Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
Name a time when America really had a healthy social fabric? Could the 80s have been the case? 90s? 2000s?
I would argue because of this, it makes it the most conflict-oriented culture in the West, and I would argue there is ongoing Americanization of politics across the Western world, adapting a US-style model of social issues.
It's been much worse since the 1960s because that's when white Christian male dominance and the old social hierarchy began being challenged. America has never moved on from the 1960s when you think about it. Even today, right-wingers speak of the 1950s as a 'golden age' that we need an authoritarian (Trump) to strong-arm us back to.
However, there has always been a stark cultural divide in the United States. From colonial days onward there were stark differences between the northern US and the southern US and how each developed. The North was more urban, industrial, and diverse while the South was more traditional with a strict racial and gender social hierarchy. The North was predominantly Catholic and mainline Protestant while the South was primarily Baptist and other evangelical denominations. This is important because despite both being Christianity, they are very different faiths that have very different legacies throughout history. The North has always been more liberal and the South always more conservative no matter the partisan alignment of the particular time. You see the same cultural divide that ripped the country apart in the 1850s still with us today.
I expected something more neutral-toned, but this is really about as neutral as it can get, eh?
Also a lot of the culture-bickering we see today is the clickbait-effect.
Intentionally divisive and inflammatory articles get lotsa clicks. So we see lotsa those news articles.
I think also a lot of the this "conflict-oriented" nature found in US culture comes from the lack of national, eh I don't want to say identity, but more along the lines of lacking a common communal identity, because the US is a very broad country, sure he may have stated that, but even countries where regionalism is an issue still have a somewhat set communal identity, the US on the other hand doesn't, I think this is a byproduct of America having a big corporate pop culture and I think the lack of national identity is a big playing factor in here too.
There are ups and downs. The first election to involve political parties was in 1800, a battle of words between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Reconstruction politics were particularly divisive. Local politics were often very divisive, as these elections historically tended to focus more on social issues compared to national elections. That has changed a lot in the last 40 years.
I think we were pretty good in the 1970s when Nixon was a crook and we got rid of him.
Everyone was together on that. The Viet Nam War was over. Things were starting to improve for black people.
I think Reagan divided the country with his trickle down ideas--belief that if the top trillionaires get even richer, they will create jobs for the underlings, lol. That didn't work out. Reagan also started the welfare queen myth which ignited some hatred towards the poor.
So probably the 1980s were the last time we were pretty much together on anything.
I don't think the rest of the world is following in our footsteps though. It may seem that way because it's a global economy and we are all in synch. We all get ideas back and forth from each other. Populist movements seem to be cropping up all over and it didn't start with us. Brexit is populist and it's been a long time in the works. Right wing leaders have been elected in other countries. In Mexico, a left wing president has been elected. Canada is still left wing.
Probably things will have to get even worse than they are now before people rebel and change sides or even stage a revolution. If it gets bad enough the US could split apart--might be for the best, especially seeing as neither side seems to be able to get their act together.
I think also a lot of the this "conflict-oriented" nature found in US culture comes from the lack of national, eh I don't want to say identity, but more along the lines of lacking a common communal identity, because the US is a very broad country, sure he may have stated that, but even countries where regionalism is an issue still have a somewhat set communal identity, the US on the other hand doesn't, I think this is a byproduct of America having a big corporate pop culture and I think the lack of national identity is a big playing factor in here too.
Agree or disagree there?
I agree. We don't know who we are. People ask what is American culture? duh. We don't know!
What are American values? What is the American dream? We don't even know anymore.
That's one reason why politicians have been able to divide us to the point where we are now. It wasn't that hard to do. Divide us. And that's why I often think we would be better off if we just divided up into regions now. Northeast wants universal health insurance, wants freedom of religion, wants strong border control, wants more help for the poor, doesn't want guns. Northeast is one region. And we are waiting, seeing the country move backwards, so maybe we should just do it and get it over with.
I agree. We don't know who we are. People ask what is American culture? duh. We don't know!
What are American values? What is the American dream? We don't even know anymore.
That's one reason why politicians have been able to divide us to the point where we are now. It wasn't that hard to do. Divide us. And that's why I often think we would be better off if we just divided up into regions now. Northeast wants universal health insurance, wants freedom of religion, wants strong border control, wants more help for the poor, doesn't want guns. Northeast is one region. And we are waiting, seeing the country move backwards, so maybe we should just do it and get it over with.
I was asking in particular Turkey-Head, but I still appreciate and liked the answer.
There are ups and downs. The first election to involve political parties was in 1800, a battle of words between John Adams and Thomas Jefferson. Reconstruction politics were particularly divisive. Local politics were often very divisive, as these elections historically tended to focus more on social issues compared to national elections. That has changed a lot in the last 40 years.
I see
Please register to post and access all features of our very popular forum. It is free and quick. Over $68,000 in prizes has already been given out to active posters on our forum. Additional giveaways are planned.
Detailed information about all U.S. cities, counties, and zip codes on our site: City-data.com.
Please register to participate in our discussions with 2 million other members - it's free and quick! Some forums can only be seen by registered members. After you create your account, you'll be able to customize options and access all our 15,000 new posts/day with fewer ads.
