A pair of assholes.

[Bricktop]

America is a single, sovereign nation.



At THAT level, it has demonstrated, constantly, a propensity for violence and killing.



Let us take Hollywood, for example. It churns out thousands of deaths (fictitious in the main) a year. Is that not part of American culture?



School shootings have occurred in many parts of the US. Is that not part of the American culture?



America, for no supportable or lawful reason, has attacked Cuba, Vietnam, Korea (although that was the UN...so you get half a pass), Iraq, Libya, Panama, Nicaragua (via proxy) and has meddled in the affairs of Chile, Iran, and Syria. America is the one and only nation to have used nuclear devices against another country with NO redeeming justification whatsoever.



America is a country that turns violence into profit, and venerates firearms. Guns and killing are problem solvers in the US.



I will stand by my position that violence and killing is deeply woven into the fabric of American culture and society. Prove me wrong.

[Anonymous]

America is a single, sovereign nation.



At THAT level, it has demonstrated, constantly, a propensity for violence and killing.



Let us take Hollywood, for example. It churns out thousands of deaths (fictitious in the main) a year. Is that not part of American culture?



School shootings have occurred in many parts of the US. Is that not part of the American culture?



America, for no supportable or lawful reason, has attacked Cuba, Vietnam, Korea (although that was the UN...so you get half a pass), Iraq, Libya, Panama, Nicaragua (via proxy) and has meddled in the affairs of Chile, Iran, and Syria. America is the one and only nation to have used nuclear devices against another country with NO redeeming justification whatsoever.



America is a country that turns violence into profit, and venerates firearms. Guns and killing are problem solvers in the US.



I will stand by my position that [size=150]violence and killing is deeply woven into the fabric of American culture and society.[/size] Prove me wrong.

I've bolded a few of your words prior to the last paragraph which is in larger type.  This is a serious comment, so please take it as such.



America, as a monolithic entity, has rarely existed.  Its psyche has been largely one of deep divisions.

Aside from genocides and slavery, though, its history up to the turn of the twentieth century is no more bloody than those of the European countries that settled its white population.  



America from Teddy Roosevelt's time onward is a different story.  And America from the WW2 era onward is a much different story.  But what you are attributing to "culture" is a violent set of behaviors that I attribute to the triumph of corporatism, the military-industrial complex, and a profoundly disgusting series of wealth transfers upward to its kleptocracy.



I'll stipulate that Hollywood may be a part of American "culture" but it's not one that arises sui generis from the ground up, but rather is imposed downward by moneyed interests.  The same is true of the music business and the other arts, but to a lesser extent.  For this reason, America is schizoid in its observable culture just as in its politics.  Too much of the observable culture is driven by disinformation and propaganda.



Bottom line is, I attribute America's violent nature with factors that are more social and economic than they are "cultural."  You probably won't like this, but to me words are important and need to be chosen carefully.

[Anonymous]

America from Teddy Roosevelt's time onward is a different story.  And America from the WW2 era onward is a much different story.  But what you are attributing to "culture" is a violent set of behaviors that I attribute to the triumph of corporatism, the military-industrial complex, and a profoundly disgusting series of wealth transfers upward to its kleptocracy.

Hogwash.Post WW2 US saw the expansion of the middle class, living standards and upward mobility.

[Anonymous]

America from Teddy Roosevelt's time onward is a different story.  And America from the WW2 era onward is a much different story.  But what you are attributing to "culture" is a violent set of behaviors that I attribute to the triumph of corporatism, the military-industrial complex, and a profoundly disgusting series of wealth transfers upward to its kleptocracy.

Hogwash.Post WW2 US saw the expansion of the middle class, living standards and upward mobility.

Nevertheless, in Chapter 3 of Bucky Fuller's 1981 book Critical Path he shows how between 1945 and 1980, some forty-five trillion dollars had been transferred upward.  He also made this prediction:

Eventually the U.S. taxpayers will be asked to make "free-of-risk" bail-outs of "private" enterprises



— Fuller, p.87

[Bricktop]

America, as a monolithic entity, has rarely existed.  Its psyche has been largely one of deep divisions.

Aside from genocides and slavery, though, its history up to the turn of the twentieth century is no more bloody than those of the European countries that settled its white population.

That is a spurious position at best.



Denying that America is a single cultural entity is a specious argument. All its citizens live under the same rules of governance, the same cultural influences and the same social traits...with local variations that add different tones and highlights.



Just like Australia. Each State has its own peculiarities and social imperatives (some States favour Australian Rules football, others favour rugby), but there are core cultural values that are common to all. For example, Australia is intensely egalitarian, no matter the geographical location.



Australians value fairness over wealth and power. Despite its reputation as a racist nation, it is multicultural with very little racially based social disharmony. An Australian has a sense of duty to help people in distress, because we live in a vast land where assistance and emergency services are often distant.



These, I must add, are not unique to Australia. But they are part of our culture, as well as many others. And yes, some of them are rather negative and unwholesome.



To deny a social culture exists in America makes no sense, given the mountain of evidence that describes certain widely distributed characteristics of American beliefs and behaviour. Many things Americans embrace are unique...and that is not a bad thing in general.



However, it's passion for guns, violence and killing is a bad thing.

[Anonymous]

[

Nevertheless, in Chapter 3 of Bucky Fuller's 1981 book Critical Path he shows how between 1945 and 1980, some forty-five trillion dollars had been transferred upward.  He also made this prediction:

I am not going to comment on what is really an op-ed.



The US, Gross Domestic Product increased from $228 billion in 1945 to just under $1.7 trillion in 1975. The US underwent its own golden age of economic growth. This growth was distributed fairly evenly across the economic classes, which some attribute to the strength of labor unions in this period—labor union membership peaked during the 1950s. Much of the growth came from the movement of low-income farm workers into better-paying jobs in the towns and cities—a process largely completed by 1960.



Libertarian historian Burton W. Folsom Jr. argues that under the leadership of Senator Walter George, Congress ended most economic controls, cut taxes, slashed spending, and expected entrepreneurs to create the jobs needed for the returning soldiers. The predicted postwar depression never happened and the economy grew rapidly as unemployment stabilized at 3.9 percent.

[Anonymous]

'



That is a spurious position at best.

Really, is that the best you can do?  



spurious

adjective

not being what it purports to be; false or fake.





While I found your description of what you call Australian culture interesting and informative, you did nothing to support your notion that my position is "spurious."  Nor, for that matter, did you support your later use of "specious."



Ultimately, it's just a flowery way for you to walk back from the DNA metaphor without admitting it was lame.   ac_umm

I am not going to comment on what is really an op-ed.

A preposterous characterization.  Perhaps you are aware of some work that refutes Fuller's argument, which of course you'd have to read in order to identify its flaws, if any there be.  Last time I looked, the entirety of that chapter was available online, but I certainly won't be arsed to find it and post it here for people not interested in considering it fairly.



And if indeed you aren't going to comment on it, I'll take the liberty of not reading or commenting on your shitposting a couple of paragraphs of dry statistics that neither support nor refute Fuller's argument.



Fuller derived his number, 45 trillion dollars, with the Ockham's Razor of simple accountancy, not with statistics.  It's the same approach the IRS uses to build a "net worth" case against a taxpayer.

And of course I didn't bother to mention the tens of trillions that have similarly been transferred upwards in the 38 years since Fuller wrote.

[Thiel]

[

Nevertheless, in Chapter 3 of Bucky Fuller's 1981 book Critical Path he shows how between 1945 and 1980, some forty-five trillion dollars had been transferred upward.  He also made this prediction:

I am not going to comment on what is really an op-ed.



The US, Gross Domestic Product increased from $228 billion in 1945 to just under $1.7 trillion in 1975. The US underwent its own golden age of economic growth. This growth was distributed fairly evenly across the economic classes, which some attribute to the strength of labor unions in this period—labor union membership peaked during the 1950s. Much of the growth came from the movement of low-income farm workers into better-paying jobs in the towns and cities—a process largely completed by 1960.



Libertarian historian Burton W. Folsom Jr. argues that under the leadership of Senator Walter George, Congress ended most economic controls, cut taxes, slashed spending, and expected entrepreneurs to create the jobs needed for the returning soldiers. The predicted postwar depression never happened and the economy grew rapidly as unemployment stabilized at 3.9 percent.

It was the golden age for American wage earners. Labour was needed and there was upward mobility. It was not the golden age for American manufacturers. They realized that they had competition in Europe and especially Asia. No major economy will ever go back to that. Automation has reduced the need for mass labour and not just in blue collar production jobs. Even China, where I was recently, automation is replacing increasingly expensive production jobs. And China is starting to get illegal alien workers.

[Bricktop]

Ultimately, it's just a flowery way for you to walk back from the DNA metaphor without admitting it was lame.   ac_umm

My words were, as usual, specifically chosen. Your claim that AMERICA does not have a cultural DNA because it has a diversity of sub-cultures is in my view fallacious...or spurious, if you will.



My usage of "DNA" as a metaphor for intrinsic and inherent cultural traits for a given population is clear and accurate. I still await your rebuttal, rather than bickering on semantics.

[Frood]

Ultimately, it's just a flowery way for you to walk back from the DNA metaphor without admitting it was lame.   ac_umm

My words were, as usual, specifically chosen. Your claim that AMERICA does not have a cultural DNA because it has a diversity of sub-cultures is in my view fallacious...or spurious, if you will.



My usage of "DNA" as a metaphor for intrinsic and inherent cultural traits for a given population is clear and accurate. I still await your rebuttal, rather than bickering on semantics.

Alright. If you want to go down that route, Australia's DNA is based on cowardice during and after the Eureka Stockade, small town village condescension, and an inability to stand up for themselves against one another.

[Anonymous]

[

Nevertheless, in Chapter 3 of Bucky Fuller's 1981 book Critical Path he shows how between 1945 and 1980, some forty-five trillion dollars had been transferred upward.  He also made this prediction:

I am not going to comment on what is really an op-ed.



The US, Gross Domestic Product increased from $228 billion in 1945 to just under $1.7 trillion in 1975. The US underwent its own golden age of economic growth. This growth was distributed fairly evenly across the economic classes, which some attribute to the strength of labor unions in this period—labor union membership peaked during the 1950s. Much of the growth came from the movement of low-income farm workers into better-paying jobs in the towns and cities—a process largely completed by 1960.



Libertarian historian Burton W. Folsom Jr. argues that under the leadership of Senator Walter George, Congress ended most economic controls, cut taxes, slashed spending, and expected entrepreneurs to create the jobs needed for the returning soldiers. The predicted postwar depression never happened and the economy grew rapidly as unemployment stabilized at 3.9 percent.

It was a good time. No billionaire owned prog social media undermining liberty and prosperity.