Rtstevie

Hello, and thank you for this fascinating AMA, as well as the previous one.

Having lived in a communist/authoritarian country, I was wondering if you could possibly shed some light on something I often wonder when I learn about and see footage of people who reside in those types of countries:

Today, perhaps the most prominent and extreme example of authoritarianism is North Korea. Every aspect of their lives seems to be controlled and mapped out. And subsequently, their economy is very weak and their standard of living is extremely low when it comes to aspects such as food, reliability of electricity, etc.

But when I see footage of people there, I often wonder: What level of consciousness do they have regarding their own plight? Does the average person there realize how far behind much of the world they are in quality of life? That their issues with famine are nonexistent in Western countries and many other countries around the world? Perhaps there is a level of awareness, but it is not as disparate as they realize.

So I guess, in your experience, what was your level of knowledge about this? Did you know that quality of life in Western Europe and the USA was much higher? Was there a level of consciousness regarding this, but the reality was still beyond your expectation?

I know that term- "quality of life"- can be subjective. But generally meaning, food availability, infrastructure such as electricity, and freedom of expression were greater in the West.

Thank you for any insight you can provide.

When you used to be a police officer, were there any moments that made your MMA-self proud? Meaning, was there ever a time you ever got to man-handle a criminal?

Ethan,

Why do you think America looks at it as being ok for President Obama to have beer brewed at the White House, for him to visit a microbrewery in Colorado while on the campaign trail and talk about how beer has helped the Colorado economy, or get beer with a group of people at the Iowa State Fair (none of which I am against by the way); but when someone questions him on the possible economical benefits of legalizing marijuana at a town hall meeting, he scoffs at the idea? Why do you think so many Americans are ok with alcohol, which kills thousands every year, advertised everywhere on TV and in print and having it so socially acceptable but regard a person who smokes a joint here and there as a criminal and menace to society? When and how does America, as whole, realize this hypocrisy?

My thoughts having served in Kunar as well. The infrastructure changes in that place over a decade- considering it was a backwater mountain province- with hospitals, paved roads, bridges and wells. The violence hasn't eased up at all, possibly getting worse. I was at COP Michigan.

For about 45 seconds after I read the question I was trying to figure out if The Talking Heads were good friends of Fox News people and played there a lot or something.