American Exceptionalism

Status
Not open for further replies.

Leo

Truth Seeker
Joined
Sep 17, 2013
Messages
191
Reaction score
227
Points
43
Age
38
Location
Leesburg, VA





Are we REALLY the greatest country in the world? Sure, we have the greatest military and one of the highest incarceration rates... but if you look at stats, we are falling behind the rest of the world in many ways. We don't even have the most freedom. I truly love my country and spent 8 years of my life under the illusion that I was helping to defend her... A few years ago I took a step back and really thought about this and in my humble opinion, we are a great country with many advantages but, we are not the greatest and I don't care to be. There are many countries on this planet that give the same advantages, same freedoms (If not more) as the US and that is OK. I would love it if we could pull our heads out of our ass and realize that we don't have to pretend we are the best, we only have to accept that we are one of many and strive individually to be the best we can be and contribute to this ever evolving world. The more we "gloat" about being the best, the more it sets us back. Sorry if this sounds like hippy talk it's not meant to, as one can see in any of my posts that's not the case... As a free thinker, I think this an important thing to consider. What say you Midnight Desert friends???
 
Last edited:
  • Like
Reactions: Seahunter and surge
I can't say I disagree with anything you've said. Post WWII we were definitely the cream of the crop on the planet. Europe was devastated by the war, while our infrastructure was intact and there was an eager labor pool ready to get to work. We took advantage of that to position ourselves as world leaders on many fronts. Today we suffer from having all our manufacturing jobs shipped overseas for cheap labor, and big business owns Congress. It's hard to be exceptional when the Government does all it can to strip our rights and freedoms, while extracting every ounce of tribute it possibly can. I don't care if we're #1, I just want my freedom back.
 
Sorry if this sounds like hippy talk it's not meant to, as one can see in any of my posts that's not the case... As a free thinker, I think this an important thing to consider. What say you Midnight Desert friends???

LOL @ hippy talk! I agree with you, Leo. Growing up in this country, I always felt kind of superior to people in other countries as I grew up with the 'America is number 1' mentality that we all had. As I've pulled my own head out of my ass, I realize that we are but one country in a planet full of them. Yes, we have a lot of technological advances here and our way of life seemed to set a worldwide standard at one point, but now it seems like other countries have caught up to us.

I love the idea of America. the idea that a bunch of revolutionaries fighting the good fight were able to overthrow what seemed like tyrany to begin a new country where hope shone brightly. Sadly, these days there is so much wrong with my beloved country that it is hard to see us be number one in anything anymore. So much corruption, to say nothing of it becoming more and more obvious that we are really run by a secret cabal of shadow government. Most people see this as a crazy conspiracy, but I know it's true.

Youth today scares me. Talk about a bunch of inept, clueless morons. Kids in their early 20's have no clue of history. I heard one of these kids not know who America fought in the revolutionary war. News today is celebrity gossip. Six corporations control our media and if anyone steps out of line, they get Breibarted.

The sad thing is that no one cares. And those that do, like many of us here on this forum feel helpless to do anything. Hell, many of us are overwhelmed by our own lives, let alone changing the status quo.
 
LOL @ hippy talk! I agree with you, Leo. Growing up in this country, I always felt kind of superior to people in other countries as I grew up with the 'America is number 1' mentality that we all had. As I've pulled my own head out of my ass, I realize that we are but one country in a planet full of them. Yes, we have a lot of technological advances here and our way of life seemed to set a worldwide standard at one point, but now it seems like other countries have caught up to us.

I love the idea of America. the idea that a bunch of revolutionaries fighting the good fight were able to overthrow what seemed like tyrany to begin a new country where hope shone brightly. Sadly, these days there is so much wrong with my beloved country that it is hard to see us be number one in anything anymore. So much corruption, to say nothing of it becoming more and more obvious that we are really run by a secret cabal of shadow government. Most people see this as a crazy conspiracy, but I know it's true.

Youth today scares me. Talk about a bunch of inept, clueless morons. Kids in their early 20's have no clue of history. I heard one of these kids not know who America fought in the revolutionary war. News today is celebrity gossip. Six corporations control our media and if anyone steps out of line, they get Breibarted.

The sad thing is that no one cares. And those that do, like many of us here on this forum feel helpless to do anything. Hell, many of us are overwhelmed by our own lives, let alone changing the status quo.

Well said!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Naked Apple
Well, here comes the honest to Goddess old REAL hippie! lol (And yes, we spelled it hippie back in the day!) What I've always believed is that people should be able to take PRIDE in their country....not feel exceptional....just be proud of what we can do AS a country. The politicians took that away from us long ago. The hippie movement wanted more than just peace and love. We wanted something to be able to stand behind and say "We're doing good things out there" and to be free to do them. About the time of Vietnam, freedoms began vanishing and the warlords took control. Then came 9/11. If anybody thinks they wrote that Patriot Act overnight, we need to talk. We used to fight wars to defend the rights of others. Now those wars are fought for oil and political gain. I lost a family member and a fiance to the Vietnam war, and that opened my eyes.

I've watched the decline of a once great country over my lifetime, and I can't tell you how much that saddens me. My father and all his brothers were proud to work for US Steel in Gary, IN. They took pride in supporting their family on a good wage, and were proud to say they made a US product. They had values, ethics and a moral code that denied no one their rights. We all respected each other, even if we didn't necessarily agree with each other. It truly was a different country back then. Quite simply put, I miss it.

Now the young people only care about what they can get and what they can complain about. They only look at themselves, and not at the big picture. (Selfies define this malady.) They don't even seem to notice that they're really living "1984". We real hippies are in tears over the loss of a country that may not have been exceptional at all, but that had freedom for us to BE hippies.
 
  • Like
Reactions: surge and Leo
3943bb85ee23c2edb2146ed7cf8631bf445f3992e74e795404d461edfb1712bb.jpg
 
  • Like
Reactions: Debi
A lot of people say I bash this country way too much, or that I hate America. I'm always told "Well if you don't like it, then why don't ya move to North Korea or some s*** then?"
It's not that I dislike it, it's just that I look around and see what we are becoming, and know what we could be instead, and it's disheartening.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sal
A lot of people say I bash this country way too much, or that I hate America. I'm always told "Well if you don't like it, then why don't ya move to North Korea or some s*** then?"
It's not that I dislike it, it's just that I look around and see what we are becoming, and know what we could be instead, and it's disheartening.
I liken it to having a favorite baseball or football team and criticizing them for bonehead moves when you know they could be number one. It's not about hating your country or team, it's about wanting them to be the best.
 
  • Like
Reactions: sal and Leo
As an outsider living in this country for over a decade , I am shocked at the decline within this timeframe , I too have overheard conversations " if you don't like it then move to where you came from , " yet the person chastising America and being rebuked for his thoughts is the one who cares deeply about the country . On my travels I have met many who sadly shake their heads and say " this is no longer America, '" these men are worn out and there souls are weary . One question I always raise is this " why are you not fighting back ...this is YOUR country , have you given up ? " The response is always the same " what can we do ." Divide and conquer has always worked for centuries and is alive and well in America today .
When I hear someone state that America is the greatest country in the world I then ask them where they have traveled to , I get " deer in the headlamps expression ," I then ask them how this can be when they have never traveled to other lands , I am certainly not being rude to anyone but merely stating facts , is this idea of superior thought indoctrinated at an early age ? Many years ago you certainly had freedom and were the envy of most countries , now not so much ! The seventies and eighties was the time to invest and reap the rewards , today's youngsters don't have that opportunity nor do they have positions to sustain a family home , suicide rates are high amongst teenagers yet the media rarely discusses this . My own country has far more freedom than you have and yes we have those whose heads are stuck up there butts , put "Braveheart" on the screen and suddenly they are all patriotic and yet if you ask them about that specific timeframe in history you get " deer in the headlamps expression , " their wives and girlfriends refuse to take them to the movies because they keep having to pass them tissues whilst rolling their eyes !!!
Knowledge is power , this we know yet a feeling of helplessness persists because the government has implemented a program to squash any and all resistance and many believe the border fence was not to keep the Mexicans out , it was to keep the Citizens in !!!!
 
  • Like
Reactions: Debi and Malakai
Status
Not open for further replies.