Yassen said:
1. Few People Are Impressed By Us
True enough, but on a recent trip to China, as an American, I was warmly welcomed at many places. Especially by children and teens, as I was likely the first white person that they had ever seen. No less than four people wanted to take a picture with me, just to have a picture of themselves with a white dude.
Sure, most are not impressed, but that does not mean that they are not friendly either.
2. Few People Hate Us
Despite the occasional eye-rolling, and complete inability to understand why anyone would vote for George W. Bush, people from other countries don?t hate us either.
And Americans can roll their eyes and wonder why in the world anyone would vote for Sylvio Berlesconi. While Bush was by no means a good president, at least he was not a raving philanderer who had affairs with underage belly-dancers.
3. We Know Nothing About The Rest Of The World
For all of our talk about being global leaders and how everyone follows us, we don?t seem to know much about our supposed ?followers.? Here were some brain-stumpers for me: the Vietnamese believe the Vietnam War was about China (not us), Hitler was primarily defeated by Russia (not us), Native Americans were wiped out by a plague (not us), and the American Revolution was ?won? because the British cared more about beating France (not us). Notice a running theme here?
For the Vietnamese, there were no real breaks from conflict after WWII. The Japanese were left in an occupying position, even after they surrendered, causing our former ally Ho Chi Min to rebel against them. The Japanese left and the French took over, followed by the Americans, when French sentiments turned towards anti-Asian colonialism, so they could focus on Algiers and the economic colonialism of the rest of Europe instead.
Hitler was defeated by an allied force, including the UK, US and USSR. Actually, Stalin mishandled the situation very badly, and if not for the allied attacks on western Europe, Stalin's defense-in-depth strategy would have failed when the Blitzkrieg took Moscow. After signing a non-aggression treaty with Hitler shortly after the invasion of Poland, Hitler's SS faked evidence of widespread dissent within the Russian Military, and allowed that "evidence" to be captured by the GRU. Stalin promptly decimated his own officer corps by executing the innocent people he suspected of being involved with dissension. This was all done as the Nazi had planned to invade Russia from the beginning, after they had finished with western Europe. And this is only one case of Stalin's ineptitude, I could go on.
Native American populations were decimated by both illness and various armies. they lacked the immune systems necessary to fight off many European diseases, even ones that were seen to be common. Picking up on this, those following the tenants of manifest destiny would infect blankets with chicken pox and other diseases, then give them to the Natives as a show of peace. Again, I could go on, but suffice it to say that just because a Native American was not killed with a gun does not mean that European and American powers were not at fault.
5. The Quality of Life For The Average American Is Not That Great
If you?re extremely talented or intelligent, the US is probably the best place in the world to live. The system is stacked heavily to allow people of talent and advantage to rise to the top quickly.
Well, I can think of worse places to live. But this is simply not true, as America is as guilty as any other country of confusing capitalism with meritocracy, as per the line by John Steinbeck, an American:
The problem with the US is that everyone thinks they are of talent and advantage. As John Steinbeck famously said, the problem with poor Americans is that ?they don?t believe they?re poor, but rather temporarily embarrassed millionaires.?
Though honestly that misrepresents what Steinbeck was saying, especially in light of the fact that he was a non-Marxist socialist, but again, I could go on. . .
6. The Rest Of The World Is Not A Slum-Ridden Shithole Compared To Us
Singapore is pristine. Hong Kong makes Manhattan look like a suburb.
Singapore is a nice place. After the bloodless revolution in 2000 that brought real democracy to the country, they cleaned up the City-State quite well, and succeeded in running out much of the Heroin trafickers in the country. Though, lingering corruption and crime still exist there, and they have a serious problem with water acquisition, it is still one of the best examples of what a bloodless revolution can do. And I would hope that Hong Kong would make Manhattan look like a suburb, what with its crime rate being high enough to make a Harlem Drug pusher think twice before moving there.
Sweden and South Korea have more advanced high speed internet networks. Japan has the most advanced trains and transportation systems. Norwegians make more money. The biggest and most advanced plane in the world is flown out of Singapore. The tallest buildings in the world are now in Dubai and Shanghai. Meanwhile, the US has the highest incarceration rate in the world.
And Japan has the highest rate of homelessness among major economic powers. South Korea was basically a dictatorship until 1988, when the public attention brought by the Seoul games forced a relaxation of the ruling party's grip. Sweden and Norway sit on some of the last major untapped oil reserves, and they utilize them wisely, rather than coughing them all up for profit like in Saudi Arabia. And the US has the highest incarceration rate among countries that can be trusted to both (A) accurately report their rates, unlike China, and (B) can be counted on to enforce their own laws because their police and legal systems are not completely corrupt. Every country has its problems, and America has more than its fair share, but no nation is perfect either. At least America is not yet to the point where we are locking up political dissenters. Not yet anyway. . .
7. We?re Paranoid
Not only are we emotionally insecure as a culture, but I?ve come to realize how paranoid we are about our physical security.
In the US, security trumps everything, even liberty. We?re paranoid.
And we have a history of overcoming that paranoia. To quote FDR: "the only thing we have to fear, is fear itself." and Benjamin Franklin: "Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety." Sure, it would do well to remember this from time to time, but our culture, overall, has shown what I think is a strong resilience to cowardice. Our current fascination with security over liberty is something of a passing fad.
8. We?re Status-Obsessed And Seek Attention
I?ve noticed that the way we Americans communicate is usually designed to create a lot of attention and hype. Again, I think this is a product of our consumer culture: the belief that something isn?t worthwhile or important unless it?s perceived to be the best (BEST EVER!!!) or unless it gets a lot of attention (see: every reality-television show ever made).
This is why Americans have a peculiar habit of thinking everything is ?totally awesome,? and even the most mundane activities were ?the best thing ever!? It?s the unconscious drive we share for importance and significance, this unmentioned belief, socially beaten into us since birth that if we?re not the best at something, then we don?t matter.
Here, the author is just straight up confusing the American media with the culture it is supposed to represent. When was the last time you met an American that actually though the media to be an accurate representation of what it is like to be a real American? Because I doubt that I have ever met one. In fact, you can hardly get away from people criticizing the media here in America, and much of that is quite justified, not all of course, but a lot.
Of course the media is given to hyperbole, that is how they sell products. While I think more can be done to educate people, especially kids, about the media and help make them into critical thinkers rather than blind consumers, often people I meet here are media-savy to begin with. Superficial people are often the exception, rather than commonplace.
10. We Mistake Comfort For Happiness
The United States is a country built on the exaltation of economic growth and personal ingenuity. Small businesses and constant growth are celebrated and supported above all else ? above affordable health care, above respectable education, above everything. Americans believe it?s your responsibility to take care of yourself and make something of yourself, not the state?s, not your community?s, not even your friend?s or family?s in some instances.
No, as I said, we confuse capitalism with meritocracy. Ingenuity and affordable health care are not mutually exclusive, they are not opposite in any way, and there is no reason we cannot have both. In fact, by implying that "growth" and the other things listed can even be compared to one another, the author is confusing capital and merit.
Throughout history, every dominant civilization eventually collapsed because it became TOO successful. What made it powerful and unique grows out of proportion and consumes its society.
Here is a quote from Og Mandino, an American: "What is success other than a state of mind?" Defining success in any other way is simply absurd. "Too successful?" "Growing out of proportion?" All nations have to face systemic corruption, and all powerful societies have fallen because of it, not because they were too "successful," or they were out of "proportion." Well, the average life span of nations, looking through history, is about 250-500 years, give or take. The US is approaching the 250 mark, but that does not mean we are done for. There are exceptions to this, and maybe the US can pull itself together and last another 250 years or more. The thing that I am most afraid of if the US fails or loses its place in the world, are the people who will inevitably blame our downfall on racial integration. Look at the most recent French elections, some 30% of the vote was cast for openly racist candidates. There is one thing that America does better than anyone, and that is racial integration.
