Daldoma

[Alawen]

The contrast of the two images in HBB's original post is really compelling. It's somewhat hyperbolic, of course, but we are just not doing a good job of keeping our country beautiful. We let our urban centers decay, and we do stupid shit like blowing the tops off mountains and mining wilderness with toxic chemicals for trace elements.

I am not a religious man, but I agree with the Dalai Lama when he says that happiness is the meaning of life. In one of the few studies of happiness, Adrian White at the University of Leicester found that the United States doesn't even make the top twenty for happiest countries. Materialism is not the path to happiness, or at least it's not my path.

[formallydickman]

Originally Posted by Alawen [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

The contrast of the two images in HBB's original post is really compelling. It's somewhat hyperbolic, of course, but we are just not doing a good job of keeping our country beautiful. We let our urban centers decay, and we do stupid shit like blowing the tops off mountains and mining wilderness with toxic chemicals for trace elements.

I am not a religious man, but I agree with the Dalai Lama when he says that happiness is the meaning of life. In one of the few studies of happiness, Adrian White at the University of Leicester found that the United States doesn't even make the top twenty for happiest countries. Materialism is not the path to happiness, or at least it's not my path.

Having lived in Hiroshima and many, many cities of varying size across Japan, I can tell you that that picture is not only misleading but does not reflect the reality of most cities throughout Japan. There has been a trend over the last 20+ years of young Japanese people moving from small cities to the 2 major population centers, and now a decentralization is underway from the cities to the surrounding suburbs. Combine that with a steady population decrease and you will find an overabundance of unkempt and uninhabited property from 2 blocks off the Shinjuku station in downtown Tokyo to the smallest village on Shikoku. Murica might not be the best but I can tell you from personal experience that Japan isn't either.

[Splorf22]

What's funny about this HBB is that while you are totally right, as a liberal you have no clue that it is the exact policies you champion (the ones like socialism, feminism, and multiculturalism) that got us there. America grew to be the greatest power in the world by championing individual liberty and hard work, not government handouts for special interest groups.

When I grew up I was a patriot. Not any more. We are the reincarnation of ancient Rome, with a vast empire that fucks up random people with drone strikes and a tyrannical government that impinges more on or our civil liberties each day while making us all slaves to the fiat bankers in New York.

[Hasbinbad]

Originally Posted by Splorf22 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

What's funny about this HBB is that while you are totally right, as a liberal you have no clue that it is the exact policies you champion (the ones like socialism, feminism, and multiculturalism) that got us there. America grew to be the greatest power in the world by championing individual liberty and hard work, not government handouts for special interest groups.

When I grew up I was a patriot. Not any more. We are the reincarnation of ancient Rome, with a vast empire that fucks up random people with drone strikes and a tyrannical government that impinges more on or our civil liberties each day while making us all slaves to the fiat bankers in New York.

#1 I am not a liberal.
#2 I do not champion socialism or any form of statism.
#3 Your conclusions do not follow from your premises.
#4 lol dum as fuq

[Splorf22]

Originally Posted by formallydickman [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Having lived in Hiroshima and many, many cities of varying size across Japan, I can tell you that that picture is not only misleading but does not reflect the reality of most cities throughout Japan. There has been a trend over the last 20+ years of young Japanese people moving from small cities to the 2 major population centers, and now a decentralization is underway from the cities to the surrounding suburbs. Combine that with a steady population decrease and you will find an overabundance of unkempt and uninhabited property from 2 blocks off the Shinjuku station in downtown Tokyo to the smallest village on Shikoku. Murica might not be the best but I can tell you from personal experience that Japan isn't either.

While the US is definitely collapsing, Japan may actually be in worse straights from a debt slavery perspective.

[Alawen]

Originally Posted by Splorf22 [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

While the US is definitely collapsing, Japan may actually be in worse straights from a debt slavery perspective.

Debt service is not Japan's big challenge. 95% of Japan's national debt is held by the Japanese themselves. Japan is also the large creditor country, with more than $3 trillion in foreign assets.

Japan's real worry is an aging population. Their population pyramid is pretty frightening. The obvious solution is to create robots that take care of old people. Now let me think, which country would be a good choice to create such robot technology?

[Alawen]

Originally Posted by formallydickman [You must be logged in to view images. Log in or Register.]

Having lived in Hiroshima and many, many cities of varying size across Japan, I can tell you that that picture is not only misleading but does not reflect the reality of most cities throughout Japan. There has been a trend over the last 20+ years of young Japanese people moving from small cities to the 2 major population centers, and now a decentralization is underway from the cities to the surrounding suburbs. Combine that with a steady population decrease and you will find an overabundance of unkempt and uninhabited property from 2 blocks off the Shinjuku station in downtown Tokyo to the smallest village on Shikoku. Murica might not be the best but I can tell you from personal experience that Japan isn't either.

This is the hyperbole I referenced. Obviously not all of Japan is shimmering skylines and not all of the United States is abandoned buildings. The point remains, though, that this country is suffering from severe urban decay. A perfect example is wealthy San Francisco, filled with homeless beggars, the smell of urine, and even human feces on sidewalks. The best kept cities I've seen have been in Germany and Switzerland.