style respect of cleanliness?

To leave your garbage around public places when you could have easily put it in a garbage can is a way of saying "Hey buddy, ***** you" to society/community itself. To respect and uphold "cleanliness" is simply "common sense", the sense of not shitting where you eat and shitting where you live.

Subjective opinions aside, sorry but this is at least one aspect of Japan that makes them objectively better than other countries: "Cleanliness is next to godliness" or more like "Cleanliness is next to godlessness" if Japan's arguably atheistic society is of any indication.

You cannot disagree with this fact. You truly cannot.

Red herring 1: The fact that in some Japanese cities, there is a lack of garbage cans (forcing you to carry your own garbage) is irrelevant to the discussion. If you must bring this point up, then blame the terrorists/knee-jerk politicians.
Red herring 2: The fact that, since Japanese soccer fans have cleaned up after themselves and thus, naturally, depriving a job/ few hours income from poor Brazilian cleaners is irrelevant to the discussion. If you must bring this point up, then blame the Broken Window fallacy/an economic system that incentivizes bad/immoral/unethical behavior.

qwertyytrewq Wrote:http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/footb...39793.html

Meanwhile in Shibuya...

Zgarbas Wrote:I've never had permanent access to such a huge library, nor the motivation to actually benefit from it.

I was actually sorely disappointed by Japanese libraries. In terms of public libraries, they don't have anything that compares to the Boston Public Library or the New York Public Library. I haven't been to any university libraries in Japan, but they're not especially impressive from the info I've found online. Many state universities in the U.S. have libraries comparable to top Japanese universities.

Zgarbas Wrote:Cocktails here are also bollocks

In general, yes. However, your mind will be blown if you go to a proper cocktail lounge. High Five in Tokyo has won plenty of awards. Go there.

Quote:

john555 Wrote:

qwertyytrewq Wrote:9. Similarly, due to them getting their butts seriously kicked in WW2 (atomic bombs, firebombings etc), their pacifist ideals are also refreshing and inspiring. Coming from a violence, war, and military-idolizing/worshipping American society.

Are you kidding me? What about the Japanese attack on Pearl Harbor? What about the way the Japanese tortured and brutalized American and Canadian POW (prisoners of war)?

I was flipping through a book written by a Canadian who was a former POW in Japan and the description of how the Japanese tortured their prisoners almost made me physically sick. I had to stop reading it.

But there's a difference between what happened in the past versus a country's philosophy/outlook/reality on war today.

Maybe in some cases. I'm not sure about Japan. The right wing is very strong.

Quote:japan complained loudly about their asian brethren's treatment and was embargoed oil and steel. their only choice was to attack the western colonial armies that caused the embargo... europe and america. (yes hawaii was a colony... attacking pearl harbor was attacking a colonial army) they weren't attacking their friendly asian neighbors. they were attacking the white people enslaving their friendly asian neighbors.

Try telling that story to the Chinese or Koreans. Japan was embargoed by the US because they tried to colonize China, and the US didn't want them to succeed, albeit not for the purest reasons. There was no humanitarian aspect to Japan's actions, any more than there was to any other war of colonization. The atrocities that Japan committed against their fellow Asians dwarf the atrocities committed against Europeans and Americans. I would agree that the European colonial wars were no better. They were the same kind of war undertaken for the same reasons. Or were you being sarcastic?

qwertyytrewq Wrote:

JusenkyoGuide Wrote:The people are, by and large, if not overly friendly, are polite to a fault. There's a sense of actually caring what the other person thinks and thus trying to not get in their way that I miss when I return to the States for a visit and it seems that "Hey Buddy, ***** you" is the order of the day. Safety, politeness, cleanliness, common sense, all of these are reasons why I still like it.

qwertyytrewq Wrote:You can disagree with facts but you cannot disagree with my opinion.

In light of recent news, not only can you people not disagree with my opinion (because opinions are subjective and not inherently right or wrong), but now you cannot disagree with this particular fact which has been making the worldwide news and internet recently:

http://www.independent.co.uk/sport/footb...39793.html

This is proof that we live in a sick world. It is a world where what should be simple decency (soccer fans picking up their own litter, even after seeing their team lose) is not only unexpected, but inspiring. It is as if we expect humans to be selfish and dirty pigs (no offense to pigs) by default. It is as if we expect soccer fans to riot and turn over/burn up cars after seeing their team lose, by default. How else to explain the worldwide surprise at simple Japanese-style respect of cleanliness?

To leave your garbage around public places when you could have easily put it in a garbage can is a way of saying "Hey buddy, ***** you" to society/community itself. To respect and uphold "cleanliness" is simply "common sense", the sense of not shitting where you eat and shitting where you live.

Subjective opinions aside, sorry but this is at least one aspect of Japan that makes them objectively better than other countries: "Cleanliness is next to godliness" or more like "Cleanliness is next to godlessness" if Japan's arguably atheistic society is of any indication.

You cannot disagree with this fact. You truly cannot.

Red herring 1: The fact that in some Japanese cities, there is a lack of garbage cans (forcing you to carry your own garbage) is irrelevant to the discussion. If you must bring this point up, then blame the terrorists/knee-jerk politicians.
Red herring 2: The fact that, since Japanese soccer fans have cleaned up after themselves and thus, naturally, depriving a job/ few hours income from poor Brazilian cleaners is irrelevant to the discussion. If you must bring this point up, then blame the Broken Window fallacy/an economic system that incentivizes bad/immoral/unethical behavior.

I find it hard to take it seriously that someone might be amazed by a society because it is "clean", while forgetting that it is also one of the most unfair and savage ones in the developed world, if not the most. From an extremely ignorant brand of nationalism to an absolute lack of worker's rights to sexism, to a baffling ignorance of the history of their own culture, to a thoroughly corrupt political system; to a crazy, ***** everyone, brand of urban development; to the saddest consumerism in the world. Japan is much like a XIXth century European empire that had survived long enough to make opposition not viable. Most Japanese "values" are simply the ideological self-justification for such a society (quite a few of these "Japanese" values aren't older than the Taishou or the Meiji period anyway...)

Wa and "group mentality" is a load of bollocks anyway: competition and stabbing your mates in the back is a huge part of life in Japan.

It's also laughable to pretend that having cleaning workers is "unethical behaviour". Fans cleaning up is a showy display and is completely formalistic, devoid of any actual ethical considerations. Also it involves a false opposition between Japan and "the West", because, you know, people actually use garbage bins and are generally tidy in Europe?

poblequadrat Wrote:to a crazy, ***** everyone, brand of urban development;

Not exactly sure what the hell this one means.

qwertyytrewq Wrote:I know economics is your schtick but LOL at this. I forgot what the fallacy is called but just because you present two extreme scenarios does not mean those are the only two options available.

Is it the one where you expect people to be consistent, and move to a country which HAS income equality, if they profess to value it?

You're thinking about the false dilemma fallacy, by the way, and I haven't committed it. There's nothing false about the dilemma you're facing. You can't value income equality and choose to be richer than the average inhabitant of the Earth by living in Japan, both at the same time. It's an obvious contradiction. Someone who values income equality would choose to earn exactly $2,920/year (that's the world median income - the person who earns that is the proverbial "average Joe", sitting right at the 50% mark between the rich and the poor). No more, no less. You can't earn that in Japan, it's below minimum wage.

Choosing Japan in the name of valuing income equality is preposterous. If you pick Japan over Cuba, that's a selfish decision based entirely in your desire to be richer than most people. You're discarding any socialist ideals you profess to hold, and are willfully turning yourself into one of the capitalist oppressors your ideology blames the troubles of the world on.

vix86 Wrote:

poblequadrat Wrote:to a crazy, ***** everyone, brand of urban development;

Not exactly sure what the hell this one means.

I'm pretty sure it means he's a troll. Japan has quite the regulatory bureaucracy, when it comes to urban development. You probably can't even paint a window sill without a permit.

poblequadrat Wrote:it is also one of the most unfair and savage ones in the developed world, if not the most. From an extremely ignorant brand of nationalism to an absolute lack of worker's rights to sexism, to a baffling ignorance of the history of their own culture, to a thoroughly corrupt political system; to a crazy, ***** everyone, brand of urban development; to the saddest consumerism in the world.

Truer words have never been said. I completely agree with your assessment of the United States. Have an upvote.