@powder That's what some Australians say as well. PDRK is an enemy of Australia. United States is their biggest ally. Looking at the comments I hear on this site, you'd think different. North Korean is the most totalitarian country in the planet. I can do whatever I want to here but for the pandemic.

@powder Yeah but the meme is meant as an attack on Americans specifically.

Most of the time one hears about American Exceptionalism, it is being touted by a gun-loving moron or religious idiot (or both). And every time you hear it, you look at the fool and you know in your heart they did absolutely zip to make the US or the world any better.

@racocn8 It's bad enough to hear Anti-Americanism from foreigners. To hear it from Americans is disturbing.

America has a great deal to recommend it: NASA, NSF, the university systems, democracy, and so much more. However, the pervasive (religion fostered) bigotry, the wholesale corruption, most of which is OK with Republicans, and so much more. The increased comfort with which the Republicans embrace prejudice, bullying, cheating, and corruption shows the country is moving rapidly towards fascism, and that won't be good for anyone. Republicans may wrap themselves in the flag, but their Anti-Americanism threatens the survival of the species, the US included. They are the ones that denounce science, which is the real source of exceptionalism.

@racocn8 The USA doesn't have exclusive rights to fascism. There are threats from the left as well, not so much in the US but internationally.

A paradox of politics seems to be that while socialism should work to reduce oligarchies (that give way to fascism), it also seems to open itself to strongman takeovers done in the name of socialism.

I would classify Russia as fascist, but has it ever really been socialist or even communist? Again, whatever name one might apply, fascism (which is not socialist) quickly emerged. And they are promoting fascism everywhere they can as a matter of weak hegemony and blackmail.

@racocn8 PDRK, PRC, Cuba, Iran, Libya, Vietnam, Venezuela, Nicaragua, Syria? Are those totalitarian countries? USSR was communist and fascist. Russian Federation is an oligarchy and far from being a legitimate democracy.

@powder Fascism a political system. Communism an economic system. Josef Stalin was basically a fascist. Kim Jun Un is a fascist, so I would disagree with your evaluation.