Full agreement...I cannot imagine America not being at least viewed as a beacon for the world to admire.....many underestimate it's power.... yet America having a good rep worldwide matters...if books are being destroyed here...then books can be destroyed in afghanistan, china, russia etc....
How true is this theory
- Thread starter Jalether
- Start date
Full agreement...I cannot imagine America not being at least viewed as a beacon for the world to admire.....many underestimate it's power.... yet America having a good rep worldwide matters...if books are being destroyed here...then books can be destroyed in afghanistan, china, russia etc....
Honestly I don't think either conservatives or liberals truly admit the power America has as a cultural beacon and setter of norms. I'm not saying "the world follows America". But if even 10% of the global population, or 10% of global leaders, are more likely to do something because America has normalized it...that is a MASSIVE global influence. And in some cases (such as anti-environment corporate policies), I honestly think we've helped drive the behavior of far more than 10% of the globe.
I feel it highly likely that Trump's election and his attitudes afterwards have put a rocket in the back of wannabe strongmen worldwide. Current anti-historical policy doesn't have the same global attention, but I don't doubt that some are paying attention, and more will. Places like Poland and India that have already been trying to do this will do it more overtly, and other nations that haven't been doing it might want to start.
Piff Perkins
Veteran
The cultural meltdown we're seeing goes beyond race IMO. Yes seeing the massive protests, many of them led by white people, broke the brain of a lot of white racists. But I also think the crux of a lot of this is an insidious, anti-intellectual brain drain where everything is viewed as a media construct that must be reacted against or opposed. If the media says it's sunny outside, it must be cloudy and rainy. You saw this with covid and George Floyd in 2020. We saw it again this year with the full embrace of Russian propaganda before and after the invasion of Ukraine. And I think the current freak out we're seeing over gay and trans people existing is also an example of this.
Consider how with covid, George Floyd, and Russia we saw the exact same pattern from conservatives: denial/dismissal, disinformation, backlash and outrage. Covid isn't a big deal and only a couple people are sick. George Floyd is just another thug and when all the facts come out it'll prove it. Russia has no intention of invading and the US is lying. And the more the media reports these things, the more deranged the conservative reaction becomes. It's the "talking about racism is racism" thing basically: the media is making it worse by talking about xyz.
Those final stages of backlash and outrage lead us where we are now. With multiple states banning decades-old vaccine mandates, multiple states erasing any mention of race from schoolbooks, the assault on Disney and gay teachers, etc. With regards to Russia it's becoming very clear that republicans will be demanding the US leave NATO very soon. Perhaps right around the time a certain person begins to run for president again.
Consider how with covid, George Floyd, and Russia we saw the exact same pattern from conservatives: denial/dismissal, disinformation, backlash and outrage. Covid isn't a big deal and only a couple people are sick. George Floyd is just another thug and when all the facts come out it'll prove it. Russia has no intention of invading and the US is lying. And the more the media reports these things, the more deranged the conservative reaction becomes. It's the "talking about racism is racism" thing basically: the media is making it worse by talking about xyz.
Those final stages of backlash and outrage lead us where we are now. With multiple states banning decades-old vaccine mandates, multiple states erasing any mention of race from schoolbooks, the assault on Disney and gay teachers, etc. With regards to Russia it's becoming very clear that republicans will be demanding the US leave NATO very soon. Perhaps right around the time a certain person begins to run for president again.
dangerranger
All Star
Yep, this is an intricate web of all sorts of things going on in culture, our inability to recognize that technology has evolved in such a way that outpaces society’s understanding of these tools and how they are used to influence and condition us. I don’t think the technology is conditioning us persay, it’s how we use it and consume it that is. Reality is being exposed and while this happens time and time again, I don’t know if it ever happened this quickly and so the sources of all these problems aren’t easily linked to one thing. It’s like the matrix. I hear a lot of people saying something akin to the Morpheus line in the first film. It’s like we can feel or tell something is wrong but we don’t know what it is. Most people aren’t paying attention enough or willing to dig deep enough to see the bigger picture and what’s going on.
NZA
LOL
im sure there is some truth in that, but they just lost a president and 2 senate seats. they need shyt to get votes on. the shyt they are going to get votes on are not going to be material issues since they dont believe in government as a service for the masses, so they are going to run on cultural issues. it's actually pretty predictable when you keep politics in mind. anti-CRT was not some grassroots issue since the average cac cant even define what it is. this is a talking point from the top down to rally voters.
Notice how since that uprising of people world wide coming together for black peoples rights covid came out CHECKMATE and made us not allowed to come together and fight for our rights we have to do it virtually via internet now and guess whats a major issue now CENSORSHIP CHECKMATE 
the theory has merit. in addition to the floyd murder, this also aligns with the push by magas to gain power wherever they could. from school boards, to traffic judges, to head dog catcher. once they're in positions of legitimate authority they learned from pres chump they don't have to be bashful with abusing their power and practicing systemic racism in the open.