America lacks culture.

[Crixus]

Was told that at work yesterday by a kid, definitely a proud "latino" type. Hmm, I says. Asked what he meant. He said no sense of tradition, no "American" food we were just bland. Ah, but not so bland that he would go back South of the border though. I do have to agree with him though. I mean, it's not like this countries medical advances or space program matter much. I mean how can ya compete with the country that gave the world the donkey show right?

 

[there4eyeM]

America has almost every kind of 'culture'. Most of it is 'low grade', not very interesting and/or not very developed. It is almost as if there is too much culture and not enough refinement. The quasi anti-intellectualism in America is itself a cultural phenomenon. This compares to an excessive European intellectualism that is somewhat suffocating.
Somewhere in between the two continents (out in the ocean - Atlantis?) is a near-perfect state of human society.

 

[The Great Goose]

Dont worry. The SJWs spread that lie all over. I mean even in Austria. Like look at all their architecture, traditional clothes, orchestras, gardens....

and the people bought it! They actually bought this same lie in Europe.

In Australia we bought it too, but we had good reason too, even though we were wrong.

 

[gtopa1]

America has almost every kind of 'culture'. Most of it is 'low grade', not very interesting and/or not very developed. It is almost as if there is too much culture and not enough refinement. The quasi anti-intellectualism in America is itself a cultural phenomenon. This compares to an excessive European intellectualism that is somewhat suffocating.
Somewhere in between the two continents (out in the ocean - Atlantis?) is a near-perfect state of human society.

It's called Australia; you go West; not East!!!



And the US is NOT anti-intellectual; they can just spot the pseudo-neomarxist lefty nonsense better than Europe can.

Greg

 

[gtopa1]

Dont worry. The SJWs spread that lie all over. I mean even in Austria. Like look at all their architecture, traditional clothes, orchestras, gardens....

and the people bought it! They actually bought this same lie in Europe.

In Australia we bought it too, but we had good reason too, even though we were wrong.

Goosey; are you a fellow Ozzie??



Greg

 

[The Great Goose]

Dont worry. The SJWs spread that lie all over. I mean even in Austria. Like look at all their architecture, traditional clothes, orchestras, gardens....

and the people bought it! They actually bought this same lie in Europe.

In Australia we bought it too, but we had good reason too, even though we were wrong.

Goosey; are you a fellow Ozzie??



Greg

Ja wohl!

 

[candycorn]

This discussion always amuses me. The US culture is constantly in flux because capitalism has affected every part of society (information, culture, art, food, relationships, etc... etc...).

Philanthropists who try to set up incubators for news gathering, information, artistic exploits and even how the sexes and races relate to one another are to be applauded. Many if not most of our society is critical of such incubators since there is no direct benefit to the exploits.

William Faulkner probably put it best:

"As long as I live under the capitalistic system, I expect to have my life influenced by the demands of moneyed people..."

He took some of his Nobel Prize money and tried to set up incubators for teachers and writers. This is what people with means should be doing and when done, they should be celebrated.

Interesting that Mr. Drumpf has done no such thing with his alleged billions...

Anyway, the American culture is unique because the art that it produces almost has to produce interest and sales. The books written must make sales goals (almost no poetry is written as a result). The films that get made are almost nearly unanimously made for the public desires (what they will pay for) and not for the public information (what enriches the audience). If Rafael and Gallelio had to live under our system, who knows what may have gotten thrown overboard .

I don't mean to criticize capitalism. I, too, am a capitalist after all. I do mean to point out that capitalism is not conducive for art for the sake of art, study for the sake of study or the pursit of knowledge for the sake of knowing it.

This is probably why Wikipedia is such a unicorn. No ads and just information.

 

[midcan5]

America has a complex culture rooted in region, ethnicity, economics, and education. Since it goes all over the place consider only our culture when it comes to race relations: slavery, civil war, jim crow, kkk, civil rights, and on and on. http://www.usmessageboard.com/threads/dog-whistle-politics.450605/

People often limit culture to Art but it covers much more, even how art displays our culture. And Poetry is alive check this link. Don't see it? Be back.

'Topical: Culture consists of everything on a list of topics, or categories, such as social organization, religion, or economy
Historical: Culture is social heritage, or tradition, that is passed on to future generations
Behavioral: Culture is shared, learned human behavior, a way of life
Normative: Culture is ideals, values, or rules for living
Functional: Culture is the way humans solve problems of adapting to the environment or living together
Mental: Culture is a complex of ideas, or learned habits, that inhibit impulses and distinguish people from animals
Structural: Culture consists of patterned and interrelated ideas, symbols, or behaviors
Symbolic: Culture is based on arbitrarily assigned meanings that are shared by a society'

from Washington State University but original link no longer working.

"Sahlins argues against the sociobiologists’ neo-Hobbesian view of human nature as a war of all against all—with a brutal, competitive nature clashing with culture. This view of human nature has deep roots in Western cultural traditions, he writes, but it also projects a more modern capitalist view of self-interested, even selfish, behavior on both humanity and the rest of the natural world. In many other societies, people do not see the same sharp division between nature and culture. And all human societies have systems of kinship, which Sahlins defines as “mutuality of being,” meaning that “kinfolk are members of one another, intrinsic to each other’s identity and existence."" A Thousand Kinds of Life: Culture, Nature, and Anthropology | Dissent Magazine

"ENO: I guess the question I've always been really interested in, the one that underlies all the others, is alluded to somewhat in my book and I've written about it more since, which is to try to find a big theory about culture: why people do culture, what it does for us, what we actually call culture, which things do we include in that category, and which things do we leave out. I have two intentions in thinking about this. One is that I want to find a single language within which one can talk about fashion, cake decoration, Cezanne, abstract paintings, architecture ÷ within which one can discuss any what one might call nonfunctional, stylistic behavior ÷ which is what humans actually spend more and more of their time doing. The better off humans are, the more time they spend engaged in issues of style, essentially ÷ making choices between one look of things and another look of things. The first question is to say "is there one language within which we can talk about all of those things?" There doesn't have to be a separate language for fine art, so-called, separate from anything else we talk about. There should be one language that fits these things together." A Big Theory Of Culture | Edge.org


http://www.usmessageboard.com/threads/reading-that-opens-the-mind-books.85148/

 

[Disir]

Was told that at work yesterday by a kid, definitely a proud "latino" type. Hmm, I says. Asked what he meant. He said no sense of tradition, no "American" food we were just bland. Ah, but not so bland that he would go back South of the border though. I do have to agree with him though. I mean, it's not like this countries medical advances or space program matter much. I mean how can ya compete with the country that gave the world the donkey show right?

There is no "culture". For example, many cultures celebrate milestones like a quinceañera. So, when Americans talk about assimilation into our culture it's pretty devoid of meaning outside of McDonalds. This is a country that needs Hallmark to tell us what is important---as a whole.

The WCTU was instrumental in "assimilation". You were not white enough or Christian enough. By the 1920s there was a huge downward push to alter family structures. Of course the elite squad makes these decisions based on their needs. I think some people are lost without a sense of belonging and tradition and envy it. The rest of us are resourceful.

 

[gtopa1]

Nah; Merca is cool. It's got plenty of culture. I must visit there one day.

Greg

 

[MaryL]

Was told that at work yesterday by a kid, definitely a proud "latino" type. Hmm, I says. Asked what he meant. He said no sense of tradition, no "American" food we were just bland. Ah, but not so bland that he would go back South of the border though. I do have to agree with him though. I mean, it's not like this countries medical advances or space program matter much. I mean how can ya compete with the country that gave the world the donkey show right?

Wow, I hear ya. Mexicans are only concerned with their "culture". They are absolutely obsessed with IT. Most non Hispanic immigrants let it go and acclimate, and get on with a new life in a new world. Mexicans, they want to just pretend they are still on some dusty rancho in some forgotten part of the Sonoran desert and ignore the pre existing culture here. That behavior alienates and pisses off of non Hispanics that don't have such a glowing regard for...Mexican "culture". Neither they nor their liberal handlers seem to appreciate that subtle fact.

 

[Unkotare]

Was told that at work yesterday by a kid, definitely a proud "latino" type. Hmm, I says. Asked what he meant. He said no sense of tradition, no "American" food we were just bland. Ah, but not so bland that he would go back South of the border though. I do have to agree with him though. I mean, it's not like this countries medical advances or space program matter much. I mean how can ya compete with the country that gave the world the donkey show right?

Wow, I hear ya. Mexicans are only concerned with their "culture". They are absolutely obsessed with IT. Most non Hispanic immigrants let it go and acclimate, and get on with a new life in a new world. Mexicans, they want to just pretend they are still on some dusty rancho in some forgotten part of the Sonoran desert and ignore the pre existing culture here. That behavior alienates and pisses off of non Hispanics that don't have such a glowing regard for...Mexican "culture". Neither they nor their liberal handlers seem to appreciate that subtle fact.

Stop trying to pass your irrational hatred of Mexicans as some kind of 'truth.' The only truth is that you are a raging bigot.

 

[Owsi68]

Was told that at work yesterday by a kid, definitely a proud "latino" type. Hmm, I says. Asked what he meant. He said no sense of tradition, no "American" food we were just bland. Ah, but not so bland that he would go back South of the border though. I do have to agree with him though. I mean, it's not like this countries medical advances or space program matter much. I mean how can ya compete with the country that gave the world the donkey show right?

All this proves is that Hispanic have racists too. From what I have experienced, all groups have racist members. Makes sense since ignorance and stupidity are human, not ethnic, characteristics . I think it would help if we could all admit and acknowledge this rather than pointing to one moron (or gathering of morons) at a time as an example that the entire group is bad.

I think all ethnic groups have a right to be proud of their heritage and to share it. American culture is a mix of cultures meshed together and I think it's great.

But if any individuals feel a need to come here and tell others that the culture of your people is superior to America then you are most welcome to leave. If you think your people are superior to anyone for any reason, then you should just stay in or return to the chunk of land where your people live.

 

[koshergrl]

If we are lacking culture it is because our public schools have multi cultured it out of existence. When government workers are trained to be apologetic about their culture and ashamed of their history, you have a government intent on obliterating a culture.

 

[koshergrl]

The American culture at it's heart is a culture on individual freedom, spirituality, self reliance, industry, tenacity, and a pioneering spirit...combined with a strong warrior code. These are qualities that tyrants despise. That's why they fight so hard to beat it down, discredit it, and tell ppl they should be ashamed of their history as a nation.

 

[Crixus]

We had the argument again. By culture, he means there is no "American food", no pyramids and the like. I did have to give him that, but I also pointed out that we need to look beyond 800 BC or whatever. I can't say what our culture is, but having been to Mexico, Canada, and a few jaunts over seas to freedom loving countries I can say what ever our culture is I prefer it. Sure, we don't have pyramids, we have sky scrapers instead. I ton of them. We also innovate a ton in medical science, we have American footprints on the moon, and at one time in history no nation on earth ever made a move without considering America and what it will do. Mexico? Other then being a port of call on any given cruz lines destination and some good food they have contributed nothing to anything that I know of. I opened it up some to. We have allot of guys from Nigeria to. I asked the kid if they had culture and was told compared to America they did. I asked what it was, and can't repeat it, but it basically boiled down to Americans being stodgy white people. Personally, I like the Nigerian guys better. Much better workers, typically smarter then the average Mexican (they play dumb allot to get out of work) they work harder and the quality of work is typically better. Asking the Nigerian guy what he thinks about America, he will flat tell you he loves it because here, you write your own ticket. Don't have to worry about typical third world shit. Historically, America is pretty rich. I mean, our nation's history can be looked at in four chunks for the four region's of these United stated. Northeast, Southeast, Northwest, Southwest. If one feels our country lacks culture they need only go on a road trip. We may not have "American food" but we have other stuff.

 

[Crixus]

The American culture at it's heart is a culture on individual freedom, spirituality, self reliance, industry, tenacity, and a pioneering spirit...combined with a strong warrior code. These are qualities that tyrants despise. That's why they fight so hard to beat it down, discredit it, and tell ppl they should be ashamed of their history as a nation.

To true. The Nigerian guys where I work have a better handle on American history then most adults borne here do and many are not citizens.

 

[Correll]

Was told that at work yesterday by a kid, definitely a proud "latino" type. Hmm, I says. Asked what he meant. He said no sense of tradition, no "American" food we were just bland. Ah, but not so bland that he would go back South of the border though. I do have to agree with him though. I mean, it's not like this countries medical advances or space program matter much. I mean how can ya compete with the country that gave the world the donkey show right?

Wow, I hear ya. Mexicans are only concerned with their "culture". They are absolutely obsessed with IT. Most non Hispanic immigrants let it go and acclimate, and get on with a new life in a new world. Mexicans, they want to just pretend they are still on some dusty rancho in some forgotten part of the Sonoran desert and ignore the pre existing culture here. That behavior alienates and pisses off of non Hispanics that don't have such a glowing regard for...Mexican "culture". Neither they nor their liberal handlers seem to appreciate that subtle fact.

Stop trying to pass your irrational hatred of Mexicans as some kind of 'truth.' The only truth is that you are a raging bigot.

Would you agree that that Latino kid from the OP was being racist?

 

[Correll]

Here is some American culture, : Food.

 

[Correll]

More American culture. Story telling.