Post
by BasharOfTheAges » Sat Oct 20, 2007 11:54 am
I don't have all that much time to post, but i think there are a few things that haven't been touched on that probably should be.
The average American doesn't care about politics because he figures all politicians are corrupt and going to fuck him over in the long run. This defeatist attitude (combined with strong regionalistic moral stratifications) really makes us a series of extremely different groups that are constantly at odds politically. We don't want a single culture, because we don't want to be considered the same as those that we are vehemently opposed to for one reason or another. Why try to unifiy in some way when you don't have the same moral/political/religious belief structures as your neighbors and you take pride in that fact?
I think there's this innate desire within each little cultural group to be the one America is known for. They think, at some level, that if they can become successful and powerful enough, this undefined nation will be defined by them. Since money is power (or can buy the power to get rid of opposition if someone doesn't want to sell out), people strive for that money.