No Stupid Questions

Interesting question...

As an overall answer: humans are incredibly adaptable, so as a person living in the US, it almost never subjectively feels bad. For goodness' sake, I knew people who lived in Chicago's Hyde Park (one of the most dangerous neighborhoods) and happily biked to work. I personally lived in what people would describe as a "hood" and a "third-world country" for a good year and a half, and honestly felt really safe over there. Because of this, I honestly don't think anyone can give an objective answer solely from their living experiences.

Objectively, the US is a developed country and is not terrible, but regarding your specific points:

1. Yes, the government passed shitty laws, and chose to not pass a lot of not-shitty laws.
2. Yes, there are more mass shootings than the country should have. I'm not going to say why.
3. Insured healthcare isn't expensive (correction: some stuff are still too expensive even after insurance). However, uninsured healthcare is incredibly expensive, and unfortunately people without employment/self-employed have to purchase their own insurance... which is also stupidly expensive. Also, a lot of things that should be insured aren't.
4. The different states are certainly different. US politics is very polarized, so heavy-blue and heavy-red states are quite different in their approaches to... many things in life. Whether they are good or bad is up to you.

I mean, people living in Switzerland complain about their countries all the time, even though almost everyone else in the world envy the way they live... so it is possible that some might be a bit overblown.

American Dream isn't dead. I'm grinding for mine. It's just definitely harder now.

Honestly, no. People bitch a lot but I've lived here a lot of years, my healthcare is fine, despite owning several guns I've never seen one fired at anyone, and I can pretty much do whatever I want.

The only thing saving us from the bureaucracy is its inefficiency

From Canada it seems like this: poverty down there is a trap from which escape is almost impossible and it's a trap that's constantly threatening everyone except the richest 5% of the population. Very high risk and very high reward and success seems to depend much more on luck than hard work and intention.

No. it's not that bad.

I grew up poor, without many opportunities. No free ride, college etc. I grew up in a small town, without much going on.

I was able to work hard, put myself through college, buy a house, and raise a family on my single income, and live comfortably. I have medical coverage, we have new-ish vehicles.

That being said, the opportunity is there. But, it is NOT given to you. You do have to work for it.

But, again, nothing has been "given" to me. I didn't have the advantage of having rich parents, or large inheritances (or- well, ANY inheritances). I didn't have a family member give me a 4,000sq-ft house they purchased in 1952, for 1,200$.

Every single thing I own, I have worked for.

Now, there are a few sides to this argument-

There are a lot of people who don't want to work. They see someone who is doing financially well, and believe they have some claim to someone else's fortune. I do not agree with this.

On the other side, we don't have universal healthcare. This is a touchy subject.

I do believe we need it, but, HOW we get that, is a different story.

Our government has proven time and time again, if you give them a simple task, they will fuck it up, royally, and hemorrhage money. Our medical system as a whole, is completely fucked. It's not the doctors getting rich. Its the damn insurance companies, and all of the bureaucracy and bullshit involved. Granted, doctors aren't living on sticks. But, do remember- they literally spent OVER two decades of their life in school, to learn how to be a doctor. Its expected they should have a salary greater then someone who works at your local fast food place.

I realize, lots of people will disagree with my post. And- for that, I don't give a shit. If you don't want to be poor, then take control over your life. Identify an in-demand profession, which has good compensation, and work for it. Quit blaming everyone else due to you working at McDonalds because your liberal arts degree, isn't marketable.

Also- OP- lots of the people you talk to on social media, are statistically younger, in the 20s, and still trying to figure out how to live life.

Edit- Also, one more thing. Drama sells news. News outlets are only going to show news, which people want to watch. People don't tune into the news to watch good things happening. They want to see the bad. As such, news and social media can give inaccurate vision of how things actually are. (Unless you live in Chicago or NYC. Then- it's actually even worse than the news shows)

Short answer: No.

Long answer: Everything is played up by the media, for ratings. Mass shootings are extremely rare, America is just huge and we have other issues. (of course any number above zero is bad) Health care is built around having insurance, but there is government insurance like Medicaid and Medicare available. If you don't have insurance, you can often talk it down by just saying you don't have insurance.

Short answer, no. Longer answer, not even close. America has its problems, but it's a wonderful place to live. Those of us who are older remember a time when it felt more free, and had a less intrusive government, but it's still the land of opportunity.

I was born poor and grew up on welfare. I worked my ass off my entire life, starting as a paperboy at the age of 12. I've literally bled and cried working my way out of poverty, but I did it. I'm now pretty well-to-do. There are thousands of countries in the world where that's not possible.

I know a political refugee who fled to America 40 years ago with nothing. He had literally nothing when he arrived. He is a multi-millionaire doctor now, with a huge house on 10 acres of land, and he drives a brand new top of the line Mercedes Benz. All of his kids are either college graduates, or in college.

We're free to criticize our government without reprisal. We're free to express ourselves and be who we want. We have protections against discrimination, and we have workers rights. Yes, all of that could be improved still, but that's always been a battle and always will be.

Most Americans will never experience anything you read in the news. Their lives are comfortable and safe. Food is plentiful, as is entertainment.

There are still a lot of things to fix in our country, and some things are sliding backwards, but we can and will continue to fight for progress. Don't believe everything you read on the Internet. Yes there are truths to it, but you have to remember that we're a country of 320 million people. Texas and California, just 2 of the 50 states, are large enough to cover the entirety of Europe. So you read a lot of bad news online, but it's a concentration of all the bad stuff from across an enormous country. There are bad parts of America, and some places you'd rather not live, but most of the country is a pretty great place.