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America certainly has its share of misanthropes, in the realm of interpersonal social relations and among those with a basic distrust of government we find the heart of hatred beating loud. Fear, and its counterpart hatred, are, in my opinion, rising in the U.S. Philosophers have attempted to explain man's insecurities in this regard, but the modern day humans fear of each other seems devoid of any explanation beyond the fact of divisive propaganda. I'm curious if others see this trend as a danger to the future American society.
America certainly has its share of misanthropes, in the realm of interpersonal social relations and among those with a basic distrust of government we find the heart of hatred beating loud. Fear, and its counterpart hatred, are, in my opinion, rising in the U.S. Philosophers have attempted to explain man's insecurities in this regard, but the modern day humans fear of each other seems devoid of any explanation beyond the fact of divisive propaganda. I'm curious if others see this trend as a danger to the future American society.
it started with multicultural diversification. Of course lawyers had a little input. There is no future of america, but as long as liberty for all men remains, who really cares. we'll see when the population changes. I look at the countries the minorities (of the usa) run around the world to see how they will run the USA in the future.
it started with multicultural diversification. Of course lawyers had a little input. There is no future of america, but as long as liberty for all men remains, who really cares. we'll see when the population changes. I look at the countries the minorities (of the usa) run around the world to see how they will run the USA in the future.
I'm speaking to the fact of fear as a component of hate, and I thought that putting this question in the philosophy forum could possibly render a view of the entire notion of hate as a philosophical counter to the widespread assumption of America being a nation following the Christian philosophy.
America certainly has its share of misanthropes,... explain man's insecurities in this regard, but the modern day humans fear of each other .... I'm curious if others see this trend as a danger to the future American society.
These parts are the most relevant parts of your post in my view.
You talk in general terms, but you are referring specifically to right wing conspiracy nuts, chemtards, birthers in addition to the 'softer' republican/conservative type that sometimes veers wildly to the right on specific issues.
Lets also be very clear; you are talking about a specific community of white Americans.
There was a time, not too long ago in the US, where the 'white man' was in unquestioned power. This 'power' has been eaten away over the decades until it is almost nothing. But not quite dead. Everytime there is an incident where those who have lost their power, can rally once again, it is taken with the hopeless hope that something from the ashes may rise once again.
You can see it on this forum. "Black crime statistics Tell Amazing truth" "IQ test African" "police shoot unarmed black person he deserved it" "Obama to kill all whites" "Don't take away my guns" etc etc. Feel free to mix and match those words in any combination and do a city data search.
But, deep down, its known that this is irreversible. America is changing forever. The world is changing forever. Its also impossible to turn back. This small blimp in the longer than realised history of humankind will be considered as a failure for a number of reasons.
Everyone who has an interest in this area, knows the reality. In the nearer future, blacks and latinas and latinos will hold greater numbers and corresponding power. That trend will continue forever. It doesn't really matter how far in the future it will be; the World will at some point be filled with black faces.
The thing is, none of that should mean anything: So the colour of one dominate type of person, will change for another. We are all human, so what difference does it make?
It makes a huge difference to those that attached symbolic importance to skin colour and for them, the world has come to a literal end.
Your question - does this pose a danger to the future of American Society? If you mean 'traditional white american society' with all the trappings that an exclusively white american society has enjoyed, then of course. If you are talking about 'American Society', then of course not. American Society is based upon constant change, it is a society of immigrants, with no official language or religion. Angry types have always been an irrelevance and often pop up as mass killers and internet racists, but are otherwise ignored.
Lets also be very clear; you are talking about a specific community of white Americans.
This was clear to me as well, but my take on it is different from yours. Most of my friends are at the other end of the social/political spectrum, but I see just as much hatred there as well. It is somewhat better-disguised at that end of the spectrum, but it is there. As a white male Christian, I have to tread very lightly in discussions of social and political issues even with the best of these friends or their fierce anger quickly bubbles to the surface.
Having lived long enough to have experienced the America that was overwhelmingly white and overwhelmingly more-or-less Christian, I do believe it was generally far more harmonious than the society we have today. Of course, there were pockets of hate against Blacks, gays, etc., but in general it was a more harmonious society. "The other" is always the focus of whatever group is in power, and generally the hate does have its basis in fear. Christianity (even if it is "pretend" Christianity, as has always been the case for a large segment of the American population) is a mediating influence, notwithstanding popular misconceptions to the contrary.
The fragmented society to which we are evolving is doomed. There is, IMHO, absolutely no hope that America will survive over the long term. The glue that once held the society together, even if you view it unfavorably as "white Christian domination." has dissolved. The notion that large segments of Christians, Muslims, Atheists, whites, Blacks, Hispanics, straights, gays, et al., will ever coalesce into anything resembling a harmonious society is, IMHO, a complete and dangerous fantasy. No one in these groups views himself or herself as primarily an American, but rather as a member of his or her particular segment. Everyone else is now "the other" - a threat to be feared.
So we agree that America is changing forever, but I would substitute "ending" for "changing." I fortunately won't be here in 100 years; if America is here in 100 years, it will look like a Mad Max movie.
This was clear to me as well, but my take on it is different from yours. Most of my friends are at the other end of the social/political spectrum, but I see just as much hatred there as well. It is somewhat better-disguised at that end of the spectrum, but it is there. As a white male Christian, I have to tread very lightly in discussions of social and political issues even with the best of these friends or their fierce anger quickly bubbles to the surface.
Having lived long enough to have experienced the America that was overwhelmingly white and overwhelmingly more-or-less Christian, I do believe it was generally far more harmonious than the society we have today. Of course, there were pockets of hate against Blacks, gays, etc., but in general it was a more harmonious society. "The other" is always the focus of whatever group is in power, and generally the hate does have its basis in fear. Christianity (even if it is "pretend" Christianity, as has always been the case for a large segment of the American population) is a mediating influence, notwithstanding popular misconceptions to the contrary.
The fragmented society to which we are evolving is doomed. There is, IMHO, absolutely no hope that America will survive over the long term. The glue that once held the society together, even if you view it unfavorably as "white Christian domination." has dissolved. The notion that large segments of Christians, Muslims, Atheists, whites, Blacks, Hispanics, straights, gays, et al., will ever coalesce into anything resembling a harmonious society is, IMHO, a complete and dangerous fantasy. No one in these groups views himself or herself as primarily an American, but rather as a member of his or her particular segment. Everyone else is now "the other" - a threat to be feared.
So we agree that America is changing forever, but I would substitute "ending" for "changing." I fortunately won't be here in 100 years; if America is here in 100 years, it will look like a Mad Max movie.
I agree with you 100%. My only comment is that I really do think that in 100 years, the world in general will be completely different, not just the U.S. I am seeing much more of a mixing of races and cultures and many people emigrating to many countries, not just the U.S. (I just could not believe it at first when I learned that the U.K. is now about 5% Muslim, for example.)
Although I honestly do miss the "Norman Rockwell" America of my childhood (with the exception of the racism and intolerance of other minorities that was so prevalent then), I also think that the world will be better when the races and cultures are "all mixed up" because it is hard to hate a particular group of people if part of your grandchildren's ancestry comes from that group.
However, I also think that getting to that point, in which everyone is part of the same "salad bowl" of humanity, will be very painful for many and that the "hatred" will get worse before reason and acceptance take over.
Last edited by katharsis; 10-28-2015 at 11:45 AM..
America certainly has its share of misanthropes, in the realm of interpersonal social relations and among those with a basic distrust of government we find the heart of hatred beating loud. Fear, and its counterpart hatred, are, in my opinion, rising in the U.S. Philosophers have attempted to explain man's insecurities in this regard, but the modern day humans fear of each other seems devoid of any explanation beyond the fact of divisive propaganda. I'm curious if others see this trend as a danger to the future American society.
Social relations and a distrust of government are two separate things. I, for one, think it's a good thing not to entirely trust the government, even the people I vote for. Power is corrupting. And let's face it, people have always complained about the government. Show me someone who loves the IRS and I'll show you someone who works there.
As for interpersonal relationships, there have always been misanthropes. It's just that now they can go online and show their true natures.
Don't get me wrong. I think people are more polarized in some respects than they were 30 years ago: left-wing vs. right-wing, religious vs. non-religious.
But in other ways people have come together. We just don't realize it because the younger we are, the more we tend to take certain hard-won freedoms that came out of the civil rights movement for granted. Racial segregation seems preposterous to all but the most sociopathic of racists. One day codifying marriage as only between a man and a woman will seem preposterous to all but the most sociopathic of homophobes.
What worries me is the divide between the religious and the non-religious and the impact it is having on education. I read a comment on Instagram that blew my mind the other day. The person said she knew "Jesus was here before animals."
So sorry, but there is no room for this kind of ignorance. Believe in God, Jesus, whoever, makes no difference to me, but to be that ignorant of the history of the earth and science in general is a travesty of education. Unfortunately, fundamentalism is the root of the problem here, because fundamentalists are changing education in certain parts of the country to the detriment of science. As far as I'm concerned, religious fundamentalism and social/scientific enlightenment are mutually exclusive. It's a cause of rancor between opposing sides, but there is a right and a wrong here, and for the US to avoid collapse, science is going to have to win.
Social relations and a distrust of government are two separate things. I, for one, think it's a good thing not to entirely trust the government, even the people I vote for. Power is corrupting. And let's face it, people have always complained about the government. Show me someone who loves the IRS and I'll show you someone who works there.
As for interpersonal relationships, there have always been misanthropes. It's just that now they can go online and show their true natures.
Don't get me wrong. I think people are more polarized in some respects than they were 30 years ago: left-wing vs. right-wing, religious vs. non-religious.
But in other ways people have come together. We just don't realize it because the younger we are, the more we tend to take certain hard-won freedoms that came out of the civil rights movement for granted. Racial segregation seems preposterous to all but the most sociopathic of racists. One day codifying marriage as only between a man and a woman will seem preposterous to all but the most sociopathic of homophobes.
What worries me is the divide between the religious and the non-religious and the impact it is having on education. I read a comment on Instagram that blew my mind the other day. The person said she knew "Jesus was here before animals."
So sorry, but there is no room for this kind of ignorance. Believe in God, Jesus, whoever, makes no difference to me, but to be that ignorant of the history of the earth and science in general is a travesty of education. Unfortunately, fundamentalism is the root of the problem here, because fundamentalists are changing education in certain parts of the country to the detriment of science. As far as I'm concerned, religious fundamentalism and social/scientific enlightenment are mutually exclusive. It's a cause of rancor between opposing sides, but there is a right and a wrong here, and for the US to avoid collapse, science is going to have to win.
My original thoughts on the rise of hatred in this country began with a specific kind of hate that pits the working class against the poor. Welfare specifically has caused many to hate the people who benefit from it.
On the larger scale the rise of mistrust of one's own government has been the driver of much of the hate we see in regard to taxes, who pays, VS who benefits. I was positioning the large Christian populace in America against this unchristian hatred and selfishness seen so often in various web forums.
I'd be the first to agree with the notion that ignorance is at the base of most hate, and yes, the institutionalization of ignorance that passes for a public education seems to be adding fuel to the fire.
My original thoughts on the rise of hatred in this country began with a specific kind of hate that pits the working class against the poor. Welfare specifically has caused many to hate the people who benefit from it.
On the larger scale the rise of mistrust of one's own government has been the driver of much of the hate we see in regard to taxes, who pays, VS who benefits. I was positioning the large Christian populace in America against this unchristian hatred and selfishness seen so often in various web forums.
I'd be the first to agree with the notion that ignorance is at the base of most hate, and yes, the institutionalization of ignorance that passes for a public education seems to be adding fuel to the fire.
This was clear to me as well, but my take on it is different from yours. Most of my friends are at the other end of the social/political spectrum, but I see just as much hatred there as well. It is somewhat better-disguised at that end of the spectrum, but it is there. As a white male Christian, I have to tread very lightly in discussions of social and political issues even with the best of these friends or their fierce anger quickly bubbles to the surface.
Having lived long enough to have experienced the America that was overwhelmingly white and overwhelmingly more-or-less Christian, I do believe it was generally far more harmonious than the society we have today. Of course, there were pockets of hate against Blacks, gays, etc., but in general it was a more harmonious society. "The other" is always the focus of whatever group is in power, and generally the hate does have its basis in fear. Christianity (even if it is "pretend" Christianity, as has always been the case for a large segment of the American population) is a mediating influence, notwithstanding popular misconceptions to the contrary.
The fragmented society to which we are evolving is doomed. There is, IMHO, absolutely no hope that America will survive over the long term. The glue that once held the society together, even if you view it unfavorably as "white Christian domination." has dissolved. The notion that large segments of Christians, Muslims, Atheists, whites, Blacks, Hispanics, straights, gays, et al., will ever coalesce into anything resembling a harmonious society is, IMHO, a complete and dangerous fantasy. No one in these groups views himself or herself as primarily an American, but rather as a member of his or her particular segment. Everyone else is now "the other" - a threat to be feared.
So we agree that America is changing forever, but I would substitute "ending" for "changing." I fortunately won't be here in 100 years; if America is here in 100 years, it will look like a Mad Max movie.
Imagine something similar to WW2. Don't you think people would set aside their petty differences and unify to defeat a common enemy?
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