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So me and my wife were going to a wedding in Tuscon the other day, we let my pure Canadian cousin (I'm only 60% Canadian and was born in America) tag along because he wanted to "meet" the girls of Tuscon. Anyway, politics made its way into our conversation, like any other conversation, and at one point he said "Here in America, people like to call themselves united but aren't united at all. In fact, you guys are more politically separated and more likely to discriminate than any other nation in the English world, maybe even the whole Western world."
He said how our discrimination towards certain types of people makes the "modern" white man look no different/improved than our intrusive ancestors. He even said how America's version of Western Culture isn't proper, because instead of allowing other cultures to mix with ours, at least of half of us either try to fight off that culture or ignore it entirely.
Then he said how we always take sides and battle, rather its the people or the government, even when we are supposed to be mourning or fixing something. How if something happens such as a school shooting, we always bring politics in it during the time for mourning. He gave an example where he heard this foreign guy insult America and a guy near him said something like "that isn't all of us, its just the democrats" (I've actually heard similar things in both real life and online several, if not dozens, of times).
After a while, I realized he wouldn't shut up until I said he was right so I went to sleep and let him and my wife go at it. Even though I disagreed with nearly all of his arguments, some did kind of get me thinking a little, thinking if we might not be united as we say we are.
I'm curious on what other people think. No, I not wondering what people think of Americans vs. Canadians, I'm wondering what you think about the relationship between the words "United" and "America".
Disassociative wording very much in my opinion as there is a lot of hate for certain socio-economic groups and political affiliations, fueled mostly by the media which is owned/funded by a handful of companies who are pushing the agenda to keep us drinking the Kool-Aid and hating one another, versus taking notice of their increasing wealth and influence. Moderator cut: off topic
Last edited by Oldhag1; 11-02-2014 at 12:05 PM..
Reason: Unless a thread is specifically about politics bringing up partisan politics is off topic
"United" is a more difficult National concept to imagine today. The trouble today is that America is no longer the great melting pot but more like a giant stove with lots of burners where all these different groups are in their own pots and simmering.
In 2008 Obama ran his election and promised us HOPE and Transparency. We really thought there was going to be a better world if we voted for him and America was going to become a shining light once again but guess what... A persons race has never been more of a problem than it is now. Politics is dividing this country and the knee jerk response to anyone who questions policy is "you are a racist" Not exactly a nice way to encourage discussion.
The great melting pot might be a thing of the past but if one or all of those individual pots were to boil over America would be united.
"United" is a more difficult National concept to imagine today. The trouble today is that America is no longer the great melting pot but more like a giant stove with lots of burners where all these different groups are in their own pots and simmering.
In 2008 Obama ran his election and promised us HOPE and Transparency. We really thought there was going to be a better world if we voted for him and America was going to become a shining light once again but guess what... A persons race has never been more of a problem than it is now. Politics is dividing this country and the knee jerk response to anyone who questions policy is "you are a racist" Not exactly a nice way to encourage discussion.
The great melting pot might be a thing of the past but if one or all of those individual pots were to boil over America would be united.
Agreed that politics is dividing the country but the problem isn't knee jerk responses, it's the actual racism that so many are in denial about.
I don't think it is except when attacked by foreigners and the unifying effect even of that seems to be diminishing. I don't really think America can be as unified as most other countries because it is not the home of a people the way France or Germany are the homes of the French and Germans.
Plus, America is so big. To people from the bayou, downeasterners might as well be from Mars and vice versa. Lately, the people on the coasts seem to have much more in common with each other that with the people who live between them. I imagine these differences exist in other countries but I doubt they are as pronounced.
America was founded on individual liberty. There is no mention of duty or sense of it. This, to me, is what separates us from Canada and from England. Germany's national anthem talks about people working together as brothers or standing together as brothers. The Star Spangled Banner doesn't say anything about this. At least in the first verse.
I think Americans are expected to be loyal to a from of government, a type of society, rather than to each other. We talk about "human rights" as if what we experience ought to be the common standard for all mankind. But most people are concerned first and foremost about their fellow countrymen. That's more unifying.
I think we are more united than most can claim. Our collective, national ideology is known as "liberalism" -- not left-wing, but rooted in "democracy, limited government, republicanism, self-determination, the rule of law, equal opportunity, and free expression."*
You might want to share this article with your Canadian cousin.
Well, first let me say that I was born and raised in Canada, and I think your cousin sounds like an ill-mannered, self-righteous jerk who loves the sound of his own voice. You and your wife showed great restraint by putting up with him. I wouldn't have been nearly as graceful.
Yes, the United States is united. Americans unite in the face of an outside threat, and they always have. People outside the US have been predicting the downfall of the Republic since 1776. Oh, well, what can we do? Just continue to prove the naysayers wrong, I suppose.
Having said that, there IS a disheartening level of polarization in the US - politically, economically, socially, culturally - which is easy to see and experience right here in the CD threads. Anywhere you look, there are people with extreme views on most any issue who refuse to consider other ideas or opinions in order to reach consensus.
Yes, ultimately the US unifies when she must, and I think she always will. But if we don't become more mindful of our binary thinking - individually and collectively - and consciously work to address it, then our country may very well come pretty darn close to fracturing. History tells us that CAN happen. And that's exactly what our enemies want.
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