we're all living in america

@jb78000 (15139)
October 17, 2009 10:04am CST
well not exactly but certain aspects of american culture have spread all over the world. for example you can never be more that a few feet from a macdonalds and we all watch the films produced there and sometimes know more about their politics than our own, or at least those of the country next door. so do you think globalisation has gone too far or is it in some ways a good thing? DISCLAIMER - THIS IS NOT AN ANTI-AMERICAN DISCUSSION {YOU MIGHT SEE THE SONG THAT WAY MIND YOU - IT WAS JUST THE INSPIRATION FOR THE TITLE}. PLEASE PUT DOWN YOUR PICKAXES. here is the fairly well known song i stole the title from: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=4w9EksAo5hY
9 people like this
18 responses
@hora_fugit (5862)
• India
17 Oct 09
I found many words for p.e. and one of that was 'pickaxes everywhere'! So, as for self-defense, I am not putting mine down... Well, we don't have any mcDonalds near here, you can measure in more than feets. It's altogether irrelevant that we don't have anything that far anyway ;) Maybe globalization has hit the globe but I live in remote area.. The only thing I can relate to is the movies. Yes, I watch a lot of them! And for the politics, I don't even know why they chose such animals? Why not rabbits and turtles?
2 people like this
• India
17 Oct 09
Whether you walk cautiously or not doesn't interest me. I'll use my axe if you keep saying I live in a cowshed!
1 person likes this
@jb78000 (15139)
17 Oct 09
rabbit approach the axe murdered very cautiously. i bet there is a mcdonalds hidden in a tree or cowshed very close to you. hard to get away that easily.
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@jb78000 (15139)
17 Oct 09
now now axey, i simply suggested there might be cowsheds in your area. never once implied you actually live in one. you clearly live in a gothic castle on the top of the hill. ps if you still have that axe then
1 person likes this
@dawnald (85129)
• Shingle Springs, California
17 Oct 09
Yes, hm, I am somewhat living in America. Also Mexico, Italy, Thailand... I'd say globalization is a good thing in that it's made it possible to experience other cultures somewhat for people who can't afford to travel. What would I do without my almost daily dose of Scottish humor? Does it cause some aspects of some cultures to be abandoned in favor of something else? Possibly. And whenever some aspect of another culture disappears from this earth, that can't be good. Dawn removes profound hat and goes looking for breakfast...
2 people like this
@dawnald (85129)
• Shingle Springs, California
17 Oct 09
breakfast hahahaha sorry about the sensible response, funny side of brain hasn't woken up yet...
1 person likes this
@JodiLynn (1417)
• United States
17 Oct 09
tickles Dawn's brain on the funny side
2 people like this
@jb78000 (15139)
17 Oct 09
lamb - you not weaned yet? dawn - sensible response there - don't have much to add really.
1 person likes this
@Hatley (163781)
• Garden Grove, California
17 Oct 09
hi ye old blue bunny hatley here. You know I had not thought of it like that but it is so true. I think globalization might be a good and bad thing both in that maybe we Americans need to realize how much smaller the world is now and embrace the ideas of other cultures much more. The old song Its A small World After All is not quite as hokey as we may think.The song is from West Side Story, am I right? Oh and I locked up my pickaxe,okay?
@jb78000 (15139)
17 Oct 09
hiya hatley. i would go along with there being positive and negative aspects to it. on one side communication between people from different countries is far easier, on the other the homogenisation of the world means aspects of different cultures and even some languages are being lost, meaning the world may be becoming less culturally rich than it used to be. anyway thankyou for putting your pickaxe away.
@tdemex (3540)
• United States
17 Oct 09
I've been working in different countries installing assembly lines for the auto industry for over 15 years and have been watching the globalization of the planet happen before my very eyes! This is real and people have big problems accepting this! But it's reality and people have to learn to accept it! There's no turning back now! It's a good thing, but people should learn Chinese and not English! tdemex
1 person likes this
@jb78000 (15139)
17 Oct 09
can you elaborate on why you believe it is a good thing?
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@tdemex (3540)
• United States
17 Oct 09
No
@jb78000 (15139)
17 Oct 09
hello my two now least favourite americans of all time. stop picking on poor little innocent rabbits.
1 person likes this
@JodiLynn (1417)
• United States
17 Oct 09
When I was a kid, the appeal of finding out abut other cultures was so huge, I knew at 7 yrs old I wanted to be an anthropologist. Not so much anymore.... Now, we are over stimulated (voluntarily), we get our information as white noise. We no longer have to leave our living rooms to see and study another culture. So while on one hand your globalizing, the other is closing the door and locking it so we can be alone in our own huge small worlds. Make sense?
2 people like this
@jb78000 (15139)
17 Oct 09
yes - you don't have to visit a country to know something about it. however there are still a lot of things you will actually learn only when you visit a place. still worth doing
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
18 Oct 09
I wonder, in a 1000 years, what the anthropologists will say about the McDonald ruins they dig up?
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
17 Oct 09
Unfortunately... the icky stuff like unhealthy lifestyles and consumerism has been exported all around the world. And I think some American cultural things should not have been allowed outside the USA...lol. But, to answer the second half of your question I do think getting to know and understand one another globally is a good thing. I just wish some of the more refined aspects of America would make it to your side of the pond...so you would have a higher opinion of us yanks. But then again...I rather liked the imports you have sent us.
1 person likes this
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
17 Oct 09
Europe sent you Goran Visinjc, please send him back via Greece. We also sent you the toilet, just because they went out of fashion for 100's of years over here doesn't mean we didn't have the first one. Here's a good one, we sent you philosphy.
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
17 Oct 09
Like the Sandwhich and the Beatles.... and wasn't it some guy in Germany who invented the hamburger? Technically....you should blame them for the McDonalds then, right?
1 person likes this
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
17 Oct 09
For which I love you Greeks dearly! And you also sent us all those lovely myths and legends of gods running around getting women preggers.
@irisheyes (4370)
• United States
18 Oct 09
Mostly, I like the idea of globalizsation with all of us sharing in each other's cultures. We set up our country emulating your Brit culture and legal system in 1789. Of course, our foundning fathers descended from Britain. It's a lot easier nowdays with rapid fire modern communication and giving us tremendous opportunities to share. The only time I did not like the idea of globalization was on 911. I kept imagining those monsters hyjacking OUR planes wearing blue jeans and drinking coke. That really undid me.
1 person likes this
@jb78000 (15139)
19 Oct 09
well it is never nice to think that monsters look like normal people.
@manong05 (5027)
• Philippines
18 Oct 09
You might just as well say, we're all living in China. With the proliferation of made in china products not to mention the chinese food and chinese communities around the planet. The same goes true with other nationalities alive and kicking in many parts of the globe. My point is national boundaries are slowly disappearing in the world today, interaction amongst different countries, cultural exchanges and migration are the names of the game. That being said, people do want to preserve their own cultures that are unique. There is nothing wrong with globalization and a country will find it difficult to survive today without riding in this wave of change sweeping the world. Trade and tariff agreements are part of the global economies. good thinking, nice discussion. cheers!
1 person likes this
@angelajoy (1825)
• Philippines
18 Oct 09
"Erasing the boundaries" -- that is exactly what I meant when I said "making the playing field even" and when I talked about the different cultures that are becoming popular compared with the time when American culture reigned supreme. Lots of people from poor countries are definitely benefiting from globalization. Here in the Philippines, lots of people are able to work at home and get a decent income from projects that they get from the Internet. There are also those who have thriving businesses online. Ecommerce is indeed "the great equalizer."
@jb78000 (15139)
18 Oct 09
it is certainly good in that way in the short term manong but don't you think that as it continues it will gradually lead to homogenisation?
@ZephyrSun (7381)
• United States
18 Oct 09
Yeah we suck we gave the world Wal-Mart and McDonalds.
1 person likes this
@ZephyrSun (7381)
• United States
18 Oct 09
Debra very well put.
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@jb78000 (15139)
18 Oct 09
and you should feel very guilty about that. this wasn't a slagging off america discussion though - more about a)the export of american culture and b}globalisation.
@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
18 Oct 09
ZephyrSun was talking about globalization, Wal-Mart is full of 'made in China' products and McDonals is giving everyone in the world, heart disease.
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@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
17 Oct 09
Hey jb, we've managed to escape being globalised for the most part. As far as I'm aware the only macdonalds is at Athens airport as the food isn't Greek, we don't have starbucks as we have Greek coffee, instead of improrted call centre systems we have queues, instead of American tv we have Greek tv with American tv being shown in the middle of the night and dubbed, we don't have presidents, we have prime ministers, we don't have cult religions, we have men in black dresses who smoke and drink, we don't have freeways, we have pot holes, we have corruption but we had it first. We had most things first actually and if we didn't aren't likely to want it.
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@jb78000 (15139)
18 Oct 09
prop and cons there i suspect. but on the whole shows some integrity.
@PeacefulWmn9 (10420)
• United States
18 Oct 09
Oh wow! I hadn't really thought of it before, but we here in America have come to resemble on of those creeeping crawling vines or plants that just invades everything! LOL, would you like ketchup with those fries, M'am?? But...in our defense, we also love (or sometimes hate) the rest of the world invading us. Tea is good. Led in paint and toys is not. Tea and scones? Yum. Sushi bars??? Ugh!! French croissants, good. English kidney pies, brains or intestines, barf! Cheaper goods are fine; loss of jobs? Not fine at all. We have a melding pot of people, and hence are also a melding pot of customs and cultures :D Karen
• United States
20 Oct 09
Black pudding?? No, but I've heard of Blood Pudding (gag) and I see taco bell has come out with a new black taco. I've had black corn chips that are good. Hm, so what is black pudding?
@jb78000 (15139)
18 Oct 09
steak and kidney pies consist of erm steak and kidneys. if you lot are putting brains and intestines in them then somebody has cruelly given you a very strange recipe. now karen have you ever experience that unique delight that is black pudding? if not i would be only top delighted to inflict it up your nation...[evil cackle], or would if i wasn't a vegetarian...
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@jb78000 (15139)
20 Oct 09
that is what black pudding is my dear.
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@wmraul (2552)
• Bucharest, Romania
17 Oct 09
To me, globalization is yet a mistery none want to realy explain. According to my unique neuron, McDonalds, StarBucks and sith like that are not even remotely close to the globalization ideals/goals. Except if globalization mean "some have the profits (= power), others stand small and .. obey". Which is exactly communism. And there were so few real "things" which Sherman Law have deal it ... So, I would say that up to a point, globalization may be something good. On large scale, is not a such good idea ...
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@jb78000 (15139)
18 Oct 09
doesn't it be definition occur on a large scale. i'll agree that big busnisesses taking over is by no means a good thing.
@hexeduser22 (7253)
• Philippines
17 Oct 09
Globalization is good...somewhat... There are more benefits to this than disadvantages... The only thing I see that is quite disturbing is the people who tends to neglect their own culture and heritage for another country's culture and lifestyle...
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@jb78000 (15139)
17 Oct 09
nice balanced response there - what in your opinion are the good things about it?
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• Philippines
17 Oct 09
Communication would be an advantage...as to bridge the world's gaps and differences. People could easily relate to one another even if they are worlds apart because of globalized interests and stuff
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@wlee9696 (595)
• United States
17 Oct 09
Then you need to be paying American taxes :) , cause the good Lord knows we need the money. I agree parts and pieces of American culture have spread throughout the world, but I think it has a lot to do with the fact that our money spreads there too. In return we have received a lot of various pieces of culture from across the globe - foods, fashion trends, cars, etc.... It seems to be an even exchange. Kind of funny how the world wants American stuff and American wants foreign things. I guess for once it's a win win situation. Well except maybe for that McDonalds thing - you are welcome to all those fat and calories.
@Capsicum (1444)
• United States
18 Oct 09
Sorry to burst any bubbles here. Having to compare us to some cheap fast food chain .Is a sad out look bordering on complete ignorance.We are all people and who is to say anyone is better or worse ! I wish more immigrants, thought like you maybe our trouble with money would be less of a burden.
@thea09 (18305)
• Greece
17 Oct 09
The only MacDonalds we have is at the airport, so foreigners don't get homesick for bad food.
@jb78000 (15139)
18 Oct 09
i think a lot of the money from the likes of mcdonalds and starbucks goes straight into the pockets of ceos and shareholders. they never do local businesses any good and i would guess that applies when you get those kind of busniesses in the states too. anyway it is not an even exchange - you get decent literature and music from all over and we get dross . actually that is perhaps not fair - some decent american cultural stuff gets exported too. i am not including the likes of romantic comdies starring jennifer aniston and some of the worse us sitcoms under the heading of 'decent' though.
@stvasile (7306)
• Romania
18 Oct 09
I agree that we do get a bit much American culture, but nobody is forcing us to embrace them. For example, It's been almost 10 years since I even entered a McDonald's "restaurant", not because it's an American brand, but because I totally disapprove of that kind of food... I'm not living in America. Not even metaphorically. I'm living in Romania, and I always have the choice of embracing aspects of foreign cultures (be it American, French or of any other nature) or not. I think we all have that choice, and it's no one's fault if we get too much foreign culture. Let everyone enjoy what they like
@jb78000 (15139)
18 Oct 09
this is very reasonable. the same here - scotland is nothing like the us and almost certainly won't be. think there is some blending going on but only to a certain degree. here anyway it is pretty superficial - and plenty comes from countries other than the states.
@asweetie (1187)
• India
13 Nov 09
hi jb78000, wow you hit nail right on the head,... since the advent of american tv the indian society has gone for lot os changes, i dont know if for good or bad.. kids have become more disrespectful, and yes we do enjoy KFC and Pizza hut too and there is lots and lots of cultral effect on all over India.. we can see Reebok and Nike everywhere..but the thing is this is time of globlization and every country has to look for what is good for them and their citizen and if you can not see it..then it is not America's fault. I am not american or american fan.
@asweetie (1187)
• India
23 Nov 09
hi sarkar, No i donot hate american nor i said anything which can be termed as i hate them.. i only said what we see in Delhi and that is ture.
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@jb78000 (15139)
13 Nov 09
i agree that there are two sides to this. the world is changing rapidly and some of it is good and some of it less so.
@angelajoy (1825)
• Philippines
18 Oct 09
There was a time that among all foreign cultures, the American culture was the only one that is well known in this country. But now it's not like that anymore. I think globalization did have a good effect because now, it's not only America that is widely known all over the world. Lots of other countries are also making names for themselves nowadays. Because of modern technologies, people in poor countries are also being empowered and are making differences in their lives. So I think globalization did not raise the American influence further. It actually is making the playing field even.
@angelajoy (1825)
• Philippines
19 Oct 09
Yes, I think so. I just hope that this would continue in the future. I would really like to see the world to become more balanced.
@jb78000 (15139)
18 Oct 09
that's an interesting point and i think you have a point here. so you think americanistaion is being reduced by globalisation rather than the other way round?
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@debrakcarey (19887)
• United States
18 Oct 09
Not only is the playing field more even, the players on it weigh more...eating all those hamburgers, you know.
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@sunny68 (1327)
• India
19 Oct 09
i agree with you and also i don't agree with you. globalization is a reality and some corporates act faster than others. but if i am not mistaken burgers and franks are of German origin. pizza is Italian. moreover i think Chinese food is more popular than so called 'American food'. we Indians have also been exporting curries and tandoori, so it works both ways..
@jb78000 (15139)
19 Oct 09
i was talking more about those gigantic franchises rather than specific foods. incidently thankgoodness we ended up getting curries - do you know what british food is like? awful is what it is, hence the massive popularity of indian takeaways. not all owned by one company obviously.