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 Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2008 3:10 pm
Well, all empires will eventually fall, and I believe America has always been a 'borrowed' empire. No true culture since you're so young, that's why you've blown your so-called 'heroes' from the 'Wild West' period so out of proportion. No national identity since you're a mix of virtually all races. You got too big too fast and too easily, which is why the corporations took over and made it into the huge corporation that it is today. And since your rise was so great and so fast, it didn't have the centuries of strengthening and weakening most European countries has, which means you haven't learned the lessons we did long ago.
Compared to any other country, the American propaganda machine is huge, even when it's not based in reality, and therefore other countries regards you as arrogant. As a result, Americans are often self-centered and arrogant, which also bring ignorance, unfortunately.
Nothing personal here, I'm just giving you a broad perspective of how I see it. I'm not insulting anyone personally, but you can't get around the fact that many many north americans are dumber than a sack of hammers.
And now, with the rise of China, which is one of the world's oldest and richest cultures, I don't see how the U.S. won't fall from grace soon. Everything about North America is BIG, and the bigger you get, the harder you fall. This latest economic crash is both due to the fact that the U.S. as a nation hasn't learned the lessons most older countries has during the centuries. You rose to power with ease, and so your foundation is hastily built and can't withstand too much pressure. I could of course be over-simplifying things, and my points may even be wrong, but that's my contribution to this discussion, heh. Feel free to flame and thrash me.
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Posted: Wed Dec 24, 2008 5:02 pm
American.
I have never lived anywhere else. I had a great deal of frustration when an English teacher in high school had us write a paper " Why i like being an American". She wouldn't accept "Because I've never been anything else". I mean I had not other point of reference, I could read about life in other countries but I still hadn't experienced it.
I'm rather inclined to think that we have one party with two faces.
I think the only time an independent will win an election is when the situation is so bad neither "party" will want to take the blame. Then the independent candidate will look around and find that neither the democratic or republican candidate has contradicted anything the independent has said, but are busy flaming one another.
I'm not sure America is failing or falling.
Remember that line in Harry Potter? "The owner of that wand did great things; Terrible, horrible things of course, but great.
I'm sure something drastic will happen before our economy hits the absolute bottom.
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Posted: Thu Dec 25, 2008 11:35 am
Just Tony Tettsure A question, when you say it was meant to happen, and if not it would in another form eventually, is that the notion of what happens in the past was meant to happen, or just an observation that they were already declining? An observation that it was meant to happen. Something had to begin to give form to the ideas the people had in their rebellion towards the country and everything going on. If not then, then eventually under another guise. I think it's just something that happens when social unrest happens. Look at the many subcultures we have today. More than simply a few say the same things, but present them in different forms of expression. Since the 60's, in the form of the Black Panthers, the expression of angst against "White America" has taken shape in a few ways, but has continually changed over time. Hippies still exist, but are modernly known better as "green" activists or the such. Things have been updated, but it's all the same. What's not surprising is that now it's all commonplace, and doesn't hold the social impact these things once did. Now that "everyone is doing it" the government doesn't give a s**t. Besides, most people only organize and make music. I remember being told stories of when music fueled the activities and organized the people that actually did something. Now it just organizes ticket and merchandise sales and makes rich people saying what you want them to, but not actually believing in it themselves. When was the last time a rich rapper that hates white people for "keeping him down" actually gone out and shot a bunch of white cops to make a statement? Or the last time a bunch of punks got together to stop a racist gathering, or maybe attack a government institution of any kind? I dunno. I just think it was bound to happen in one form or another. What's that idea that chaos always originates out of order? Something similar to that, except over time, the chaos has become order and now it would seem order is chaos. When I think about it, it may just be me, but that makes sense come to think of it and how the U.S. is doing right now. Hmm... Yes, I see now, and my observations after reading an insanely long text book with 5 pictures in 31 pages, would seem that at any given time in history there were always rebels to an established or "ordered" form of society. Such as French Revolution when mainly upper middle class revolted against absolute monarchy for some power due to the feeling of monarchy failing the people.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 4:46 pm
A lot of opinions some i've never heard of. For the record I am American also. I'm simply disillusioned by a country that had so much potential and blew it. Sure it's not completly over, but we're no longer a super power and i do not believe we will. I think the biggest reason for the economy going through the crapper right now is easy credit. For years people have received easy credit and now we're getting hit in the back by it. I live in a city that is considered as having the highest unemployment in the nation for it's size. At the same token i can't think of another country that i'd rather be in(freedom reasons). As for multiple languages we have no need, europeans are right next to each other. For us Canadians speak mostly english and if the hispanics are going to bother coming up from central america they can learn to speak the language of the country. I don't expect people to know english when i go their country. It's my responsibilty to learn there's.
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Posted: Fri Dec 26, 2008 5:02 pm
I think a lot of things in America are up in the air. No body knows what will happen. It may not be much worse than an economic slowdown. Perhaps the economy will get much worse. We have today though, we have a good life. We may go throw pain in the future, but we do not need American or any country to be ourselves. To relax and be happy in the moment. We'll be ok one way or the other. Painful future or not. I'm hungry, I can go eat something, that is good for today. I cannot control others or the world. I do have a choice about my attitude and behavior though. I'm a happy. Also scared, angry, sad and and hurt. Still I'm moving forward and working on being progressively happier and responsible for feeling my feelings and being myself and taking care of myself.
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Posted: Wed Jan 28, 2009 2:59 pm
well no democracy has lasted longer then (i think) 250 years. democracy was never ment to be a perminent solution when it was created, and i think that it might change to some other government soon enough. it all depends on what people decide to live with and what they think is total bs from those in power. so it will eventually cease to be great because that wich it is built on was never ment to be perminent.
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