Comparing uneducated workers and farmers living under a totalitarian dictatorship with no access to the outside world to first world Americans with the entire human civilization at their finger tips via the internet and enjoying a (relatively) free democratic society for granted isnt a sound argument.
And who are you comparing Americans to when you say they have a tenuous grasp on reality, exactly?
North Korea just launched an ICBM over Japan.. I don't support massive retaliation or any such thing, but I can understand if people are angry and irrational about it. This was a warning shot fired at the heart of the possibility of peace.. Pyongyang is playing a dangerous game.
North Korea playing its typical game of flamebaiting doesn't justify having the desire to murder millions. Nothing justifies having the desire to murder millions.
And also, I don't understand what you're trying to ask.
There is no reality, not really, only what we percieve reality to be. Since we will never have a full grasp of all the facts, having a full grasp of reality is impossible, we can only see what we percieve reality to be.
And speaking as a guy living in Asia, I would not worry about North Korea. He can sabre rattle all he wants, ultimately he will never pull the trigger. He knows as well as we do that if he launches an attack he will be steamrolled pretty quickly and China will stand by and watch as it happens. All the damage he can do to South Korea and maybe Guam wont win him a war and he knows it.
There is an objective, imperial reality; Water is wet, there are clouds when it rains, bears have fur. There are certain aspects of reality which are up for debate, but I'm talking about imperial reality.
Americans don't understand death. Americans don't understand war. Those two combined is a deadly combination that has resulted in the deaths of countless Iraqi innocents. That's the type of stuff I'm talking about when I speak of Americans lacking a grasp on reality.
And also, for the record I am an American.
Except its not an objective reality, your opinion is a subjective reality. Where is the scientific, peer reviewed and replicated data to prove your statements about Americans? None? Just your opinion? Then it is not an objective reality. You cannot shout "its an objective reality!" To all critisism just like I cannot shout the same about my favorite flavour of ice cream.
You're misunderstanding me:
- I say Americans have a tenuous grasp on reality
- You say that there is no objective reality
- I say there are objective, material realities, such as the nature of war and violence, of which I think most Americans I don't understand.
My opinion isn't objective. But the natures of war and violence are.
1) That is your opinion and at best a gross over generalization.
2) There really isn't when humans become involved. Since no 2 people's experiences will ever be the same there is no objective reality with something like the concept of war.
3) Again, that is your opinion on Americans. A country with 50 states, different backgrounds and origins and ethnic histories and so many other qualifiers simply stating 'Americans are blank' is absolutely subjective. And, frankly, so is the nature of war and violence. Some hate it. Some love it.
And I would say that Americans do understand death and war, there is no one better at the war business than America. They just don't give a damn about other countries and who they inflict war and death upon. Not a particularly rare or even new mindset for an imperialistic war monger like America. That's the problem. I think you have a concept that is based on reality but fail to properly diagnose the problem. It's not that most Americans do not understand war or death, it's that their leaders do not care about that, only about what's best for the country (at best) or their corporate masters (at worst).
My evidence?
300
Lethal Weapon
Pretty much every Tarantino film
Pretty much every buddy cop comedy
The Kingsmen: Secret Service
Just to name a few. You might argue that mere fictional depictions of grotesque violence does not necessarily reflect the mindsets of American in regards to violence. I say that's utter nonsense. The type of fiction we write always reflects our beliefs, while the fiction we consume influences our worldviews and perceptions of reality. Demons reflected Dostoyevsky's disdain for Marxism and other secular revolutionary ideologies. Nineteen-Eighty-Four reflected Orwell's perceptions of totalitarian Stalinism. Not that Tarantino would commit the atrocities that are shown in his films but the fact that he apparently considers such violence entertaining should be of concern.
The fact that one of the main characters of the Kingsmen is depicted brutally slaughtering
a church congregation fighting against their will and this is excused because said church is bigoted and all I've seen in regards to this is people praising the characters woke response to a middle aged woman he would later shoot in the head is in my fair opinion, a reflection of our subconscious permissibility toward gruesome acts of violence. And this subconscious permissibility of violence sneaks into the real world when diplomatic crises arise and the citizens of North Korea and Iraq might as well be the three dozen nameless henchmen our heroes mercilessly kill in our movies and TV shows.
I know I'm sounding like Pat Robertson right now, but bear with me here. I'm not condemning stuff like Breaking Bad which portrays violence for a reason. I'm talking about depicting violence because it's "cool", and how that creates a culture not of violence but of leniency toward it provided it's far enough away. Try to name how many times you've seen a film portray violence as Dunkirk does?
2) There really isn't when humans become involved. Since no 2 people's experiences will ever be the same there is no objective reality with something like the concept of war.
3) Again, that is your opinion on Americans. A country with 50 states, different backgrounds and origins and ethnic histories and so many other qualifiers simply stating 'Americans are blank' is absolutely subjective. And, frankly, so is the nature of war and violence. Some hate it. Some love it.If 2 were true, then there wouldn't be strong similarities between Lepa Sela, Lepo Gore - a Serb war film depicting the Bosnian War, All Quiet On The Western Front - A German novel on WWI and Full Metal Jacket. All three have the same general depiction of war: As something ruthless, bloody, and horrific. There are very few real differences between the Syrian Civil War, the War in Donbass and the Libyan Civil War besides stuff like strategy, equipment and tactics. Modern warfare isnt that varied. Any fiction depicting war as anything but gory and horrid is quite frankly just propaganda.
And you know I'm not saying all Americans have these views. I'm an American. I live in. a city where over 200 languages are spoken. I'm aware of America's diversity.
And I would say that Americans do understand death and war, there is no one better at the war business than AmericaHow do American military capabilities debunk American perceptions on war?
