69 million page views

Misguided opinions about America

Reader comment on item: [Symposium:] Why Does the World Hate America?
in response to reader comment: Jealousy? ...Freedom?

Submitted by Bob Sterling (United States), Aug 20, 2007 at 18:24

First of all, your facts are a tad bit off about America. The thing you were saying about "if we were really free, we wouldn't think about it" is nonsense. Not thinking about your freedoms means you've gotten complacent, which is a very dangerous thing to be. We, as Americans, are brought up never to be complacent. If we don't like something, we have the power to change it, to set it right.

Secondly, you cannot become president of the United States at 18, you can only run if you're at least 35 years of age. There is also debate in this country about the drinking age, it's set to 21 for safety precautions.

France's work hours, I admit, seem like a great thing, and I don't know anyone who wouldn't like that. But there is a reason America doesn't function that way. France's economy is not doing that great as of late, while America's is booming and will continue to do so. I also remember rioting in France that happened not too long ago because people couldn't get jobs, a result of the country's work programs.

Healthcare has also been a hot topic of discussion in America, but I believe we should not emulate the rest of the world. The treatments that come out of America are the best in the world. Where would people rather go to get treated for cancer if they could go anywhere? The United States, this is the case for almost every medical procedure you can think of. Also, nobody is denied treatment if it is absolutely necessary for your survival.

I would actually classify France as more of a socialistic government than anything, which actually makes you have less freedoms, because there are more restrictions. Chirac was, I believe, a socialist, but I do not believe your new president is.

Submitting....

Note: Opinions expressed in comments are those of the authors alone and not necessarily those of Daniel Pipes. Original writing only, please. Comments are screened and in some cases edited before posting. Reasoned disagreement is welcome but not comments that are scurrilous, off-topic, commercial, disparaging religions, or otherwise inappropriate. For complete regulations, see the "Guidelines for Reader Comments".

Follow Daniel Pipes

Facebook   Twitter   RSS   Join Mailing List

All materials by Daniel Pipes on this site: © 1968-2023 Daniel Pipes. daniel.pipes@gmail.com and @DanielPipes

Support Daniel Pipes' work with a tax-deductible donation to the Middle East Forum.Daniel J. Pipes

(The MEF is a publicly supported, nonprofit organization under section 501(c)3 of the Internal Revenue Code.

Contributions are tax deductible to the full extent allowed by law. Tax-ID 23-774-9796, approved Apr. 27, 1998.

For more information, view our IRS letter of determination.)