<p>why is it that every thread on the international forum becomes diverted towards indian topics?</p>
<p>@sefago:
because we have an abundance of pretty ladies and a scarcity of processed latex and because of our intrinsic inclination to engage in bootless gabfests…</p>
<p>I do agree about the pretty women though…but still most topics just tyrn into an argument about IIT, CBSE…I am not indian but i know everything about ur educational system just by using collegeconfidential</p>
<p>
</p>
<p>You must be kidding me. Is that the best excuse you can give?</p>
<p>Not an excuse, that is just something you missed 
I’m no fan of the erstwhile gentleman’s game though.</p>
<p>Coming from India, that’s a big “wow”. Everyone is supposed to worship cricket there.</p>
<p>If you think there’s racism in USA, bear in mind that Australia’s racism is worse by a lot. I had a Malay-Muslim Singaporean friend who went there and became victims of being spat on, ugly remarks, and deliberately poor service, because these people think that all Malay-Muslims come from only Indonesia and Malaysia, which Australia has sour relations with. And yet another friend-a Chinese Singaporean- was in the outback Australia one day when she was suddenly heard, ‘go home, you yellow bird’ from a man thinking she is from China. Outraged, she scolded back using her best and most insulting English (to show him she’s not from China) and sped off in her car to avoid more tensions, because she knows people like them may flash a gun out anytime. I didn’t experience this kind of problem when I was in a small town in USA. It shows that some Australians’ friendliness is not genuine-they just want to make tourist money. Sorry if there are any Australians reading this-no offense intended, but this is true.</p>
<p>As an immigrant living in the U.S. for more 14 years and someone who had spent the last 18 months studying the early civil rights movement (pre-1954) for his senior thesis, I have come to deeply admire the U.S.'s ability to remedy past mistakes and move forward to create a more just society. As the Civil War, the Women’s Suffrage Movement, and the Civil Rights Movement have shown us, it’s not a cake walk to create a paradigm shift in society. Nevertheless, as history has shown us, the U.S., a federation of states, a land of immigrant, one of the first modern nations enshrined with liberal democratic principles, has within its system the ability to create substantial social progress. </p>
<p>First, unlike other nations where the central governments wield enormous power to decide national policy (the size makes it a challenge to change national policy), the U.S. has 50 states that have the ability to engineer their own social laws. The prime example right now is gay marriage where six states, and more to join them, have legalized it. As the individual states start adopting progressive policy, it creates pressures on other states or at least provide an argument and model for progress. This was the case before the Civil War when northern states abolished slavery and started pressuring the South to begin change. </p>
<p>Second, the U.S., unlike most countries, has an extremely powerful judicial system. Unlike Europe where civil laws require judges to follow the law of the land to the exact letters, the common law of the U.S. has built-in flexibility that allows judges to defy unjust laws and appeal to a higher spirit as embodied by the Bill of Rights and the Constitution. Time and time again the U.S. Supreme Court has shown that it can nudge the nation toward progress even when it’s extremely unpopular in some part of the country (e.g. Brown v. Board of Education, Roe v. Wade). </p>
<p>Third, the U.S. has a relatively liberal naturalization policy that allows “natural born” children of immigrants full citizenship. Unlike Germany and Switzerland, where being born in the country doesn’t mean you’re a citizen, the U.S. opens the door the next generation. This gives immigrant a stake in the community, but also giving them the power to vote and change discriminatory policy. We can see this phenomenon in the rising power and influence of the Hispanic voting bloc. </p>
<p>The U.S. is not a racist nation, it’s a nation with many flaws, but its capacity and potential for good and justice are limitless. It’s not easy to change the minds of individuals, but the path to revolutionize society in the U.S. is always open for those who want take up the challenge.</p>