When it comes to computers, it's all America. We innovated, and the world benefitted. Ditto the Marshall Plan. The light bulb. Radio, Hi Fi. The entire oil industry.
Yeah, but
"What have you done for us lately?"
Fair point.
At some point, the world started to suck. And America went with it.
I have to agree to disagree. America is a concept. Lots of people are great who happen to be american, and many awful people are also living in those borders who were born there. America isn't a tangible thing. Life isn't a pissing contest either. Being born on this side of the imaginary line vs the other side doesn't make you responsible for things other people did who happen to be born in the same place as you. Or rather a different place than you in a HUGE set of thousands of cities and locations. You are just you. We are not are parents or the people who happened to born in the same country. You don't get credit for being born in a particular place. You can get credit for things you do personally. I give credit for those things to those individuals and groups who played a role in those developments; not where they happened to be born. I love innovation, but the credit goes to those people who made contributions to it not me. And also not you.
When I show up at the entrance of the stadium, I agree to check my brain at the door. I am there only to yell and scream when some oversized college kid with a number on his back tosses the bouncing ball through the orange hoop. At the end of the game, if our side accumulates a higher number of points than the other guy, he buys the beer and we get to hold our mugs high and chant the name of our team for a half hour till our throats hurt and we need another beer. None of this has to mean anything.
You don’t have to wait for Friedrich Nietzsche to interview the coach to appreciate the deeper meaning. There may or may not be one. My team does not have to demonstrate evolutionary superiority over every other team on earth in order for me to like my team better.
That being said, Go USA. It’s the best.
Sure, Denmark has better government health care and wonderful pastries. We have Apple Macbooks and foot-long hot dogs and Yellowstone Park and UConn Huskies basketball and Tucker Carlson and we can race our own radio-controlled go-karts on bleeping Mars, man. Tell the czar and the ayatollah they can pound sand, because we’re the United States of America and they ain’t.
America isn't a thing in the tangible world. Its concept. New York City is not Seattle. There are thousands of cities in the united states A does not equal B. Lumping them all together is data, but its not an object or a person. Hell I imagine some states if you subdivide accomplishments by state have added FAR more than others.
I'm pro-humanity not pro this or that nation state. Where your born isn't what interests me or what it says on your passport. I judge people on their actions. You get no credit or cool factor because other people who are not you did great things and happened to be born within the same imaginary line as you. Aka born in the same country. Lots of great innovation for sure. But I give credit those who played a role in it. Not anyone who happened to be born in the same country.
Individuals vary widely, but nations are the average (not the sum) of their people, and some give you way better odds than others. America gives top odds, better than anywhere else.
I mean I give credit to all persons involved in the creation of these many many technologies we enjoy today. I give credit to those human beings. Where they were born or what citizenship they had does not matter to me. If america is anything it is a set of locations geographically delineated by a ruling class. There is no reason to say that someone born on this side of the line is important vs born on that side of the line between the US and canada. Earth is a wonderful place I do not feel the need to credit concepts like (the USA) or Japan with anything. Who get the credit for achievements? The people who did it. Not their kids, or their neighbors, or those people born on this piece of dirt on this side of an imaginary line. I am happy to have connection to fellow human beings who want to live in peace with me regardless what piece of land they were born on or any imaginary lines. America is a set of lots of locations and people who happened to be born (some weren't even born here) in those places. It isn't a tangible thing. There are lots of great people who lived and died here (or still live); but there are also great people in many places. I don't think great canadians as one example should be seen as less cool because well they happened to born on that side of the imaginary line. And aside from basic description I don't find that much value in looking at people as american, canadian, or british, etc. Where you happen to be born or where your parents were born is not what makes your special. Its what you do. Lots of great values and hard work within the people who happened to born in the US. But there is no rule against learning from other cultures or improving. There is no reason why people in some other place couldn't learn the values of people in the USA. Where you are born isn't what matters; its what you do. Lots of great achievements for sure, but the credit goes to the people who did it not where there were born or what citizenship they have.
Damn straight.
When it comes to computers, it's all America. We innovated, and the world benefitted. Ditto the Marshall Plan. The light bulb. Radio, Hi Fi. The entire oil industry.
Yeah, but
"What have you done for us lately?"
Fair point.
At some point, the world started to suck. And America went with it.
Oh well.
I have to agree to disagree. America is a concept. Lots of people are great who happen to be american, and many awful people are also living in those borders who were born there. America isn't a tangible thing. Life isn't a pissing contest either. Being born on this side of the imaginary line vs the other side doesn't make you responsible for things other people did who happen to be born in the same place as you. Or rather a different place than you in a HUGE set of thousands of cities and locations. You are just you. We are not are parents or the people who happened to born in the same country. You don't get credit for being born in a particular place. You can get credit for things you do personally. I give credit for those things to those individuals and groups who played a role in those developments; not where they happened to be born. I love innovation, but the credit goes to those people who made contributions to it not me. And also not you.
When I show up at the entrance of the stadium, I agree to check my brain at the door. I am there only to yell and scream when some oversized college kid with a number on his back tosses the bouncing ball through the orange hoop. At the end of the game, if our side accumulates a higher number of points than the other guy, he buys the beer and we get to hold our mugs high and chant the name of our team for a half hour till our throats hurt and we need another beer. None of this has to mean anything.
You don’t have to wait for Friedrich Nietzsche to interview the coach to appreciate the deeper meaning. There may or may not be one. My team does not have to demonstrate evolutionary superiority over every other team on earth in order for me to like my team better.
That being said, Go USA. It’s the best.
Sure, Denmark has better government health care and wonderful pastries. We have Apple Macbooks and foot-long hot dogs and Yellowstone Park and UConn Huskies basketball and Tucker Carlson and we can race our own radio-controlled go-karts on bleeping Mars, man. Tell the czar and the ayatollah they can pound sand, because we’re the United States of America and they ain’t.
Don’t overthink. Look what happened to Nietzsche.
America isn't a thing in the tangible world. Its concept. New York City is not Seattle. There are thousands of cities in the united states A does not equal B. Lumping them all together is data, but its not an object or a person. Hell I imagine some states if you subdivide accomplishments by state have added FAR more than others.
In responding to my last comment, you may be laying your pearls at the feet of swine.
...
Innovation and grit, that's America.
I'm pro-humanity not pro this or that nation state. Where your born isn't what interests me or what it says on your passport. I judge people on their actions. You get no credit or cool factor because other people who are not you did great things and happened to be born within the same imaginary line as you. Aka born in the same country. Lots of great innovation for sure. But I give credit those who played a role in it. Not anyone who happened to be born in the same country.
Individuals vary widely, but nations are the average (not the sum) of their people, and some give you way better odds than others. America gives top odds, better than anywhere else.
I mean I give credit to all persons involved in the creation of these many many technologies we enjoy today. I give credit to those human beings. Where they were born or what citizenship they had does not matter to me. If america is anything it is a set of locations geographically delineated by a ruling class. There is no reason to say that someone born on this side of the line is important vs born on that side of the line between the US and canada. Earth is a wonderful place I do not feel the need to credit concepts like (the USA) or Japan with anything. Who get the credit for achievements? The people who did it. Not their kids, or their neighbors, or those people born on this piece of dirt on this side of an imaginary line. I am happy to have connection to fellow human beings who want to live in peace with me regardless what piece of land they were born on or any imaginary lines. America is a set of lots of locations and people who happened to be born (some weren't even born here) in those places. It isn't a tangible thing. There are lots of great people who lived and died here (or still live); but there are also great people in many places. I don't think great canadians as one example should be seen as less cool because well they happened to born on that side of the imaginary line. And aside from basic description I don't find that much value in looking at people as american, canadian, or british, etc. Where you happen to be born or where your parents were born is not what makes your special. Its what you do. Lots of great values and hard work within the people who happened to born in the US. But there is no rule against learning from other cultures or improving. There is no reason why people in some other place couldn't learn the values of people in the USA. Where you are born isn't what matters; its what you do. Lots of great achievements for sure, but the credit goes to the people who did it not where there were born or what citizenship they have.