The Big Picture: America, The Shining City on the Hill

I sure hope that your belief in American exceptionalism doesn't rest on these laurels. Only one is true.

You are #1 at blowing up other countries, letting pandemics spread wildly, and getting shot at school though.
Hey the only reason the rest of the developed world has close to zero school shootings is because they're pussies. I'm paraphrasing.
 
Several days ago @tonni sneered in the thread where I advocated we Americans prioritize helping our Canadians friends, and send them N95 masks, when I referred to our country by Winthrop's famous words, echoed by Reagan in his farewell address, alluding to Jesus's speech, as "The Shining City on the Hill."

I've been dealing with this ignorance my whole life, both within and without my country, where most ironically I've noticed the contempt might be most acute among Europeans, when Europeans (and social critics within the USA) have probably gained the most by the informal rule of the so-called American Empire.

Below is one of the finest videos I've ever seen in my life by a historian named Neil Halloran made in 2016. It conveys this truth more succinctly and profoundly than anything I've ever seen. It deserves an Academy Award, and yet all it uses are bar graphs. Despite the consummate cynicism of the news, particularly those foreign presses and how they cover the USA, or Commonwealth comedy sketches lampooning us, all in some sort of misguided envy, I estimate, we are not the "baddies". We are the most morally virtuous, ethical, benevolent leaders you will ever know: yes, capitalist USA.

Because this is the big picture. Watch to the end; herein lies the cost, but also the bounty. This is the age of our rule.



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So. You voting for Biden?
 
Lend Lease is what won the war.

Lol. Yep. All that equipment would have been super useful if there were no men ready and willing to use it. :rolleyes:

Your guys' obsession with the idea that being an arms dealer is all it takes to win a war is why ISIS was driving around in Toyata trucks.
You're a serviceman/former serviceman aren't you? Has your guys' "glorious success" in the Middle East been the result of believing you could just airdrop equipment in the middle of the desert, dust your hands off and declare "mission accomplished"?
Would explain a lot.
 
Lol. Yep. All that equipment would have been super useful if there were no men ready and willing to use it. :rolleyes:

Your guys' obsession with the idea that being an arms dealer is all it takes to win a war is why ISIS was driving around in Toyata trucks.
You're a serviceman/former serviceman aren't you? Has your guys' "glorious success" in the Middle East been the result of believing you could just airdrop equipment in the middle of the desert, dust your hands off and declare "mission accomplished"?
Would explain a lot.
Lend lease definitely helped, American logistics were top notch. But apart from the nazis making a lot of mistakes, the Russians were brave and had a lot of good soldiers too. Stalingrad is probably my "favorite" part of history.
 
Lend lease definitely helped, American logistics were top notch. But apart from the nazis making a lot of mistakes, the Russians were brave and had a lot of good soldiers too. Stalingrad is probably my "favorite" part of history.

100%. Lend-lease played an incredibly important role in speeding up the inevitable defeat of the Nazis. But you don't get to avoid the fighting for as long as politically possible, show up 2-3 years late, and then declare "we won the war" because you delivered a bunch of trucks to the guys fighting and dying by the millions on the frontlines.

The war in Russia is a fascinating and compelling horror story.
 
People don't like Americans, generally, because you're loud, fat, obnoxious, arrogant and you're involved in almost every major conflict in the world. You're genocidal and stupid. That's the perception, not "oh my god these guys are so awesome I'm jealouuus".
That's a lot of broad assertion and attributing negative qualities to masses of people who DON'T have those qualities.

We're not homogeneous.

Don't you think there's hyperbole and unfairness in your overbroad statements?
That maybe you've generalized a bit much?
 
Lol. Yep. All that equipment would have been super useful if there were no men ready and willing to use it. :rolleyes:

Your guys' obsession with the idea that being an arms dealer is all it takes to win a war is why ISIS was driving around in Toyata trucks.
You're a serviceman/former serviceman aren't you? Has your guys' "glorious success" in the Middle East been the result of believing you could just airdrop equipment in the middle of the desert, dust your hands off and declare "mission accomplished"?
Would explain a lot.

I'll take your unwillingness to actually address my point and shift off to an unrelated topic as concession.
 
That's a lot of broad assertion and attributing negative qualities to masses of people who DON'T have those qualities.

We're not homogeneous.

Don't you think there's hyperbole and unfairness in your overbroad statements?
That maybe you've generalized a bit much?
I did say that's the perception, but I agree I was being a bit too extreme. I like Americans and the USA (certain things more than others). Don't take the insults too seriously, it's an exaggerated response to a stupid statement imo.
 
I did say that's the perception, but I agree I was being a bit too extreme. I like Americans and the USA (certain things more than others). Don't take the insults too seriously, it's an exaggerated response to a stupid statement imo.
... I'm not fat...
 
so when someone claims the US is exceptionally great, one must also assume a disclaimer that this does not take into account the worst things your country has done?

If we can just ignore the faults then on that basis everyone can claim greatness.

I will admit your country’s response to covid-19 has been exceptional, and not in a good way. Perhaps this will be an eye opener for the US to finally grow up and join the modern world.

It’s time to become a 1st world country.

Who do you consider to be the modern world and which countries do you think have handled covid in a good way?
 
I'll take your unwillingness to actually address my point and shift off to an unrelated topic as concession.

I did address your point; I immediately gave it as much attention as it deserved: sarcastic dismissal. Can't you retain more than a single line of text at a time?
 
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