For everyone that says fuck america and wants to leave

Americas culture is the individual. Taking the Good with the bad, all other country's envy us for that simple fact.

The idea that an individuals creative impulse could be manifest unencumbered by the stifling atmosphere of a deeply embedded traditional social structure is what makes free-thinkers from around the world want to come here.
christian majority not withstanding, this is still the greatest goddam country in the world for the free-thinking individual!

Great free-thinking Americans that changed the world:

Eli Whitney
Niccolo Tesla
Albert Einstein
Miles Davis
Lenny Bruce
Jimi Hendrix
Steve Jobs...etc,etc,

Amer-i-ca, Amer-i-ca, Amer-i-ca....(que national anthem...)
ZW

 

There are also whole era's and everything that came with them, the Great Awakening, civil war, industralization and waves of immigrants, roaring 20's, depression and war, counter culture of the 60's, ect that have all greatly influenced the works coming from them. The 20th century to the present world wide runs on American culture.

 

Truth. :beatnik:

 

That's odd. I could have sworn Murka has universal suffrage.

You need to migrate to 'Strailya. We elect our leaders and subsequently feel responsible for their actions....

Central America?? Try SCORES of countries worldwide!!

 

True! That's why it's totally fucked.

 

As compared to what?

 

I love Australia, but can you convince me that it is perfect?
Try going nude on a beach in Queensland.
Ask an Aboriginal Australian what he thinks of how the government has treated his people over the years.
Ask yourself why the Thylacine Wolf is apparently extinct in Tasmania. Why so many rabbits in a continent that is not supposed to have rabbits?

The answer is: you have the same problem we do. We are a cheerful people as a whole, filled with good-intentions, but a bit focused on our own little lives and what goes on in our county. We do a lot of things unaware of the consequences. We elect leaders who are gifted at convincing us that they are ushering in a new age of prosperity and harmony, but they cut a lot of back room deals with corporations, they have evil adventures in foreign lands that we don't hear about until our kids come home from school and these monstrous things are in their textbooks.
Our grandparents died by the thousands on the beaches in France fighting the Nazis. Maybe it was none of our business and we should have let Europe sort out their own problems, but someone convinced us that the Nazis would not stay on their side of the Atlantic Ocean and we had better fight them before they got any stronger. Was that the right thing to do? You tell me.

 

I meant the WORLD is fucked because of the universal influence of Merkin culture. What do you want me to compare the world to, Mars?

 

I never said it was, did I? In fact I would be the very first to point out our faults. The worst being; we have been so far up America's arse since 1942 it is fucking sickening. We are even starting to ape your mental Pentecostals and sundry other Bible loons!

 

I love the Bible, but in the hands of a loon it can make them even loonier.
Perhaps you have read Cervantes novel about the daft Spaniard Don Quixote out tilting at windmills; he got his inspiration from romantic novels that were never intended for anything other than extolling the virtues of chivalry.

Some people can't detect poetry, context or metaphor even if it came up from behind and bit them on the butt.

 

From here

Cheers,

Dan Quixote

 

They are identically opposite.

 

Haha, yeah what's up with that?
Oh and thanks for that Dundee-crocodile-dude,
and that other crocodile-steve-dude that got chunked hugging a ray or some shit...very entertaining!

"Dingos ayte moy baybee!"... "kroykey!"... "Now this is a noyff"...great stuff, you guys crack me up.:mickey:

ZW

 

My college history prof suggested that it was the gradual emergence of the merchant class from the feudal system that gave birth to capitalism. Venetian and Genoese merchants needed financing most of which came from the parallel development of bankers. Though royal financing played a part to be sure.

As for notions of egalitarianism & democracy, didn't a lot of that get started with the Enlightenment Philosophers?

We learned of Manifest Destiny and the Monroe Doctrine in school, but spent little time on the origin of these outlooks.

Honestly, I haven't read a lot of Calvin's works, so maybe I'll take some time to see what sort of impact he had beyond the realm of theology.

Sometimes democracy is spread at the point of a gun, (dubious method, I'll admit), but quite often a people decide for themselves that freedom of the press, speech and religion is worth fighting for.

It would seem that capitalism can exist without the free exchange of ideas, but that commerce benefits from that sort of freedom.
If I run a company that makes defective widgits, but the editor of the local newspaper is not at liberty to report the problem because I am well-connected with the ruling junta, then to some extent the economy suffers.

 

No compared to what your perfect non American dominated world would be. Instead we can all listen to shitty German techno topping the charts vs shitty American rap.

 

I've always wanted to live out some years in France. I studied the French language and culture for 8 years and have always been keen on it. Better Health Care, education system, child care, lower hour work weeks, long vacations, great food, less crime, and on and on and on and on....

However I do love it here in the US though. From the East Coast to the West Coast, We have some of the most beautiful land and amazing cities in the world. I just wish we were a bit more progressive and of course more passionate as a unit.

 

French culture is some 1500 years old. American culture is roughly 400 years old. Will we Americans be barbarians for another 1,100 years?
Let's consider our progress: Our wines are now fairly good.
I just want a few more nude beaches and a longer vacation to enjoy them.

 

if you're saddling us with the puritans then you have to give the french the romans [add another 500 or so]

 

I should have known! We are still in the Dark Ages.
Pass the Napa Valley wine, I need a drink!

 

'round these parts, it's nothing but berry wine

:dizzy2: :ack2: uke: