I lived in the USA, and although Berenger is very welcome to his opinions, I would never go back. I currently live in England, and cant wait to GTFO, for the same reasons I would never return to the US. It's a horrible right-wing (No, I'm not a Red, or a "liberal" or a Left-wing nut) police state that reminds me of the saying "The greatest trick the devil pulled was convincing people he doesnt excist" but in reverse: The goverment, school system, mainstream media all continually pound out this bullshit that they live in a free country, with great liberties, great opportunities, great industry, great morals, great schools, etc. They dont. It's horrible. The people are ignorant, and cherish a culture of ignorance, the great majority...well, heres a thought:
After watching Prometheus the new movie, I remembered watching the original Alien, way back when. My GF asked me about the alien/predator universe, and who would ultimatly triumph in that constant struggle. I explained that humans would definitly, 100% win, as we see 3 lifestyles clash: at one end, the Predator species, amazingly advanced physiologically and technologically, a species that refines itself, and creates amazing technological and sociological mechanisms, and at the opposite end, the Alien species, the ultimate parasite, which while superefficient, needs to use other species to reproduce and survive, and can only destroy, having no creative abilities whasoever. AND in the middle: Humans. Neither as efficient as the Predator nor the Alien, the human has that perfect survival trait: adaptability, they can create, not amazingly, but they can do it, and they use their creations to sustain themselves and get to new areas to excersize their parasitic natures, thus they expand, destroy opposition, adapt to new threats, and find new things to exploit parasitically.
Back to topic: The VAST majority of the population of the US is simply parasitic. Same thing in the UK where I am now. They dont create anything of value, they dont try to expand human understanding, nor do they help to sustain the human race thru any kind of agriculture. They poke their friends on facebook. They watch trash tv, listen to shit music, think a book is used to adorn the coffee table, have little to no understanding of 1/ history and where they came from 2/ how the world views them, sociopolitically 3/ the basic facts of geography 4/ simple physical dynamics 5/ their own and other people's subconscious. They just go about their day doing ultimatly pointless tasks, while they pay taxes for no representation of their opinions by their goverment, because they havent taken the time to form any opinions. They just dont care. They have been fed bullshit since birth and have never stopped to question why they pay to support a massively overbloated parasitic buerocracy that reallistically at NO point will ever support their best interests.
New Zealand....now that looks like a free country.
Back to topic. In most western societies we REALLY are living in 1984. I dont much care, I have nothing to hide in my personal life. Hell, I dont even have curtains in my apt. and it's in the city center. But I grew up in the country, I have lived homeless, I have seen every continent except the 2 cold ones, and I can tell you that I really wouldnt mind if someone put a match to everything we have ever created and whiped us off the face of the planet, since we are doing nothing positive for it, or ourselves to be blatantly honest. And the forerunner, the "Leader of the Free World", the number one big dog boss of all our mindless self indulgent bullshit is the USA. A goverment where your votes literally dont mean anything yet they are all convinved they do, where they believe everyone can life the dream if they work hard enough, yet everything is down to who you know and how much you can afford, where are still fighting imperialist wars and passing reactionary laws while they profess to support individualism, where their controlling 3% blatantly only aim at their continuance at monopolisation of cash and control, yet those most in need of change are the most ardent defenders of the system that keeps them at the bottom....fuck, I cant even be bothered, 20 years I have been trying to change people on a personal level, to examine themselves, their subconscious drive, their willingness to be lied to, to examine their history, to see what is obvious.
If you think the USA is a great nation, go read the book "The ragged-trousered philanthropists" and tell me the world has changed in the last 100 years. We have the means to all be happy, but we would rather continue to rut in shit like pigs. I hate us, I hate all of us, and I wish I could see how to show you all why...
It doesnt matter though, its just like in Megaman, the ppl know that it could be better deep down in their insides, but they wont ever stand up.
/rant
As to the US military being any good....well, that's laughable that I wont warrent it with a response. Playstation Generation hooked on drugs with no other option arent really supersoldiers.