Are the USA morally superior to the UK?

[Glaucus]

Keep heat in. Keep cold out. Solid. Well built. Reliable.

What do you have against brick?

It doesn't keep heat in or cold out. It is useless at insulating, it is expensive, it is man hour intensive which adds to the cost. It's also useless at keeping noise out.
It's a rubbish building material in modern age and wasn't great decades ago. It is no more reliable than many other much more suitable building materials.

And that's before we even start thinking about sustainability and "green"

But yet most Brits think exactly like you, it's a shame as its holding back are housing industry. Just look at Sweden, Germany or tons of other countries all with far superior housing than us.

 

[Deific]

human rights, justice etc etc...

I lold

...also what has this thread got to do with morals? Nothing in OP involves morals.

 

[Cosimo]

We have thousands upon thousands of accents, that along shows how greater our culture is, surely.

It doesn't mean that we're all cultured.

 

[One]

And? So if I gave you a saw and a load of wood and you built a wooden house out of the wood, you should get no credit and it was all because of me?

That's not quite what I said was it. To claim we have a world leading engineering industry is nonsense. We're quite good at research in specific areas sure, but once those research contracts are up all the industry created from our inventions and innovations shifts elsewhere. Instead of creating a great product and then letting our country reap the benefits we simply let a few researchers get paid and add a paper or two to their CV and then our country never sees another dime.

 

[Squark]

You do realise the Harrier is british right? we sold it to the americans....

Hawker Siddeley made the harriers... they were a british company.

they are now part of BAE systems which is also a british company and one of the leaders in their field

Yeah, I remembered after I posted

Please excuse the big brain-fart

 

[Skidder]

It doesn't keep heat in or cold out. It is useless at insulating, it is expensive, it is man hour intensive which adds to the cost. It's also useless at keeping noise out.
It's a rubbish building material in modern age and wasn't great decades ago. It is no more reliable than many other much more suitable building materials.

But yet most Brits think exactly like you, it's a shame as its holding back are housing industry. Just look at Sweden, Germany or tons of other countries all with far superior housing than us.

It was a throw away jokey comment.

 

[Castiel]

It is by the goodness of God that in our country we have those three unspeakably precious things: freedom of speech, freedom of conscience, and the prudence never to practice either of them.

Samuel Langhorne Clemens.

Which pretty much sums it up.

 

[kwerk]

From a natural law perspective; you're absolutely right. A right is something you "have" by virtue of being sovereign. Universal healthcare, welfare state benefits, etc are things that are "given" to you by Government and can be revoked at any time.

Gun control is simply a mechanism by which Government, itself an entity of force & fire, bullies you into not owning a gun, by pointing a gun at you.

Self-defense is basically a property right, the right to defend your own body.

It all comes down to property rights. Life, liberty and estate. By bearing arms you can protect your property including yourself from other people and even the government through the potential for lethal violence.

If other citizens or the government don't have that fear of lethal violence, they are free to infringe on your property rights as they see fit. Criminals can break in to your house without fear of getting shot, and the government can steal your labour and property without the fear of armed insurrection.

 

[lordhughes]

Why?

Self-defense is a natural right derived from the laws of nature. Taking care of the weak and sickly actually goes against the laws of nature. It's a right of the care provider to provide care if they wish. It's not a right of the sick for others to be FORCED to provide their care. It's tyranny, which bearing arms is there to protect against.

In nature the weak die because not a lot of species have no predator, we dont have any creature dependant on us for life (well except for maybe pandas), we are on top of the food chain why not take care of the weak and sick, separate ourselves from the animals.

 

[Squark]

Surely it is a moral responsibility to care for the injured/infirm and elderly

 

[LordSplodge]

And that's before we even start thinking about sustainability and "green"

But yet most Brits think exactly like you, it's a shame as its holding back are housing industry. Just look at Sweden, Germany or tons of other countries all with far superior housing than us.

I partially agree with you. There are plenty of modern materials that are better than brick. It's a shame that most 'modern' housing isn't built from them but is rather built to the cheapest cost.

Soundproofing on our two decade old house is excellent. I can't hear what is happening in other rooms (all interior walls are brick) and after we upgraded to double glazing (alas the Victorians didn't use that) there's virtually no noise from outside. The bricks have lasted hundred of years too. So they're actually quite green. They don't need to be replaced and won't for many more hundreds of years.

Brick isn't perfect, it doe need some help with insulation compared to modern multi-skin construction but its not as bad as you make out.

I'm hoping to move into a 15th Century stone built cottage at some point or a 17th Century stone-built inn. I love a lot of modern things, houses aren't one of them.

 

[LordSplodge]

It was a throw away jokey comment.

Sssshhh you. Brick rules!

 

[Theophany]

They are also more patriotic and proud - compare that with the constant moaning we have here.

There are good and bad points about every country and society, the US is no different.

Patriotism? Jesus Herbert Christ. The self-love is sickening. "God bless 'Merica everyone! Now here's Toby Keith here to sing you the national anthem whilst you vegetate in front of a TV set with 300 channels of pituitary retards banging their ****ing skulls together on a football field. God bless 'Merica! Land of the free and home of the brave! Support our troops nuking backwater people in ****holes all over the world then discard them like trash when they're veterans."

Being a patriot isn't any of the above. Being a patriot is doing what's right by your fellow citizens (universal healthcare), it's about making decisions for the greater good rather than appeasing small-minded hicks (gun control, abortion) and about being a role model to the rest of the world, rather than carpet bombing the **** out of them and bleating about propagating democracy or supporting those who do (Israel).

Don't get me wrong, America isn't all bad by any stretch and I agree that every country has its pros and cons, but for a nation considered the world's only real superpower by many, America's flaws are all the more apparent and sometimes deeply concerning.

 

[kwerk]

In nature the weak die because not a lot of species have no predator, we dont have any creature dependant on us for life (well except for maybe pandas), we are on top of the food chain why not take care of the weak and sick, separate ourselves from the animals.

Because it's a burden on resources and has a strong potentially for weakening the gene pool.

If you have the extra resources and don't mind the potential unintended consequences then you're free to take care of whoever you want. You're not free to force other people to do it though.

I read somewhere the USA leads the world in private charitable giving, can't remember by which metric though. But i think that is a good indicator of a moral society. Voluntary giving instead of mandatory giving.

 

[Squark]

Hooray for bricks!

 

[Nitefly]

The people of the US are the world's friendliest and most welcoming people.

Providing they don't hold an absurd prejudice against you.

 

[BlairH]

appeasing small-minded hicks

Ah, the famous tolerance of the left...

 

[Theophany]

Ah, the famous tolerance of the left...

I'm not on the Left.

To quote Alec Baldwin: "You know your party is in trouble when people ask did the rape guy win, and you have to ask which one?"

 

[LordSplodge]

"God bless 'Merica everyone!

What's Yorkshire got to do with anything?

 

[Moothead2]

That's not quite what I said was it. To claim we have a world leading engineering industry is nonsense. We're quite good at research in specific areas sure, but once those research contracts are up all the industry created from our inventions and innovations shifts elsewhere. Instead of creating a great product and then letting our country reap the benefits we simply let a few researchers get paid and add a paper or two to their CV and then our country never sees another dime.

Your original comment implied a disregard for British Engineering because it uses tools developed in other countries. Also, they never said we were the best, they said we were one of the best in specialist areas which you yourself have just stated.

The people of the US are the world's friendliest and most welcoming people.

Providing they don't hold an absurd prejudice against you.

Especially in the south, as long as you're not black, foreign or gay .