Ugly America
How did we become ugly America? Not all Americans, or even a majority but enough that our society and the world has no escape from their megaphone. Alpha males unbound by civility, facts or rules.
Is it curable, containable, reversible? Can we agree on what is ugly - I'd nominate the "me-centric"; those with an expectation of being owed, I believe I deserve and 'other's don't (some just by birthright and feel they've been wronged.) Ugly souls, at the alter of Me.
We've been evolving thru an experiment of democracy that started with "We the people" to the point of little "We" remaining. The forefathers championed "We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness."
Equal, unalienable Rights? Who has these 240 years later? "We" get the Life (access to basic health care) and Liberty (justice) we can afford, any endowment long ago wrung like a sponge. The ability of We to afford those 'rights' lessens daily.
Those that judge 'who' among us are unequal based on skin or gender are the ugliest, their Creator weeps for them as they have lost the ability to love.
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Comments
The whole capitalist system
is built around getting one over on the next guy.
Eventually society will respond to these incentives.
The ones who concern me the most are those with so much
power and money that they consider us to be members of a different species whether we're white or black or red or brown, whether we're male or female, whether we're old or young, whether we reside in the U. S. or elsewhere. To them, we are the Expendables who constitute no loss if we die from bombs falling on our heads or a rapacious healthcare system.
I'd also second gjohnsit's comments above: it's Capitalism that is very adept not only at producing such people but even worse at elevating them to positions of power in our society.
And then they support the most feudal and medieval of tyrannies
abroad (Saudi Arabia, Morocco, Gulf states, Brunei), while talking about how capitalism goes hand in hand with the values of democracy and freedom.
Sorry to tell you this
But as an outsider looking in "America" has always been ugly.
Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.
We have been ugly for a very long time but
We got a lot uglier from Reagan on. In the 70's we felt at least somewhat guilty and showed a few signs of trying to do better, but St. Ronnie took care of that. Raping and killing nuns, no problem they are our guys and the nuns are commies anyway. I am referring, of course, to our "freedom fighters" in El Salvador, but I could go on for days with other examples.
I'd back up a little: The USA was pretty ugly in the Philipines
and killed 600,000 according to Gore Vidal. The USA was pretty ugly when it invaded the kingdom of Hawai'i and dispossessed the people and made it a colony fit for exploitation by Dole, among others.
Seward's Folly: The USA bought Alaska and its people. Hey Inuit, we own you.
(I won't dwell on the plight of the American Indians in the contiguous states because it's too painful to do so. )
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
"Because it's too painful..."
That is the reason I did not provide details in my comment. If I start listing what the uS has done in Latin America, or even just in my country, I will lose it and I am being monitored for cardiac "events" as we speak.
Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.
Some things are best alluded to and not put out in detail
because people should know what happened by the mere mention of the incident or policy and because it's tough to bring up shameful episodes. I agree with you.
Best wishes on the heart condition which I hope gets cured.
"The justness of individual land right is not justifiable to those to whom the land by right of first claim collectively belonged"
Thank you.
I only have atrial fibrillation, which is very manageable, and as of a year ago no damage to heart or circulatory system but the doctor wants to be sure everything is still ok. I am sure I would not be having those episodes of runaway, galloping heartbeats if I could stay away from the internet, but thatwould be so boring.
Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.
Take music breaks?
And of course stay away from TOP!
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I havent been at that place in eons, way before 3/15
I do the music and, believe it or not, this site is soothing to me. Being out there among so many people who have apparently lost their minds makes me sometimes question myself. Then I come to caucus99% and feel reassured. Today has been specially good. As a person who used to hate ALL Americans it still gives me the warm fuzzies to see that there are a lot who do get it.
Mundus vult decipi, ergo decipiatur.
Good! I like giving warm fuzzies!
Where are you from? That looks like a tropical flower.
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It’s a hibiscus!
In the 1950s schoolkids in Hawaiʻi used to learn to sing a little ditty about the hibiscus.
And now watching the Trumpfs-Clinton
"race to the top" video game, it is becoming a laughingstock as well.
If Americans only knew what impression they leave, what with your wars, and all that ...
There are known knowns; there are things we know we know. We also know there are known unknowns; that is to say we know there are some things we do not know. But there are also unknown unknowns – the ones we don't know we don't know.
Then you have forgotten that
Then you have forgotten that We had to be bombed into WW2 & saved it from fascist Me' s -together, almost all colors (internment excepted).
If the Dalai Lama pities you it may be time to reevaluate.
Umm actrually, not really.
We reluctantly went war, enthusiastically segregated and exclusive.
But after, and I think in large part, because of the war we did change. A lot.
Four years and four million lives later, those that didn't go to war, those that stayed and profited from it, were left with all the money. All the "radical change" of the '60s began after WWII, it took years of people fighting and dying, here at home, to make the change.
How hard was it to reverse it all with an empty promise of a "bright city oh the hill", financed by a get-rich-quick scheme, that we knew was a lie at the time?
As a people, we are spotty, at best. Lead by leaders with good intentions and a plan, we can do great things. When was the last time we had one of those?
Specially ugly American males
Genders divided in the US - if only men voted, Donald Trump would win by a landslide
We need more women in politics and not just 1st Ladies. This has been one of my manly causes.
The political revolution continues
We need more *diversity* in politics
More people of more colors and gender orientations, more parties, and a None Of The Above act with real teeth. (In plain words, "None Of The Above" on every ballot, at every level, every election - and if "None Of The Above" should actually win, a special election must be held with all new candidates, since all the previous lot were rejected.)
There is no justice. There can be no peace.