America's Best/Worst Contribution to Humanity?

[mad pierrot]

After reading all the threads Maciamo made, I felt America deserved one. This time, to make things more interesting, why don't we list things that have had negative impacts, too?

I need some time to think about this one. In the meanwhile, let's hear some other member's thoughts!







:sorry:

 

[No-name]

Fast food is America's best contribution. Wait a minute, it is also its worst.

 

[Zauriel]

Best contribution: liberalism and U.S. Constitution

Worst contribution: conservatism, nuclear weapons and paranoia

 

[Gaki]

Worst: President Bush
Best: Kentucky Fried Chicken

 

[Ikyoto]

Worst: 70's disco
Best: Daisy Duke's shorts!

 

[Ma Cherie]

Best: Jazz music
Worst: I would have to say fast food.

But it seems that the US has also contributed it's commerce to the world. Which is probably the worst, too. :relief:

 

[Shas]

Worst: McDonald's (of it wouldn't cost employees workspaces i would try to run mcdonals out of my area with massive sit-ins so they go bankrupt

Best: The whole family of music that resulted in black slaves work songs (holler->blues->jazz->swing->rock->metal->?)



zauriel: "Best contribution: liberalism and U.S. Constitution"

i disagree. the american constitution is way not cutting edge right now. it might have been awesome back when they started it but it's not that america was the great shining example it thinks it is today. ^ ^

 

[No-name]

Best: Pennicilin, The research lab, Levi's, Candy Bar, Pastrami Cheeseburger, Corvette, Solid body electric guitar, The Blues, Harley Davidson, Pepsi, four wheel drive, right turn on red light, electical infrastructure, The California Roll, Sesame Street

Worst: wonder bread, infomercial, network marketing, temporary spare tire, pager, cluster bomb, polyester leisure suit, disco, gangsta rap, HMO's, Barney, The Moral Majority, telemarketers

 

[Maciamo]

Best contribution: liberalism and U.S. Constitution

Liberalism ? Economic liberalism originally comes from the UK (e.g. Adam Smith, David Hume...). Modern social liberalism is mostly from Europe, especially the Netherlands. Political liberalism is from various European countries (maybe first the Italian cities of the Renaissance). More infor here.

 

[Maciamo]

Note that the following list is not necessarily based on my personal likings, but what I think benefited the most people around the world (the same is true of other threads).

Best :

- Computers hardware and software (IBM, Intel, Microsoft...) & Silicon Valley
- The Internet
- Various inventions (steam boat, telegraph, phonograph, regrigerator, vacuum cleaner, microwave oven, electronic TV, video games, photocopier...)
- Hollywood (at least some of it)
- music genres (jazz, blues, country, rock'n roll, rap... although I personally dislike rap and rarely listen to the others)
- musicians and singers (according to one's tastes)
- NASA, space programs...
- sports wear (Nike, etc.)
- Disney (Incl. Disneyland)

Worst :

- fast food, soft drinks, junk food...
- Christian fundamentalism, Ku Klux Klan, neo-conservatism, rednecks...
- "police of the world", neo-imperialism, US role in "Banana republics", invasion of remote countries for the interest of a few politicians and business leaders, etc.

 

[No-name]

Best: Zipper

Worst: $100 sneakers

 

[Maciamo]

I have added a poll.

 

[No-name]

Greatest contribution: Halle Berry

 

[mad pierrot]

Thanks, Maciamo.

Great poll and great suggestions all around. I think the realm of computer advances and the internet takes the cake for greatest contribution. As as the worst contribution goes, I think fast food is up there.

What really stands out, however, has to be the Pizza Delivery service. It's a known fact to anyone living in Chicago that you can get three cheese pizza's to your apartment in less time than it takes for ambulance to get there after calling 911.

 

[Brooker]

Best: The idea of a government for the people. America might not have been the first to come up with this, and it might not work all the time, but it's still a very noble idea. I think one of the reasons that America works and Americans are so loyal to it is because America is, with some inevitable exceptions, pretty fair with it's own citizens and it's citizens are given the opportunity to live very happy lives. Other countries might have this too, but America was the first country to be so successful and prosper with it, encouraging other countries to also do so.

Worst: Things lacking in quality that appeal to the masses (McDonald's, Baywatch, Britney Spears) and excess (SUVs, Hummers, expensive shoes).

 

[Mycernius]

I'd go for the best being the variety in music, okay I absolutely hate country and western, all dead dogs and divorce as far as I am concerned, but I like the blues and Rock and roll did really start in the US (I do not consider rap music). Their worst contribution is a bit more difficult to pin point. Being the world power at the moment you go for its current government and it's Monkey in Chief, causing problems around the world , but I would really go for consumerism and the fast food mindset. Fortunaltely Starbucks have never really got a good hold in the UK. Long may it stay that way

 

[Ma Cherie]

I would like to point out one thing about rap music. I know now that it's the worst contrubution, because of all the vulgarity and obsecnities. But rap music didn't use to be that way. There wasn't all that bad language in it like it is now. I'm talking about the rap music from the mid to late eighties. Rappers such as Run DMC and Curtis Blow. When they rapped they told stories. It was good to listen to. Well, most of it, anyway. :relief:

 

[King_Ghidorah]

creditu cards.....yessssss! please, god give me one that auto deducts from the parents account. san francisco is a whole 'nother country so i guess the worst thing is driving a stickshift car in sf.

 

[Ma Cherie]

Hey, I think swing dancing is a good contribution. But nobody hardly does swing dancing anymore.

 

[Doc]

Best Contribution:

-The telephone
-The lightbulb
-The camera
-The motion film camera
-American Literature
-The automobile
-The radio
-The television
-The video game
-The computer
-The internet
-Jazz music (All forms from Dixie Land to Modern Smooth Jazz.)
-50's music (All except Elvis, I hate Elvis.kashii
-60's music (Drug culture music is just too funny to listen to.)
-70's music (Disco is not dead! Okay well maybe it is.)
-80's music (My favorite era )
-All forms of electronic music (techno, house, trance, acid, etc.)
-Rap music (the good kind you know Grandmaster Flash and the Furious 5 or any of the other groups from the 80's),
-Swing dancing (I can actually do that too. Well East Coast Swing since it's not as provocitive as West Coast Swing is.:relief: )
-The American government (Sure is has flaws, but what government doesnt? -We are a country united by political ideas not by ethncity or culture. Even the EU with all of Europe's history has been able to pull it off as successfully as we have.)
-Any contributions we have made in the scientific and medical field.
-Helping form the United Nations
-American food (Not fast food though.)

Worst Contribuition:

-Playing world's police
-Junk food
-Fast food
-SUVs
-Cell phones
-Bigger is better mentality
-Our attitude towards other peoples' and their respective cultures
-We let people get away with too much in government
-MTV
-Modern rap music
-Hollywood
-Our President (right now)
-Our Vice president (right now)
-Our Congress (right now)
-Our House of Representives (right now)
-Conservativism and religion getting out of hand
-Liberalism getting out of hand
-And a slew of others

Doc:ramen::happy: