Skyrad 0 #1 December 24, 2012 It seems to me that there has not been a time where America was more divided or society was as fragile as it is today. Is the USA beginning to tear itself apart?When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy. Lucius Annaeus Seneca Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
rushmc 23 #2 December 24, 2012 QuoteIt seems to me that there has not been a time where America was more divided or society was as fragile as it is today. Is the USA beginning to tear itself apart? It is going where our leader is taking us"America will never be destroyed from the outside, if we falter and lose our freedoms, it will be because we destroyed ourselves." Abraham Lincoln Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
tkhayes 348 #3 December 24, 2012 Quite possibly. Rome lasted a very long time, but still disintegrated. The US is very divided right now, 50/50 split on a lot of issues. Some common sense stuff could help fix it. getting money out of politics would probably do more good towards settling thins down, because i do not believe that the 50/50's are really that far apart on the issues, but the money pushes the issues further and further out to the extremes. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jakee 1,646 #4 December 24, 2012 QuoteIt seems to me that there has not been a time where America was more divided or society was as fragile as it is today. You may want to investigate a little ruckus that happened about 150 years ago. Quote Is the USA beginning to tear itself apart? No.Do you want to have an ideagasm? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skyrad 0 #5 December 24, 2012 Quote Quite possibly. Rome lasted a very long time, but still disintegrated Interestingly in to two separate Empires.When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy. Lucius Annaeus Seneca Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 3 #6 December 24, 2012 QuoteIt seems to me that there has not been a time where America was more divided or society was as fragile as it is today. The time preceding and during our Civil War and post-war Reconstruction era (roughly 1840 - 1870) was undoubtedly worse. And as someone who lived through and remembers the civil rights conflicts and race riots of the 1960s, and the vicious debates and all the demonstrations (and sometimes riots or shootings like at Kent State) over the Vietnam War, I think the divisions in the US easily rivaled those of today. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Andy9o8 3 #7 December 24, 2012 QuoteQuoteIt seems to me that there has not been a time where America was more divided or society was as fragile as it is today. Is the USA beginning to tear itself apart? It is going where our leader is taking us That was brilliant. Do you mean Richard Nixon, or George W. Bush? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #8 December 24, 2012 No, it is not. Take a look at the 1860s in the US. Or, how about the whole 1800s, when we Americans were fed up and splitting west and killing Indians. Look at the Great Depression. Or the preceding Populist and Progressive movements. Today is nothing compared to that. See, Americans are just like anybody else. Gotta have hatin - either others or ourselves. Dubya was able to bring us together because we had an enemy. Uncle Ronnie focused on the commies. GHW Bush had Hussein. Clinton had an era of good feelings after the Wall came down. Americans love fightin’ and drinkin’ and fuckin’ and shootin’ and especially hatin’. If there isn’t anybody we all can be hatin’, then we go to hatin’ each other. We used to get along when we could all be busy hatin’ Saddam and Osama bin Laden, but they’re dead so right now it’s about hatin’ the rich and the corporations and puttin’ some good hatin’ on dem crazies and weirdos – everybody can hate the crazies and weirdos but there are those that are gun hatin’ who use weirdo hatin’ to get to guns, and they are fightin’ with the gun lovers who are okay with hatin’ the crazies and the weirdos but hatin’ on the other haters because we love shootin’. What’s the point of shootin’ if there isn’t any hatin’? America is not nearly so divided as people think it is. America is probably much less divided that most people WISH it was. My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #9 December 24, 2012 QuoteIt seems to me that there has not been a time where America was more divided or society was as fragile as it is today. Is the USA beginning to tear itself apart? Last time I looked, the US wasn't shooting at itself yet. So, no.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
christelsabine 1 #10 December 24, 2012 Quote Quote It seems to me that there has not been a time where America was more divided or society was as fragile as it is today. Is the USA beginning to tear itself apart? Last time I looked, the US wasn't shooting at itself yet. So, no. No?? The US = its citizens. They shoot each other. Or what was f.e. Sandy Hook? "Ricochets"?? And there we are again: http://gulfnews.com/news/world/usa/two-firefighters-shot-dead-on-duty-1.1123382 Shooting at firemen, shooting at own citizens. Not shooting at itself, in the US? dudeist skydiver # 3105 Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
wolfriverjoe 1,523 #11 December 24, 2012 QuoteIt seems to me that there has not been a time where America was more divided or society was as fragile as it is today. Is the USA beginning to tear itself apart? To agree with a lot of others, no. Part of the reason it seems that way is the 24 hour news cycle that has to have a headline about something all the time. Part of it is the way information is transmitted rapidly across the internet. Until recently, the rants you see here in SC would be limited to coffee shop discussions, bar arguments and nasty letters to the editor in the newspaper. Now that idiots can rant about "Obama tearing the nation apart" or "The Tea Party tearing the nation apart" or "The gays destroying the moral fiber of the nation" and on and on and on the discussion is much more open and vitriolic. But most folks are quietly going about their lives, trying to get by as best they can. Same as always."There are NO situations which do not call for a French Maid outfit." Lucky McSwervy "~ya don't GET old by being weak & stupid!" - Airtwardo Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Skyrad 0 #12 December 24, 2012 Quote America is not nearly so divided as people think it is. America is probably much less divided that most people WISH it was. I doubt that there are that many people in the West with any education who actively wish to see the USA tear itself apart. Its a nation much misunderstood but with all our economies interconnected in a giant financial Jenga block only an idiot would want to see the USA tear itself apart.When an author is too meticulous about his style, you may presume that his mind is frivolous and his content flimsy. Lucius Annaeus Seneca Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
lawrocket 3 #13 December 24, 2012 See this: http://www.livescience.com/18177-americans-political-polarization-exaggerated.html Quote The people who see the world split into two opposing factions are also most likely to vote and become politically active, Chambers said in a talk at the meeting. This means that while real growing polarization is illusory, the perception of polarization could drive the political process. Hey, I found something that agrees with what I was writing. And this: Quote When the researchers asked students to indicate how they though other students felt about the proposal, those who themselves opposed or supported it most strongly assumed that others would also feel strongly, in support or opposition. That's kind of what I was writing about with the "America is probably much less divided that most people WISH it was" comment. (Note: it really bothers me when I have a tense disagreement. Writing "America is probably" and "wish it was?" ) My wife is hotter than your wife. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
quade 4 #14 December 24, 2012 Quote Quote Quote It seems to me that there has not been a time where America was more divided or society was as fragile as it is today. Is the USA beginning to tear itself apart? Last time I looked, the US wasn't shooting at itself yet. So, no. No?? The US = its citizens. They shoot each other. Or what was f.e. Sandy Hook? "Ricochets"?? And there we are again: http://gulfnews.com/news/world/usa/two-firefighters-shot-dead-on-duty-1.1123382 Shooting at firemen, shooting at own citizens. Not shooting at itself, in the US? As in civil war, not simply random crazy people.quade - The World's Most Boring Skydiver Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
jakee 1,646 #15 December 24, 2012 Quote(Note: it really bothers me when I have a tense disagreement. Writing "America is probably" and "wish it was?") 'Wish it to be'? Damned if I know, even if that's right it sounds clunkier. Beyond what's needed to make yourself understood, most of english grammar is just fluff for the pedants. Beyond that, I agree with the sentiment. How often do you actually see right vs left confrontations popping up on the street?Do you want to have an ideagasm? Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
kallend 2,219 #16 December 24, 2012 QuoteQuote Quite possibly. Rome lasted a very long time, but still disintegrated Interestingly in to two separate Empires. One of which did not disintegrate at all, it was taken by force.... The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one. Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Croc 0 #17 December 26, 2012 The assasinations of Robert Kennedy and Martin Luther King, the Vietnam War, the Hippy Movement, the resignation of President Nixon, the Cold War--that era--was far worse. The stuff going on today, amplified by the media and the internet, has, more or less, always been going on. Look up the political climate during the presidency of John Adams. Far worse."Here's a good specimen of my own wisdom. Something is so, except when it isn't so." Charles Fort, commenting on the many contradictions of astronomy Quote Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
