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What are the reasons for America failing? (1 Viewer)

wazoo11

wazoo11

Footballguy
I am torn between believing it is the idea that for most of us there is little or no responsibility for our actions - everything is someone else's fault, when we screw up, someone else (usually government) is supposed to save us OR the creeping erosion of our basic rights by ever expanding government, ironically, under the guise of expansion of "rights" for someone else

I have to go back to work now but will come back later to respond to comments. I don't mind being called stupid. I just would like to know what you guys think.

 
Wait...we're failing? Who's grading us? Anything we can do to bring that up in the next 8 weeks?

ETA: if you have a high schooler this resonates

 
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There are so many, both left and right, that it is difficult. 

My main issues, from the traditional right: 

  • Erosion of federalism under Wilson
  • Great Society programs with perverse and irreparable consequences
  • ICC clause eroded 
  • Identity politics and empirical problems with localized or personalized politics
  • Academia drifting leftward, always, pretending it doesn't veer towards Marxism and the trinity of race, gender, class, yet always veering that way   
My main issues, from the left:

  • History of slavery and oppression of women and minorities manifesting in pluralistic concerns that undermine Platonic universalism
  • Disenfranchisement in participatory democracy
  • Corporate compromises with government when labor might have served justice and free markets better than compulsory bargaining
  • Campaign financing, even though it's speech, it's a disaster
My main issues, both sides

  • This is the most important right here: The erosion of the non-delegation doctrine and Executive Branch supremacy in terms of law and due process
  • Gerrymandering
  • Political factions
  • Two-party system
  • This was all off of the top of my head. Many people will do it better than me. Thanks.  



 
Sorry there is a group (hopefully small) that always thinks "America is failing". You know there was some dude posting this exact thing on trees or standing in the middle of a town with a bell or whatever they did back in the 1700's.

 
I think FDR and the rise of the executive branch again under Reagan were so dangerous. Fukuyama has written about how he feels the executive is undermanned and impotent. I would argue that it wouldn't have to be if we hadn't federalized everything in the 20th century. But others are smarter than me and I need a break.  

 
The General said:
Sorry there is a group (hopefully small) that always thinks "America is failing". You know there was some dude posting this exact thing on trees or standing in the middle of a town with a bell or whatever they did back in the 1700's.
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My professor hated Chicken Littles. So do I. We're going to last a long time. But if Minerva flies at any time society is in decline, she is certainly flying now.  

 
It's education IMO. We used to rank at or near the top in math and science for example, and now we're getting our asses kicked. But worse, kids aren't learning critical thinking skills, so they're not well equipped to solve complex problems or even to see events and situations for what they really are. This is compounded by the sense of entitlement already mentioned (everyone gets a ribbon etc.). All of these issues contribute to the Trump phenomenon -- my life sucks and it's not my fault, and I'm so stupid I believe Trump when he says he can fix everything, because golly, he wouldn't be on TV if he wasn't really smart. We're the laughingstock of the world right now.

 
Well, I think people are getting dumber, and meaner, and more selfish.  But that's global as well, I suspect.  

Look at the Panama Paper thread.  Barely any action.  We're getting dumber.  

 
Lack of regulation in the economy. Lack of regulation in insurance. Lack of regulation in healthcare. Corruption in the government and private sector. The de-emphasis on education. The doubling down on business degrees. Years long campaign season. Lack of any actual punishment for white collar criminals outside of tax related crimes. Private prisons. War on drugs. Military complex, world police. Double talk, try to prop up the UN then undercut them whenever possible. Refusal to secularize. One of the two parties killing themselves forcing a one party system. Loss of humanity.

Pick all of the above.

 
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A combination of lazy people looking for handouts, and CEOs and executives out-earning the work force by a 385:1 ratio in this country. Laziness and greed. 

 
Post Cold War foreign policy, economic policy deemphasizing employment, and technological changes which have been the norm since the Industrial Revolution altering the nature of labor.

And absolutely terrible to bad leadership on these things since the Cold War, and I only draw the line there because that's the era we're in.

 
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Run It Up said:
Lack of regulation in the economy. Lack of regulation in insurance. Lack of regulation in healthcare. Corruption in the government and private sector. The de-emphasis on education. The doubling down on business degrees. Years long campaign season. Lack of any actual punishment for white collar criminals outside of tax related crimes. Private prisons. War on drugs. Military complex, world police. Double talk, try to prop up the UN then undercut them whenever possible. Refusal to secularize. One of the two parties killing themselves forcing a one party system. Loss of humanity.

Pick all of the above.
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YES.

Personal responsibility........come on.  So far down the list of reasons, it's laughable.

 
Personal responsibility is a boogie man. Its a gross misappropriation of the phrase. Its a meme...

 
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I blame the vast majority of this country's problems on the Baby Boomers...worst generation ever (decent chance their kids will claim the mantle from them before all is said and done though).

 
While I don't think America is failing, I do think that a selfish "as long as I get mine" attitude has become very pervasive.  It shows in the disparity of pay between executives and workers, our very litigious society, etc.  I can't imagine if WW2 were to happen in this day and age the country pulling together solely for the common good like what occurred in the 40's.

 
McGarnicle said:
It's education IMO. We used to rank at or near the top in math and science for example, and now we're getting our asses kicked. But worse, kids aren't learning critical thinking skills, so they're not well equipped to solve complex problems or even to see events and situations for what they really are. This is compounded by the sense of entitlement already mentioned (everyone gets a ribbon etc.). All of these issues contribute to the Trump phenomenon -- my life sucks and it's not my fault, and I'm so stupid I believe Trump when he says he can fix everything, because golly, he wouldn't be on TV if he wasn't really smart. We're the laughingstock of the world right now.
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I disagree with all of this.  How can you say we lack critical thinking with all of the tech boom taking place?  How can you believe we lack in math and science when the world (OK, Asia mostly) sends their kids here to learn math and science?

A lot of Americans are doing a lot of great stuff right now.  Reality TV is not all we are.

 
James Daulton said:
While I don't think America is failing, I do think that a selfish "as long as I get mine" attitude has become very pervasive.  It shows in the disparity of pay between executives and workers, our very litigious society, etc.  I can't imagine if WW2 were to happen in this day and age the country pulling together solely for the common good like what occurred in the 40's.
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Does anyone attribute this to anything other than 50+ years of a business oriented society? Go to school, get your business degree, start work immediately, learn how to #### people most completely while on the job.

 
Run It Up said:
Does anyone attribute this to anything other than 50+ years of a business oriented society? Go to school, get your business degree, start work immediately, learn how to #### people most completely while on the job.
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Correct, and the reason I refused to get a corporate job even after getting my MBA.

 
James Daulton said:
  I can't imagine if WW2 were to happen in this day and age the country pulling together solely for the common good like what occurred in the 40's.
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Of course we would. We were ready to do it the day after 9/11, but Bush told us to back to living our lives. I understand why he did so but the point is in that day we were united and would have done pretty much anything asked of us, just as on the day after Pearl Harbor. The emotion in this country was exactly the same. 

 
It's tough to say "America is failing".  What does that even mean?  Just as that's too broad of a statement to make, so is the statement "things are getting better all the time".  

Things are getting better?  Well I don't know, I guess that depends on who you are.

There are still many people living in poverty, suffering, living off of the government, unhappy, people still die, get sick, etc.

On the other hand, in places where it's good, it's really, really good.  

Some may say "hey look at the technology we have, see how awesome it is!"

While another may lament the fact that kids have screens in their face all the time and that you can't walk down the sidewalk without someone walking into you while their head is buried in their phone.

One person may say "America has lost it's moral compass" and another may say "America is FINALLY turning away from religion!"

It's all in the eye of the beholder.  If you go to a trailer park or in the middle of projects and ask about America, you'll get a different answer than if you go into a rich and trendy downtown area.

 
The Military Industrial Complex........the only thing we lead the world in is building crap to kill people. We are going to build the B-21 bomber at the cost of $1B per plane. That's a B folks as in BILLION.

 
shader said:
It's tough to say "America is failing".  What does that even mean?
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I agree. IMO America is Great. However we are starting to act like a great power in decline. However, one thing that is unique about us versus past great powers is that we wanted this, safer, free-er, more commercially successful nations and competitors abroad make us more secure and more successful at home, that's our theory and has been since WW2.

 
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timschochet said:
Of course we would. We were ready to do it the day after 9/11, but Bush told us to back to living our lives. I understand why he did so but the point is in that day we were united and would have done pretty much anything asked of us, just as on the day after Pearl Harbor. The emotion in this country was exactly the same. 
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You're way too optimistic.  Don't mistake our society's anger for our society's willingness to personally sacrifice.  We're great at the former and suck at the later.

 
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