• ObliviousEnlightenment@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      ·
      3 days ago

      The geography, cuisine (we do alot more than just fast food), contributions to the arts and sciences, all the people in our history who fought and died fighting for what is right- and to bring it closer to that lofty ideal of every man created equal; basically everything except the chuds

    • Rhaedas@fedia.io
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      6
      ·
      4 days ago

      I’ll just cut it to the core and say most Americans. There’s plenty that is bad, misguided, idealized while not including everyone, both in history and now, but I don’t think most people are doing all this. Represented is a good word, because I don’t think these people are, the image of America has been perverted, used, and stolen to mean something else entirely. That has to change, otherwise might as well find a new symbol because what there was to be proud of will be gone.

    • FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      5
      ·
      edit-2
      4 days ago

      Um, the ADA?

      At least, while it still lasts? That is one of the few things the US objectively does better than most countries.

    • ObjectivityIncarnate@lemmy.world
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      3
      arrow-down
      1
      ·
      3 days ago

      I have a feeling that if you saw this sentence written by someone else with any other country substituted, you’d realize immediately that it’s bigoted horse shit.

      Well, guess what? Your question isn’t an exception.

    • valek879@sh.itjust.works
      link
      fedilink
      arrow-up
      2
      ·
      edit-2
      4 days ago

      Legitimately, the Mountain West. I am super biased because I grew up in Colorado but I think the Mountain West is something in America that should be truly celebrated. The small mountain towns are incredible. You get roughly 6,000-10,000 people together living in a valley and they decide they want bike paths and rec centers and decent bus service. The towns are small and walkable and there is a lot less sprawl. Property lines might be defined but people are more lax about things and walking past someone’s house to get to a trail isn’t a terrifying adventure in will they shoot me or not? And then the outdoor space. Everywhere I lived outside of Denver I could walk down the street and be in a National Forest in less than 10 minutes. Some places I could walk off the property and be in a national forest.

      It’s crazy to live in a big city now and I feel less safe riding my bike to the store despite it being 10x closer. Getting outside and walking is so much easier because there is space that isn’t “owned” by anyone. It’s freeing for the mind and soul.

      There are problems but when I moved away a few years ago even the people on the trump train we’re still community members looking to support everyone including gay people, trans people, and women. All the opinions I heard were summed up by, “Well, it’s their choice, it don’t affect me.”

        • valek879@sh.itjust.works
          link
          fedilink
          arrow-up
          1
          ·
          edit-2
          3 days ago

          Let’s celebrate Canada’s mountain West too! I guess I’m not saying this is unique to the US just that it is something that is genuinely worth celebrating. That’s actually the question you were asking, what is genuinely good.

          There’s a lot of bad to focus on. The Rocky Mountains are both gorgeous and worth protecting and the ancestral home of native people that our ancestors murdered in order to claim.

          And yet, I think it’s cool to actively look for good things, not as a distraction but to try to understand what we want to have more of and what makes something special. Especially with the US feeling unsafe and unstable.