Is America a free country, or an illusion of freedom?

Okay judging by your last post I stand corrected about what I said about your middle class background. Sorry I shouldn't have assumed.

 

Go split hairs with someone else. I believe what I do, sounds like you take offense to my opinions. Hey my opinions are just that, mine. You don't have to agree, but why do you take offense? Guess I struck a nerve - oops.

 

My background is peppered. When I was very young, my mom struggled to support us with a theology degree. She was a single mother, who shopped at discount food stores and bought day old bread.

Then she married a man who improved our status and pushed her to go back to school, he supported her morally and financially through her school of dentistry. She paid her own student loans when she started working. I had a pretty good life, two bedrooms with two closets in a 5600 square foot home and a Mercedes full of balloons on my 16th birthday.

I was a rebellious teenager and slammed with loss at a very young age. And by the time I was 19 I had wrecked my 7th car (I owned 6 prior to wrecking the 7th while rolling a blunt and driving stoned out of my mind). I didn't deal with loss well at all, and I took off. I moved out and started using drugs and partying to forget. My parents didn't approve and they stopped supporting me around 18 1/2. From that point on, I did it all on my own. My mom actually left home when she was 16 years old (her dad was physically abusive), and she came from nothing. Granted, she had some help later on…but I didn't.

So yeah, I've had it all. And I've also been destitute. My experience is all I need to discern a lazy ass excuse laden argument from one with potential for advancement.

 

That's good.
Yea, I see what you mean about the paths... meaning, you chose that path and I chose to have kids and have to put certain other things on hold until the kids are older. I do think I'll get there eventually (doing something I really, really, really want to do for a living) but it can't be my main focus right now but of course I am not complaining as those are things that I knew...
anyways, that's great that you were able to do all those things for yourself. congrats.
The only other thing for me that makes things really hard and yes, this is something that you (or anyone, including myself... which I do all the time!) could say "shoulda known better..shoulda been smarter".... is that when you go get a felony drug charge when you are 20---it kinda limits the amount of things that you CAN do later on. Was going to school for psychology and that is why I decided it wasn't worth it to continue going... because I realized I couldn't have used the degree anyway. However, I have talked to a lot of professionals about that and I know there are actually a lot of fields that things like that, especially when a person is so young, don't end up mattering. It's just about figuring out what things it does matter for and what it doesn't. It just kinda stinks to one day be 19 years old...just going to raves w friends, having fun, selling a few pills (ecstasy) out of your apt to friends that go to parties with you... to being busted and having a felony forever. And I don't even think I have it as hard as some people... if you combine having a felony with living in a terrible area w terrible schools, no decent jobs around, etc--it's easy to see how some people can get hopeless.
For MYSELF though I chose not to have a victim mentality. I am not a victim. I actually make pretty decent money teaching music lessons and being able to stay at home w my kid is great and I'm GLAD I don't have to work outside the house. But have I had any dreams I've had to give up and put on hold? Yes. But I believe that is just life and being happy w what you have (and if you truly don't have enough to be happy or are doing something you hate, then I do believe you can find something to make you happy)....
but anyways, we are going WAY off course of this thread... lol

 

It might be a surprise to you, but calling people lazy/poor/failures tends to not go over so well, regardless of whether it's true or not. And just because someone corrects your wrongheaded assumptions, it doesn't mean you 'struck a nerve'... it probably means they just aren't good at ignoring the trolls.

 

Since this forum is international it only makes sense to evaluate the extent of freedom enjoyed in America relative to other countries in the world.
When looked at from that perspective, American's enjoy more freedoms and personal rights than the majority of nations in the world today.

Regardless of whatever injustices, inequalities, imperfections or corruptions that are laid at America's feet, many rightly so, it still remains one of the freest nations in the world.

The mere fact that there has been essentially non-stop immigration to America since it's inception, a large majority of which was/is to escape oppressive governments or oppressive poverty, should speak for itself as to how America stands concerning the overall freedom enjoyed by the average person relative to most other nations.

 

Yeahhhh, I know what you mean. I actually don't have any felonies. I was charged with felony battery, but it was dropped to a misdemeanor. I do have 2 DUI's and 1 public intoxication charge. So, I've been arrested 3 times. Pretty bad! This all happened when I was pretty young too. Some companies and government entities simply will not ever hire a person with felonies / criminal history relative to the industry. For example, you can't work in securities and lending if you have ever had theft charges or fraud issues because most states won't issue professional licenses to practice. That being said, there are some boards that are more flexible. I have my real estate brokers license in two states (though I'm not practicing at the moment), which I thought would be impossible to attain considering the negative display of character I've shown in the past. The state department required me to write a letter explaining my past, any remedial help I've sought and how it has affected my life and what I look forward to in the future. So, don't give up just yet. Plus, guidelines change all the time so its possible the approval process is less stringent by the time you apply?

There are a lot of attorneys and charities who advocate for people with criminal records, especially felonies. You should look into them! If I come across something good I'll send it to you.

 

You keep taking offense to things I say as if they're personal attacks directed at you. I don't even know you. Your reaction to me says more about you than it does me.

 

Thanks. Yea, I'd def be interested if you can think of anything good. One thing I'm considering doing in the future is looking into expungement-I know I would need a lawyer to do so and, from what I've been told, you have to show any treatment you've done, have a certain amount of time w no arrests whatsoever (since 2004 I've only had one-a misdemeanor), possibly doing drug tests, etc.- but in any case, I feel it's something I may be able to accomplish at some point. If I don't decide on a field that it just doesn't matter. In any case, I happen to believe myself that non-violent felonies should just be wiped away by themselves after a period of 7 or 10 years... but, of course, I do not write the rules. The world would be a better place if I did.

 

What do you look like? That matters.
Are you white? That matters.
Do you have any physical disabilities? That matters.
I notice you come from extreme wealth. That matters.
Who paid for your health insurance when you were poor? That matters.
How about your family connections? That matters.
7 cars??? Seriously?? If you had been born into a poor family and wrecked the car your entire family would suffer greatly for that, and probably never recover. You wouldn't have ANY opportunities.

I know this probably isn't even registering with you because everything about you screams obtuse narcissist... but you have already proven that you have advantages over other people, whether they are genetic or familial or what-have-you.

You're about the furthest thing from a self-made come-from-nothing hardworking person that I can conceive. So you sell houses to rich people, and because you're pretty people are more likely to buy them from you.

You might think you know what suffering is, but it's pretty obvious that you don't.

 

You've got some issues, buddy. Anger being one of them. Stupidity being the second. Self hatred might be on the list. Listen, don't be mad at me for hitting the DNA lottery. It's not my fault.

 

Oh snap

 

Wow, I must have really struck a nerve.

I was listing off all of the reasons why you haven't succeeded because of hard work alone-- reasons that you conveniently ignored in order to pat yourself on the back and blame poor people for their own poverty.

If you didn't want to be called out on it, then you shouldn't have brought it up.


*And good job editing your posts just now.

 

lol



....what you said and what I said back is about all I can think to say to this thread right now

 

Lol you are amusing me, thank you Do you have high blood pressure? Just wondering…

I can't take you seriously until you calm down and start speaking more rationally.

 

I would think an enterprising individual such as yourself would be able to come up with more than empty taunts as a response.

I'm not angry, I just think that you're being naive about the so-called 'land of opportunity'... and you were the one propping yourself up as an example of how anything is possible for anyone if they try.

I'm a little shocked that a self-made wunderkind like you is so quick to back down from a conflict-- why not see it as an opportunity to show how right you are?

 

There is no such thing as a free country. You have to tare down the borders to be free .

 

Your first mistake was assuming anything you said was worth a response. I've already wasted enough time entertaining your stupid insults. Everyone has a struggle, handicapped, black, white, you're a lost person if you think true equality exists or if you think anyone has an indomitable advantage over you. You've already said your point several times, stupid. I answered you, you're just too dim to understand my subtlety.

 

And my point is that I don't think you're in any position to truly appreciate those struggles, or judge people who aren't able to overcome them, or to assume that no struggle is too large to overcome.

Everyone loves a story about overcoming adversity but the reason those people succeed is because everything went right for them, they got help, they had some innate advantage... and there are others who did everything right and still failed. As much as you don't want to admit it, you are privileged and your struggles aren't as large as other people's struggles.

The system should be trying to empower everyone equally and provide opportunities for all, but instead it pits people against each other and deprives the majority while empowering a select few.

 

Just gonna edit my comments out because this is going nowhere. You're just gonna keep repeating the same things you say over and over until something sticks. Which is cool because that might actually accomplish something eventually, I just don't want to sit and wait it out with ya. Kindly take your small mind elsewhere. Thanksssssssss.

One more thing, go shove your opinion down someone else's throat asshat. You don't tell me who I am or where I've been or how important or unimportant it is. Gonna stop here before I get myself banned again because you are soooo not worth it.