Are Americans a Broken People?
POSTED BY: SignyM
UPDATED: Tuesday, August 18, 2026 03:15
VIEWED: 19858
PAGE 3 of 29
Huh.
Interesting viewpoint.
I read a book... mnay years ago... given to me by an politically brilliant person who was also a recovering alcoholic. Basically, it said Americans (in general) are addicted. Addicted to their ideology, addicted to their view of the world. It said you would see all of the problems with Americans that you would see with addicts in general- denial (sometimes quite angry), "hair of the dog", etc. and that Americans (in general) would have to "hit bottom" before recovery.
It was a simple point, but every time I wondered why Americans did what they did, the addiction analogy seemed to fit. Also, I found this which seems to apply:
Quote:Seems apt.
A client once told me about his experiences with bottoms; how he continually ended up in jail, continually lost stuff, i.e.; cars, apartments, friends, family, etc.. {You can substitute Treasury, manufacturing capability, respect} I asked him why he kept hitting these bottoms and he replied, "Dr. XXX, when you have no self-esteem to begin with, there are no limits to your bottoms." It was a brilliant, classic statement coming from a twenty-two year old addict. Essentially, the worse one feels about himself, the lower he will allow the disease to take him before choosing to get into recovery. Generally, people with healthier mental attitudes towards themselves get into recovery much more quickly than those who do not. When you don't feel good about yourself, and you're drinking and drugging, no matter what bottom you hit, you can always find a shovel and keep digging.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Wulfenstar:
"Cause that's what it's all about, innit ?
Hope."
Exactly.
Noone ever listens to me...
Noone? You mean Peter Noone, leader of Herman's Hermits?
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Quote:
Originally posted by Wulfenstar:
Except, we are all allowed our opinions. I can say you are a bitch and a coward for refusing to defend the weak. Or for saying that we are not allowed to speak our minds, or to protect ourselves. Its my opinion, but still?
I am allowed it.
Yup, and I can say you're a bitch-ass coward for running away from the simplest of questions, and refusing to admit you were completely wrong on your Superman BS that you claimed to know so well...
And what's with all this "defend the weak" bullshit from you? You, who actually listed Leonidas of Sparta as one of your "heroes". You know what the Spartans did with the weak, right? You KNOW what they did with any child deemed "unworthy" by their council of elders, RIGHT? So here's your hero, tossing babies off cliffs and into the pit for the crime of being "weak", while you call others bitches and cowards for not holding up your heroes as their own.
Mike
Work is the curse of the Drinking Class.
- Oscar Wilde
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Quote:
Now, after eight or is it nine? years of Bush...
Ouch, Gino. And, touché. Hate to say it, but that's pretty damned accurate. :(
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Hey, whattayaknow - Wulfie actually finally DID address the question in the other thread. And he even admitted he "might" be wrong on that one, too.
Will wonders never cease...
Your bitchiness and cowardice are less, in my opinion. ;)
Mike
Work is the curse of the Drinking Class.
- Oscar Wilde
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Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer:
Are Americans a Broken People?
Some are.
Some aren't.
Some would be broken no matter how well the country works.
Some will never be broken no matter how badly the country works.
Does the idea of Americans as a Broken People make you feel better, or more justified?
"Keep the Shiny side up"
Trying to change the subject? Or just assigning meanings to someone's words that they never implied or wrote?
Quote:
Dear Kettle,
You're black!
Signed,
The Pot
Mike
Work is the curse of the Drinking Class.
- Oscar Wilde
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Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer:
Are Americans a Broken People?
Some are.
Some aren't.
Some would be broken no matter how well the country works.
Some will never be broken no matter how badly the country works.
Does the idea of Americans as a Broken People make you feel better, or more justified?
"Keep the Shiny side up"
Trying to change the subject? Or just assigning meanings to someone's words that they never implied or wrote?
Quote:
Dear Kettle,
You're black!
Signed,
The Pot
Mike
Work is the curse of the Drinking Class.
- Oscar Wilde
The irony here is funny
Chief Black Kettle (Cheyenne, Moke-tav-a-to)[1] (born ca. 1803, killed November 27, 1868) was a Cheyenne leader who unsuccessfully attempted to resist white American settlement from Kansas and Colorado territories. He survived the Sand Creek Massacre in 1864 but died in the 1868 at the Battle of Washita River.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Black_Kettle
Either your with the terrorists, or ... your with the terrorists
Lets party like its 1939
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But that brings up an interesting topic.
So we have an example of a "broken people"- native Americans. People faced with overwhelmingly superior force, who could neither fight back nor become part of the system and enjoy its rewards. Whose entire way of life was shown to be ineffectual. People for whom nothing they did made a difference.
Are we... possibly... looking at ourselves?
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Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
Why would you say THAT?
Because it seems to be the theme in pretty much all your posts. You seem, to me, to just revel in any problems that America might have. You also seem to ignore or downplay the gains in racial equality, sexual equality and acceptance of gender differences that have occurred over the last 50 or so years and continue to occur. You seek out the bad news and leave out any good. You mock and insult anyone who suggests that there may be any hope at all. You complain about everything but offer solutions for nothing.
Perhaps the world hasn't treated you as you think you deserve, and you have to have something to blame.
Just for fun, this goes for Rue and Mike too.
I'll go put on my firesuit now.
"Keep the Shiny side up"
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Quote:
Originally posted by Geezer:
Because it seems to be the theme in pretty much all your posts. You seem, to me, to just revel in any problems that America might have. You also seem to ignore or downplay the gains in racial equality, sexual equality and acceptance of gender differences that have occurred over the last 50 or so years and continue to occur. You seek out the bad news and leave out any good. You mock and insult anyone who suggests that there may be any hope at all. You complain about everything but offer solutions for nothing.
Perhaps the world hasn't treated you as you think you deserve, and you have to have something to blame.
Just for fun, this goes for Rue and Mike too.
I'll go put on my firesuit now.
And your theme, Geez?
That no matter what America does, we're right, everyone else is wrong, end of story. You rejoice in every problem that America might create for others, and insist that we're just invading them to "show them the light of truth". You utterly ignore any racial inequality or gender inequality, saying it simply doesn't exist. You ignore any bad news and try to paint it as good. You're the kind of person who looks back fondly at slavery, and says, "Y'know, those people were lucky they had a roof over their heads! They should be THANKING us - dammit, they should be paying US back rent!" You mock and insult anyone who suggests that there may be any problem at all, and you complain about everything those "nasty libruls" say, while (in typical Republican fashion) offering nothing whatsoever by way of any kind of solution.
And when you're called on your constant hypocrisy, you whine and pewl about how you're not being treated fairly.
Mike
Work is the curse of the Drinking Class.
- Oscar Wilde
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