yo1
Member
- Joined
- May 2, 2013
- Messages
- 182
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- Gender
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- Political Leaning
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Im a limey.
So...chances are it will be hand bags at dawn over foreign policy. However, I have known Americans for a long time. I have watched their lives mirror mine as we grew up together separated by a few 1000 miles of ocean and a lot of hot air.
America and Britain are not dissimilar. There are some notable things we differ in, and I'm sure we all know them. However, if I'm being helpful, its not the obvious things that stand out. From real experience of knowing Americans and taking to them, it's not the health system or the false dichotomy in politics that is my biggest issue with your system.
Britain has it's fair share of faults, and I'm sure you'll name them. But for me, growing up in a parallel life to my American friends, the biggest single issue I see is the education system.
Very specifically, in the UK, if you are smart enough, you go to university. Period.
It is a conscious choice to not do so. Not a financial one.
The UK is not perfect and we have tuition fees. We have student loans system and we have debt. However, if you are student A, who works hard and qualifies from secondary school, you go to the university of your choice, grades permitting.
This is simply not the case in America and the fees seem astronomical.
This is not conducive to any kind of meritocracy and this effects every single one of you.
Whether you attack my comments or not, I'm coming from a good place in this thread.
Any society should benefit from the brightest minds it can muster. Some of you people have those minds and never got the chance to shine.
One can not punish the child for the success of the parents. Hereditary wealth is an unavoidable barrier to meritocracy and that's acceptable. However, the education system should be the great leveler and not the divider it becomes when able and bright young people simply can not afford to go to university.
That's the biggest single thing i see that's wrong with America domestically, from growing up parallel to Americans.
Health is something else, and foreign policy is a separate issue. But Higher Education is priceless in the actual gift of equal opportunity to the population, and it simply doesn't seem to exist in that context stateside.
So...chances are it will be hand bags at dawn over foreign policy. However, I have known Americans for a long time. I have watched their lives mirror mine as we grew up together separated by a few 1000 miles of ocean and a lot of hot air.
America and Britain are not dissimilar. There are some notable things we differ in, and I'm sure we all know them. However, if I'm being helpful, its not the obvious things that stand out. From real experience of knowing Americans and taking to them, it's not the health system or the false dichotomy in politics that is my biggest issue with your system.
Britain has it's fair share of faults, and I'm sure you'll name them. But for me, growing up in a parallel life to my American friends, the biggest single issue I see is the education system.
Very specifically, in the UK, if you are smart enough, you go to university. Period.
It is a conscious choice to not do so. Not a financial one.
The UK is not perfect and we have tuition fees. We have student loans system and we have debt. However, if you are student A, who works hard and qualifies from secondary school, you go to the university of your choice, grades permitting.
This is simply not the case in America and the fees seem astronomical.
This is not conducive to any kind of meritocracy and this effects every single one of you.
Whether you attack my comments or not, I'm coming from a good place in this thread.
Any society should benefit from the brightest minds it can muster. Some of you people have those minds and never got the chance to shine.
One can not punish the child for the success of the parents. Hereditary wealth is an unavoidable barrier to meritocracy and that's acceptable. However, the education system should be the great leveler and not the divider it becomes when able and bright young people simply can not afford to go to university.
That's the biggest single thing i see that's wrong with America domestically, from growing up parallel to Americans.
Health is something else, and foreign policy is a separate issue. But Higher Education is priceless in the actual gift of equal opportunity to the population, and it simply doesn't seem to exist in that context stateside.
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