08-18-2021, 07:28 PM
(08-18-2021, 07:02 PM)Nately120 Wrote: Yeah I get it, but it just goes back to my original point about how troubling it is that an extremely effective political strategy now, more than ever (I think?) involves convincing people in this country that they need to put rules aside and fight against what their side defines as evil. If I may go all un-PC I'll say that insurrection and violent upheaval in shithole countries is nothing new to my eyes (regardless of their chosen prophet of the magic sky man) but the romanticizing of such things within our own borders is what concerns me.
Maybe this stuff blows over in the USA, but people seem to be convinced rather easily that our country's structure has eroded and some people who have engaged in unlawful behavior as a result have shown legitimate confusion as to why they are being held accountable or punished under the law. People seem to be able to buy the idea that the USA is awesome, but at the same time it is in threat of being or becoming a shithole country any second now if they don't take some sort of action, though usually we just get hit in the wallet because 1st world solutions, and all.
So short version, Muslim leader says "kill/fight/die for my cause or life won't be worth living soon" and Trump says "donate for my cause or life won't be worth living soon." Maybe that's too cynical a view, even for me.
I think a large percentage of what you're seeing today is driven by a perception, not exactly unjustified, that there is a large segment of our population who have little to no respect for the US or its founding principles. It is one thing to point out that many important people in our nation's history were involved in activities that would label them as awful people in the present day. It's quite another to state, as is often done, that the US is a nation founded on racism and is irredeemable in its current form. You can't constantly attack the nation many of us grew up admiring, if not loving, and expect zero pushback.
I have zero issue with confronting the sins of our past, and any nation should do so (and they all have things to atone for, believe me). I have a major issue with denigrating the country and those who believe in it, as well as engaging in the exact same behaviors, e.g. racism, that you purport to decry in others. There's far more of the latter, and it doesn't often get called out, than is healthy and it's absolutely fueling what you're describing in your post.
In any event, back to the thread topic. Good discussion though, and I'm not shutting you down btw.
