What’s your opinion on America?

[-Apples-]

Whether or not you live in the United States, what do you think of our country, after over three years of Trump? Is it still good, or is it a horrible place to live in or even visit? I know it’s rough right now because of COVID-19, but had it not been for it, how would you view it?

If you’re not happy with the United States, here are some additional questions:

1. If you live here, how ashamed are you of living here?
2. Had Trump not been elected, would you still view America unfavorably? Why or why not?

If you are happy with the United States, here are some additional questions:

1. If you don’t live here, would you like to move here some day?
2. Do you still approve of America even if it were for the pandemic? Why or why not?

 

[Millysaurusrexjr]

I moved to Australia from USA a few years ago. I am mainly ashamed of it. Of Trump. Of the way the Coronavirus was handled. Of the healthcare there, in general. I'd love to visit my mom but it may not even be possible for a long, long time because of Coronavirus. Which sucks

It's hard to say how I would feel about it if Hillary had won instead. I wouldn't be as embarrassed.. but who knows how she would have handled the Coronavirus. I wish Bernie could be President

 

[The Peanut Butter Fish]

I’m dissatisfied with America and I want my money back. Also about Trump, something are ok, others are terrible, other things still have had an impact on my life.

1.) Yes I live here. I am not ashamed of living here because living here was not a choice I made. Perhaps the people in charge should re-evaluate their values. I wouldn’t want the people in charge to be ashamed, I would want them to feel guilty and apologetic. I would also want them to step down and let the people decide what do to with them.

2.) Trump is not the only thing wrong here. In fact, I will encourage people to vote for him if Joe Biden is running against Trump. I am frustrated with the unwillingness to change in this country (and I suppose that also goes for most countries). Don’t we have a right to establish a new government if the current one sucks? It seems like as the current government is it’s only trying to save its own heinie with a lack of regard for corruption or the people. Just speaking about the fundamentals even, a lot of things are broken. Why are people so apathetic about voting? It feels like voting doesn’t matter. As for things that are messed up, if you ask just about anyone who is not rich, white, and cisgender male I’m sure you have some amount of complaints. The system is not even working for a majority of people. I could name specifics but I don’t want to get overly political. Just because I’m probably not going to starve to death in America doesn’t make it perfect or excuse it for the messed up stuff that goes on here. I’m just trying to live and have a good time.

 

[Fey]

I’m half German and half American—I grew up in Germany and moved to the US a few years ago. While there are things I love about this country, I can say with certainty that my quality of life has drastically decreased since the move. I feel less safe and am less healthy here, and notice the same for the people around me.

1. I am not ashamed at all, and don’t think any one person should be. Maybe this is a result of not growing up with a mentality of American exceptionalism, but I don’t see any connection between my personal sense of self(worth) and my country. The only way I could feel responsible and therefore ashamed is if my actions as a citizen contributed to negative consequences (for example choosing not to vote or having voted for a poor candidate)

2. Yes, I would still have similar feelings about the country as a whole. The quality of life issues I spoke of are endemic to the US at this point, and will remain for presidencies to come. Trump is just a very loud, visible example of those issues. I will say a lot of my concerns have been exacerbated since his election, and that I believe the effects of his decisions and behavior have done damage that will be hard to undo.

 

[Chris]

It's not somewhere that has ever appealed to me even prior to COVID-19 and Trump's presidency. There are a few specific places/events/people that could tempt me to visit, but that's due to circumstance rather than any draw to the country itself.

 

[Xara]

i’ve never been and a part of me is grateful for that

 

[FRANS_PLAYER]

I do not at all want Joe Biden for president. I don’t want Trump either - we have to choose between two r*pists?

 

[-Apples-]

Back in 2013, I would’ve said that I’m not happy with the United States as I would hope my home state secedes. But as of 2017, I couldn’t say the same thing. Despite how crazy society has become (especially polarization), our bad government, and other things wrong with America (including the fact that it has the most violent weather in the world), I’m pretty much happy with staying in America. Ask me about each individual state, I would say the same.

1. I live here, so I’m not going to answer this question, but I can say this much. I’m not into international travel, but I do want to travel to all 50 states.

2. Now this one is a hard one for me. Yeah, COVID-19 divided us even further, but since I stand with the people who oppose the lockdown orders (social distancing is still important), it might have not changed how I view this country.

 

[peachmilke]

1. I'm not really ashamed of living here, although my plans are to get a degree in international relations and land something involved with that/translating abroad (preferably Japan since I visited there in high school), but even then every country has its flaws and it'd be naive to overlook that. (not to say that some flaws aren't worse or more abundant in certain countries) I think growing up here gave me a more open mindset than if I had lived in a different country so I'm grateful for that. My mom is not from the U.S though, so I also had heavy outside influence from the way she raised us a result (she's Mozambiquean)
2. I didn't like either of the candidates and it blew my mind that either got that far, this seems to be the same case for the upcoming election so we'll see what happens. I think Trump has done some good, but I think he's done more bad and that regardless he's an extremely poor representative of the country. We'll see what happens with the next election, but like I said I'm not sure regardless of what happens if it'll be all that much better.

 

[Envy]

1. If you live here, how ashamed are you of living here?
Quite ashamed. That doesn't mean that I couldn't find shame living in other nations like England, though. But I am definitely ashamed of America. Currently, the proudly anti-science rhetoric, the whittling away at the separation of church and state, the increased discrimination against many groups, and, of course, the blind patriotism. The worship of symbols like the flag and acting like somehow kneeling during the national anthem is more of an affront to the nation than the racism that it was a protest of.

2. Had Trump not been elected, would you still view America unfavorably? Why or why not?
The problems that America was founded on and continue to have would still be present, but we would at least have leadership that was leading us forward in some ways instead of straight backwards. It's not like Clinton or Biden would be anything to celebrate in of themselves, but compared to Trump, who is a complete and utter disaster taking us the wrong way, that's that.

If the leadership wasn't like Trump, it would raise my morale for the country at least. It doesn't change the past or all of our current flaws, but it would give me at least a little faith going forward that we can keep on getting better. With a nation run by Trump and his cronies, there is no hope.

 

[trashpedia]

1) This is probably gonna be a huge esaay and nobody is gonna care but honestly, it's been a mixed bag. I already felt a bit of shame when Trump was first elected in 2016 but over time it sorta grew. Then when COVID-19 hit along with the brink of WWIII almost happening, it basically added gasoline to the fire. I'm Asian-American and my parents basically immigrated from Vietnam back in the 1990s (not 1970s when Saigon collapsed fyi) in hopes of more working opportunity since the Communist Party of Vietnam changed the job market heavily and censorship was causing certain jobs such as journalism and education difficult. It's kinda strange seeing a whole cycle happen again with my family where I might just have to immigrate again but this time due to the job market has heavily affected by the pandemic with such low workers rights and security. I plan on moving the Canada or France at some point in time hopefully. I would could be added with the list but hearing about the working conditions and lack of awareness from mental health there too, I'm not even sure. I'd probably work at a small city like Hokkaido and not a giant full blown one like Tokyo. I'm not sure about other European countries though...

As @peachmilke mentioned, I will say that living in the US did give me an open mind to other POC and their struggles as well acknowledging people from other countries. I don't think I would be able to understand the topic very heavily in other countries (maybe except for Canada though).

2) @Envy summed my thoughts perfectly, that the issues that America was founded on would still be present, but having an effective president would help the country move on forward or at least ameliorate the issues. Clinton is kinda iffy so I'm not sure about her, but Biden already puts a bitter taste in my mouth with his anti-Chinese ads. Because of this, I'm not sure if it will get better after the 2020 election. We've already seen how big the protests Trump's supporters created during the lockdowns were like, so I'm kinda questioning what post-2020 elections would be like.

Also I am about to enter college for 4 years so who knows what things are going to be like 2024 and if I still want to move just yet.

 

[Antonio]

1. If you live here, how ashamed are you of living here?
2. Had Trump not been elected, would you still view America unfavorably? Why or why not?

1. Naturally, I ashamed of everything but America tops the list. This place is terrible, we should be caring for the people who live here, not stating that one side is wrong and the other is right. Republican polices hasn't given me one idea on how to improve the quality of life for everyone while Democrats provide a solution for things that truly effect a lot of people. However, these are my opinions and I'm not blaming anyone. Politics aside though, unhealthy food is cheap, people die everyday due to unnecessary things that could have been prevented, and the fact that ignorant people are protesting something because they lack patience is utterly sick. If i could, I would move but I can't. People are stuck here so why not improve it?

2. It depends, would Hilary Clinton have improved the country if she was elected? Improvement is all we need, not the status quo maintained with little changes or worse, hence 2020.

 

[Mr_Persona]

I like living here, but not in Illinois.

Trump doesn't bother me at all, I was happy that he won and took over. I feel more safe when he did.

Main problem l have with America, is the slobs who likes to put buch of orange American cheese on everything.

Also if anyone hates my opinion, please don't send hate messages or anything. Just ignore

 

[Reginald Fairfield]

Whether or not you live in the United States, what do you think of our country, after over three years of Trump? Is it still good, or is it a horrible place to live in or even visit? I know it’s rough right now because of COVID-19, but had it not been for it, how would you view it?

If you’re not happy with the United States, here are some additional questions:

1. If you live here, how ashamed are you of living here?
2. Had Trump not been elected, would you still view America unfavorably? Why or why not?

If you are happy with the United States, here are some additional questions:

1. If you don’t live here, would you like to move here some day?
2. Do you still approve of America even if it were for the pandemic? Why or why not?

Your questions are too loaded.

 

[SarahsNY]

I’m not ashamed of living here at all, every country has problems, and I feel the internet as a whole uses America as a scapegoat so often.

I think in terms of many other places in the world we are incredibly progressive and forward-thinking. I hate trump, and I hate this administration, but I’ll never love a politician. I feel as a country we are also giving the minority of bigots way too much attention. Unfortunately with Trump they are in the spotlight more than ever, but I honestly believed the average American is open minded and kind.

I don’t always agree with the government and don’t consider myself patriotic, but our people and values are very strong and worth being proud of, in my opinion.

 

[-Apples-]

Also I am about to enter college for 4 years so who knows what things are going to be like 2024 and if I still want to move just yet.

I’m sure the 2024 Election will be your favor. The Republicans stole 2016, and may steal 2020 despite how low their poll numbers are. But, if Trump wins re-election, I guarantee that Republicans will lose the 2024 Election.

 

[morifarty]

I've lived in the US my entire life and I have mixed feelings about the country.
There is a symbiotic relationship between our two-party system and large corporations that allows the extremely wealthy to accumulate capital (a symptom of a broken economic system) which leaves many average Americans struggling and politically voiceless. I'm sure we've all heard the statistic that ~78% of Americans live paycheck to paycheck and ~70% of Americans have less than $1,000 saved. I think that coronavirus and the way it's being handled in this country is just another illustration of the polarization of American citizens, how easily misinformation spreads, and the pettiness of the current administration.

 

[mayortiffany]

I don't think the question is at all loaded, particularly when considering the United States' history of foreign intervention around the world and their status as the current global hegemon. Then again, I am studying politics and international relations so this view could very much be measured on a state level in terms of governments and their interactions rather than what the average person thinks of a country at large.

I think people also tend to be overly optimistic about the ability for an American citizen to just up and move to another country. When you look at the Canadian system for example, it's much easier if you are a skilled worker (and from a skill that Canada is looking for). Depending on what program you come through, you may need a job offer (but having a job offer already will give you a higher points score and make it easier to apply).

To answer your question though, I still would view the United States unfavourably regardless of whether Trump was elected, even though I think that his election has exacerbated American relationships with allied countries (and just with countries at large) and its overall image. I'm sorry to say that the United States has increasingly become the butt of many a joke upon his election, and not just with folks that would consider themselves politically liberal. In Canada, parts of our Conservative Party do not see him and his government very favourably and they're well... the Conservatives. They're rather diverse in that they include people who are much more like a moderate Democrat and people who'd be considered moderate Republicans, but overall they are much more socially liberal than the Republicans.

It's been particularly frustrating in Canada with the COVID-19 response, seeing a bordering country with such a varied (and I believe ineffective) response threatening our health and safety because of our shared border. This view isn't so much because of the people themselves - I travel to the US quite regularly - but more so because of aspects of its history and governance. Which I guess is unsurprising seeing as that's what I study! The pandemic has absolutely made my perception of the United States worse.

I can't ever see myself moving to the US unless I get an incredible job opportunity or I meet the love of my life and they are based in the United States. It's not so much because of the country as a whole, it's more so because I love my home and I'm a bit worried about the cost of healthcare.

 

[Midoriya]

I’m going to answer this in my own words instead of a numbered list.

I’m not ashamed of living here to be honest. As Fey mentioned, I don‘t tie my sense of self worth in with the country I’m living in. Considering that I didn’t have a choice about being born here and that there are still good people out there, I‘m fine with it. Even if Trump wasn’t elected I still wouldn’t view the country favorably. There’s just too much crime, too much poverty, and too many negative things going on with the country to say I would view it favorably.

 

[Dwayne Johnson]

US money is worth more than my monopoly money and thats the only positive i can think of, but i wouldn't mind living down south either