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My topic is What are the good and what are the bad things associated with America . I will focus on three positive characteristics such as the countrys impact on the modern development of technologies, America as the land of opportunities, and the protection of freedom of choice; and three negative characteristics that include legal system injustice, corruption, and unfair prison system. My goal is to explore the mentioned characteristics to get a full picture of the country, its attitude towards various aspects of the societys life, as well as how people are influenced by these characteristics. I will proceed as follows. The paper is divided into three sections. First, I will discuss the positive characteristics of America. Second, I will examine three negative aspects. Third, I will make a conclusion on the topic.
The first positive point is the Americas contribution to developing innovations and technology. The country has long been considered a cradle for innovations and entrepreneurship. For example, the U.S. is the country where the Internet was developed, an innovation that nowadays unites all people around the planet (National Economic Council 2). The technological environment in the U.S. encourages risk taking and tolerates failure, which is the contrast to the European business environment (Ezell and Marxgut 193). Furthermore, the U.S. targets technological advances at addressing challenges the country faces, such as the need in health care improvement, manufacturing optimization, and production of less waste and emissions. Lastly, the technological environment in the United States creates jobs for citizens and invests into seeking talent even abroad, greatly contributing to the flow of scientists, engineers, and doctors (Mobarak par. 6).
The second positive aspect of the United States is the individuals freedom of religion and expression from governmental interference, as stated in the First Amendment of the Constitution (Cornell University Law School par. 1). Contrast to countries where religious and individual views are strictly guided by the law, the U.S. government does not impose any limits on speech, assembly, and press, which facilitates the development of an open-minded society. Furthermore, the freedom of speech and expression has recently been supported by the legalization of same-sex marriages in all fifty states (Roberts and Siddiqui par. 2). It is crucial to mention that the Constitution protects even controversial and offensive speech from not being suppressed by the government since it is considered a form of opinion expression (Embassy of the United States of America 1).
Finally, the third positive aspect of the United States is the countrys being characterized as the land of opportunities where peoples dreams come true. Regardless of the financial and economic crisis of 2008, many still view the name land of opportunities fit to characterize the U.S (Reference par. 2). It is relatively easy to start ones business in the United States, which is different from many other countries where it takes a lot of time and costs. According to Quality of Life Index for Country 2016 Mid Year , the United States fall into the top-ten rating of countries with a high quality of life (par. 1), which majorly contributes to the increased number of opportunities for those who live in the U.S. as well as those coming to the country in the pursuit of success. America is called the land of opportunities because of the many success stories of people like Oprah Winfrey, Steve Jobs, Sylvester Stallone, Christopher Paul Gardner, Elon Musk, Arnold Schwarzenegger, and many others who became successful regardless of their background (Mont par. 8).
One of the most commonly accepted negative characteristics of the United States is the injustice that prevails in the legal system. There are some differences in how regular citizens view the legal system and how the legal system treats citizens back (Swanson par. 3). Recently the legal system has tainted its reputation with staggering statistics on wrongful convictions. For example, according to the statistics presented by CNN, 11.1% of all convictions in the United States are proven to be wrongful (par. 15). Furthermore, the statistics mention that out of a hundred criminal cases involving confessions, fifteen result in a conviction based on a false confession. Lastly, the legal system in the U.S. calls for wealth because those individuals who have more money are much more likely to receive justice by hiring experienced lawyers or prosecutors (Kendrick par. 3). The monetary discrimination against poor and racially minor individuals also greatly contributes to the increased rates of wrongful convictions.
With the Presidential election around the corner, the issue of corruption is high in the American public agenda. For example, instead of conducting short and publicly funded election campaigns with free advertising, candidates prefer paying a lot for being noticed by potential voters (Cole par. 2). Apart from politics, corruption greatly affects the everyday life of simple Americans. The example of a water crisis in Flint, MI represents the nature of the U.S. corruption to its fullest. Instead of balancing the funds between the public good and the capitalist profit, local governments protect private businesses like Nestle along with their interests so that the desperate for help Michigan citizens do not receive any assistance (Rosen par. 8). Bribery on the international level is a form of corruption that became a major focus for the governmental agencies such as the Organization for Economic Co-operation and Development (OECD) (U.S. Department of State par. 1). However, there have not been any cohesive results of the efforts employed by the Organization since corruption is greatly protected by the government itself.
Lastly, it is important to mention the controversial nature of the U.S. prison system that is known for exploiting the labor force of prisoners (Pelaez par. 3). However, labor force exploitation is not the only issue because nowadays the rates of incarceration are so high that they cause prisons to overcrowd. For example, out of 100,000 people in the U.S. 753 are incarcerated, which is the contrast to the European countries (96 people in France, 153 in England, and 66 in Denmark) (Kamray and Boyd par. 1). According to the report conducted by Williams, juvenile incarceration is another major issue; furthermore, the majority of crimes committed by children are not what regular people may consider crime. They include technical violations, status offenses, and behaviors that are not law violations for adults (Williams par. 4).
Throughout the report, I have identified three positives and three negative characteristics of the United States. The country has a negative reputation for corruption, legal system injustice, and tainted prison system, which largely impact the lives of regular citizens. On the bright side, the U.S. protects the freedom of speech and expression, provides high quality of life, and greatly contributes to the technological progress both inside and outside the country.
Works Cited
CNN. More Than 2,000 Wrongfully Convicted People Exonerated in 23 years, Researchers Say. 2012. Web.
Cole, Juan. Top 10 Ways the US is the Most Corrupt Country in the World. 2013. Web.
Cornell University Law School. First Amendment. n.d. Web. 2016.
Embassy of the United States of America. Freedom of Expression in the United States. 2013. Web.
Ezel, Stephen, and Philipp Marxgut. Comparing American and European Innovation Cultures. 2015. Web.
Kamray, Nake, and Ryan Boyd. U.S. Incarceration Rate Is a National Disgrace. 2012. Web.
Kendrick, Deborah. The Criminal Injustice System in the United States. 2013. Web.
Mobarak, Mushfiq. Immigration and Innovation. 2013. Web.
Mont, Joe. 10 People Living the American Dream. 2011. Web.
National Economic Council. A Strategy for American Innovation. 2015. Web.
Pelaez, Vicky. The Prison Industry in the United States: Big Business or a New Form of Slavery? 2016. Web.
Quality of Life Index for Country 2016 Mid Year. 2016. Web.
Reference. Why is America Considered the Land of Opportunity? n.d. Web.
Roberts, Dan, and Sabrina Siddiqui. Gay Marriage Declared Legal Across the US in Historic Supreme Court Ruling. 2015. Web.
Rosen, David. Corruption, USA. 2016. Web.
Swanson, Ana. The U.S. Court System Is Criminally Unjust. 2015. Web.
U.S. Department of State. Corruption and Bribery. n.d. Web. 2016.
Williams, Audrey. Prison Overcrowding Threatens Public Safety and State Budgets. 2014. Web.
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