That entire thread

  • Addfwyn@lemmygrad.ml
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    1 year ago

    On the one hand, im proud to be born and raised here, and to partake in stereotypical American past times like BBQ’s, 4th of July, Thanksgiving, Apple Pie, going to baseball games etc.

    Everything they listed to be proud of was food and/or entertainment. Look, I like food too (my country has some pretty good food), but if those are the only things you are proud of…you probably shouldn’t be proud of your country.

    People in China can be proud of their country for raising millions out of poverty, and yes they have a pretty baller food culture on top of that. Cubans can be proud of standing strong in the face of American sanctions, pioneering education, and providing not only for their people but lending medical aid around the world. Koreans (in the unoccupied part) much the same.

    Americans got hot dogs and apple pie. Which aren’t even the american foods to be proud of, imo.

    • Life2Space@lemmygrad.ml
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      1 year ago

      Everything they listed to be proud of was food and/or entertainment. Look, I like food too (my country has some pretty good food), but if those are the only things you are proud of…you probably shouldn’t be proud of your country.

      American “culture” doesn’t possess any actual substance, unlike Chinese or Russian culture, to name a few; which is why Americans have to rely on US military war crimes and Hollywood to not feel insecure of themselves.

    • Justice@lemmygrad.ml
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      1 year ago

      Hot dogs are pretty meh. Apple pie is pretty delicious but ultimately how much innovation really went into taking old recipes from elsewhere and deleting other fruit and inserting new, indigenous/nearby fruits. It just feels like someone creating lamb stew when they already knew how to make beef stew. It’s still delicious, but, ok? For food to be “proud” of, I think that has to absolutely go to all the types of smoking meats people have come up with and the various sauces. Smoked pork ribs are delicious. Robo-Zuck said it best: “smokin’ meats.” Or whatever that weirdo said. He was on the right track, but unfortunately he’s also an android. So close.

      The only stuff I can think of that the US produces and has saturated and rotted the brains of the world is media. Movies, TV, music, radio, now days podcasts, videogames, etc. For better or worse, this is probably the one thing the US has consistently churned out and the thing I imagine people associate with the US around the world (besides being world police war criminals). I could be cynical, or maybe even correct, and look at US produced media as brain worm fuel to spread bullshit narratives… and that would be true for the most part. But I’m being a lib here, so, “Hollywood good!” And brainworms or not, everyone enjoys some good brainless entertainment.

      But that doesn’t exactly help the average person. In fact it probably hurts them by perpetuating BS narratives that the US is good, wars are necessary and justified, and whatever other garbage. It also has an (probably unintended… probably) effect of pacifying the population because people consume media like some anti corporate documentary, they feel like they did something, and now no one acts further. Not to blame media completely of course, just worse noting.

      This nation is just fundamentally a bullshit broken shattered semblance of a real country. It always has been since the founding, and it’s never shaken those roots. It’s not that surprising really that we can’t fucking get anything worthwhile when the system of government was quite literally cockblocked, cucked, whatever word people like to use, from the beginning in favor of capital and specifically at the time slavers and their precious rights. And when we had a real actual change to rectify that problem, because it IS a problem, and eliminate remnants of federalism… well, first some dude blew the president’s head off. And then his VP and every president after had lost the moment and chance for real change plus they had no desire for it. Imagine if the senate had been abolished and the electoral college gotten rid of in favor of a purely democratic vote for the head of the executive branch? Imagine that scotus had been reigned in on how they can rule and not rule? There was all the potential in the world… and it basically evaporated along with the gun smoke wafting out of Lincoln’s dome.

      This country is just a repeated story over and over and over of “sane” people, the majority, bowing to the tyrannical and insane delusions and demands of the minority. From simple landowners, to slavers, to today with (still…) landlords, corporations, the hogs, we just can’t ever actually do anything resembling a democracy. We keep a system set up by the privileged few to enforce the desires of the privileged few and it, by design, makes change goddamn nearly impossible and change can encompass everything from drastically reducing and ending fossil fuel usage, ending the military industrial complex, ending the individualistic toxic culture we’ve built. So it’s no wonder that we can’t do anything or produce anything besides movies and smoked ribs. The only things we make here are made by individuals or small groups. The idea of the entire nation doing anything or agreeing on anything is a dream. Maybe that’s the real American dream. The delusion that this country is capable of doing anything fucking productive as a nation. Building infrastructure- impossible. Ending pollution and CO2 production- impossible. Ending forever funding of wars and weapons- impossible.

      So, serve me a slice of lukewarm hotdog pie. Mmm. 'Merica.

      • PolandIsAStateOfMind@lemmygrad.ml
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        1 year ago

        Both come from medieval Europe, apple pie from England and hot dog from Germany. Though both get world popularity only with usian culture spread.

      • Addfwyn@lemmygrad.ml
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        1 year ago

        Nope, and I have had way better hot dogs in other countries anyway.

        Unless we are talking about native cuisine (which I would consider separate from the US empire) the best american culinary contribution is probably cajun food. Which is a pretty unique blend of cultures with local ingredients, and also absolutely delicious.

    • redtea@lemmygrad.ml
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      1 year ago

      Meaningless jingoism, that.

      My country is a racist, murderous dump but I love it anyway and I hate those people who love it but who don’t know how racist and murderous we are or who love it and don’t care how racist and murderous we are.

  • Ronin_5@lemmygrad.ml
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    1 year ago

    Their military industrial complex killed thousands. Lol. That’s like 1/10 of the observed fatalities in Iraq alone.