The masked truth....

[Evangelicalhumanist]

Edit by responding to my own post....is that legal?

Here's the real world situation....
If infection & death rates increase, governors will
increasingly shut down the economy. That's bad.
Masks can help us avoid that. They're the better
alternative.

This is called "enlightened self-interest." And I do not think that's a bad thing at all.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

And you agree with them all?

No one shoe fits all.

Personal control over environment:
Probably more seen in development of housing, history colonization, or things in the family like each child having their own room, or putting fences around our property line.

Change/Mobility
More seen in the tech world. Every ten years something new. New vaccines. New science. New discoveries. New age religions. Progress.

Time and its importance
Oh gosh, think about work and our daily habits.

Equality/Egalitarianism
Ideally, we're supposed to be equal. You can see it in attempts to help eliminate racism, etc. But on an individual level, most people tend to be more equal-minded. Think of classrooms where students have the same advantage as other students regardless-or same grading criteria. Everyone raises hands. No favorites.

Self-help
(Autonomy/pride)
Raises, promotions, achievements, "gold winners", competition

Future oriented
Manifest destiny I think it's called?
no phone, land lines, pay phones, cell phones
Work orientation (self explanatory?)
Informality (We tend to say yes/no man in work and professional settings. College things like that sometimes professors want us to call them by first name. Some other countries have hierarchy in educational environments based on their values. Americans tend to have it based on skill and education and roles of a given job)

Practicality-well, not sure about this related to the link; I have to think about it.

Materialism-There are good sides even though other countries seem to downplay our view of materialism as if we don't have spiritual values as individuals "and" as communities.

There are many misconceptions of American values and things like that. Since Americans are diverse, I only see these traits in those born and/or raised here. Though my former friend was born and raised here most her life but still looks down on America. So, like I said, no one shoe fits all.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

And yet we do nothing while our culture and our country sink deeper and deeper into an abyss of selfishness, greed, and stupidity. We do nothing because we're all just looking out for ourselves as things keep getting worse. In fact, the worse they get, the more self-centered, exhausted, isolated, and hopeless we become. We cling to our silly fantasies about how free we all are, when we're more enslaved, now, in this country than we have ever been in our lives. We are living in a giant labor camp where we all work for a few millionaires and billionaires who can never and will never get enough money or power. People who will happily let us die, and even encourage it, if we aren't actively working to make them even richer and more powerful than they already are. People who own and control everything that we need to live, and so own and control us, from birth to death.

Yeah, the land of the free and the brave ... my a$$. It's a land of cowards and fools being led to their own demise by their own willful delusions. And a whole globe full of countries all scrambling to follow us into hell.

"We"? You too? You do all this? I surely don't conform to this type of view. What about individual Americans?

"The individual is smart. People are dumb, panicky..."

That's my point.

 

[Quetzal]

And yet we do nothing while our culture and our country sink deeper and deeper into an abyss of selfishness, greed, and stupidity.

Who is we? Speaking for myself I am not passive in the face of injustice. I don't think you give people enough credit.

 

[Revoltingest]

What?

Can I still get fries with that?

I don't even have fries.
But I did buy a couple band saws today.

 

[Revoltingest]

Okay, I'll go lower...PUT ON A DARNED MASK!

I agree, & have been working IRL to convince
deniers of masks' efficacy...social distancing too.
There is much resistance out there.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I agree, & have been working IRL to convince
deniers of masks' efficacy...social distancing too.
There is much resistance out there.

There's resistance to social distancing??

 

[Revoltingest]

There's resistance to social distancing??

Huge.
Surprising, eh?
You must not know that many loopy conservatives.

 

[Lyndon]

People refusing to wear masks are both suicidal and homicidal, so they deserve to be locked up in the psych ward!!

 

[Mock Turtle]

True. When I have seizures out on the road, people stop and call 911-ask if I'm on right on their way to work etc. People smile here and have a genuine sense of hospitality. The COVID thing kind of affected people but in general, I agree. Here is some Positive News Home - Positive News from London. I haven't seen anything like this in the U.S. I was told by one American that they used to have positive news during the black and white days but I wasn't raised then.

I'm not sure what this is meant to convey. Is this not just a reaction to all the negative news that seems to dominate a lot of news outlets?

 

[PureX]

"The individual is smart. People are dumb, panicky..."

That's my point.

The individual is powerless, hopeless, and exhausted by the boundless stupidity of greed run amok. And it runs amok because we believe greed is a virtue in this country. So we reward it and admire it in every way. As our society falls into an abyss of self-destructive delusion. Who here doesn't believe that it's "just good business" to exploit every advantage to maximize your own profit?

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

The individual is powerless, hopeless, and exhausted by the boundless stupidity of greed run amok. And it runs amok because we believe greed is a virtue in this country. So we reward it and admire it in every way. As our society falls into an abyss of self-destructive delusion. Who here doesn't believe that it's "just good business" to exploit every advantage to maximize your own profit?

@Unveiled Artist

https://www.bu.edu/isso/files/pdf/AmericanValues.pdf
1: People can/should control nature, their own environment and destiny. The future is not left to fate.

Look at global warning and look at how the far right views that.

2: Change is seen as positive and good. This means progress, improvement and growth.

Look at how that is measured in profit growth and how the stock markets are detached from the rest of the economy.

3: Time is valuable - achievement of goals depends on the productive use of time.

Look at how productive is tied into 1 and 2

4: People have equal opportunities; people are important as individuals, for who they are, not from which family they come.

That is a lie. Look at the effect of racial and economical differences.

5: People are seen as separate individuals (not group members) with individual needs. People need time to be alone and to be themselves.

We are not just individuals. We are social animals, who rely on the group of individuals. Try leaving a new born in a wood and get her to become Bill Gates.

6: Americans take pride in their own accomplishments.

Yeah, I did it all on my own. I am not a member of a society that allows that. Bill Gates did it all on his own. Everything.

7: Americans believe competition brings out the best in people and free enterprise leads to progress and produces success

Again with understanding success as a human based on capitalistic virtues.

8: Americans believe that, regardless of past or present, the future will be better and happier.

That can amount to a delusion if not checked against what is actually going on.

9: Americans believe that work is morally right; that it is immoral to waste time.

Again that ties in to the other points and makes economical capitalistic individual profit growth the only moral value.

10: Americans believe that formality is "un-American" and a show of arrogance and superiority.

Well, yes, I get it but sometimes you need formality in this sense that you need experts some times and taken to its current extreme all facts are not facts, they are political, social and moral constructs and "fake news".

11: One can only trust people who "look you in the eye" and "tell it like it is". Truth is a function of reality not of circumstance.

Well, if that is the only way you test truth, then con-men will have a field day and indeed they have. Just look at POTUS.

12: Practicality is usually the most important consideration when decisions are to be made. Result: Americans place less emphasis on the subjective, aesthetic, emotional or consensual decisions.

Yeah, humans become practical means to enhance your economic growth.

13: Material goods are seen as the just rewards of hard-work, the evidence of "God's favor."

And there we have it. #1 at the start is from the Bible. God gave us nature to rule over and exploit and God gifts us material goods.

So if you add them up - Here is the result - I am an island on my own and what mattes is what is in it for me. The result is, that the world is there for me to control and rule for profit and material goods.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

I'm not sure what this is meant to convey. Is this not just a reaction to all the negative news that seems to dominate a lot of news outlets?

The link talks about the positive things from any current event. So, instead of death counts it may talk about helping others. Instead of killing, it may talk about saving a dogs life. I couldn't find any good news websites in the US just out of the country.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

The individual is powerless, hopeless, and exhausted by the boundless stupidity of greed run amok. And it runs amok because we believe greed is a virtue in this country. So we reward it and admire it in every way. As our society falls into an abyss of self-destructive delusion. Who here doesn't believe that it's "just good business" to exploit every advantage to maximize your own profit?

Are you personally powerless, hopeless, and exhausted the boundary of stupidity?

Are you contributing to its self destruction?

 

[Unveiled Artist]

@Unveiled Artist

https://www.bu.edu/isso/files/pdf/AmericanValues.pdf
1: People can/should control nature, their own environment and destiny. The future is not left to fate.

Look at global warning and look at how the far right views that.

2: Change is seen as positive and good. This means progress, improvement and growth.

Look at how that is measured in profit growth and how the stock markets are detached from the rest of the economy.

3: Time is valuable - achievement of goals depends on the productive use of time.

Look at how productive is tied into 1 and 2

4: People have equal opportunities; people are important as individuals, for who they are, not from which family they come.

That is a lie. Look at the effect of racial and economical differences.

5: People are seen as separate individuals (not group members) with individual needs. People need time to be alone and to be themselves.

We are not just individuals. We are social animals, who rely on the group of individuals. Try leaving a new born in a wood and get her to become Bill Gates.

6: Americans take pride in their own accomplishments.

Yeah, I did it all on my own. I am not a member of a society that allows that. Bill Gates did it all on his own. Everything.

7: Americans believe competition brings out the best in people and free enterprise leads to progress and produces success

Again with understanding success as a human based on capitalistic virtues.

8: Americans believe that, regardless of past or present, the future will be better and happier.

That can amount to a delusion if not checked against what is actually going on.

9: Americans believe that work is morally right; that it is immoral to waste time.

Again that ties in to the other points and makes economical capitalistic individual profit growth the only moral value.

10: Americans believe that formality is "un-American" and a show of arrogance and superiority.

Well, yes, I get it but sometimes you need formality in this sense that you need experts some times and taken to its current extreme all facts are not facts, they are political, social and moral constructs and "fake news".

11: One can only trust people who "look you in the eye" and "tell it like it is". Truth is a function of reality not of circumstance.

Well, if that is the only way you test truth, then con-men will have a field day and indeed they have. Just look at POTUS.

12: Practicality is usually the most important consideration when decisions are to be made. Result: Americans place less emphasis on the subjective, aesthetic, emotional or consensual decisions.

Yeah, humans become practical means to enhance your economic growth.

13: Material goods are seen as the just rewards of hard-work, the evidence of "God's favor."

And there we have it. #1 at the start is from the Bible. God gave us nature to rule over and exploit and God gifts us material goods.

So if you add them up - Here is the result - I am an island on my own and what mattes is what is in it for me. The result is, that the world is there for me to control and rule for profit and material goods.

I read it. I'm not sure what you're conveying?

No one shoe fits all. Americans are very diverse in their values. Our culture tends to value individualism, consumerism, it is also family oriented, and highly promotes diversity and self expression. Every country has their own culture. I guess we can turn other people's cultures negatively (or change the context, I guess?) but it's certainly not warranted.

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

I read it. I'm not sure what you're conveying?

No one shoe fits all. Americans are very diverse in their values. Our culture tends to value individualism, consumerism, it is also family oriented, and highly promotes diversity and self expression. Every country has their own culture. I guess we can turn other people's cultures negatively (or change the context, I guess?) but it's certainly not warranted.

Well, yes, we can. The USA is the best country in the world and God's own country and God is a capitalist. That is the end of the value system you provided as American values and then you fault me for pointing out what it means.

 

[Unveiled Artist]

Well, yes, we can. The USA is the best country in the world and God's own country and God is a capitalist. That is the end of the value system you provided as American values and then you fault me for pointing out what it means.

Don't agree about the god part. Fault you?

 

[mikkel_the_dane]

Don't agree about the god part. Fault you?

Here it is. You are not society and nor am I. We are embedded in a myth/narrative/moral value system.
Now I can do the same for Denmark and explain the limitations of our myth/narrative/moral value system and see how it influences everybody.

So let me ask you something. If you study the history of ideas and value, this is no secret. The American dream is historical a combination of a certain reading of Christianity and the idea of capitalism as its overall value system.
So how come you deny that?

Yes, I do believe that you don't believe in it, but it is telling that you found what you found. I.e. it is an academic analysis of the core value system of the American Dream and that is what it is about. It is as honest and objective as it goes.

 

[PureX]

Are you personally powerless, hopeless, and exhausted the boundary of stupidity?

Are you contributing to its self destruction?

We all are. Because greed cannot be satiated. It never gets enough, and it's always trying to fulfill itself at someone else's (everyone else's) expense. It's exhausting having to compete against everyone around us just to get what we need to survive, and then fighting off everyone else just to hold onto it. Greed makes everyone our enemy: out to exploit us for whatever they can get for themselves, every time, all the time. And yet we Americans think this is just a fantastic way to live. We blame the exploited "losers" in this struggle for being weak, and stupid. We praise the exploiting "winners" for being so clever and strong, ... and rich. We want to be like them. It's a culture based on social-destruction through selfishness. But we never see this. We just keep on praising that greed, and exploiting our neighbors whenever we can, for as much as we can get.

We vote for known criminals, and zealots, and liars and cheats, because we think they'll lie and cheat and steal on our behalf. They'll help us get what WE want. And that's all that matters to us. Not how their behavior will effect others. Other people are irrelevant. They are our competitors. Our enemies. Capitalism is warfare, and if you're not winning, you're dying, and you don't matter.

 

[Revoltingest]

My mask.
It's a bit much in this hot humid weather though.