The America Question

[Metamorph]

I think America's problems really are primarily cultural. And I think the basis of those problems lie in Americans' ideal of freedom. I think freedom is a lofty and noble ideal. However, I think Americans completely misconceptualize freedom. Americans think freedom means you can literally do whatever you want, but that's not a coherent ideal of freedom. For example, let's say I want to be free to go on walks. If I lived in the ghetto in Detroit, I would probably not be very free to go on walks, because I could randomly get shot. If I lived in Flint, Michigan, I would not even be free to drink water, because it is poison. In both cases, the missing element of freedom is ironically regulation, law, and what people seem to consider the opposite of freedom. But as long as Americans think that freedom means something like the lowest-common denominator, America will be an anarchist hellhole where no one is really free to do anything I think.

Natur und Kunst, sie scheinen sich zu fliehen,
Und haben sich, eh' man es denkt, gefunden;
Der Widerwille ist auch mir verschwunden,
Und beide scheinen gleich mich anzuziehen.


Es gilt wohl nur ein redliches Bemühen!
Und wenn wir erst in abgemeßnen Stunden
Mit Geist und Fleiß uns an die Kunst gebunden,
Mag frei Natur im Herzen wieder glühen.


So ist's mit aller Bildung auch beschaffen:
Vergebens werden ungebundne Geister
Nach der Vollendung reiner Höhe streben.


Wer Großes will, muß sich zusammen raffen;
In der Beschränkung zeigt sich erst der Meister,
Und das Gesetz nur kann uns Freiheit geben.

[WVBRY]

I somewhat agree with your analysis, in that I feel America would benefit from better boundries on people's (and corporations'!) freedoms, and that this is ultimately a political solution. However, you seem to be missing an important point, which is that Americans only see the question of freedoms vs government policy in such a black and white fashion because that is how they view everything.

The American "intellectual" landscape lacks nuance. If Americans don't come to reason (read: intellectual nuance) as a whole, they won't ever accept the nuanced answer you are proposing (ie more government policies but also a respect for civil liberties). I'll be honest, I'm not optimistic they ever will become nuanced in their thinking. I'm not sure what it is about the average American (and even many less average ones) that makes everything they say sound so polarizing but it's been that way for as long as I can remember.

As a disclaimer, this doesn't apply to all Americans, there are Americans that think, there are just fewer and farther between. No offense to anyone.

[ouronis]

America's problem is propaganda and the concentration of wealth and influence.

[Adam Strange]

America's problem is propaganda and the concentration of wealth and influence.

I completely agree with this statement.

[Metamorph]

America's problem is propaganda and the concentration of wealth and influence.

Well, it might be OK if wealth and influence were concentrated in the hands of people who didn't use them to spread propaganda.

[Poptart]

America’s problem is cynicism

[ouronis]

Well, it might be OK if wealth and influence were concentrated in the hands of people who didn't use them to spread propaganda.

Unfortunately, if there's one thing America has shown us is that it doesn't matter who has the power, they will warp their standards to support the continuation of that power. Anyone can be rich in America, and so we have random ass people holding other people down.

[Not A Communist Shill]

Wir können Kunst sein, nur für einen Tag, wir können für immer und ewig Fotzen sein.

[xerx]

When I worked in a liquor store, the first customers in the morning were middle-aged, alcoholic men. They were all unshaven and looked like they hadn't slept all night. They'd walk in, buy a single can of beer and leave (no chit chat, no eye contact). None of them looked "free".

The freedom to drink is purchased with the freedoms of drunk driving victims.

The children of neglectful, alcoholic parents have more freedom growing up inside a repressive Muslim regime that banned alcohol.

[xerx]

When I worked in a liquor store, the first customers in the morning were middle-aged, alcoholic men. They were all unshaven and looked like they hadn't slept all night. They'd walk in, buy a single can of beer and leave (no chit chat, no eye contact). None of them looked "free".

The freedom to drink is purchased with the freedoms of drunk driving victims.

The children of neglectful, alcoholic parents have more freedom growing up inside a repressive Muslim regime that banned alcohol.

I still wouldn't ban alcohol, though, because I don't want to give the state that much power. I'm not even sure that it's possible — not without a dystopian omni-surveillance regime (although, to be fair, we are kind of on track towards that).

[godslave]

America's "problem" is Imperialism. It's the only country who almost succeeded to submit the whole world to its ideology. It's not that different from ancient Rome in that sense, there are quite striking similarities even to the very structure of its republic. America is an Empire, economical, cultural and military. Freedom Made in USA is not necessarily compatible with the rest of the world's interpretation of Freedom. The American Dream of the 19th century is no more but still they try to sell it like an actual thing. There was a time when land was so cheap that it was literally distributed to immigrant workers from Europe coming to america so they can contribute to make America great and incidentally living a better life and achieve great success.
I don't see America as Americans, citizens are not necessarily a reflection of the regime they were born in, just like children are not a reflection of their parents. We must not forget that "the Land of the Free and the home of the Brave" was once the field of massacres and the home of the slaves. In that sense, America is not better than other European countries who practiced colonialism in 19th century (another form of Imperialism) but I guess that's just the way the world has always been and will always be, even Nuclear weapons have not change that reality, the world belongs to the stronger conquerent and Nature abhors a vacuum.

I think of Americans citizen like employees of a Corporation called "United States of America". The president of USA is just the C.E.O. of that corporation. This is exactly how Europeans Countries are led especially in France, Macron is "acting" ( EIE, no pun intended) exactly like a C.E.O. that's the new politic of the old continent now. Let me be clear, I love America because of Hollywood, because of Music, because of the "Americana" culture and scientific breakthroughs. Those things are the products of people of whom the mind has been shaped in an American way, meaning the system gave them the opportunity to develop without any freedom restriction and that's maybe the most important variable in the equation. Not being afraid of the regime to express one's mind is the key difference which have guaranteed to the citizen the right of pursuing happiness. America has a great constitution and by the way, I think that each American gives a great importance almost like a religious reverence to the constitution, I don't see that in France for instance which is kind of ironic. Anyway, I don't want to sound like I know what I'm talking about so I will stop here !

[Metamorph]

Let me be clear, I love America because of Hollywood, because of Music, because of the "Americana" culture and scientific breakthroughs. Those things are the products of people of whom the mind has been shaped in an American way, meaning the system gave them the opportunity to develop without any freedom restriction and that's maybe the most important variable in the equation. Not being afraid of the regime to express one's mind is the key difference which have guaranteed to the citizen the right of pursuing happiness. America has a great constitution and by the way, I think that each American gives a great importance almost like a religious reverence to the constitution, I don't see that in France for instance which is kind of ironic. Anyway, I don't want to sound like I know what I'm talking about so I will stop here !

Most of the music, films, and "science" that come out of America are sadly garbage. People twerk all day, they look at basically softcore-pornographic materials and listen to the auditory equivalent, they eat absolute garbage like "sloppy Joe's" and "chili cheese dogs," and the "science" you see on the pop-sci channels is also garbage that would bear little resemblance to what you would get if you decided to really study the sciences and mathematics in any depth at all, even the depth that an amateur could easily get to.