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on america
So we have a problem here in America. It’s called americanism. It’s a religion, it’s a lifestyle, it’s a drug. The way it’s progressing, it doesn’t seem like it will stop. There’s always been voices against it, but those voices somehow always seem to get silenced. It’s like we’re scared of the voices offering dissent or opinions different from our own. It’s like we’re afraid of understanding other viewpoints, because maybe, just maybe, they could show us where we’re wrong.
It’s like when someone points out that America, in it’s junkie like addiction to oil, might be causing some evil in the world, which in turn causes more evil to spread, we turn a blind eye. It’s like someone pointing out that the very same texts that we use to justify the slaughter of Muslims can be used to show that traditionally God would damn America, we call the FBI to report a terrorist. It’s like when we do come across someone who listens isn’t scarred to hear the voices in the margins, we quickly turn ourselves away from that person, we shut them out, we stand up for what’s right and hold dearly to our American “values.”
What kind of values does Americanism present to the world?
Stand Tall! Work your way up the chain! Succeed! Bring your values to the world! Peace! Victory! Love!
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Stand Tall… the backs of those you stand upon will hold you.
Work your way up the chain… because the top is all that matters.
Succeed… because if you don’t, you may become the minority, and the majority will stand on your back instead.
Bring your values to the world… because they are all that is right.
Peace… through war.
Victory… at your expense.
Love… if you live like us.
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That is Americanism. That is patriotic. Dissent is not.
Ignore the voices in the margins. Ignore your conscious.
Duality is the way.
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4 Responses to “on america”
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The issues you address here are deeply complex. BUT, I would like to address the issue of speaking out about what’s wrong with America. It seems that those entrenched in ‘americanism’ (as you defined it) immediately profile you as ‘a hater of America’ if you dare to publicly challenge American policy (in whatever field it may be). Nine out of ten times these same people will tell you that they live by the adage “hate the sin, not the sinner”. By the same token, why can’t we then hate what’s wrong with America, and not hate America? If anything, our hate for what is wrong shows that we actually love America.
We need less ‘cooperation’ with the authoritative bureaucracy and more ‘collaboration’ with concerned citizens. But that’s probably just another “American dream” …
Hey Matt, since you’re blogging even if I’m not…
To “the rest of the world”, America embodies many great things (freedom, opportunity, and justice) taken to great extremes (freedom to stamp on the little guy, incredible success for some; grinding poverty for others, and justice for all; especially the lawyers). Self-flagellation is cathartic, perhaps, but I don’t know if it’s constructive. As for me, I think the main difference between the UK (or even, all Europe) and America, is that we tend to have more of a sense of community, of not leaving anyone behind.
I say that, but it’s ironnic; it sticks in the throat. We are busily copying America in so many ways.
And the biggest irony perhaps is that the world is on the brink of an economic crisis of more-or-less unprecedented scale, all apparently because some American banks sold mortgages to people who didn’t have a hope of repaying them. Thanks for sharing those values :-). The shake-out from this could be incredibly far-reaching. I don’t know if this is payback time, or if you guys get to wreck everyone else and then climb back to the top again. I guess nobody does.
[...] America, the American ideal system, and “americanism,” but, as Ken pointed out in the comments section of the last post, I feel like it’s more from a love of America than a [...]
Ken- I agree with you that we need more collaboration with people rather than cooperation with government, but will that defeat “the system” in the end? I think the system has a large ability to ignore the wishes of its people, just look at how many people think we shouldn’t be in the war anymore, yet we still are.
Andrew- Yeah, America exporting it’s value systems to the world is a large problem, even American Christianity is exporting some pretty raunchy stuff (prosperity gospel, anyone?). As for community, I don’t know if America is past the point of being able to return to community. Our idea of community is taking part in the PTA (parent teacher association), or the occasional support of a local business. It would be asking to much for us to open up the physical doors to our house and share a meal or freely let out a room to another.
As for the mortgage crisis, it’s pretty bad. We had a company sell itself last week for a mere 1% of what it was worth a few weeks ago. The crazy thing is, this company survived the depression and every other recession since then. If that’s not an indication of how bad we are doing right now, then I don’t know what is.