I lived on Ramstein Air Force Base in then West Germany during the cold war in the 80's. Reagan and Gorbachav were in office, waving their dicks at each other. The Soviet Union was widely called "The Evil Empire".
I honestly believe America is now the Evil Empire. And that most of the world sees that. But at least the Soviet Union was sort of predictably sinister. We are like an Evil Empire on PCP, completely irrational and unpredictable, even to ourselves. We have millions of wonderful people in the United States, but collectively? I think we are now the baddies, what do you think?
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Feel free to reply to any comment by clicking the "Reply" button.When our earliest ancestors (blue-green algae, cyanobacteria, pond scum. etc) ruled, the big and strong ate the small and weak.
From time to time the big and strong fucked up and some of the small and weak also reproduced.
The means now differ but have the ends changed?
yvilletom
Level 8
June 27, 2020
0
No, the purpose is to thrive and survive no matter the means. But . . . that is also a slippery slope because it can be used to rationalize non-compassionate behavior. I was into Ayn Rand and ilk before I became a real adult and human. Part of why humanity has succeeded so powerfully on earth is our ability to have compassion and empathy.
I think we have been a racist nation since the very beginning. I think we became an arrogant nation after WWll. We are the most waring nation on the planet. We have the most expensive and one of the worst health care systems on the planet. We are the richest country in the history of the planet, and yet, as we throw out tons of food everyday, we have people going to bed hungry. Any person thinking this adds up to greatness has something seriously wrong in their thinking. Yes, we are baddies.
Sticks48
Level 9
May 12, 2020
2
It appears that way to me.
We are bombing civilians in 7 sovereign nations.
We are selling arms to a brutal regime, which is our ally, as they engage in genocide.
We invaded Iraq on false pretenses.
We assassinated an Iranian leader while he was on a diplomatic mission to Iraq.
We broke our treaty with Iran and are currently holding them under embargo which is preventing medication from saving lives during this pandemic.
We have by far the worlds largest prison population and we are one of the few nations which continues the barbaric practice of capital punishment.
We reneged on our promises at the Paris Climate Agreement.
We massacred civilians and committed war crimes in Vietnam.
We set up Banana Republics all over Central and South America.
We are waging a drug war upon our own citizens which has ruined countless lives.
We enslaved millions of people and have been keeping them oppressed right up to the present day.
We are the only nation to have ever used nuclear weapons in war.
We stole half of Mexico.
Hell, our entire nation was founded upon the genocide of an entire continent.
RoboGraham
Level 8
May 12, 2020
4
It should be notable that a good many items on your list represents pre-Trump America. Those who pin our “baddieness” exclusively on Trump will ensure America remains a shitty country.
Oh, and you left out we’re the only developed country on earth that refuses to give its citizens health care as a human right.
That's very true. Our problems go so much deeper than Trump. Too many people think removing Trump will solve everything.
I thought about putting healthcare on the list but decided not too because it's not something bad that out government is doing but rather something good that they refuse to do and I wanted to limit it to aggressive evil and leave out the passive evil.
I also left out our support of Israel. I had someone say to me recently that the Israelis are entitled to all of Palestine because their ancestors lived there 2,000 years ago. I was like, ummm are you sure you want to use that line of reasoning as you occupy land that belonged to native americans just 200-300 years ago?
@RoboGraham Totally get where you’re coming from. On all fronts, unconditional support for Israel included.
Temper Tantrum Trump has destroyed our reputation with his "America First" actions. Just like Hitler.
sassygirl3869
Level 9
May 12, 2020
3
I can't choose either of those options....but....I'll say this: With the pustule in power, many of the loons in this country feel empowered and, given the chance, they'd undoubtedly do their best to ''rid'' us of non-white, non-xtian, non-native-born ''bad elements.'' This is precisely why we need to the the damned GOP out of power and let things cool down.
LucyLoohoo
Level 9
May 12, 2020
2
Yeah, I've been paying attention to the "Boogaloo Bois" and other such militia lately, and they are just itching for an armed "rebellion". And Trump is increasingly throwing wolf whistles their way as his world implodes. There has never been serious civil collapse and violence in a nation with nearly as heavily armed of a civilian population. If Americans turn on each on each other full bore it will be horrific.
@Observer-Effect The left is getting radicalized too, though they are not hard core or looking for armed violence. Meanwhile judging from the lines at food banks, the general populace will potentially lose its shit when it gets hungry enough. We're not in a good situation.
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