The American Two Party system

[hollodero]

(03-05-2023, 09:51 PM)michaelsean Wrote: I’m still for helping our allies if they are under direct threat.

Thanks. I wonder why at times, but cool!

PS I wonder if I should tell you that technically, Austria and the US are not allies. We're neutral!

(03-05-2023, 09:51 PM)michaelsean Wrote: No I guess it doesn’t sound great. But we are diffent from Europe. We are raised to think differently. We look at the accomplishment over the past 200+ years and think we did pretty well. The gearing up for WWII was just astonishing. Put someone in the moon 50 years ago with calculators and a trig book.  Hopeless optimism that we always seem to find a way I guess. I never feel a concern about the US and its ability to move forward. Arrogance?  If I’m wrong  then it was a pretty impressive run if you ask me, and something else will evolve. We still have the fattest poor people in the world so it can’t be all that bad.

I never meant to speak against American greatness per se, and I get that mentality might play a huge part in that, besides other advantages. (I did say that it probably has nothing to do with the particular brilliance of two-party system.) I also think ongoing success is never guaranteed over time. Not to attack all your argument's sake, but my problem with it is that it can be used quite arbitrary. As in because that is true, there can be nothing wrong with anything.
Eg. capitol storms or coup attempts or attacks on politicians and an increasingly brutalized debate - and all the other symptoms for a not so healthy democracy - are not worrisome because the US landed on the moon before the Soviet Union could. I know your point is more sophisticated than that, but just to explain what my philosophical issue with it is.