{"id":46276,"date":"2017-04-10T00:14:19","date_gmt":"2017-04-10T07:14:19","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/?p=46276"},"modified":"2017-04-25T21:00:51","modified_gmt":"2017-04-26T04:00:51","slug":"america","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/erickimphotography.com\/blog\/2017\/04\/10\/america\/","title":{"rendered":"MY AMERICA"},"content":{"rendered":"

\"AMERICA-land<\/p>\n

I love America, and her ideals of freedom for all:<\/p>\n

<\/p>\n

1. What is America to me?<\/h2>\n

\"eric<\/p>\n

What do I think America is?<\/p>\n

For me, America is the land of the free.<\/p>\n

America is about making the best out of the hand you were dealt in life.<\/p>\n

America is the chance of a new life. America is the chance to live in a society, without fear.<\/p>\n

2. Why I would not want to live in Singapore or Hanoi (long-term)<\/h2>\n

\"eric<\/p>\n

I was in Singapore a year or so ago \u00e2\u20ac\u201d and while everything was beautiful and perfect, I came to the sad realization: there is no freedom there. No freedom of thought, or speech.<\/p>\n

Sure, you can wallow in luxury, you can live a very comfortable life without fear of crime, etc \u00e2\u20ac\u201d but is it worth it if you don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t even have the freedom to say what is really on your mind?<\/p>\n

In Hanoi, life is good. I can live like a very privileged Westerner, essentially with \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcinfinite\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 money. In theory, I can live in Hanoi for the rest of my life and never \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcwork\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 another day in my life (just based on my savings, and residual income). But \u00e2\u20ac\u201d there is no freedom of speech here. Is it worth living a cozy and cushioned lifestyle, as a privileged ex-pat, when I don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have the freedom to do what I want to do? To have the freedom to say what is really on my mind? To have the freedom to access any website I want? (Facebook, Twitter, and many other sites are disabled on some<\/em> wifi networks in Hanoi). And even though Facebook is now available to use to the masses\u00e2\u20ac\u201d it is still highly monitored by the government. So if you say something anti-Vietnamese government on Facebook, you can have the secret police knocking on your door.<\/p>\n

3. I love America<\/h2>\n

\"doves5-1\"<\/p>\n

There is no other country I want to live in (for the rest of my life) besides America.<\/p>\n

In America, I have freedom of speech. I can say whatever I want, and I can express anything that I truly feel in my soul.<\/p>\n

In America, I have the freedom to setup my own business, and to partake in capitalist enterprises \u00e2\u20ac\u201d with no restrictions (to a certain point) from the government. Compare this to other countries in the world, where you have to give explicit bribes just to start a business.<\/p>\n

In America, I can have \"doves5-1\"freedom of sexual expression<\/a>. It don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t matter if I\u00e2\u20ac\u2122m gay, lesbian, trans-sexual, bi-sexual, or questioning. I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be sent to jail for showing love to any other human being.<\/p>\n

In America, the government can\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t suddenly come knocking on my door, and asking me to surrender all of my private property.<\/p>\n

In America, we (technically) have the right to privacy. Granted, the CIA is still spying on everyone (Patriot Act), privacy is still \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcrespected.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 And certainly, I have more privacy in America compared to other countries in the world.<\/p>\n

In America, I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have to partake in military activities against my consent. I won\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t be drafted into no war (unless, maybe there is World War III).<\/p>\n

In America, I can have as many (or as few) children as I want. No 2-child policy in America.<\/p>\n

In America, nobody dies from starvation anymore. Even if I totally got fucked up, and ended up on the streets\u00e2\u20ac\u201d my \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcbasic\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 needs would be supported by the US Government.<\/p>\n

4. America\u00e2\u20ac\u2122s strength is from her diversity<\/h2>\n

\"art-deco-buildings-1\"<\/p>\n

I love America, and what America represents. To me, I see America visually through the statue of liberty. She holds her torch high, illuminating the path of all immigrants from all around the world to arrive at her shores at Ellis Island.<\/p>\n

To me, America is freedom. She loves all. She accepts all. She doesn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t judge.<\/p>\n

America knows that her strength comes from diversity. The best innovations happen in America, because of our ethnic and cultural diversity. The world wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have had Apple, iPhone, or Steve Jobs<\/a> without his Syrian father. The world wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have had Tesla and self-driving cars\/Tesla\/Space X without the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcimmigrant\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 of Elon Musk<\/a> (from South Africa). The world wouldn\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t have Google and free access to the entire internet without the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcimmigrant\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 families of Sergey Brin and Page.<\/p>\n

5. Diversity or die<\/h2>\n

\"small-tree<\/p>\n

In biology and nature\u00e2\u20ac\u201d diversity is strength.<\/p>\n

Consider the potato famine which killed millions of people in Europe. Just one virus wiped out the (one) variant of potato. Therefore all the potatoes got this virus, and there were no longer any more potatoes. Millions died.<\/p>\n

If there was a bio-diversity of different strains or varieties of potatoes, millions would still be alive.<\/p>\n

In-bred dogs are sicker, weaker, dumber, and die sooner. Pure-bred dogs are just dumb in-bred animals. It is kind of disgusting\u00e2\u20ac\u201d imagine if you had a bunch of children with your sister or brother (or even worse, your parents), and for several generations afterwards\u00e2\u20ac\u201d your children had sex and children with your other children.<\/p>\n

The strongest animals or dogs are the \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcmutts\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d the ones that have a diversity of parents. A mix between a pitfall and chihuahua. A mix between a greyhound and a poodle. Whatever it may be\u00e2\u20ac\u201d these mixed-race dogs are stronger, smarter, healthier, and better.<\/p>\n

The same happens with human beings. If we had 100% \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcpure-bred\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 humans, we would all be in-breds. Nothing more disgusting than fucking your own sister. It makes more sense to have \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcethnic\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 or \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcracial\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 diversity. When I have kids with Cindy, I am proud that we will have \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcmixed-race\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Vietnamese-Korean kids. And I hope that my kids marry and have children with white folks, black folks, or purple folks.<\/p>\n

Why is it that it is generally accepted in finance, and economics that you need to \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcdiversity or die.\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 Or Charles Darwin: adapt\/evolve\/diversity or die.<\/p>\n

Why don\u00e2\u20ac\u2122t we treat society the same?<\/p>\n

6. Diversity of ideas<\/h2>\n

\"eric<\/p>\n

The best ideas are the diverse ones. The cross-over between physics and painting. The cross-over between industrial design and nature. The cross-over between zen minimalism and capitalism. The cross-over between an SUV and a compact car.<\/p>\n

James Altucher calls this \u00e2\u20ac\u02dcidea sex\u00e2\u20ac\u2122 \u00e2\u20ac\u201d taking two disparate ideas and letting them copulate. Then the resulting idea is far more unique and valuable.<\/p>\n

Seneca<\/a> says the best way to be creative is to be like a bee\u00e2\u20ac\u201d visiting many different flowers, with different pollen, and creating a unique honey from all these different sources.<\/p>\n

For me, here is a mix of fields I am interested in:<\/p>\n