I have no idea where American self hate has come from in this last decade. As an Australian, the US constitution affords so many freedoms to citizens that we could only dream of here, particularly the right to free speech, expression, and association, and the fifth, which we don’t have in this country. This has lead to numerous authoritarian laws being passed, such as mandatory and/or warrantless device and account seizures (including passwords), with jail time for noncompliance, the complete abolishment of privacy, nearly zero legal protections for homeowners who defend themselves from intruders, extremely strict road rules without the data to justify them, anti-association laws, some of the highest fines in the developed world (and we all know fines disproportionately affect lower income earners and are essentially code for “legal for rich people”) and a lot more. Even our cost of living is immense.
America literally IS the most free place on the planet, and it seems people are unable to realize that with more freedom comes more danger and opposing ideas. I’d rather live in a more dangerous country if it meant being more in control of my own destiny, safety and ideas, than in the restrictive, authoritarian nanny state in the making that I currently do. Even the most staunchly progressive American would be astounded at the number of things they’d be unable to do if they moved to a country like Australia. It’s safe, but safety at the expense of personal autonomy, protections and privacy is not a life worth living in my mind.
Personally? I’d be moving to the states in a heartbeat if I had the option. Life isn’t that simple though.
Heres the thing, other countries sucking doesn’t make the US not suck. Like yeah, it’s shit other places, but it can also be shit here too. Identifying the problems with a place is the first step to making it better.
Can you explain how Australia ISN’T a nanny state? That’s an odd take you’ve got there. It’s one of the most common complaints from people who actually live here, even if they love the country otherwise. Nerf have to manufacture weaker springs just for the AU market, and pepper spray is illegal. You can’t exceed 5km/h without incurring a large fine and there are literally thousands of fixed and mobile speed cameras on our roads. We have no constitutional freedom of speech. The police have extreme powers over the people, we have next to no rights legally against them. Our car commercials are regulated in order to not show any ‘spirited’ driving. Hell, we banned gel blasters - which are literal children’s toys - and designated them as actual restricted firearms. There’s a heap more I could mention.
Australia is absolutely a nanny state, and the US by comparison absolutely isn’t. I would prefer to live in a country that doesn’t treat its citizens like children.
And I’d rather people be free to do that dumb shit. It seems we just fundamentally disagree on this issue. If it were a thing, I would gladly exchange my Australian citizenship for an American one.
That is nanny state bullshit and you should be ashamed. Freedom from things just means restrictions on other people’s freedom that you don’t like. Go live in fucking China if you want that, unless you’re already posting from there.
And you sound extremely young and immature. I used to think the way you do, and I’m glad I have the life experience now to know that restricting one’s ability to live without excessive government regulation and power is something to fight for. I hope you never lose it, because you are certainly taking it for granted right now based on your replies. The US is slowly losing what makes it a great country, and as an outsider, it’s a sad thing to see happen.
Thank you! It’s great to hear some sanity in this climate of ridiculous pessimism.
I think the problem is that most young people don’t have the perspective of what America was like before 9/11 and a general concept of freedom and privacy may be old fashioned to them or something. They are too bombarded with negativity from social media to have a perspective grounded in reality. All of the negative stuff gets the most attention, and people doom-scroll through it all and get this fucked up perspective that everything is a disaster.
But the reality is we do have freedom here to do whatever we want as long as it’s not hurting someone else. That’s how it should be, for everybody.
Isn’t it just a sad sign of the times that advocating for freedom, autonomy and privacy make you some kind of crazy person now? I’m old enough to remember when the world was less insane. Less divided. With no mass surveillance. People kept their politics to themselves… and social media didn’t exist.
Young people like to go on and on about how “people were so bigoted, etc. etc.” but they’ve got no idea. They weren’t alive to experience it (or were too young to remember anything.) I’m sure I’ll get a few replies to this comment telling me I’m wrong. Yeah, bigotry existed, but it was confined to smaller circles. These days, hatred of all sorts spreads rapidly over the internet, and in my own experience, the world has never felt so angry and stressed, despite all the ‘efforts’ in recent years by activists to fight it (unsuccessfully and often using harmful tactics themselves.)
I’m not sure where the world is heading, but based on the last decade, it’s looking like my decision to move out into a remote country area and simplify my life was the right choice. The world’s gone fucking crazy, and gen z’s apathy with regards to politics, privacy and apparent love of authoritarianism actually terrifies me. They have no idea what they’re advocating for, and everyone will suffer if they don’t step back and reel in their puritan bullshit.
We are also failing abysmally at educating our kids. A lot of them here are amazed to understand that amendments to the constitution are a thing that exist.
Covid is partially to blame for that but we’re also doing an awful job.
I have no idea where American self hate has come from in this last decade. As an Australian, the US constitution affords so many freedoms to citizens that we could only dream of here, particularly the right to free speech, expression, and association, and the fifth, which we don’t have in this country. This has lead to numerous authoritarian laws being passed, such as mandatory and/or warrantless device and account seizures (including passwords), with jail time for noncompliance, the complete abolishment of privacy, nearly zero legal protections for homeowners who defend themselves from intruders, extremely strict road rules without the data to justify them, anti-association laws, some of the highest fines in the developed world (and we all know fines disproportionately affect lower income earners and are essentially code for “legal for rich people”) and a lot more. Even our cost of living is immense.
America literally IS the most free place on the planet, and it seems people are unable to realize that with more freedom comes more danger and opposing ideas. I’d rather live in a more dangerous country if it meant being more in control of my own destiny, safety and ideas, than in the restrictive, authoritarian nanny state in the making that I currently do. Even the most staunchly progressive American would be astounded at the number of things they’d be unable to do if they moved to a country like Australia. It’s safe, but safety at the expense of personal autonomy, protections and privacy is not a life worth living in my mind.
Personally? I’d be moving to the states in a heartbeat if I had the option. Life isn’t that simple though.
Heres the thing, other countries sucking doesn’t make the US not suck. Like yeah, it’s shit other places, but it can also be shit here too. Identifying the problems with a place is the first step to making it better.
It literally is not.
Oh, that is what you base your nonsense upon.
Can you explain how Australia ISN’T a nanny state? That’s an odd take you’ve got there. It’s one of the most common complaints from people who actually live here, even if they love the country otherwise. Nerf have to manufacture weaker springs just for the AU market, and pepper spray is illegal. You can’t exceed 5km/h without incurring a large fine and there are literally thousands of fixed and mobile speed cameras on our roads. We have no constitutional freedom of speech. The police have extreme powers over the people, we have next to no rights legally against them. Our car commercials are regulated in order to not show any ‘spirited’ driving. Hell, we banned gel blasters - which are literal children’s toys - and designated them as actual restricted firearms. There’s a heap more I could mention.
Australia is absolutely a nanny state, and the US by comparison absolutely isn’t. I would prefer to live in a country that doesn’t treat its citizens like children.
There’s freedom to do things and freedom from things. I’d rather be free from the dumb shit some people want to do than free to do that dumb shit.
And I’d rather people be free to do that dumb shit. It seems we just fundamentally disagree on this issue. If it were a thing, I would gladly exchange my Australian citizenship for an American one.
That is nanny state bullshit and you should be ashamed. Freedom from things just means restrictions on other people’s freedom that you don’t like. Go live in fucking China if you want that, unless you’re already posting from there.
Freedom to do things can restrict the freedom of others. You’re freedom to swing your fist ends before it reaches my face.
No need to be aggressive, I’m not saying I agree with everything that you list, just trying to provide a different perspective.
Oh no you cant recklessly risk other peoples lifes! Such a nanny state /s You sound insane
And you sound extremely young and immature. I used to think the way you do, and I’m glad I have the life experience now to know that restricting one’s ability to live without excessive government regulation and power is something to fight for. I hope you never lose it, because you are certainly taking it for granted right now based on your replies. The US is slowly losing what makes it a great country, and as an outsider, it’s a sad thing to see happen.
Thank you! It’s great to hear some sanity in this climate of ridiculous pessimism.
I think the problem is that most young people don’t have the perspective of what America was like before 9/11 and a general concept of freedom and privacy may be old fashioned to them or something. They are too bombarded with negativity from social media to have a perspective grounded in reality. All of the negative stuff gets the most attention, and people doom-scroll through it all and get this fucked up perspective that everything is a disaster.
But the reality is we do have freedom here to do whatever we want as long as it’s not hurting someone else. That’s how it should be, for everybody.
Isn’t it just a sad sign of the times that advocating for freedom, autonomy and privacy make you some kind of crazy person now? I’m old enough to remember when the world was less insane. Less divided. With no mass surveillance. People kept their politics to themselves… and social media didn’t exist.
Young people like to go on and on about how “people were so bigoted, etc. etc.” but they’ve got no idea. They weren’t alive to experience it (or were too young to remember anything.) I’m sure I’ll get a few replies to this comment telling me I’m wrong. Yeah, bigotry existed, but it was confined to smaller circles. These days, hatred of all sorts spreads rapidly over the internet, and in my own experience, the world has never felt so angry and stressed, despite all the ‘efforts’ in recent years by activists to fight it (unsuccessfully and often using harmful tactics themselves.)
I’m not sure where the world is heading, but based on the last decade, it’s looking like my decision to move out into a remote country area and simplify my life was the right choice. The world’s gone fucking crazy, and gen z’s apathy with regards to politics, privacy and apparent love of authoritarianism actually terrifies me. They have no idea what they’re advocating for, and everyone will suffer if they don’t step back and reel in their puritan bullshit.
We are also failing abysmally at educating our kids. A lot of them here are amazed to understand that amendments to the constitution are a thing that exist.
Covid is partially to blame for that but we’re also doing an awful job.