Originally posted by Sonty
Gosh, I'm making a habbit of being misunderstood when I first enter forums!
Listen, when you'll find me saying the stuff you're putting in my mouth in the last part of your message send someone to shoot me. It probably means I'm suffering and I have no way back to life. I mean it.
First of all a litlle translation: "you americans"="America has the highest percentage of" or "everybody seems to".
I'm gathering from this that you're saying that americans are generalizing? Not sure because it doesn't make sense to me. Rephrase please.
eNtRopY said he took mainly "financial" courses. I remembered the bunch of polls the romanian community or the press did among europeans and americans, which showed very few of them knew what you, Zantra, seem to know about us. Then I wrote the part about being educated to care about others.
Ok so your main exposure to americans is through the media. And we ALL know the medias ALWAYS truthful and unbaised;)
What do you consider worse: working 50 h/week for 30 years to have the many to live for another 10-15 or working those 30 or 40 hours and depending on the government for a little under the medium wage in those last years?
I'm a self-sufficient person, so I'd rather not have to depend on the government. Plus, in america we don't have that option. Government support is not much above minimum wage. Not how I want to spend my retirement years.
You would be inclined to think we are all sheepherders? From a metaphorical point of view you might be right... You know why I'm not representative of the collective opinion? I don't expect or want anything from America. I'm not expecting pity, nor free rides, NOTHING. It's not that I hate America or because I'm too proud to take help, but because I like to do everything that I can with my own forces. The vast majority thinks of you as a big sack of money waiting to be picked up. That's kinda state policy. Our government seeks investors to invest in all sorts of bad deals for the guys responsible with the corruption to make a living. There are very few, but they deserve the highest honours, that try make a break for themselves here. Maybe I'll have to try that myself sometime...
You know why you're not representative? Because you're one of the few who work their asses, and you too deserve the same honours, to make a break in your country. think of the kids you grew up with. Where are they now respective to you?
America isn't a big sack of money waiting to be picked up. It's called opportunity. It is there, but only if you're willing to work for it. That doesn't mean Uncle Sam is standing there at the statue of liberty on Ellis island handing out stacks of bills as you come into America. It means that if you're willing to work hard, you will be rewarded for your hard work. I can't vouch or my peers, only myself. You get out of life exactly what you put into it. And that's a universal truth, not an American one.
You think I'm bitter and unfriendly? I'm not an enemy. I don't confuse the government policy with what the american people thinks like some arabs do (on the old version of physicsforums I remembered I got into such a debate also with people from that part of the world). I know because here everybody says all politicians are stupid and corrupt, but they still vote for them. Seems familiar? We don't rule our own country the same as you don't.
I think a lot of Europeans do tend to be swayed by their governments opinions. As soon as you walk up to them and they hear an american accent, you can watch the expressions on their faces change in an instant. I never said you were an enemy, but when you come onto these boards say americans are all fat, selfish, and self-centered I feel compelled to correct you.
I haven't met a lot of foreigners in my lifetime. You want to know why? It's because I'm 20 and because I can't travel a lot. Imagine living with 150-200 dolars a month like me and my mother do (providing we own our apartment).
Bottom line is that you can't generalize americans any more than I can generalize erupoeans. Everyone is unique and different. I don't have a sack of money under my bed, and you probably don't have sheep running through your house. I work my butt off because the cost of everything keeps going up. That's how our economy is driven, and how our productivity keeps increasing. But like anything, there is a price to pay. If I could work 30-40 hours a week, believe me I would. I'd much rather not be working, but like many americans, my options ARE limited. So we just do the best we can, as I'm sure you do.
