Keeping up with the Joneses culture, which has brought us every avenue of our sinking economy today. Just recently, it has brought us the failure of Fannie and Freddie.
This probably wouldn’t hold up as my answer for the most overrated thing evah, but what’s up with the passion for panini as the sandwiches of choice these days? At best, they’re bland and dry. At worst, they’ll hurt your mouth.
But you won’t know which player shaves his legs. 
Really, I have to thank the sports enthusiasts, it’s their support and dollars that went into HDTV research so you can see the grass on the field. It also makes people have lustrious, well conditioned hair. (Well, I assume they had it before, but now you can SEE it.)
Funny thing is, about 2 minutes into an HDTV movie, you kinda stop noticing the pores on the Orcs.
My Add: Consumerism. Save your pennies kids, save for the things you want, then SPEND SPEND SPEND! Just after you run out, save some more…when you have a spare dollar, SPEND IT! Spend it on cable, cellphones, ringtones, Onstar, XM radio, Netflix, dollar menu items, six months same as cash! Collect the whole set! Hallmark ornaments, Pokemon cards, automobiles! Ebay! buy buy buy, sell, then buy some more!
When you’re done, your house (third in 8 years) is FULL OF CRAP and buying doesn’t feel ‘good’ anymore. But you can’t throw it out, you’ll never know when you might NEED it!
Well, that’s not true, You could throw out your spouse’s stuff, or your kids things…but keep your own, because [carlin]it’s your stuff, and it’s their crap![/carlin]
I don’t know where the hell you’re shopping for electronics, but my HD set cost around $300-350. It’s not a giant plasma thing, but it’s HD all the same. Since I got it, I really do find it annoying to watch non-HD programming. Especially with sports. I assume you use an old black and white TV with big dials on it. Those snobby suckers can have their fancy color tv, it’s the same game either way!
The grand canyon is overrated. I was waiting for a religious experience, and all I got was a stupid t-shirt and a hole in the ground.
I understand that everyone has their own opinion, etc. etc., but yours happens to be wrong.
I agree with super high intelligence. I don’t get into the culture of trying to get kids those few extra IQ points, or all honors classes, or the perfect SAT score. I think it is great that intelligence is nurtured, but I think other traits are just as, or even more important. I will be happy if my kids get A’s in school but I am also concerned with whether they are socially adept, kind, empathetic, good leaders, etc. Some people brag about their kids’ report cards like it is the end all be all. I think having a well rounded personality and fulfilling life is more important, and will serve the child better in the future as well. Most of the very highly intelligent people I know were or still are very unhappy if they don’t have the social skills to go with it.
I felt that way about Mount Rushmore. Now, the Crazy Horse Monument - THAT’S some mountain carving!
I’ll second (or whatever) cellphones that do everything but drive your car for you. I have an ancient cellphone that lets me:
- make calls
and - take calls
and - take voicemails (for the 99.9% of the time when my phone is off).
It has texting, but I don’t use it. The only people who ever text me are the phone company, telemarketing me. I don’t need to surf the web while out and about - I do that at home. I don’t need to take pictures with it. I don’t need to listen to music on it.
Also, damn near everything that critics love. What a bunch of out of touch, useless gits.
I find texting very useful for getting phone numbers from infomation. It makes it much easier to input that number into my address book and saves me from having to find pen and paper. I use it all the time.
I never thought that Texas was rated highly by anyone other than Texans.
The mainstream media and their claims of journalistic standards and layers of fact-checkers and editors.
I must say - I did mention that already.
But in your experience as an American I assume these are the words of some body washed up on the beach of capitalism, drowned in the sea of virtual pamphlets offering you the pornography of a new wife, life & vehicle.
**Self-esteem in children. **
As a teacher, I hear about this all the time. The children need a good self-esteem. I agree that they should not hate themselves, but it is good for kids to realize their limits and understand what things they just “suck” at. I told some kids that becoming a pro hockey player is a great goal, but they need to realize that it probably wouldn’t happen and should focus on school. I was told by some that this hurts their self-esteem and that children should believe they can do “anything.”
Grades
Again, I’m a teacher. Just get A’s, B’s, and an occasional C and you are fine. If you try hard, you will do fine. If you struggle, try your best and turn your homework in. If you do that, you can’t fail(unless you have a bad teacher or are in some crazy hard class). Good grades do not equal intelligence at all.
Apple Computers
Apple everything, as many have said. They are fine, even good sometimes. I dislike OS X, but don’t hate it. I have no idea why some people hail this company and their products above all else. It’s just a company, like Microsoft or Walmart. They aren’t cool, don’t love you, and rarely produce major innovations. This is fine, but seriously, “Calm down!”
**Self-esteem in children. **
As a teacher, I hear about this all the time. The children need a good self-esteem. I agree that they should not hate themselves, but it is good for kids to realize their limits and understand what things they just “suck” at. I told some kids that becoming a pro hockey player is a great goal, but they need to realize that it probably wouldn’t happen and should focus on school. I was told by some that this hurts their self-esteem and that children should believe they can do “anything.”
Grades
Again, I’m a teacher. Just get A’s, B’s, and an occasional C and you are fine. If you try hard, you will do fine. If you struggle, try your best and turn your homework in. If you do that, you can’t fail(unless you have a bad teacher or are in some crazy hard class). Good grades do not equal intelligence at all.
Apple Computers
Apple everything, as many have said. They are fine, even good sometimes. I dislike OS X, but don’t hate it. I have no idea why some people hail this company and their products above all else. It’s just a company, like Microsoft or Walmart. They aren’t cool, don’t love you, and rarely produce major innovations. This is fine, but seriously, “Calm down!”
I’m seconding this one. My dad sat us kids down in front of the TV - must have been late 60’s early 70’s to watch a short clip of Hitler. There was controversy about whether the clip was to be shown since people would be upset. They (the BBC probably) went ahead and ran the clip.
My dad with his hand shaking and his voice cracking pointed at Hitler and said “Watch these mannerisms (Hitler was pointing and shouting - very emotive) and beware. If you ever see anyone giving a speech in this manner beware.” Or something like that. I’ll never forget it - it was the first time I saw a grown man cry - my dad.
I see religious people doing this on TV now and the hair on my head stands on end. Shudder.
I had a professor once that felt very strongly that the whole attitude of “you can do anything you want when you grow up!” is really far more harmful to students than being realistic. I agree with him.
Evolution.
Oh sure, I totally believe that evolution is not a mere theory, but an irrefutable fact. But that doesn’t mean that every single human trait or activity needs to be explained in terms of its evolutionary advantage. Some things just happen . . . because there’s no reason for them not to, and they don’t interfere with our ability to reproduce.
I wish more teachers were like you.
For me, I have to go with sports. I couldn’t give a crap about any sport or any sports team.
Also, The Doors. They are a horrible band, and I’ll never understand all the Jim Morrison worship.
Yes, but like a true American, I did it LOUDER and with MORE WORDS!.
Therefore, I must have done it first. 
Americans…they’re overrated, aren’t they?
Some of these have already been mentioned, but :
Religion, and faith. I’ve already gone into why at length elsewhere.
Sports. There’s nothing wrong in enjoying watching them, but we go much too far. Giving sports stars an iconic status, letting them get aways with unethical or outright criminal behavior, expecting them to be role models, using them up so they are crippled young, splurging on massive sports coliseums even if that we can’t afford them, and so on.
Love, romantic and otherwise. Is it pleasant ? Yes. But it’s neither the ultimate good, nor is it always good at all, and especially it’s not some mystic force. It’s an emotion like any other, and can be good and bad.
Children. If you have them and enjoy them, fine, but people can live happy and fulfilling lives without them, and miserable lives with them. And they don’t give you the right to childproof the world just because you don’t want to take the effort of parenting your child yourself.
The military. It’s not always in the right, it’s not composed of heroes, and killing people who can’t really fight back isn’t a great sacrifice you deserve respect for. They deserve acclaim for fighting in a good cause , yes, but the corollary of that is that they deserve to be condemned for fighting for a bad one. Not just given acclaim regardless of what they do or why.
The police. The police aren’t innately more moral than anyone else. They are perfectly capable of being corrupt or thugs or otherwise the bad guys. They do a necessary job, and on average they make society a much better place - but only if they aren’t allowed to become just another gang. And putting them on a pedestal and assuming they are never wrong isn’t the way to achieve that.
The free market, and capitalism in general. They are useful, but they are tools not a moral principle. And no tool is universal. Sometimes, necessity or morality is contrary to them, and “That’s against the free market !” isn’t a good argument why you shouldn’t do something. Laws against slavery, food safety regulations, pollution controls, and many other things are against the Holy Free Market, and they make the world a much better place to live in.
Work. Yes, work is necessary; we are nowhere near being a utopia where the robots do all the work while we materialize dinner in our replicators. But it’s a necessity, not a virtue. Work can be useful, or it can be pointless, or it can be dull and empty, or it can be evil, or it can be life fulfilling. It’s not a virtue in itself. Nor will it necessarily make you happy or give your life meaning.
America. It’s just another country. Not the “greatest in the world”.