The American-Western European Values Gap

You are not so different, only in some way more conservative. But conservative are equal everywhere. Even is probable that you have the same behaviour.

And America is becoming more intellectual, and as more intellectual become, more outdated values will abandon

But there is a gap, as it can be seen in this post. Also, Europe for now have better things than USA, like equality, results and opportunity...

 

The attitude of Americans to govt. authority is very different than that of the Euros.

 

Yes, we're so backwards that we're the most powerful nation in the history of the planet.

That must mean Europe is downright troglodytic.

 

Typical intolerant leftist European talking out of his ass.

http://www.usatoday.com/news/nation/2007-06-25-charitable_N.htm

http://www.christianpost.com/news/christian-charities-rank-high-in-top-100-u-s-nonprofits-30411/

 

Greek debt crisis

Portuguese debt crisis.

Italian debt crisis.

Eurozone debt crisis.

 

Again, not the faintest clue what you are talking about.

Our country spends hundreds of billions privately and publicly to aid society's disadvantaged.

Please stop talking out of your ass.

 

What you don't understand, that it does not make that USA goes backwards, although Europe too, and that is bad.

And maybe USA is a strong "country", but for me is not a good place to live. There are many things that make this country worse, even third world country.

And many other countries also are incredible strong like China, the URSS until the Perestroika,... But when you analyze the people that is the important, the country is a (*)(*)(*)(*). Being strong or not is not important. What is important is what you offer to the people. That is that American don't understand, and Europe is doing much better this, well was doing. Now is becoming American, and for example, I am afraid of Spain from the next year, with the conservative party governing...

 

Where do you get this, seriously?

Europe's history is one of war and genocide. They've been fighting and murdering each other on a massive scale for thousands of years. It's only been since the US whooped the Germans and the Russians that Europe has enjoyed any kind of lasting peace.

Additionally, the culmination of the enlightenment was in the US with the Founders and patriots, not Europe.

 

I don't understand what you're saying.

You are simply speaking from ignorance. You have no idea what it's like to live here or to live in a third world nation.

Having been to several third-world nations myself, I can say without a doubt that only a complete moron would rather live in a third world country than the US.

Europe's entire financial system is in danger of collapsing. They're just as screwed and stupid as we are.

 

Dude.....the Pilgrims were only a small portion of the a bunch of different groups that settled america. The majority of the colonies had no connection whatsoever to the puritans. And the fact is that not all of the pilgrims that came to America were protestant. A good number of them were catholics who were fleeing persucution under the Church of England.

 

In terms of continental philosophy, literature, art, film and critical theory I would say that Europe has more of a rich intellectual history than the US. Of course maybe this is just because the "greats" are considered to be from Europe, and American philosophers are much more obscure. Even the intellectual forefathers of American political thought are of European descent like John Locke, Thomas Paine, Adam Smith and Hobbes - all Europeans, and that isn't even considering other geniuses of philosophy like Kant, Spinoza, Hegel, Nietzsche, Marx, Kierkegaard, etc etc...Europe simply has thousands of years of art, architecture, philosophy and culture.

There hasn't been a war in western Europe in over 50 years. Yes the US participated in WW2. The Russians were on our side at the end of WW2, so we didn't "whoop" them. What does historical conflict have to do with it anyway? America has blood on its hands as well -- such as killing off the Native population of 25 million people...

Yes the experiment of a secular Republic based (at least theoretically) on universal individual rights was a great experiment that changed the entire world. But when I said "intellectual" in Europe I meant that people are more accepting of science, the average Western European speaks at least two languages, they generally are more familiar with world geography and world issues, etc. I have traveled all over Europe and that is just my opinion. When I was in Europe it wasn't absurd to have a deep political or sociological conversation with my European friends, while a lot of Americans I meet think that these types of conversations are "boring" or "depressing". But then there are always exceptions to the rules.

And before you begin lambasting me as some kind of traitor, I really do wish that America would improve and become a country that I could be more proud of. On one hand I see OWS and feel like this country is finally turning in the right direction, but then I see the police beat them back, and the media mock them, and conservatives say that everyone should just "stay in their place" and I wonder if things will ever get better...

 

I'm reminded of Marine1's post about JFK.

Ask not what your country can do for you but what you can do for your country.

This is why many of us desire the end of the US's hegemony. It's like a virus, gradually destroying our values and our patriotism towards not only our country, but our fellow countrymen.

 

1. Individual Responsibility (Rugged Individualism)
Leffe: Selfish individualism.

2. Liberty (people should be able to do what they want with little government interference)
You think you're the only ones with liberty? Nonesense, I have far far more liberty in the NL than you have in the US. Far more!

3. Democracy (government should be accountable to the people)
Your government processes are some of the most corrup in the West! Just look at how insider trading is legal of Congress. Look into lobby groups, the outright ownership of Congress by big business.

Do you seriously think that European countries are not democratic? We're far more democratic, with far more viable political parties per country.

4. Equality of opportunity (not equality of result)
The US and UK have the lowest levels of social mobility in the Western world. End of story.

5. Civic Duty (participation in government)
Do you think we don't do this?

Overall your points are jingoist nonesense. You seem to honestly believe that the US is somehow special and unique in these things and that European countries are locked into some kind of dictoatorship communism.

Not only are you wrong, the situation is the inverse.

 

This from the country which has just allowed 2500 US Marines to base on their soil, with the aim of intervaention into China's business.

You're moral high ground is slipping buddy.

 

Multiculturalism has not been mentioned once. Perhaps you think this is a response to another thread?

 

Yeah, well every economic indicator and the world bond market is showing that all of Europe's vaunted "progress" made since world war II is about to come crashing down violently and all of Europe is about to lose whatever social mobility its people had.

The entire continent is about to experience 3rd world living conditions.

You (*)(*)(*)(*)ing Euros don't understand that the little nirvana you have built is a temporary 60 year old house of cards and it is collapsing around you. All your intellectual and moral superiority are the last gasps of a dying civilization.

 

So why are right wing Americans constantly accusing the left of being lazy?

 

This is probably the most accurate observation thus far. The US has the worst social mobility in the Western world. This means if you are born into a wealthy family, you are statistically likely to succeed, the reverse is also true.

American's who still believe that the US is the country where anyone can make it, are simply living in the past. They have exchanged one master for another. The wealth and power has been collected and getting your slice is incredibly unlikely.

 

If people are interested in their our self interests socialism is the place to be but unfortunately I am all about me so I prefer Anarchism. I don't fault those who want a more European style of society it's just not for me.

 

We waant you to move away from us. We want your influence to become minimal.

 

The irony of course being that people like you support government aauthority, when it is used to beat the crap out of Americn's exercising their right to protest Wall Street.

You are a hypocrit, plain and simple.

 

No, people are not, they are move towards their own self interests, which is not capitalism in America.

Not everyone will make it. In fact, it is the exception not the rule. To pretend like we are going to be one of the few is foolish.

 

The USA in it's short life thus far has also has it's fair share of murder of other nationalities... We only have to look to Vietnam as one example, to see wholescale murder of villages of people in their 100's.

Actually, it's European actions post WWII which have ensured peace, although American intervention in the war was significant and very much appreciated (I'm talking about the generation who participated, not the current generation).

The initial settlers, far from wanting "religious freedom", they wanted "freedom to impress their religion on others", which they were not afforded in Europe.

My god, take the rose tinted glasses off!

 

What you mean is that European banks became greedy and did not perform enough due-diligence on the USA created sub-prime mortgage debts. The ones that American companies wrapped up so well, that they were able to sell the worst debts the world has ever known as AAA debts.

The fact that you cannot see your own house of cards, is both typical and hypocritical.

 

I'm an isolationist. You and I want to achieve the same thing, but for very different reasons.