subliminal1284
12-18-2006, 03:48 AM
Land of the Free?
A list of facts disproving the illusion that America is the "Land of the Free"
Why America is NOT the "Land of the Free"
There’s a myth permeating American culture that proclaims the USA as the freest country in the world. If we take a moment to drop the mindless rhetoric and look at the facts and statistics, we find this is not the case at all. In reality, the U.S. is very far from being a model for "freedom."
Please Consider the Following:
Unlike most civilized nations, America can force any of its males 18 years old or over to participate in war, murder, and mayhem.
America has the highest legal alcohol consumption age on the planet.
Unlike most countries, it is illegal to walk around in public with an open container of an alcoholic beverage.
America has some of the toughest marijuana laws on the planet. In fact, in 2000 there were 734,497 marijuana related arrests. 646,042 (88% of them) were for possession alone.
Unlike the nations with legalized, regulated, and taxed prostitution, America completely outlaws prostitution (except in remote Nevada counties).
According to the Justice Policy Institute, even though the US only has 5% of the world’s population, it has 25% of the world’s prisoners.
America is one of few nations (amongst corrupt dictatorships) where a candidate can get more votes than any other candidate and still lose the election.
America is the only country that fined citizens who provided food and medicine for dying children in Iraq.
America is the only country that fines and/or imprisons its citizens for vacationing in Cuba.
America is the only country that fines its citizens for bringing Cuban cigars back to the US from Mexico and other neutral territories.
America imprisons more citizens (total and per capita) than any other nation on earth.
Despite over 100 nations outlawing the death penalty, America is allowed to execute citizens who are found guilty in its erroneous court system.
America is the only industrialized nation that executes juvenile offenders via the death penalty.
Since the Patriot Act passed, America is the only industrialized nation without freedom of speech, press, and assembly. American citizens are freer to speak their mind in many other countries than they are in their own.
Since the Patriot Act passed, American citizens are no longer guaranteed a fair trial or even a chance to prove their innocence.
Citizens in America can be imprisoned for decades for rape if they have consensual sex with a 17 year-old partner, even if they are only a few months or years older that the 17 year-old.
The US is one of few nations resisting women’s right to choose, even in extreme cases as South Dakota has shown.
The US is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t provide healthcare for its citizens, forcing them to pay for expensive medical plans with partial coverage, find jobs with incomplete plans, or live without any coverage (nearly 50 million are without medical coverage and over 110 million without dental).
America has stricter pharmaceutical control, requiring prescriptions for medicines such as antibiotics and skin ointments that other countries do not require prescriptions for.
America is the only industrialized nation in recent history that had major corporate bans of music for political and social content, even though the music contains no profanity or adult-rated themes. (For a period after 9/11, Clear Choice, the largest radio conglomerate banned all Rage Against the Machine songs, amongst a long list of others, including John Lennon’s "Imagine")
America financially makes freedom of press impossible. For example, the FCC has made independent FM radio very difficult without major financial backing. Another example is the Pentagon buying up the rights to photographs of the US war in Afghanistan from the major media.
America has the most complex laws and insurance policies on the planet, forcing citizens to hire lawyers and be completely insured. If one does not have both, he or she risks the wrath of those who do have legal representation or expensive insurance policies.
America is one of few countries that place asylum claimers in regular prisons.
Slavery is still constitutionally legal in the U.S.A.
America strictly censors songs on the radio and shows on national TV. Other industrialized countries are more liberal in terms of what they allow to air.
In most European Union countries, the average worker receives between five and eight weeks of paid vacation each year. In America, the average is one to two weeks.
In some European countries, mothers can take up to 3 years for maternity leave.
Americans have to pay for higher education, while many Europeans get to study at college for free.
America is one of few countries where betting on sports is illegal.
America also has stricter gambling laws (with legal gambling only in certain forms in different areas) than many other nations.
http://www.landofhypocrisy.com
By Kennie Anderson
Published: 9/10/2006
http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/9-9-2006-108154.asp
*Some of the points are very intresting, like the Patriot act, while others are a little out there. All in all I think the article makes a good point, the best being about the number of prisoners in this country.
A list of facts disproving the illusion that America is the "Land of the Free"
Why America is NOT the "Land of the Free"
There’s a myth permeating American culture that proclaims the USA as the freest country in the world. If we take a moment to drop the mindless rhetoric and look at the facts and statistics, we find this is not the case at all. In reality, the U.S. is very far from being a model for "freedom."
Please Consider the Following:
Unlike most civilized nations, America can force any of its males 18 years old or over to participate in war, murder, and mayhem.
America has the highest legal alcohol consumption age on the planet.
Unlike most countries, it is illegal to walk around in public with an open container of an alcoholic beverage.
America has some of the toughest marijuana laws on the planet. In fact, in 2000 there were 734,497 marijuana related arrests. 646,042 (88% of them) were for possession alone.
Unlike the nations with legalized, regulated, and taxed prostitution, America completely outlaws prostitution (except in remote Nevada counties).
According to the Justice Policy Institute, even though the US only has 5% of the world’s population, it has 25% of the world’s prisoners.
America is one of few nations (amongst corrupt dictatorships) where a candidate can get more votes than any other candidate and still lose the election.
America is the only country that fined citizens who provided food and medicine for dying children in Iraq.
America is the only country that fines and/or imprisons its citizens for vacationing in Cuba.
America is the only country that fines its citizens for bringing Cuban cigars back to the US from Mexico and other neutral territories.
America imprisons more citizens (total and per capita) than any other nation on earth.
Despite over 100 nations outlawing the death penalty, America is allowed to execute citizens who are found guilty in its erroneous court system.
America is the only industrialized nation that executes juvenile offenders via the death penalty.
Since the Patriot Act passed, America is the only industrialized nation without freedom of speech, press, and assembly. American citizens are freer to speak their mind in many other countries than they are in their own.
Since the Patriot Act passed, American citizens are no longer guaranteed a fair trial or even a chance to prove their innocence.
Citizens in America can be imprisoned for decades for rape if they have consensual sex with a 17 year-old partner, even if they are only a few months or years older that the 17 year-old.
The US is one of few nations resisting women’s right to choose, even in extreme cases as South Dakota has shown.
The US is the only industrialized nation that doesn’t provide healthcare for its citizens, forcing them to pay for expensive medical plans with partial coverage, find jobs with incomplete plans, or live without any coverage (nearly 50 million are without medical coverage and over 110 million without dental).
America has stricter pharmaceutical control, requiring prescriptions for medicines such as antibiotics and skin ointments that other countries do not require prescriptions for.
America is the only industrialized nation in recent history that had major corporate bans of music for political and social content, even though the music contains no profanity or adult-rated themes. (For a period after 9/11, Clear Choice, the largest radio conglomerate banned all Rage Against the Machine songs, amongst a long list of others, including John Lennon’s "Imagine")
America financially makes freedom of press impossible. For example, the FCC has made independent FM radio very difficult without major financial backing. Another example is the Pentagon buying up the rights to photographs of the US war in Afghanistan from the major media.
America has the most complex laws and insurance policies on the planet, forcing citizens to hire lawyers and be completely insured. If one does not have both, he or she risks the wrath of those who do have legal representation or expensive insurance policies.
America is one of few countries that place asylum claimers in regular prisons.
Slavery is still constitutionally legal in the U.S.A.
America strictly censors songs on the radio and shows on national TV. Other industrialized countries are more liberal in terms of what they allow to air.
In most European Union countries, the average worker receives between five and eight weeks of paid vacation each year. In America, the average is one to two weeks.
In some European countries, mothers can take up to 3 years for maternity leave.
Americans have to pay for higher education, while many Europeans get to study at college for free.
America is one of few countries where betting on sports is illegal.
America also has stricter gambling laws (with legal gambling only in certain forms in different areas) than many other nations.
http://www.landofhypocrisy.com
By Kennie Anderson
Published: 9/10/2006
http://www.buzzle.com/editorials/9-9-2006-108154.asp
*Some of the points are very intresting, like the Patriot act, while others are a little out there. All in all I think the article makes a good point, the best being about the number of prisoners in this country.