Author Topic: How is America more conservative than Europe?  (Read 477 times)

Trauma-san

Re: How is America more conservative than Europe?
« Reply #15 on: February 05, 2008, 06:42:22 AM »
I'm not 'proud' of it, I just don't give a shit.  I thought I made that clear; you're talking to me about the subject of whether or not Americans are aware of the outside world; I, like Most Americans, dont' give a shit about the rest of the world.  So I don't give a shit about whether it's right or wrong to care about the rest of the world.

Listen; I have a sphere that I live in.  For anybody to think any different is ludicrious.  You haven't done shit all to help ANY of the world, the only influence you have is in those immediately around you.  If you think knowlede of the world is usefull for ANYTHING you're wrong.  Period.  If people are getting fucked in Bangladesh, what importance is that to me?  None.  How can I help?  I can't.  I could send money to a cause, I suppose, but believe me I have plenty of opportunities for Charity right here at home. 

So in my opinion, Knowledge of the world is useless.  It's like knowledge of the universe.  Who cares?  You can't do anything with that knowledge. 
 

Trauma-san

Re: How is America more conservative than Europe?
« Reply #16 on: February 05, 2008, 06:49:02 AM »
As for the "so involved in their lives" comment, I'm not saying people in Europe are so bored they read newspapers.  My infalliable argument is based on the whole concept of America, a melting pot that's multi-cultural.  Plus, our sheer size provides Americans plenty of opportunities for travel, etc.

So the point is; American's don't care about what's going on in England... but they do care about what's going on in California and New York.  I know most of Europe is diverse as well, but America truly is 50 different states with all different shit going on at the same time.  Why do you think American's travel less out of country than other countries?  It's because your country is smaller. 


Last question;

You slammed the American intellect. Are you really so fucking naieve that you think we don't travel because we're stupid?  We travel interstate all the time.  Hell I'm constantly in Georgia, South Carolina, and North Carolina.  That's the equivalent in land mass as Great Britian.  There's a 3000 mile spread from side to side of America.  I've eaten food in Cali, Arizona, New Mexico, Nevada, Texas, Louisiana, Tennessee, Kentucky, Florida, Georgia, South Carolina, North Carolina, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, West Virginia, D.C., Ohio, Alabama, etc.  You think Alabama is the same as New Mexico?  I've lived in California, North Carolina, and West Virginia.  How many countries the size of those states have you lived in?  Were they 3000 miles apart like California and North Carolina are? 
« Last Edit: February 05, 2008, 06:51:24 AM by Trauma-san »
 

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Re: How is America more conservative than Europe?
« Reply #17 on: February 05, 2008, 03:10:32 PM »
Well, I've eaten food in Brazil, Spain, Italy, the USA, New Zealand, Switzerland, the UK, Germany, Holland, France and other places, some of which are not all that tiny and further apart than Cali and North Carolina, but that's obviously not the point. I'm in no way meaning to suggest that Alabama is the same as New Mexico, just like Manaus is not the same as Rio de Janeiro, Barcelona is different from Malaga and the Südtirol doesn't resemble Sicily. I'm not naive enough to believe that all locations are the same just by being in the same country, anywhere. I guess you're aware that cultural diversity within the same country is not a mere American thing, though of course the US is indeed one of the hugest melting pots and more diverse than many others.

I did not "slam the American intellect", maybe I haven't pointed it out clearly enough, but again: I acknowledge that country has done more, invented more things and influenced the world more than any other in the past 100 years and this is of course to great extents due to certain people's impressive intellectual achievments. I'm not dumb enough to "slam" any such thing as a "national intellect" because there are potential mensa club members and 70-IQ-points morons everywhere. The issue is education: Different countries, obviously, have different educational standards; I'm semi-Italian and I accept the fact that the average level of education in Italy sucks compared to that in Norway; not because Italians are born dumber, but because different countries have been successful to different degrees in pursuing different cultural goals and achievements. And from what I know - admittedly I'm no expert - the US have the problem that the number and percentage of people who get tertiary education is impressively high, but the general level on which they get it in state schools and community colleges is low. Of course, on the other hand you have fucking Harvard and Yale; so bottom line is, I'm not trying to say anything about any such idea as that of an "American intellect", I just pointed out that from what I know the average level of education is not admirably high in the US, particularly when it comes to knowledge about the outside world.

I just pointed that out; believe me, I'm not your frog-leg-eating picturebook anti-american european dickhead, but i do think that widespread ignorance towards the rest of the world has a negative effect and is a problem more prevalent in the US than in other parts of the western world. And you're simplifying it very much...the main and most important reason i disagree with you is that we live in a globalized world and hence, actions have ramifications on a global level. The USA being the most powerful country on earth - which is not per se a bad thing, don't get me wrong - US citizens, living in a democracy, are affected by this power whether they like it or not. Most obviously, you elect a president that is the most powerful person in the world; he (or maybe she in a year, we'll know more tomorrow) can, has to and will have an effect on the rest of the world. The products you buy, the views you support, everything that involves you in global economy in any way (and hence, indirectly, in global politics) contributes to the huge effect america has on this planet and its countries.

I'm no activist and i don't consider myself a hero when it comes to analyzing this process and consequently considering how I'm involved in it and what effects I might have, BUT i do think that being aware of what is happening on the planet has an effect on what will happen, if only because of the smallest actions you might take, be that related to political, social, cultural, enviromental, economical or any kind of issues. Also, what goes around does come around to a certain extent. There's a reason the dollar's been weak as shit for the last few years and you can't entirely blame that on the big bad politicians....
 

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Re: How is America more conservative than Europe?
« Reply #18 on: February 05, 2008, 04:15:01 PM »
I'm not 'proud' of it, I just don't give a shit.  I thought I made that clear; you're talking to me about the subject of whether or not Americans are aware of the outside world; I, like Most Americans, dont' give a shit about the rest of the world.  So I don't give a shit about whether it's right or wrong to care about the rest of the world.

Listen; I have a sphere that I live in.  For anybody to think any different is ludicrious.  You haven't done shit all to help ANY of the world, the only influence you have is in those immediately around you.  If you think knowlede of the world is usefull for ANYTHING you're wrong.  Period.  If people are getting fucked in Bangladesh, what importance is that to me?  None.  How can I help?  I can't.  I could send money to a cause, I suppose, but believe me I have plenty of opportunities for Charity right here at home. 

So in my opinion, Knowledge of the world is useless.  It's like knowledge of the universe.  Who cares?  You can't do anything with that knowledge. 

You are so dumb its unbelievable