Father Heathen
Veteran Member
What in your opinion has caused the cultural gap in the U.S. to widen over the years, and what do you believe are possible solutions that could close it?
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The U.S. cultural gap
- Thread starter Father Heathen
- Start date
In my humble opinion, and watching things from an external perspective, there is a strong tendency among Americans to disown their European roots. Hence the cultural gap.
Not suggesting you're wrong, just trying to work out how to respond...
What causes you to think the cultural gap has widened, and along what lines are you measuring it?
I don’t really know why. My pet theory is it’s education. We have a prominent portion of society in the US, unlike Europe, which hate science and makes me things they hate facts. You listen to the folks in red states and they hate evolution quoting the creationism as they show their ignorance. US for years have been 30th in math and science and I hardly think it’s a coincidence with the amount of people believing misinformation. We are in dire straights and only education can help. I suggest we flood the red states with science and evolution pamphlets from planes and as Neil Degrasse Tyson quoted “Make America Smart Again”.
Altfish
Veteran Member
There is also a strong tendency amongst Europeans to disown their American off-spring.
From what I've read, the most basic issue here is the division between Southern culture and Northern culture, and the reason it has intensified has a lot to do with migration to the Southern states. Today, about four in every ten Americans lives in the South, and they make up the largest single regional group now.
That's what I've read, but I don't think that's all of it by any means. I think some of the reason we're becoming so culturally divided is because a few billionaires -- mostly independent of each other -- are exploiting the division for personal gain -- such as to create a constituency for privatizing social security, etc.
Those, and other factors.
That's what I've read, but I don't think that's all of it by any means. I think some of the reason we're becoming so culturally divided is because a few billionaires -- mostly independent of each other -- are exploiting the division for personal gain -- such as to create a constituency for privatizing social security, etc.
Those, and other factors.
exchemist
Veteran Member
The media:
i) the conflation of news with entertainment (e.g. Fox), which encourages a view of politics as an adversarial spectator sport, rather than the serious business of making joint decisions in the interests of the country, and
ii) the internet, which has led to an emancipation of the stupid and the ignorant.
As to what could close the gap, the answer has to be better education of the next generation about use and abuse of the media. (I also suspect getting some of the money out of US politics would help, but I suggest that only tentatively, speaking as someone who does not live there myself. I have no idea how this would be done.)
I think it cannot be done anytime soon (at this point), and will take a sustained, popular movement to accomplish it, so I'm guessing it might never get done. But if that's what happens -- it never gets done -- it will eventually destroy what's left of representative democracy in this country, a most likely sooner than most of us suspect it will.
Twilight Hue
Twilight, not bright nor dark, good nor bad.
I think it's primarily through attempts focused on cultural homogenisation clashing with groups that resist such attempts for which a cultural gap exists.
I see it as a result of people attempting forced inclusivity thereby causing other groups to go into preservation mode.
Political correctness and sjws being the main cause of the cultural gap.
I see it as a result of people attempting forced inclusivity thereby causing other groups to go into preservation mode.
Political correctness and sjws being the main cause of the cultural gap.
This is one of those strange situations where perception is reality. People have been told that there is s huge gap, they think there is s huge gap, and so there is.
If you actually look carefully at what people on the “other side” really think and feel you might find it is not as different as you thought.
Take the recent immigration issue. The left is told that people on the right are all evil racist monsters who want to throw children in cages. And the right is told that the left wants to destroy America and open the borders to every criminal, rapist, or terrorist who wants to come in.
Of course none of this is true, but because it is perceived as being true it creates this insurmountable gap.
If you actually look carefully at what people on the “other side” really think and feel you might find it is not as different as you thought.
Take the recent immigration issue. The left is told that people on the right are all evil racist monsters who want to throw children in cages. And the right is told that the left wants to destroy America and open the borders to every criminal, rapist, or terrorist who wants to come in.
Of course none of this is true, but because it is perceived as being true it creates this insurmountable gap.
exchemist
Veteran Member
Yes you have a point, definitely. One can perhaps see the election of Trump as analogous to the fall of the Shah in Iran! Perhaps in both cases there was a governing culture of modernisation of society that had got too far ahead of the cultural centre of gravity of the people, causing a reaction against it. In the US perhaps a degree of fashionable PC cant that people felt unable to criticise but weren't comfortable with. The UK Brexit vote had some similar undertones.
Such keen observations are incompatible with RF standards.
Where's the name calling?
It seems to me that there are a lot of people who don’t know what Politically Correct means. When the government tells scientists that the can’t use terminology like climate change, that is an example of political correctness being enforced. Or when a cartoonist loses his job because he drew too many cartoons critical of the government.
Too many people think that P.C. is just calling a racist a racist, or criticizing a white suprematist.
Shushersbedamned
Well-Known Member
I didn't know Americans have "European roots". What exactly do you mean by them?
Shushersbedamned
Well-Known Member
I'm not at all sure what you just said, but just in case you mean there really isn't any a greater "cultural gap" whatever that even means I should say I agree.
OP, where can we see this gap that isn't there?
Would you describe what the cultural gap is?
exchemist
Veteran Member
It's sort of dogwhistle way of saying the trouble in America is due to the emancipation of those citizens whose ancestors did not come from Europe. Fairly standard for our blackshorts friend, Sig. Spodi.
I could imagine several different cultural gaps - which one are you referring to?
metis
aged ecumenical anthropologist
Greed.
Instead of having the Swedish attitude of "just enough", here it's more "I want more and more and more...!". It's not enough to be a billionaire, for example.
So, what's feeding that? Largely because most of the rich tend live in a different "world", whereas they are more apt to compare themselves with the other wealthy than with the average Joe & Mary Schmoe.
Max Weber labeled this the "Protestant Ethic" that he saw being reflected especially in northern Europe and North America, whereas the attitude is that if one's wealthy then one has favor with God-- if not, then one must have done something wrong to upset God.
Americans tend to be materialistic and value status, and keeping up with the Joneses is a national pastime. However, we certainly ain't the Lone Ranger on this.
That's not true...PC implies that people are shamed for saying certain things that may appear cynical.
That's why in the US there is a slightly suffocating air, because people will condemn you no matter what you say.
In other words, in Europe nationalism is not shamed.
And a speech like this, held by Bannon, proves it