I wrote this as a joke towards America rather than an intelligent argument so I apologize for my lack of etiquette in speaking my mind. However I appreciate your response and will try to address most of what you pointed out. I'll just number it respectively as I go along. I will be honest and I will say this ahead of time, that my arguments will continue to be weak since they are not based on facts but rather experience.

1) I'm not going to ramble about drugs as being one of the problems since I am sure people are aware that smuggling drugs into the country exists.

I am a legal immigrant in the United States and it pains me to see people living the country like any other with less weight on their shoulders. They do not have to pay the same fines and have to rush to and fro embassies just to keep their legality secure nor do they have to deal with the complex immigration system and the number of many different types of visas they could choose from just to be able to work, live, or visit the country. As long as they keep their identities low-key, they would not get punishment. They do not have to pay taxes as they work under-the-table jobs despite their small percentage in the workforce. Although the country has the power to deport immigrants back to their homelands, it is obvious that it's not as easy as it sounds. You can't just walk up to someone and say "hey, you look illegal." There has to be some evidence to it and it costs money to even deport an illegal home.

http://www.newsweek.com/how-much-would-it-cost-deport-all-undocumented-immigrants-364316

2&3;) I will join this with the students not exerting as much effort. They both mainly imply that many citizens in the United States do not take advantage with their opportunity-filled system by actually working their butt off and take the government for granted instead. Americans are spoon-fed with everything to provide them with a better life than most of the other countries out there, but get upset when a non-American comes in to take what they took for granted. Now, I do not mean this towards students getting GEDs and workers who hustle with minimum wage jobs. I am aiming this to the people who actually don't try yet complain. No, I did not read on any significant article to blow my mind and claim that I knew this through a basis of such an intelligent source. I speak this because it is what I see in front of me.

As for students, I made a mistake to not emphasize "high-school". Once I was a student (and just recently graduated high-school) and seeing half the student community slacking than actually doing what they are supposed to do in school already proves plenty. I'm sure any student can say the same for any public high-school having the similar, typical people who would rather "chill" than do schoolwork. My mother is a teacher in a public high-school and I can only imagine the stress she puts up with. Half the children in her class would sleep on her, and some she has to put up with because they keep failing their required tests. Now, it is possible that their slow progression in school has something to do with possible mental issues that are never addressed so those people can be scratched out of this issue. I believe it is more a lack of discipline than anything.

4) I have had several teachers who lose my work and teach heartlessly in class that I compare them to the cafeteria ladies who give out "awful school lunches". I am pretty sure that I was not the only student who had to go through that and I am pretty sure we would not develop that stereotype of school lunch had people been more dedicated with their work. I know that it is quite a task to cook for a big number of students nor is it tough work to teach students who refuse to pay attention to you from period to period but it is clear to see the difference of work that has effort exerted into it and the one that does not. I came from a school in my country that had teachers who are strong disciplinarians and are very strongly passionate about the subjects they teach and the job they have. I am not saying that all teachers in here are flat-out lazy but there are some you can easily identify who are sick about their jobs. One of my biology teachers even said that she didn't want to teach, while my chemistry teacher said if he could turn back time, he would not be teaching at all because it "sucked".

5) Although colleges do not say that they require voluntary services it is one of the things that they look out for from a student in which unfortunately becomes a requirement for one just to stand out to people in the admissions.

http://collegeadmissionbook.com/headlines-we-hate-community-service-work-increasingly-important-for-college-applicants

High-school teachers persuade their students to do service for a "good transcript\" along with reminding them that it is something "important for your college application." It loses the true meaning of what service is. It seems now that people are serving others not out of heart but simply for service hours. During my high-school years, one of my friends shared to me about how she was "required to volunteer" for a class grade and I thought it was ridiculous.

Joining school organizations in high-school alone without having much service experience is already a struggle. Applications would ask you for specific hours in your service, your leadership experiences, etc. I applied for the National Honor Society because I was invited. I was honest enough not to put in anything in the leadership portion since it specifically asked for my leadership experiences for the past two years, which I admitted I haven't done anything significant. The moderator of NHS approached me and told me that I could not join because she showed the principal my "lacking" application. They refused it before they even gave away results on who was accepted and who was not simply because I "missed that section." which brings me to the kids who have never been exposed to service. It's rather sad when a college bases your humanity off of your service hours while the good things you did that were not recorded on paper can be easily brushed off.

5) Thanks for agreeing. I am still looking forward to the two parties to learn how to compromise with each other.

6,7, 8, & 9) Glad to know that it is down, but it is still there and people still experience drugs and pregnancy in their teens. If thinking about society in general, people try so hard not to be themselves simply because they want to please the crowd. There are many teens out there who are down to do such crazy things just to be one of the "cool" people, thus the low self-esteem issues of many teenagers today.

Crimes with guns and racism are down as well, however they do still exist. Racism-wise, the country is now more diverse than it has been, however the ideology of racism still runs and there is no denying the conflicts that brew between racists majorities, racists minorities, and the non-racists majorities/minorites. Although shootings can be proven to have gone down, it is something we truly can't predict. Shootings still happen, and they are dangerous. We don't know the next person who will commit such crimes nor do we know when, where, and how many people they plot to kill at that specific period of time. These are solely things we can keep track off but not get rid off. It's society that makes things happen. Is America better however given that these rates are going down? Yes, of course.

10) Ha! I saw that part and I laugh at myself for even bringing it up. It is silly.

11) I am going to say that I am wrong for saying that modern music is trash since it is a given that we all have different tastes in music. However, it is quite disappointing to see all this people who don't have musicality that go big and pop out in the radio all the time. This new "trap" genre being one of them. Yes, classic pop might have had the same meaning as to the songs we sing today but the fact that people pay an auto-tuned singer to listen to (regardless of the genre) and disregarding real singers and musicians is what I was trying to point out.

Now that you know that I am an immigrant, I hope you do not use it against me as to why I am even speaking in this particular debate. I have lived here and I have lived in another country, making it easier for me to compare and contrast and to speak from a perspective of an outsider along with the experiences of living here.

I'm confused, what is wrong with autonomy? America prides itself as a country of freedom, after all.

Think of situations like politicians. We can't have people completely working by themselves in a society.

I can certainly agree with you there, and I would say those are two of (in that presented order) the biggest issues facing the United States.

And, what has been done to fix those? Deny global warming and add amendments to kill Obamacare to bills for road work.

You pointing out that we have always screwed something up is not a good reason to disagree.

The question wasn't "Is America greater than it has ever been?" Of course we're better off than pretty much every other moment in American history, but I certainly don't think at this very moment we are getting better.

I really don't see how you can disagree with based on the actual question.

I'm confused, what is wrong with autonomy? America prides itself as a country of freedom, after all.

Well I'm just talking about the idea that people have that they can just do whatever they want and they'll be celebrated because it's their choice and whatnot. It's difficult to explain, but it's definitely a growing mindset in America, people just hate being told what's good and bad for them which isn't bad in itself but when taken to the extreme it can be dangerous. Sorry if this is still unclear, I'd like to be able to express this notion more concisely.