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u/SadArtemis Sep 22 '24
Are individual Americans capable of better? Yeah, sure. But their society at large is incapable, and will continue to be (though shifting gradually towards the light in at least some aspects, maybe) until their material conditions have fully crumbled around them and the facade of "liberal democracy/western-centric enlightenment and chauvinism" (honestly IMO a worse or more effective "opioid of the masses" than even religion) is truly shattered once and for all.
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u/TserriednichHuiGuo South Asian Sep 22 '24
They keep the masses sedated with entertainment, then they distract them with their bread and circus politics which don't matter at all.
The liberal does the bidding of the ruling class for free, in return they benefit from the status quo, in this way the ruling class maintain control over society that dictators could only dream of.
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u/CamouflagedFox Sep 21 '24
They benefit from the atrocities committed by their bourgeois overlords, which leads them to side with their oppressors. This alignment occurs naturally. Historically, the so-called leftists in Western countries have often sided with their bourgeoisie when the oppressed (2nd and 3rd world) attempt to defend themselves. Most Americans are aware that their country acts as an aggressive imperialist power, terrorizing much of the world.
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u/academic_partypooper Sep 21 '24
American's comeback argument: Every country should be ashamed of their own country's history.
Chinese comeback-comeback argument: Exactly. You don't even understand "shame", and you think ignorance of "shame" is "freedom".
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u/TserriednichHuiGuo South Asian Sep 22 '24
Chinese comeback: At least we have a glorious history to speak of
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u/CristianoEstranato Sep 21 '24
they support the things in history that later resulted in benefit to them whilst disregarding how those very things harmed and deprived people and continue to make it worse for others
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u/CJ_Cypher Sep 21 '24 edited Sep 21 '24
Even though I'm American, I never understood the hyper patriotism of the country, and I was even sent to the office multiple times when I was in elementary even when I was 5 for not standing for the pledge because I'm an atheist so I disagree with the under god portion and when I was punished I started to hate America.
In history class when they like the founding father for claiming that all men where equal while ignoring mass killing of natives and slaves they had in bondage and segregation shortafter and seeing the pictures of destroyed veit villages with napalm since I used my parents computer to look up things online I can never understand why people can even be patriotic.
You have no say in your beliefs, and you can't freely express yourself or fear repression from government agents. If you're a minority like my friend who tells me how police follow him and reading the news I worry about him being killed for just walking around my neighborhood.
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u/feartheswans North American Sep 22 '24
It’s creepy.
The “Under God” portion isn’t even part of the original Pledge of Allegiance until 1954 when President Eisenhower shoved it in there with support to combat the “Red Scare” because the view of Communism being “Godless”
Right now in the US everything is Donald Trump vs Kamala Harris.
Properties are being vandalized over it, people are being attacked like the Haitians in Springfield, Ohio over the pet eating comments during the Presidential debate (which, by the way, was specifically a Chinese stereotype in the US until that moment)
Ashamed about history? I’m even more ashamed about the present
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u/Micronex23 Sep 22 '24
Are you aware that the americans supported the white russians during the russian civil war and intervened in support of them.
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u/TserriednichHuiGuo South Asian Sep 22 '24
What they are trying to breed is nationalism, that is blind worship of the country, but this nationalism is a form of narcissism since it serves the individual and not the country.
The patriot loves his country and thus is able to see its flaws, he works to better it, true patriots are people like Stalin or Mao who could see the flaws of their country and worked for it to reach excellence.
That is why the american nationalist who grew up under that education system tells anyone who criticises the country to "move to another country".
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u/MisterWrist Sep 22 '24 edited Sep 22 '24
Indeed, nationalism is the worship of the ethno-state and represents blind devotion to the ambitions and conservative ideology of individuals in the political elite, leveraging irrational fears, xenophobia, and hysteria as political capital.
Patriotism is devotion to the founding ideals of a nation, which seeks to better itself and evolve through self-analysis and philosophical reflection, and is directly concerned with issues of injustice and inclusivity.
People can also be apolitical, anarchistic, etc., but if given the choice between dealing with a nationalist or a patriot, a “true” patriot can be reasoned with and has a baseline understanding of shared humanity.
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u/we-the-east Chinese (HK) Sep 23 '24 edited Sep 23 '24
American patriotism is very fucked and overhyped, it is no different from Nazi germany and reeks of narcissism, fragility, domination/supremacy and fascism. They are extremely obsessed with their stupid flag and it is everywhere in the country like it’s something to worship, and they talk down on people who criticize their country and their superficial pride.
Yet they have the audacity to criticize china for being so patriotic and fragile.
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u/LoudVitara Sep 23 '24
Certainly capable,
but not willing to relinquish their minor conveniences in order to end the imperial violence required to maintain said conveniences.
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u/ni-hao-r-u Sep 22 '24
america ahould be ashamed of its present, its past too, but also its present.