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America is killing everything

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roronoa79
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17 May 2012, 2:42 am

donnie_darko wrote:
The meme of America is killing everything. Entire cultures are abandoning their time-cherished, ancient ways in favor of the quick-fix, hip hop American culture.

The environment is dying. The planet is warming. Entire cultures are dying. Individuals have always come and go in the past, but not until modern times did entire cultures, perspectives, ways of life die out. It's utterly depressing. Because of America and everything it stands for, and the fact everywhere is emulating us, the entire planet is being eaten away into a McDonalds and hip hop strip mall monoculture, oblivious of history and the future alike yet also hostile towards novelty.

What do we do? Simply accept it?


Cultures have been dying off since before the advent of civilization. The Romans and Mongolians and others have always been around destroying cultures by conquest, imposition, and integration. Ever run into an Osiris-worshiping Egyptian? Ever run into a Mexican having a religious crisis because the sun was still rising even though there had been no human sacrifice to Huitzilopochtli yesterday? Ever met a Mycenaean?

Not all cultures are created equal anyway.



meems
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17 May 2012, 5:55 am

I detest psychobilly, but hip hop is pretty amazing sometimes. I have no idea how it is responsible for killing anything though!



NeueZiel
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17 May 2012, 10:43 am

Oodain wrote:
NeueZiel wrote:
piroflip wrote:
donnie_darko wrote:
The meme of America is killing everything. Entire cultures are abandoning their time-cherished, ancient ways in favor of the quick-fix, hip hop American culture.

The environment is dying. The planet is warming. Entire cultures are dying. Individuals have always come and go in the past, but not until modern times did entire cultures, perspectives, ways of life die out. It's utterly depressing. Because of America and everything it stands for, and the fact everywhere is emulating us, the entire planet is being eaten away into a McDonalds and hip hop strip mall monoculture, oblivious of history and the future alike yet also hostile towards novelty.

What do we do? Simply accept it?


American world domination policy goes like this.

1. It selects a defenseless country that it wants to invade.
2. It invents silly, untrue reasons why the country needs to be invaded.
3. When the leader of that country voices his objection he's made out to be an insane war monger.
4. They send in their war machine to smash the country.

All done in the name of their peace loving god of course.

Disgusting, bully boy, cowards.


Yes, its not like other countrieshave ever been invaded by someone else in a very violent manner for self-serving, dogmatic or political agendas


so its okay becauase others do it?

worst argument in this case, really, it is.


No but he singled out America so I just thought it would only be fair to mention a few of the other occurrences of other countries being "dicks". I'm not the biggest fan of my own country but the whole world is generally a violent, sad place and you have to make an effort to find the good but its there.

I just disagree with the OP because he sounds like he blames America, namely the United States, for everything.

thedaywalker wrote:
mwah it probably isn't at bad as it seams and you could always join a protest if you like just pick the one that for you seams most fit


This and also while I'm sure the US has aggravated its share of problems nothing is truly black and white in this world. Of course its easier to hide behind conspiracies and huge, huge generalizations.


I'm honestly surprised people didn't flame me for mentioning the invasions I did, since most of them had a kind of pro-west stance (with the exception of the Iraq-Iran war) which I didn't intend to do but they were the closest examples I could think of.



ruveyn
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17 May 2012, 11:04 am

piroflip wrote:

American world domination policy goes like this.

1. It selects a defenseless country that it wants to invade.
2. It invents silly, untrue reasons why the country needs to be invaded.
3. When the leader of that country voices his objection he's made out to be an insane war monger.
4. They send in their war machine to smash the country.

All done in the name of their peace loving god of course.

Disgusting, bully boy, cowards.


At other times the same could be said for Germany, France, Italy, Russia and Spain. Even before that Imperial Rome and Alexander's Greece. Why single the U.S. out?

ruveyn



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17 May 2012, 1:36 pm

CSBurks wrote:
AstroGeek wrote:
CSBurks wrote:
And I don't think that in the billions of years of the earth's existence there is significant evidence that the earth is in a warming period.

And you are more qualified to make that judgement than the >95% of climate scientists who say that the Earth is warming and humans are probably the cause, because?


I was not aware that science was democratic.


A) What does the fact that the earth has existed for "billions of years" have to do with the question of whether or not its climate is warming? That clause about "existing for billions of years" seems like a nonsequitar- like you left something else out of the sentence.

B) What does science being 'democratic' or not being 'democratic' have to do with anything?



ruveyn
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17 May 2012, 4:54 pm

naturalplastic wrote:

A) What does the fact that the earth has existed for "billions of years" have to do with the question of whether or not its climate is warming? That clause about "existing for billions of years" seems like a nonsequitar- like you left something else out of the sentence.

B) What does science being 'democratic' or not being 'democratic' have to do with anything?


To A: In the billions of years this planet has existed the climate has gone from hot to cold to hot again many, many times. About 600 million years ago this planet was a snowball.

to B: nothing. Science is determined ultimately by the facts of experimentation and measurement.


ruveyn



naturalplastic
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17 May 2012, 5:26 pm

ruveyn wrote:
naturalplastic wrote:

A) What does the fact that the earth has existed for "billions of years" have to do with the question of whether or not its climate is warming? That clause about "existing for billions of years" seems like a nonsequitar- like you left something else out of the sentence.

B) What does science being 'democratic' or not being 'democratic' have to do with anything?


To A: In the billions of years this planet has existed the climate has gone from hot to cold to hot again many, many times. About 600 million years ago this planet was a snowball.

to B: nothing. Science is determined ultimately by the facts of experimentation and measurement.


ruveyn


So you're agreeing that CSBurke was babbeling nonsequitars has no point.



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17 May 2012, 6:02 pm

naturalplastic wrote:
So you're agreeing that CSBurke was babbeling nonsequitars has no point.

He's probably trying to use these points himself to subtly cast doubt on anthropogenic climate change.



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17 May 2012, 6:28 pm

ruveyn wrote:

Bullsh*t! You want to go back to the Middle Ages.

Do you know why other cultures are perishing (assuming they are). It is because they cannot compete with modern industrial culture. Wake up! We no longer dwell in caves.

ruveyn


No, I'm actually not a Luddite. I support technology I just loathe the way it's being used to enrich the few and oppress the many, and how it's killing off all the magic and diversity in the world. And no, globalization is not diversity it is the exact opposite!



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17 May 2012, 7:44 pm

donnie_darko wrote:
The meme of America is killing everything. Entire cultures are abandoning their time-cherished, ancient ways in favor of the quick-fix, hip hop American culture.


To be honest, it is possible that all cultures are not created equal.

donnie_darko wrote:
The environment is dying. The planet is warming. Entire cultures are dying. Individuals have always come and go in the past, but not until modern times did entire cultures, perspectives, ways of life die out.


It's always been the case that entire cultures, perspectives, and ways of life die out. Not just in the modern day. Believe me when I say that once the American cultures, perspectives, and ways of life cease to work and fulfill their promise of prosperity & happiness then they will disappear too.

Based on the environmental damage being caused by non-self sustaining capitalism powered by consumerism, I would say the "American" way of life will begin to loose its appeal when the consequences become too great.

donnie_darko wrote:
What do we do? Simply accept it?


Don't support it. That is how you don't accept it. Don't listen to hip-hop. Don't buy frivolous things at the mall. I am assuming you are already doing this.



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17 May 2012, 8:26 pm

techn0teen wrote:
Based on the environmental damage being caused by non-self sustaining capitalism powered by consumerism, I would say the "American" way of life will begin to loose its appeal when the consequences become too great.

The problem is that we might do too much damage to the environment that we won't be able to build a post-consumerism society. Obviously nature will eventually regenerate (well, we think--there is a very small possibility that we could possibly screw things up so badly that it wouldn't), but it might not be on a time scale that is meaningful to human civilization.



ruveyn
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17 May 2012, 8:44 pm

AstroGeek wrote:
techn0teen wrote:
Based on the environmental damage being caused by non-self sustaining capitalism powered by consumerism, I would say the "American" way of life will begin to loose its appeal when the consequences become too great.

The problem is that we might do too much damage to the environment that we won't be able to build a post-consumerism society. Obviously nature will eventually regenerate (well, we think--there is a very small possibility that we could possibly screw things up so badly that it wouldn't), but it might not be on a time scale that is meaningful to human civilization.


Why bother having an economy is there is no consumption of goods and services produced. What is the point?

As long as people need food, clothes and shelter there will always be consumption.

ruveyn



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17 May 2012, 9:20 pm

ruveyn wrote:
piroflip wrote:

American world domination policy goes like this.

1. It selects a defenseless country that it wants to invade.
2. It invents silly, untrue reasons why the country needs to be invaded.
3. When the leader of that country voices his objection he's made out to be an insane war monger.
4. They send in their war machine to smash the country.

All done in the name of their peace loving god of course.

Disgusting, bully boy, cowards.


At other times the same could be said for Germany, France, Italy, Russia and Spain. Even before that Imperial Rome and Alexander's Greece. Why single the U.S. out?

ruveyn

For once I agree with ruveyn. ;)

The Roman Empire swept a large portion of the globe at one time, and when Christianity came along it swept through Europe, wiping out pagan cultures. The New World was eventually dominated by the Spanish and Portuguese, bringing Christianity to numerous native cultures, which changed/eradicated them, as did colonialism in Africa and parts of Asia. Buddhism changed China. There doesn't seem to be a single part of the globe that hasn't seen one culture dominate and overwhelm another at some point in time. Sometimes through bloodshed and slavery, sometimes peacefully because people wanted what it offered. This isn't that new a phenomenon.

I don't like the idea that there are McDonalds around the world now. I think their food is garbage. But there seems to be a market, or it wouldn't be all those places. Disgusting? Yes. Preventable? I don't see how. Even when the Soviet Union officially kept a lot of products from other places out, they had a huge black market for those very items. And I don't like everything that has been changed by technology. But I'm using a computer to write this.



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18 May 2012, 9:50 am

As we all know certain multinationals are pushing local shops out of the market and certain American cultural traits and music go around almost everywhere. I don't think however that it's mainly America, I think it's the consequence of globalization and a hyper connected world.

Things that do well there are more likely to spread to the rest of the world.



ruveyn
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18 May 2012, 10:11 am

YourMajesty wrote:
As we all know certain multinationals are pushing local shops out of the market and certain American cultural traits and music go around almost everywhere. I don't think however that it's mainly America, I think it's the consequence of globalization and a hyper connected world.

Things that do well there are more likely to spread to the rest of the world.


Would you rather pay twice as much at a ma and pa store?

If you would rather, you can for there are many ma and pa stores.

I would rather get my stuff cheap even if it is produced in Chinese sweatshops.

ruveyn



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18 May 2012, 10:25 am

ruveyn wrote:
YourMajesty wrote:
As we all know certain multinationals are pushing local shops out of the market and certain American cultural traits and music go around almost everywhere. I don't think however that it's mainly America, I think it's the consequence of globalization and a hyper connected world.

Things that do well there are more likely to spread to the rest of the world.


Would you rather pay twice as much at a ma and pa store?

If you would rather, you can for there are many ma and pa stores.

I would rather get my stuff cheap even if it is produced in Chinese sweatshops.

ruveyn

It's not just food, but cloths and many other items too, that one sees being sold by big chains. I don't buy much American food, but there are supermarkets and stores that are everywhere in every town. I prefer diversity I think. Now it all looks alike and they even ruin old buildings in the center just to put a big window in them. It's a matter of priority. In my home town you used to know the baker, the greengrocer, and so on. I liked that more, just a matter of what you prefer.

It may also leave you with less choice in let's say, vegetables, because the greengrocer had to leave due to the competition and therefore you can only buy something from the small variety of vegetables in the supermarket.