Putin takes a shit on the concept of 'American Exceptionalism', makes Congressman nauseated
81 replies, posted
[QUOTE=Emperor Scorpious II;42167841]That sounds awfully pessimistic. I would much prefer to be a bit proud of my country's achievements while acknowledging that we're not perfect nor have a perfect past. All nations on this earth have contributed something to humanity's progress, it would be overly stoic not to smile at those successes.[/QUOTE]
being proud of something that you've played no significant part in is completely idiotic
i love my country's healthcare system and progressive values with regards to gay marriage and such for instance, but i'd never be PROUD of my country for these things unless I was involved in them
patriotism and nationalism are the same thing
The three biggest issues I see with Americans as of right now are
-Education just sucks, teenagers and young adults not only don't understand how our government functions nor do they understand how the world and this nation came to this point. We also have a very high illiteracy rate.
-Right now, Journalism has gone very safe in the way that it will never call out Americans on being wrong unless the majority is in favor of that idea.
-Because of the internet, we have minority groups getting louder and louder, drowning out general Americans. This isn't just in business, but its almost all policy sectors the minority groups can now scream as loud or louder than the majority.
[QUOTE=Swilly;42168155]You actually don't realize how very little most Americans give a flying fuck about Religion.
We don't have time for it.[/QUOTE]
No, you just assume this because you are (presumably) a middle-classed white teenager who is an apathetic atheist and have surrounded yourself with friends who share similar beliefs, or lack thereof - thus making it seem like you have a general sense of what 'most Americans' are like.
If you don't acknowledge that religion plays a HUGE role in the United States you are downright oblivious to the current state of affairs your own country is in. Don't give me none of that rationalizing shit bundled with a persecution complex that everyone just rags on the US for no reason. Statistics and numbers speak for themselves.
[QUOTE=BrainDeath;42168279]being proud of something that you've played no significant part in is completely idiotic
patriotism and nationalism are the same thing[/QUOTE]
So its idiotic to idolize and be proud of something like the Civil Rights movement? You can have pride, just don't let it blind it.
[QUOTE]He concluded with the line, "We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord's blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal."[/QUOTE]
Homosexuals are clearly a different kind of equal then Putin.
[QUOTE=Melnek;42168299]No, you just assume this because you are (presumably) a middle-classed white teenager who is an apathetic atheist and have surrounded yourself with friends who share similar beliefs, or lack thereof.
If you don't acknowledge that religion plays a HUGE role in the United States you are downright oblivious to the current state of affairs your own country is in. Don't give me none of that rationalizing shit bundled with a persecution complex that everyone just rags on the US for no reason. Statistics and numbers speak for themselves.[/QUOTE]
I'm actually Unitarian Universalist.
And by, actually following religion I meant by people who actually practice and go to church/mosque/synagogue every Sunday and take part in all of that. Most people can go ahead and run around quoting the bible but the same statistics point to a raise in atheism within the US public. And there is no persecution complex, the US gov't has done horrendous shit that no one was brought to justice for. Native Americans for example, deserve a lot more reperations then they have received. I'm not blind, I'm also not blind that most major nations got there by doing horrendous things. Most of West Europe is directly to blame for most of Africa's problems.
[QUOTE=Swilly;42168307]So its idiotic to idolize and be proud of something like the Civil Rights movement? You can have pride, just don't let it blind it.[/QUOTE]
if you contributed to it yeah you could but you probably didn't and it's really disingenuous to the people that did that you can take pride in their work and not your own
on the other hand it makes a lot of sense to be happy that your country does have such a good "x" and be glad you live there in stead of somewhere else if you do feel that way (though of course this is a path that leads to exceptionalism)
[QUOTE=Swilly;42168342]I'm actually Unitarian Universalist.
[/QUOTE]
Truth search High Five!
[QUOTE=Zenreon117;42168399]Truth search High Five![/QUOTE]
I haven't practiced in forever, our Church kept changing the damn minister every year so we just stopped going. Sucks to, I was year away from the Mentors part of OWL.
i've stated before in some classes of mine my disdain for the idea of american exceptionalism and many people in the classes had a look on their face like they couldn't comprehend what i was saying
i guess there are people out there who were raised in such a way that they don't see America in a critical light, which is odd to me
He's fucking right. We have no innate, divinely-mandated exceptional duty to "lead" the world, and I can't stand people that behave as if Americans are God's chosen people to rule over everyone else.
[QUOTE=Hawkshadow;42167610]Why are we bombing Syria again?
I love how the more America helps, the worse off a country becomes
Let's see....
Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Great Britain, Canada, Mexico, Russia, [B]Japan[/B]....
am I forgetting anything?[/QUOTE]
I don't wanna sound supportive of occupation, but isn't America the reason why Japan isn't worshipping their emperor as a god?
[QUOTE=The Baconator;42168641]I don't wanna sound supportive of occupation, but isn't America the reason why Japan isn't worshipping their emperor as a god?[/QUOTE]
They hardly did that before/during WWII. The Emperor was supposedly head of the country, but it was d facto ruled by a military junta under Tojo.
the problem is that while what he said was incredibly true; it's just that Russia really isn't in the position to start coaching the US on how to be governed properly and how to intervene in other countries
so it's kind of a catch 22 situation; do you side with the corrupt oligarchy that knowingly sells weapons to a genocidal regime because money's money, or do you side with the country that thinks it can fix delicate situations with a sledgehammer because of some blind faith that everything it stands for is automatically right?
basically it's a fight between corruption and stupidity and you can bet that whoever wins it's not going to end well
[editline]12th September 2013[/editline]
[QUOTE=The Baconator;42168641]I don't wanna sound supportive of occupation, but isn't America the reason why Japan isn't worshipping their emperor as a god?[/QUOTE]
america is the reason why japan is westernized and is utterly incapable of defending itself, yeah
[editline]12th September 2013[/editline]
[QUOTE=Hawkshadow;42167610]Why are we bombing Syria again?
I love how the more America helps, the worse off a country becomes
Let's see....
Vietnam, Korea, Iraq, Iran, Afghanistan, Great Britain, Canada, Mexico, Russia, Japan....
am I forgetting anything?[/QUOTE]
how is great britain worse off because of america's help? russia kind of dug its own grave too
[QUOTE=Generic Monk;42168741]the problem is that while what he said was incredibly true; it's just that Russia really isn't in the position to start coaching the US on how to be governed properly and how to intervene in other countries
so it's kind of a catch 22 situation; do you side with the corrupt oligarchy that knowingly sells weapons to a genocidal regime because money's money, or do you side with the country that thinks it can fix delicate situations with a sledgehammer because of some blind faith that everything it stands for is automatically right?
basically it's a fight between corruption and stupidity and you can bet that whoever wins it's not going to end well
[/QUOTE]
We ought to have Zimbabwe take care of the Syrian issue. I'm sure they have no stake in it either direction :v:
[QUOTE=Smooth Jazz;42167669]Really, Korea? South Korea would have been conquered, no doubt, if the US (it was technically the UN but you know what I mean) didn't intervene. North Korean standards of living would have applied to all of Korea if the US didn't get involved. You can certainly criticize US involvement in other things but you can hardly say Korea is worse off then it would under the Kims.[/QUOTE]
[url=http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1997_Asian_financial_crisis]the us did kind of sort of kill the entire economy of south east asia for a time[/url]
[QUOTE=Swilly;42168155]You actually don't realize how very little most Americans give a flying fuck about Religion.
We don't have time for it.[/QUOTE]
weird how being a vocal christian is a near requirement in a lot of areas then
Is this thread only getting winners because it's anti-US or what? Wait, isn't Putin like, giving weapons to Assad?
[QUOTE=milkandcooki;42168967]Is this thread only getting winners because it's anti-US or what? Wait, isn't Putin like, giving weapons to Assad?[/QUOTE]
The former. Anything that sticks in the eye of American foreign policy is generally construed as good on this forum.
HOW DARE HE IMPLY WE'RE NOT GENETICALLY SUPERIOR TO ALL OTHER NATIONS
[QUOTE=HumanAbyss;42168935]weird how being a vocal christian is a near requirement in a lot of areas then[/QUOTE]
I don't know how true that is though. I lived in Birmingham, Alabama for 7 years and I honestly don't remember many people who were vocal about their religion. Sure, most people went to church and they were often Baptists (including me for a while), but they weren't that vocal about it and the atheists I knew didn't really get any problems from other people. However, maybe other people have had some bad experiences and I've just been lucky to not see any of that.
[QUOTE=Swilly;42168342]I'm actually Unitarian Universalist.
And by, actually following religion I meant by people who actually practice and go to church/mosque/synagogue every Sunday and take part in all of that. Most people can go ahead and run around quoting the bible but the same statistics point to a raise in atheism within the US public. And there is no persecution complex, the US gov't has done horrendous shit that no one was brought to justice for. [b]Native Americans for example, deserve a lot more reperations then they have received.[/b] I'm not blind, I'm also not blind that most major nations got there by doing horrendous things. Most of West Europe is directly to blame for most of Africa's problems.[/QUOTE]
That, 100%, why are we going off and 'helping' developing countries when we basically have them in our own backyard. A lot of reservations are utter shit and I still believe the US Government owes it to them to fix that.
At least give them running water for fucks sake...
[editline]12th September 2013[/editline]
[QUOTE=Used Car Salesman;42168492]He's fucking right. We have no innate, divinely-mandated exceptional duty to "lead" the world, and I can't stand people that behave as if Americans are God's chosen people to rule over everyone else.[/QUOTE]
I hate that mentality, or that this country was God's gift to the American people. We received this country through genocide, not a god.
while american exceptionalism(or pretty much any country version of it), is utterly silly, putin of all people, playing the devout card is even more amusing.
"god created us all equal", says the ex-KGB dude, who is highly corrupt and orders people dead... i guess that means he is maybe old school devout :v:
[QUOTE=FingerSpazem;42169285]That, 100%, why are we going off and 'helping' developing countries when we basically have them in our own backyard. A lot of reservations are utter shit and I still believe the US Government owes it to them to fix that.
At least give them running water for fucks sake...
[/QUOTE]
Taking care of our own shit usually involves becoming so isolationist that we bite ourselves in the ass. And we're beyond that point economically, pulling back now would mean higher gas prices due to instability, those higher gas prices would cause squabbles. Europe would probably fall apart immediatly because the majority of their oil comes from the Middle East.
We also have the ability to do many things at once, unfortunately I don't even know if any help would be accepted from Native American Nations.
Also its funny, because you could actually call out to the rest of world go, "We're trying to keep things stable, why do you help the Native Americans." Course they'll tell us to fuck off because they're so busy in their own sad little worlds, except for China and Russia, that they don't realize just how dependent they are on all three nations.
You do realize the Newsroom, that entire scene was actually making fun of all the people who say the US has completely gone to shit, right?
The main character, that guy between the two is a massive fucking moron.
[QUOTE=Swilly;42169650]Taking care of our own shit usually involves becoming so isolationist that we bite ourselves in the ass. And we're beyond that point economically, pulling back now would mean higher gas prices due to instability, those higher gas prices would cause squabbles. Europe would probably fall apart immediatly because the majority of their oil comes from the Middle East.
We also have the ability to do many things at once, unfortunately I don't even know if any help would be accepted from Native American Nations.
Also its funny, because you could actually call out to the rest of world go, "We're trying to keep things stable, why do you help the Native Americans." Course they'll tell us to fuck off because they're so busy in their own sad little worlds, except for China and Russia, that they don't realize just how dependent they are on all three nations.[/QUOTE]
I don't think how simply higher gas prices could ever cause europe to "fall apart" after the great cooperation that's been going on for decades. the current recession is apparently showing signs of ending which foresees an even more positive attitude between nations in the near future.
edit: also i disagree about the newsroom comment too.
[QUOTE=Swilly;42168342]I'm actually Unitarian Universalist.[/QUOTE]
a what.
This is all like some rapper beef where they are dissing eachother on the radio and shit. Except now between two global superpowers with WMD's, vast military assets, and countless civilian lives at stake.
Basically a nigga moment on a global scale.
[quote]He concluded with the line, "We are all different, but when we ask for the Lord's blessings, we must not forget that God created us equal."[/quote]
*With the exception of Gays and Chechens
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