c0d3h4x0r's Journal: Good at bitching, bad at doing

If I could sum up the personality of the modern-day USA in a single description, it would be this: "Good at bitching, bad at doing."

Americans seem particularly afraid of taking meaningful stands on anything. Oh, we complain a lot -- just look at all the bumper stickers the next time you're on the road. But rarely do we do anything to actually fix the problems we see with the world around us.

Example: Obesity is a huge problem in the US. Most Americans are fat, but they would rather file lawsuits against McDonalds than accept responsibility for (and change) their own eating habits.

Example: After the 9/11 attacks on the WTC towers, Americans demanded that the government do something to improve the safety of airline travel. And yet Americans refuse to be patted-down one-by-one upon boarding their airplanes or to have every piece of baggage opened and visually inspected, even though those are the only ways to truly ensure safety, because it might make them feel uncomfortable or inconvenienced.

Example: Americans complain about the rise in gas prices affecting their pocketbooks, but they keep driving and buying gargantuan SUVs that get terrible mileage and they refuse to ease demand by driving the speed limit because (again) it might inconvenience them a little.

Example: Most Americans complain about the pretentious naming convention of Starbucks' coffee sizes ("Tall, Grande, Venti") and the mass-proliferation of Starbucks, and yet those same people keep buying Starbucks every morning on their way to work.

Example: Most Americans complain about the 40 minutes of advertisements and previews that precede a movie at the theater, and yet they all keep showing up punctually 40 minutes before the real showtime, causing everyone else to have to get there that early also in order to get a good seat.

Example: Most Americans complain that US students consistently rank weak in math and science compared to students in other countries, and yet they refuse to support raising taxes so that better public teachers can be highered, and they refuse to force their children to stay home and study and work hard.