Are Americans a Broken People?
POSTED BY: SignyM
UPDATED: Tuesday, August 18, 2026 03:15
VIEWED: 19858
PAGE 10 of 29
So basically about 2.5 generations.
I have a problem with the "thousands of years of history can't be undone quickly" argument. If you look at one of the most fundamental precepts of all- how many children to have and how to view them- it takes, literally, three generations to shift from a postive growth rate to a negative one. And that is despite the (potentially) thousands of years of peasant culture which preceded the shift.
SOME changes happen very, very quickly.
ETA: But it seems to me that Americans have gotten into a state where they fear change. And this comes from having been told so often- to the point of believing it- that we represent the pinnacle of society. Because after all, if you're the pinnacle, the only way to go is down.
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Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
No, they don't(recognize problems). No more than previously they recognized that the earth revolved around the sun, or that the earth was round, or that natural selection created a diversity of life.
Or maybe they recognize problems, but not the ones you see. Some folks in the late 19th and early 20th centuries decided that booze was the problem, and we ended up with Prohibition. That turned out well, didn't it? If everyone followed your path (which a lot of folks would consider pretty extreme)and you turned out to be wrong, what then?
Quote:
The propaganda for the current system is relentless and unending. I don't hear you complaining about that, tho.
Again, I don't see a lot of it here in RWED, so don't comment on it. Living near D.C., our local TV runs political ads targeted at legislators quite a bit. Some of the recent ones on health care (on both sides) are pretty bad.
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That's because they don't know what capitalism is.
They don't know what YOU think Capitalism is.
Okay, the rest is pretty much that you are absolutely certain that your opinion of the way the world should work ,and only your opinion, is valid.
You commented in another thread about the lack of folks coming to RWED, and wondered why. It's easy. You have a little clique here with one view of how things should be, and anyone who disagrees with any iota of the party line gets, not actual discussion, but insult. Eventually, they get tired of it and they leave. Folks looking in and considering commenting see what happens to apostates, and, unless they know they can toe the party line, decide to stay out.
I'm retired, and got nothing better to do, so I'll probably stick around just to get your blood pressure up.
"Keep the Shiny side up"
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"If everyone followed your path (which a lot of folks would consider pretty extreme)and you turned out to be wrong, what then?"
Ahem - and if everyone follows the US path we end up with Depressions, unstable currencies, and starvation and widespread poverty on the one hand, with unimaginable wealth of a very few (less than 500 own half the planet's resources) on the other. How's that work for you ?
"You have a little clique here with one view of how things should be, and anyone who disagrees with any iota of the party line gets, not actual discussion, but insult."
This from the slag master who uses literally every trick in the disinformation booklet to derail actual topical discussion - like you are doing here. Straw-man arguments and other logical 'fallacies' (except you don't do them by mistake, do you Slick ?), opinions posted as facts, refusing to discuss the topic and turning it personal ... I can't remember the last time you posted an actual FACT - or if indeed you ever have.
Do you have ANYTHING to say that's on topic ?
I thought not.
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Silence is consent.
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Quote:Bull. Where have I insulted you? By pointing out that you straw-man so reflexively that it's often the very first thing that you type? Maybe it's your lies they're tired of, eh?
You commented in another thread about the lack of folks coming to RWED, and wondered why. It's easy. You have a little clique here with one view of how things should be, and anyone who disagrees with any iota of the party line gets, not actual discussion, but insult.
Quote:You dont' see it because its so pervasive, so incessant that you dont' see it, not bc it isn't there. The endless commercials that tell us you can buy happiness. The incessant focus on the stock market. The programs which in no way reflect how real Americans live. The "reality" shows which put people into dogpits and make them fight. The lack of any criticism of corporate America. All of that is just... "normal" to you.
Again, I don't see a lot of it here in RWED, so don't comment on it. Living near D.C., our local TV runs political ads targeted at legislators quite a bit. Some of the recent ones on health care (on both sides) are pretty bad.
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Quote:
Or maybe they recognize problems, but not the ones you see. Some folks in the late 19th and early 20th centuries decided that booze was the problem, and we ended up with Prohibition. That turned out well, didn't it? If everyone followed your path (which a lot of folks would consider pretty extreme)and you turned out to be wrong, what then?
Well, as you have just so adequately pointed out, if you choose to follow a certain path, whether "extreme" or not, and you turn out to be wrong, you can always... (wait for it)... CHANGE YOUR MIND and go back to what you had before, or modify what you're doing now.
By the way, if you're trying to get my blood pressure up, keep trying. Mine has been low all my adult life.
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Quote:
Originally posted by Kwicko:
By the way, if you're trying to get my blood pressure up, keep trying. Mine has been low all my adult life.
My heart rate is much lower than average, and my blood pressure is slightly higher. What does that mean? More than half the threads on this site, that's what.
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"My heart rate is much lower than average, and my blood pressure is slightly higher. What does that mean? More than half the threads on this site, that's what."
Dude... learn. Working out helps.... lol
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Slow efficient heart - good contractility, good emptying. Higher BP - you might be salt sensitive, which is sometimes caused by higher uric acid levels.
On second thought - what's your pulse pressure ? (difference between systolic (higher) - diastolic (lower)) ?
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Silence is consent.
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Quote:
Originally posted by rue:
Slow efficient heart - good contractility, good emptying. Higher BP - you might be salt sensitive, which is sometimes caused by higher uric acid levels.
On second thought - what's your pulse pressure ? (difference between systolic (higher) - diastolic (lower)) ?
I can't remember, to be fair though last time I had it checked it was at the minor injuries ward after I had just fallen through my loft and landed in the kitchen.
Still got the scars where that board tore the skin off my side. Apparently, so the nurse told me, Rib wall injuries hurt.
No shit.
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Quote:
Originally posted by SignyM:
ETA: But it seems to me that Americans have gotten into a state where they fear change. And this comes from having been told so often- to the point of believing it- that we represent the pinnacle of society. Because after all, if you're the pinnacle, the only way to go is down.
Would the metric system be a example of this?
Only 3 countries on the Planet haven't officially adopted it...
The US, Liberia, and Burma
and apparently it is widely used in Liberia and Burma
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Metric_system
Either your with the terrorists, or ... your with the terrorists
Lets party like its 1939
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