THE EUROPEAN：美國並不偉大的11個理由

【文/THE EUROPEAN，譯/觀察者網 由冠羣】

美國正活在泡沫中。好萊塢電影、美國歌曲和美國政客告訴美國人民，他們生活在地球上最偉大的國家。然而在現實中，美國有很多嚴重的問題亟待解決。這就是我製作這段視頻的原因。在本視頻節目中，我會給你們11個理由，證明為什麼美國不是地球上最偉大的國家。

美國正活在泡沫中。好萊塢告訴美國人，他們的國家是地球上最偉大的國家。《壯志凌雲》、《變形金剛》、《洛杉磯之戰》、《紅色黎明》、《美國狙擊手》、《鐵鷹戰士》、《珍珠港》和《獨立日》等電影，都在美化美國的軍事力量和美國的軍事暴力。許多美國電影把俄羅斯人描繪成邪惡的人，把非洲人描繪成貧窮和墮落的人，把墨西哥人和拉丁美洲人描繪成罪犯，把印度人描繪成傻瓜。數百萬美國人看了這些電影，並有點相信電影所傳達出的種族主義信息。並非秘密的是，美國軍方和美國軍工界正在向好萊塢支付數百萬美元去美化美國，把美國士兵刻畫的極其英勇，把美國的軍事行動描繪成正義的事業，而不論現實是美國正在轟炸全世界的無辜人民。

這種泡沫還出現在美國的音樂文化中。像《生活在美國》和《上帝保佑美國》這樣的歌曲都在告訴美國人他們是多麼偉大，以及他們生活在一個多麼偉大的國家。在這些歌曲演奏時，我們通常會看到眾多巨幅美國國旗緩慢揮舞的畫面。但事實上，美國在很多層面都徹底失敗了。我知道我會因為這個視頻節目而惹來很多爭議，但我需要説出所有污點，許多美國政客和媒體人為了讓美國夢繼續存在並使他們的選民和粉絲開心而樂於掩蓋的污點。因此，今天我將向你們提出11個理由以證明美國不是地球上最偉大的國家。

理由1，貧困和無家可歸。我已經在我的幾個視頻節目中講過這個問題。佔美國總人口63%的2億美國人靠薪水生活。他們根本不知道自己是否能支付下個月的租金。而有驚人數量的美國人，至少50萬人甚至更多生活在如洛杉磯這樣城市的街頭貧民窟中。這是一場徹頭徹尾的災難。YouTube上有數百個視頻節目在講這個問題，向你展示出清晰證據，證明洛杉磯的街道與第三世界的貧民窟一模一樣。

美國流浪人口數量龐大

理由2，低工資。美國的實際最低工資是11.80美元，這聽起來可能是合理的。但在現實中，這意味着許多美國人根本不能靠這種薪酬生活。洛杉磯一套普通公寓的租金每月超過2300美元。即使你可以把所有最低工資收入都存下來，只是為了支付房租，那也不夠。在像舊金山、紐約這樣的城市，情況會更糟。

這就引出了第3個理由，債務危機。80%的美國人生活在債務中。他們有信用卡貸款、汽車貸款、學生貸款、個人貸款等等。美國的整個金融體系不是建立在量入為出基礎上的。而是建立在寅吃卯糧基礎上的。只會產生越來越多的債務。在美國，債務是一種病，它是由全球負債最多的美國政府促成的。正如我們所説，美國有28萬億美元的債務。你真的認為美國有可能償還這28萬億美元嗎？總有一天，美國的整個金融體系都會崩潰。在2008年，這一崩潰幾乎就要發生了，當時美國引發了一場全球金融危機。13年後，許多國家仍在處理這場危機的後遺症。這場危機甚至為中國創造了一個寶貴機會，使中國的影響力輻射到許多國家。美國政客現在正抱怨這一點，而這正是因他們自己管理不善造成的。當然，由於美國仍有28萬億美元的債務，這個問題只會變得更糟，所以你們要做好準備去迎接美國的下一場金融危機,因為下一場危機有可能會毀掉強大的美元。

第4個理由是，美國還有另一種全國性的疾病，叫做肥胖症。超過42%的美國人肥胖。肥胖症使美國損失了1500億美元。此外，肥胖症每年都會導致數百萬美國人生病。他們會患上各種各樣的心臟病和糖尿病。現在甚至有數百萬美國兒童也患上了肥胖症。為什麼全世界最偉大的國家需要有這麼多肥胖症患者？

第5個理由，要説到健康，大約有3000萬美國人沒有任何醫療保險。他們甚至避免去看醫生，因為他們付不起診療費。為什麼美國政府不處理這件事？在歐洲和亞洲的許多國家，政府為每個公民都安排了一個不錯的醫療計劃。為什麼美國就不能這樣呢？

理由6，生活質量低下。在互聯網上找那些生活質量最高國家的名單或排名。在這些名單上都找不到美國。通常你會在這些名單上看到這些國家，瑞典、丹麥、加拿大、荷蘭、奧地利、瑞士、挪威、芬蘭，但沒有美國。大規模調查告訴你，美國的生活質量不夠高，犯罪數量太多，不平等太多，污染，種族主義和暴力氾濫等等。是的，這意味着我還要講另一些問題。讓我們繼續。

理由7，暴力。許多美國人為他們的憲法第二修正案感到自豪，該修正案賦予他們攜帶槍支的權利。他們認為這將有助於他們確保國家的安全。不對，你們這些傻瓜。一旦你允許使用槍支，你就會遇到槍支犯罪，因為別人會用槍來對付你，如果他們想的話。這將導致一場永無休止的軍備競賽。現在美國平民手中有3.93億支槍，佔全世界所有民用槍支的40%。難怪美國是世界上最暴力的國家之一。美國的殺人和持槍暴力犯罪水平是世界上最高的。如果你隨機給人分發數百萬支槍，你會期望遇到什麼？現在歐洲並不完美，但當談到歐洲槍支問題時，我們有一個簡單的規則——擁有槍支是非法的。在大多數歐洲國家，市面上基本沒有槍。如果你有槍，你很可能是罪犯，警察會來抓你的。結果是，在大多數歐洲國家，市面是安全的。沒有人拿着槍到處亂跑。

理由8，交通堵塞和糟糕的道路。具有諷刺意味的是，在一個如此空曠的國家，在一個原本為汽車運輸開路的國家，現在卻出現瞭如此多的交通擁堵現象。洛杉磯和許多其他美國城市因交通堵塞而臭名昭著。更具諷刺意味的是，在許多美國城市，道路幾乎得不到維護。任何人都可以在谷歌街景中看到，美國的眾多道路有多糟糕。應該花在美國公路上的錢花到哪裏去了？我甚至還沒有詳細説明美國鐵路的糟糕狀況。整個美國只有一條高速鐵路線。與此同時，歐洲和亞洲的許多國家都通過舒適、乾淨和稠密的高速鐵路將其所有主要城市連接起來。為什麼這在美國做不到？

第9個理由，假民主。大約兩個世紀以來，美國只有兩個政黨可供選擇。現在，獨立候選人競選公職面臨巨大障礙。這不是民主。民主是任何人只要想成立一個政黨，就可以加入政治體系。然後，如果有人有好的想法，人民可以投票給這些人。許多歐洲和亞洲國家就是這樣安排民主制度的。為什麼美國還不是一個成熟的民主國家？你有兩個世紀的時間來處理這個問題。答案，我們當然都知道。美國的控制者是一羣精英人物，由富有和有權勢的家族構成，他們希望限制政治圈的規模。他們不希望你有機會自由選擇你想要的政治家，因為他們無法控制這種情況。

美國政治陷入分裂之中

理由10，有限的言論自由。越來越清楚的是，在美國，言論自由正受到威脅。如果你發表不正確的意見，大型媒體公司將阻止你發言或取消你發言的資格。我確實意識到這些美國大媒體公司，它們不是政府，所以它們的審查不是官方的，也不是集權風格的，但現在越來越難以區分美國和集權政體對言論自由的限制有何區別。

理由11，戰爭販子。在過去的75年裏，美國一直是世界上最具侵略性的國家之一。説到發動戰爭，美國攻擊主權國家的戰爭和衝突數不勝數。在某些情況下，理由是相當荒謬的。發動戰爭使美國人民損失了數萬億美元。難怪許多美國人都受夠了這一點，而美國新總統僅僅在他執政的第五週就向中東投下了炸彈，這讓人感到非常遺憾。我以為美國人選他當總統是因為他會將所有人團結起來。

我已經給了你們11個理由以證明美國為什麼不是全世界最偉大的國家，但在我的文章裏還有另外11個理由。對，還有更多：

美國完全無法應對新冠病毒疫情，這個理由如何？美國是世界上監禁人口最多的國家，這一事實可不可以做理由？種族主義、污染和腐敗這個理由？大規模槍擊、國內恐怖主義和廣泛的藥物濫用如何？一個世紀以來，美國一直通過在世界各地建立軍事基地和展開軍事行動來實施新殖民主義政策，這一理由又如何呢？美國一直在消耗世界各國的自然資源，這一理由如何呢？美國已經發展成為一個分裂的國家，當人們持槍包圍美國國會時，美國甚至似乎已處於內戰的邊緣，這一事實可做理由嗎？我的意思是，通常你只會在美國稱之為香蕉共和國（指南美國家）的國家看到這樣的事件。美國政府官員對龍捲風、洪水和野火的反應如何？由於出現了幾天惡劣天氣，強大的德克薩斯州幾乎毀於一旦，電力供應都中斷了，這一事實可做理由嗎？對同性戀的不寬容可做理由嗎？歌頌槍支、暴力和物化女性的美式音樂文化可做理由嗎？那麼，嚴重損害美國兒童發展機會的糟糕教育體系可做理由嗎？美國人沉迷於社交媒體，並將他們的靈魂和個人數據賣給美國社交媒體可做理由嗎？説客付錢給美國政客以換取於己有利的法律法規，這一事實可做理由嗎？頭腦正常的人怎麼會認為美國是世界上最偉大的國家？

美國正活在泡沫中。總有一天，它會破裂。

Hello, I am the European and I make videos that matter to you. Thank you for watching. America is living in a bubble. Hollywood movies, American songs and American politicians tell the American people that they live in the greatest country on earth. While in reality, there are so many serious problems in America that need to be addressed. That’s why I made this video in which I give you 11 reasons why America is not the greatest country on earth. Now, if you think it is important that I spread my message to a bigger audience, then please smash that like button and subscribe to my channel. If you do that, YouTube will show this video to even more people. Thank you very much. With that out of the way, let’s continue.

America is living in a bubble. Hollywood tells Americans that their country is the greatest country on earth. Movies like Top Gun, Transformers, Battle Los Angeles, Red Dawn, American Sniper, Iron Eagle, Pearl Harbor and Independence Day glorify American military force and American military violence.Many American movies portray people from Russia as evil, people from Africa as poor and corrupt, people from Mexico and Latin America as criminal, and people from India as plainly stupid, millions of Americans watch these movies and kind of believe the racist message behind it. It is no secret that the American military and the American military industry are paying Hollywood millions of dollars to glorify the USA, to portray American soldiers as extremely heroic and American military operations as a just cause no matter the reality of dropping bombs on innocent people all over the world.

The bubble continues in American music culture. Songs like Living in America and God Bless the USA are all telling Americans how great they are and what a great country they live in. When these songs are performed, we are usually treated with images of huge American flags waving in slow motion. But in reality, the USA totally fails on many levels. I know I’m going to get a lot of debate because of this video, but I need to speak out about all the dirt that many American politicians and media personalities gladly sweep under the carpet to keep the American dream alive and to keep their voters and fans happy. Therefore, today I will present you 11 reasons why America is not the greatest country on earth.

Reason number one, poverty and homelessness. I have dealt with this in several of my videos. 200 million Americans that is 63% of the population, they live paycheck to paycheck. They simply don’t know if they can pay their rent for the next month. And an alarming number of Americans at least half 1 million and probably a lot more are living in slums on the streets, in cities like Los Angeles. This is a complete disaster. There are hundreds of videos on YouTube dealing with this problem and showing you crystal clear evidence that the streets of Los Angeles are exactly like a third world slum.

Reason number two, low wages. The effective minimum wage in America is $11.80 that may sound reasonable. But in reality, it means that many Americans simply can’t live on that kind of payment. The rent for an average apartment in Los Angeles is over $2,300 per month. Even if you could set aside a full minimum wage income, just to pay for that rent, that wouldn’t be enough. In places like San Francisco, in New York city, it is even worse. That brings us to the number three, the debt crisis. 80 % of Americans are living in debt. They have credit card loans, car loans, student loans, personal loans, et cetera. The whole financial system of America is not based upon spending money you have. It is based upon spending money you don’t have by getting more and more loans. Debt is a disease in America, and it is enabled and encouraged by the US government that has the largest national debt in the whole world. As we speak, America is $28 trillion US dollars in debt. Do you really think it is even possible that these $28 trillion are ever going to be repaid? One day, the whole financial system of America will collapse. It almost happened in 2008 when America gave the world a global financial crisis. 13 years later, many countries still struggle with the consequences of that crisis. It even created a golden opportunity for China to get many countries within its realm of influence. And American politicians are now complaining about that while it is the result of their own mis-management. Of course, since America still has $28 trillion US dollars in debt, the problem has only gone worse, so brace yourself for the next financial crisis in America because that one might break the mighty US dollar.

Reason number four, then there is another national disease in America. It’s called obesity. Over 42 % of Americans are obese. Obesity is costing America $150 billion US dollars. Each year, additionally, obesity causes millions of Americans to get ill. They get all kinds of heart diseases and diabetes. Even millions of American children are now obese. Why is that needed in the greatest country in the world?

Reason number five, speaking of health, about 30 million Americans do not have any health insurance. They even avoid going to a doctor because they can’t pay for it. Why doesn’t the American government take care of this? In many countries, all over Europe and Asia, governments arrange for a decent health-care program for everyone. Why can’t that be the case in America?

Reason number six, low quality of life. Find any list or ranking on the internet of countries with the highest quality of life. And America is not on that list. Usually you will see countries on those lists like sweden, denmark, canada, the netherlands, austria, switzerland, norway, finland, but not America. Large scale surveys tell you, America simply has not enough quality of life, too much crime, too much inequality, pollution, racism violence, et cetera. Yes, that means I’ve got some more issues to cover. Let’s continue.

Reason number seven, violence. So many Americans are proud of their second amendment, which gives them the right to bear and carry firearms. They think it will help them to keep the country safer. No, you fools. Once you allow guns, you are going to meet them because people are going to use them against you if they feel like it. It has resulted in a never-ending arms race. There are now 393 million guns in the hands of American civilians that is 40 % of all these civilian guns in the whole world. No wonder America is one of the most violent countries in the world. Homicide and gun violence levels in America are among the highest in the world. What would you expect if you give random people millions of guns? Now Europe is not perfect, but when it comes to guns in Europe, we have a simple rule - guns are illegal. There are basically no guns on the streets in most European countries. If you do have a gun, you are very likely a criminal and the police will come for you. The result is that in most European countries, the streets are safe. There are no people running around with guns.

Reason number eight, traffic jams and bad roads. It is ironic that in a country where there is so much room, a country that was designed to make way for transport by car, there is now so much traffic congestion. Los Angeles and many other American cities are infamous for their traffic jams. It’s even more ironic that in many American cities, roads are hardly maintained. Anyone can see in Google street view, how bad many of the American roads are. Where is the money going to that should be spent on American roads? I’m not even elaborating on the poor status of the American railroads. There is only one high speed rail connection in the entire USA. At the same time, many countries all over Europe and Asia connect all of their major cities with comfortable, clean and frequent high-speed rail connections. Why isn’t this possible in America?

Reason number nine, fake democracy. America has only two political parties to choose from for about two centuries. Now, there are huge barriers for independent candidates to run for office. That is not democracy. Democracy is that anyone who wants to start a political party can be admitted to the political system. And then the people can vote for them if they have good ideas. That is how democracy is arranged in many European and Asian countries. Why is America still not a mature democracy? You had two centuries to take care of that. The answer, of course, we all know. America is managed by a corporate elite of rich and powerful families who would like to limit the scope of the political landscape. They don’t want you to have the opportunity to freely choose whatever politician you want, because they can’t control that.

Reason number ten, limited freedom of speech. It has become more and more clear that in America, freedom of speech is under threat. If you don’t proclaim the right opinion, the large media companies will block or cancel you. I do realize that these big American media companies, they are not the government, so it’s not official censorship, communist style, but it’s getting increasingly hard to distinguish today situation in America from the way communist regimes deal with opinions that they don’t like.

Reason number 11, war mongers. For the past 75 years, the USA has been one of the most aggressive countries in the world. When it comes to waging wars, there is an endless list of wars and conflicts in which America attacked a sovereign nation. In some cases, the reasons were pretty ridiculous. Waging wars has costed the American people trillions of dollars. No wonder that many Americans are fed up with this, and such a shame that the new American president has dropped bombs on the middle east, only in his 5th week in office. I thought America elected him because he would unite everyone.

I have given you 11 reasons why America is not the greatest country in the world, but there are still 11 more reasons on my piece of paper. Yes. There is even more. How about the completely incompetent response of America to the Covid pandemic? How about the fact that America has the largest prison population in the world? How about the racism, the pollution, and the corruption? How about the mass shootings, the domestic terrorism, and the widespread drug abuse? How about the fact that America for a century now has been implementing a policy of neocolonialism by establishing military branches and operations all over the world? How about the fact that America has been depleting natural resources from countries all over the world? How about the fact that America has developed into a divided nation that even appeared to be on the brink of a civil war when people with guns sieged the American parliament? I mean normally you would only see that in the kind of countries that America would call a banana republic. How about the poor response of American government officials to tornadoes, and floods, and wildfires? How about the fact that the mighty state of Texas almost perished and had no more electricity because of a few days of bad weather? How about the intolerance towards homosexuals? How about American music culture, glorifying gun, violence, and objectifying women? How about the poor American education system that greatly damages the opportunities of American children? How about Americans being addicted to and selling their soul and personal data to the American social media? How about the fact that lobbyists pay American politicians in return for favorable laws and regulations? How can anyone in their right mind think that America is the greatest country in the world? America is living in a bubble. And one day, it’s going to explode. 

（觀察者網由冠羣聽譯自"THE EUROPEAN"視頻頻道）

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