Actor Jackie Chan calls U.S. ‘most corrupt’ country in the world

[davidthegnome]

87. Our celebrity obsession could be taken as an example of why

we're so corrupt. Rather than admiring or honoring the real heroes in our Country, we tend to fall head over heels in love with our favorite celebrities - whether they're actors, politicians, or athletes. It often strikes me that few people here are content to just be themselves, so they sort of live vicariously through others. It doesn't matter what they do wrong - provided they do SOME things right. (The point being, we let them get away with worse than murder, because our lives are so dreadful we get some kind of inner boost from their success)

Nothing makes Jackie Chan's opinion terribly valid as opposed to anyone else. Sure, we're unbelievably corrupt on a financial level, the rot is so deep I'm not sure it even could be all cut out. We've had opportunity after opportunity to turn things around and we still keep playing by the rules of the corporations and wealthy individuals. We love and applaud "job creators", most of whom hire a great deal more labor over seas than here in America. We permit this absurd tax relief to companies that are seeing record profit, we let the big boys and girls keep their millions of dollars in bonuses (even after committing fraud that lead to a global economic crisis) and we don't scream much about it, other than a few of us "whacky liberals" over at DU.

There is something fundamentally wrong with American society... is it superficiality? Greed? Perhaps apathy? I don't know, I just know that it's far from the Country I read about in my history books. My Grandfathers believed they lived in the greatest Nation on earth - how many Americans honestly believe that now?

Hell yes we have issues. The thing is, China has even more of them. Jackie is free to criticize and condemn all he likes, but he should consider the flaws of his own Country while he's pointing out ours. If he's a real advocate for change, for justice... then he'll be equal in his condemnation of all very corrupt Countries, which certainly includes China.

If the best defense we have though, is to say: "Hey, China is even MORE corrupt!" It's a damn sorry state of affairs. Whether they are or not, the point, I think, is that we have reached a despicable level of corruption - though we don't need Mr. Chan to point that out to us. Anyone who's not fast asleep knows.