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10 Things I Love About the United States of America

Discussion in 'Free Fire Zone' started by Christopher47, Sep 6, 2014.

  1. Christopher47

    Christopher47 Same Song, Fourth Verse

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    Some people write bucket lists. Not me. I write love/hate lists. This is the positive......And it's in no particular order

    1/ The Fast Food

    If there is one thing that Americans do better than anyone else, it's fast food. Other Western countries are not only amateurs at this, but would not know the meaning of variety, either. In the States, you can get every type of food imaginable in a fast mode. And most of it, the stuff that I tasted anyway, was superb to the palette before it was anything else. Who CARES if it was unhealthy, you aren't meant to live on the stuff. But, if you're going out, and want a quick bite, Americans can put on a meal that fills you to bursting, at a reasonable price, and tastes so damned good you want to do it again. Thats business in an abundance of style!

    2/ Americans

    Lots of different peoples in countries outside of America love to tell you how much they hate/depise/can't stand/would'nt want to live with Americans. This is because they've only met American people outside of their own country. When you visit America, (and every Westerner should, at some stage in his life, if only to catch a glimpse of what will eventually come to pass in their own country), you quickly find that the critics of Americans are talking through their butt cheeks. Americans , inside their own country, even the poor crackheads in ghettos, are talkative, generous people, anxious to make a good impression to visitors. Most that I met could not stand the thought that outsiders didn't like them at all, and went overboard to proove the opposite. Mind you, piss them off and they can turn in an instant, but can't we all?

    3/The American Civil War

    If there is another historical subject that more colourful, suprising, astounding, gut wrenching, still relevant to today, I'd like to know about it. Many battlefields still have direct decendants of the participants living on or near the sites, and hundreds of thousands of re-enactors keep the period fresh and alive. Battlefield museums are the best in the world, and its such a pity that collectors have scoured so many of them and dug up stuff that probably should have been either left there or recorded and studied before it was collected. Still, theres enough left to be getting on with, and nothing pleases an American more than a foreigner who is literate and knowledgable in this aspect of their history. A truly interesting subject matter that continues to be kept fresh and living for future generations to see as the participants saw it.

    4/The American Armed Services

    Is their any other Armed services of all three types that have done more to keep the relative peace than the United States Military? Though not always well prepared, and with a mass of amateurs to boot, (The American soldier is an amateur, and always will be), no other country gets so much out of their military services for the money invested, which is quite substantial. So, the equipment isn't always the absolute best, but enough of it is to make all three services effective enough. And who makes combat aircraft better? Rather be with them than against them!

    5/ Cinema

    In all genres, for all ages, Americans not only pioneered the moder cinematographic film, but have kept their lead, with a few hiccoughs along the way. Ask anybody on the globe where their favourite film or actor comes from, and the chances are, it will be from the United States. Now, I don't subscribe to the Hollywoodizing of the business, nor do I feel that getting carried away with movie memorabilia is a good thing, (this was beautifully lampooned by Jerry Seinfeld and Jason christopher, when Jason's character, George, supposedly purchased actor John Voights motor car. George spent the rest of the episode fantasizing about the various aspects of what possession of "John Voight's Car" could do for his ego and love life, before finding out that Mr. Voight was, in fact, a lawyer! Heady stuff). But overall, American cinema still beats the world for innovation, class, and hyperbole, all at the same time!

    6/ Wargames

    Whether it's the boxed board game from companies now defunct, (like avalon Hill, or SPI), the booklet rules fantasy/sci fi, or the computer generated game of today, it seems that American producers have just about covered every topic/genre worth covering, and made it FUN, to boot, While I do pine for the straight wargame of the board variety, I do acknowledge that this form of hobby is a great way of keeping kids out of drugs/alchohol and intocerebral pursuits that expand their minds. By contrast, other western countries seem to be stuck with the H.G. Wells miniatures concept, an elitist pursuit that really only works with certain periods and scales. Hats off to the American producer for designing something you could purchace and play for 70 dollars.

    7/Roads and Freeways

    Does any other country build and repairs roads and freeways faster or more efficiently? I don't think so. American roads are wide and easy to find your way around. Modern sat nav makes driving a breeze. I'm sure that inner city driving might not be so hot, but getting from state to state is incredably easy. No paranoia about invaders having an easy time going coast to coast, as the Russians have, or skimpy government budgets of European countries that make international travel a tiring and expensive proposition. To the Americans, roads and freeways mean better commerce, and they have taught the world this lesson several times over. Skimp on infrastructure, and your economy lags. Spend up big, and big things happen as a consequence.

    8/Farm Machinery

    This is one of the sexiest aspects of the american countryside; all the great companies that have been around for donkey's years perfecting the machinery that has fed the world and enabled our society to be everything else that its capable of. My daughter's toy collection has a hefty dose of tractors, trucks, etc, so that I can show her exactly what makes our society possible and why. Believe it or not, the arrival of the council garbadge truck with it's automatic bin scooper is an event for the four year old in our house, and she can hear that truck long before she can see it, pressing her nose against the window and staying there for as long as it takes for this sacred piece of engineering to arrive and do it's duty! True MAGIC of the modern period.

    9/ Canadians

    "What?" you say, "This is supposed to be whats best about Americans?" Well, Canada is, because of the simple fact that immitation is the sincerest form of flattery. It is said to be insulting to Canadians if you mistake their accent for mid western Americans, but the two peoples are more alike than they are different. And Canada and Canadians are so agreeable, (and that countryside of theirs is so picture perfect), that they just would not be all that they are today without the healthy rivalry thats gone on over the years. Truly, an example for every other neighbouring country to follow. Russia should look at their relationship and learn from what you can achieve in this fashion by being freindly and co-operative with your close buddies, rather than wishing to swallow them up at gunpoint ad nauseum.

    10/ Jack Daniels Tennessee Bourbon

    Is their any other spirit drink that is more familiar to alcoholics? Is there any other merchandising of alcohol thats more familiar? Do people everywhere wish that they could work at the JD Distillery, rocking on the front porch whilethe liquor matures, with a buxom southern belle nestled on your lap, whispering that most sexy Tennessee drawl into your ear? Personally I don't drink the stuff myself, or any other alcoholic beverage for that matter, but the picture formed is so SWEET, so peaceful, so southern....so American, that it cannot be ignored. We are looking at probably the most famous advertising campaign in the history of modern advertising, with the exception of that other campaign for that certain fizzy soda pop in the red can with the white stripe.

    So there you have it. What turns you on about The Good Ol' United States of America? Drop me a post and let me know. And yes, I am an Amerophile, but I'm also an anglophile, and an admirer of New Zealand Maoris as well....I did marry one after all and our daughter is one sixteenth Maori....but thats another story for another post.

    Cheers, y'all!
     
  2. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    I'm not sure I can respect a list that puts Fast Food at #1, and Jack Daniels at #10. ;)
     
  3. Dave55

    Dave55 Member

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    That's a pretty good list.

    I'm a big tractor fan myself. Here is a movie (not mine) of a show we have in Georgia every November.
    I try to go every year

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=HSvk20DyzW4
     
  4. KodiakBeer

    KodiakBeer Member

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    Even though much of the world sniffs at our superficial culture, they copy it. Anywhere you go, they're dressed in jeans and sneakers, listening to American music and even using American slang mixed with their own language. Imitation is the sincerest form of flattery...
     
  5. Takao

    Takao Ace

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    WTF?

    Fast Food is a positive? the only thing positive about fast food is it is that FAST. It often of average quality and below average taste. I always prefer a sit-down dinner to fast food. A "used to be positive" was that fast food was cheap, but that really does not hold today.

    Americans - Work retail and you opinion of them will change quite quickly...But that is probably true throughout the world, customers are customers.

    Armed Services - considering the US spends more on defense then the rest of the top 12 countries combined, we should expect the best of the best.

    Cinema - We haven't made good cinema in several years. Nowadays, "good" cinema relies more on CGI and special effects than ever before. "good" plot/storyline is all but unknown in today's cinema - look at all the remake of a remake that passes for "good" cinema.

    Roads and Freeways - Come to Pennsylvania and say that. C'mon, I "Double Dog Dare" you. If anything, we "excel" in Road Repair/Road Construction. here in PA, there are several road projects that have been "under construction" for years, but they just never seem to finish.

    Farm Machinery - Just because it is bigger and more expensive, does not mean it is a "positive". The Amish seem do have done quite well with 3-4 horse power "engines." Further, if farm equipment is "sexy", you have been looking at farm animals for wayyyy to long, but then again, maybe that goat does look quite fetching in a dress and heels - i wouldn't know.

    Canadians - from my experience at the Jersey Shore, the Canadians think the US is a nice place to visit, but they wouldn't want to live there.
     
  6. KodiakBeer

    KodiakBeer Member

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    I remember checking into a hotel in Frankfurt many years ago, late at night. I hadn't eaten since somewhere over the Atlantic, 8 hours and a couple of airports and train stations earlier. I asked the gal at the desk if there was a pizza joint that delivered and she looked at me like I was insane. I'm sure that's changed. I'm sure you can get a pizza (or something) delivered to a cheap Frankfort hotel at 11pm now. That's because you can't always plan your day around a meal stop at a restaurant, and so Europe has copied this bit of Americana.

    Fast food isn't always bad food. Step up to a street kiosk in some ethnic neighborhood and treat yourself to a kebab or a burrito or a slice of genuine Italian pizza prepared by a Lebanese guy who grew up in Cleveland. You won't often be disappointed.
     
  7. belasar

    belasar Court Jester

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    Fast Food, first it's selling point is it's speed of delivery, rather than taste or cost. That being said, if you pick and choose there are some good tasting offerings out there. DQ's Steak Finger basket and Ice cream, Wendey's Frostie's, Jack in the Box Breakfast, Papa John's Pizza, Micky D's fries etc. As for cost, sit down dinners are also getting out of hand, two and three times more expensive and not always that good. Of course nothing beats a well made home cooked dinner....if you're not the cook and dishwasher that is.

    The People, visit the smaller towns and you get genuine friendly folk who will go out of their way to make you welcome, especially if you ask for help. It is where they try to put on "air's" that they come off shallow, it doesn't mater if it is the Hampton's or Compton, a fugazi is a fugazi.

    ACW, a fascinating subject that offers everything from technological innovation (for its time), valor, depravity and inspiration.

    Military, If you absolutely, positively need it kerplunked overnight there is none better. Sadly some expect if to be a peace corps, doctor's without border's and new deal work project as well.

    Entertainment, rather than just films. No one offers such a wide verity in music, books, film, and TV (though the UK comes darn close in the last three). You can find anything you want or sparks your interest. Yes much is pure dreck, but it sheer volume ensures that if you search it out, you will find it.

    Gaming, could be included above. Again anything you might tickle your fancy, including miniatures!

    Transportation. We make great roads, sadly we are lacking in planning and maintenance. We build 4 lane roads where we know we will in 10 years need 6 lanes which means we are almost from the start needing to repair what we built in the first place. Offsetting this is the ability to own/operate pretty much any kind of transportation we want, eco friendly to stretched Hummer's and as much as we complain, fuel costs are about as low as anywhere.

    Farm Machinery. Definitely a fetish issue, which I'm gonna leave alone.

    Canadian's. The best neighbor's anyone could have. (despite Justin Beiber)

    Booze. Again its the verity that makes it a win. Low brow to high brow we have it all and Texas has just introduced the ultimate weapon of mass intoxication, the 99 pack of beer!
     

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  8. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    I would have thought cuisine such as BBQ, Creole or Southern cooking would have gotten the nod over those places.

    I've heard those folks up in Yankeeland make some good chow, also, but I have no first-hand knowledge about the subject.
     
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  9. Pacifist

    Pacifist Active Member

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    New England has chowders and stews, seafood and maple syrup.
    Midwest has Steaks, venison, and corn.
    Around Wisconsin you have a bit more Germanic influences. Cheeses and sausages then from Minnesota Norwegian ... Lutefisk.

    Quote from Garrison Keillor's book Lake Wobegon Days:

    Every Advent we entered the purgatory of lutefisk, a repulsive gelatinous fishlike dish that tasted of soap and gave off an odor that would gag a goat. We did this in honor of Norwegian ancestors, much as if survivors of a famine might celebrate their deliverance by feasting on elm bark. I always felt the cold creeps as Advent approached, knowing that this dread delicacy would be put before me and I'd be told, "Just have a little." Eating a little was like vomiting a little, just as bad as a lot.

    Quote from Garrison Keillor's book Pontoon:

    Lutefisk is cod that has been dried in a lye solution. It looks like the desiccated cadavers of squirrels run over by trucks, but after it is soaked and reconstituted and the lye is washed out and it's cooked, it looks more fish-related, though with lutefisk, the window of success is small. It can be tasty, but the statistics aren't on your side. It is the hereditary delicacy of Swedes and Norwegians who serve it around the holidays, in memory of their ancestors, who ate it because they were poor. Most lutefisk is not edible by normal people. It is reminiscent of the afterbirth of a dog or the world's largest chunk of phlegm.
     
  10. TD-Tommy776

    TD-Tommy776 Man of Constant Sorrow

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    At the risk of spoiling your spoiler, Pacifist, I must protest your sourcing. First, Mr. Keillor, an alleged humorist, can hardly be considered a reliable witness. Clearly, he has had first hand experience, but he is using exaggeration in an attempt to elicit laughter. Having said that, there is an element of truth in some of his descriptions. As for it tasting like soap, not true. It smells awful but has no flavor. That's why you drown it in drawn butter and cream sauce, dump a heap of salt and pepper on it, and shovel it in your mouth along with a spoonful of mashed potatoes and corn. Yum, yum. :hungry:

    Now, seriously, everyone knows that the apex of Scandinavian Minnesota cuisine is lefse -- the Food of the gods! Best eaten fresh off the griddle. And, yes, my mom's is the best. :)
     
  11. Dave55

    Dave55 Member

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    I think you really have to work at it to find American fast food that isn't absolutely delicious. Way too much salt and fat to eat often so it's road food only for me.
     
  12. KodiakBeer

    KodiakBeer Member

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    Alaska laughs at your culinary pretensions!

    [​IMG]
     
  13. Slipdigit

    Slipdigit Good Ol' Boy Staff Member WW2|ORG Editor

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    Jealousy does not become you.
     
  14. KodiakBeer

    KodiakBeer Member

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  15. USMCPrice

    USMCPrice Idiot at Large

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    Hah, while I admit that Alaskan King Crab is delicious, only in the south do you get such a wide variety of delicious cuisines from seafood to Tex Mex, bar-b-que, Cajun, and everything in between. We also eat many things that might also eat you back, from alligator tail to BBQ racoon!

    [​IMG]
     
  16. Ron Goldstein

    Ron Goldstein WWII Veteran

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    10 things i liked about the USA ?

    She who must be obeyed and I have paid 3 trips there and we enjoyed it all, so just take your pick ;)


    1983. USA 1 Touring by self-drive, Boston, New York, Washington,
    Niagara, Rhode Island

    1989. USA 2 Touring by self-drive, Florida. Fort Lauderdale & Orlando

    1993 USA 3 Touring by sef-drive, West Coast, San Francisco, San Simeon, Los Angeles, Grand Canyon, Las Vegas

    Ron
     
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  17. KodiakBeer

    KodiakBeer Member

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    I had a hunting buddy when I was a kid who always wanted to shoot everything we saw, and we'd argue about it. I'd take the position that you couldn't eat the critter in question, so let's not shoot it. And he'd take the position that his grandmother had a recipe for just that critter - raccoon, woodchuck, badger, weasel - it didn't matter because his grams had a recipe for just that particular rodent (or whatever it was). After a while it became apparent that all of those recipes consisted of stuffing it with apples, adding some water and slow roasting it in a covered dish until the rodent flavor had left the building. Luckily (for all the crawling scavengers in southern Michigan), any sort of prolonged argument on their culinary merits gave them time to flee into the next county.
     
  18. Biak

    Biak Boy from Illinois Staff Member

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    Hey Ron ! I see you were in Rhode Island in '83'. My wife is from there! Great "Clam Cakes" !

    Too many things I like about the US to list on here but here goes;

    No specific order.
    Rocky Mountains -rival any in the World. May not be as high as some, but awe-inspiring non the less.
    Smokey Mountains - Sheer beauty
    Fishing or Hunting within 30 minutes no matter where you live.
    Hundreds of Millions of acres of Forests & Wide Open Spaces!
    You want Heat?
    Southern US is dry and like Alden said of the Moon; Magnificent Desolation.
    Northern US is warm in the Summer and down right frigid in the Winter. But just perfect for a couple months in the Fall = like right now :)
    Don't eat a lot of 'fast food' but when I do it's seldom disappointing
    99.999 percent are decent folk, just a few rotten apples that garner all the attention.
    As for television; We can blame the Brit's for most of that; Nearly every "reality" show was the idea of an Englishman. And fully 70% of TV is that drivel.
     
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  19. toki2

    toki2 Active Member

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    Reality tv was going strong in USA way before the present rash of drivel
    1965 Dating Game ABC
    1973 An American Family PBS
    1976 The Gong Show NBC

    To name but a few.
     
  20. Takao

    Takao Ace

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    If your calling "The Gong Show", a reality show...Well, heck, you could go all the way back to the golden age of American radio with the many talent shows that were broadcast back then. As the gong, or a sometimes a bell, was used to dispatch failed contestants on the radio program "Major Bowes Original Ameatur Hour". The show made the jump to TV in 1948 and ran until 1970. Not to mention the fact that the radio program also had listeners call in to vote for their favorite act, although the call in bit went by the wayside once America entered the war, when restrictions forced it's discontinuation.
     

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