Much of American Culture Sucks. Can We At Least Be Honest About That?

[cali]

Sprawl
Energy overconsumption
frenzied consumerism
Diet
Factory farming
Emphasis on being entertained
addiction to television
anti-intellectual tradition
religious fanaticism
lack of connection to the past
our education syste

And these are all products of the American ethos of exceptionalism.

[Reader Rabbit]

1. What about Elvis?

And chicken fried steak?

[cali]

2. Suck.

[YOY]

4. and David Cross!

n/t

[Xenotime]

3. agreed. america has never been smacked around and told "no"

[Tangerine LaBamba]

5. One more

Internet message board addiction.........................

:popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn::popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn::popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn::popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn::popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn::popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn::popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn::popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn::popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn::popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn::popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn: :popcorn:

[monmouth]

6. Wasn't that way much until........television....Go ahead, flame, but before TV

one conversed and IT became an art, people played cards, kids learned to play cards (improving math skills among other things), articles in magazines, wonderful books and newspapers, listened to wonderful radio and used our imaginations. Sorry, couldn't resist. Oh, and kids played outside with no supervision, didn't have to find a sponsor for the ball game on the corner lot, and their parents didn't litigate every time little Johnny or Sue got hurt...

[cali]

9. I certainly won't argue that- let alone flame you for saying it

My parents wouldn't have a tv until I was 11 and my youngest sibling was 8. And it was strictly doled out after that. I brought up my son without tv until he was in his teens. and my kid absolutely played outside without adult supervision- from the time he was 6.

[monmouth]

11. If you enjoyed radio like I did try www.live365.com. It's great...n/t

[maxsolomon]

7. however:

west coast wine (sorry east coast - that's not a wine grape)
brewing renaissance
jazz
blues
rock (& roll)
hip hop
hollywood (sometimes)

[rwenos]

12. More "Howevers"

George Gershwin
Lake Tahoe
Santa Barbara
San Juan Island, WA
The Hollywood Bowl
Musso & Frank Grille, Sunset Blvd., Hollywood

[cali]

13. there are lots of good things that have arisen from the culture but they aren't dominant

strains in the culture.

[rwenos]

14. Dominance of Mediocrity

You're right, the yahoos are in control right now. Only way to fight back is to find politicians like Big Bill who can talk to them without scaring them. I LOVE Barack, but he scares White Trash big time. So does Hillary. So do most liberal politicians. So do cities, ideas, Europe, classical music, urban culture and People Who Don't Look Like Me.

They may go back under the rock they came from in 1980, after November 5. We can only hope.

[cali]

15. this didn't just happen.

it's been going on for a long time. And it's not really about "white trash" either. It's about American exceptionalism and entitlement- at least to a large degree.

[rwenos]

16. "America is the New Jerusalem"

I'm no Biblical scholar, but wasn't Reagan the first president who started referring to America as "the City on the Hill" from the New Testament? Leads right to American exceptionalism, which is the foundation of Christian Dominionism and christofascism.

We're on the same page, Cali.

[provis99]

8. ok, so America is the birthplace of white trash culture

At least we contributed something to the world!:sarcasm:

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

10. If you're not a winner, you're a loser

a sense of entitlement to instant gratification

and the belief that might makes right

(of course there are many Americans who do not feel this way)

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

17. I love it when people complain about TV...

on internet message boards.

[JuniperLea]

18. Oh, the irony!

:rofl:

Yeah, that is rich!

The funny thing about TV is there are these little buttons that give you choice! Amazing creatures, these buttons. In my area, I skip numbers 2 - 13, and head right for 28 and above, where they keep PBS and CSPAN.

Not all television is dumb. Not by a long shot. In the past week alone I watched a fascinating update on String Theory, a biography of Pavarotti, a US presidential debate, and one highly-rated film noir from the '40's. I also enjoy watching Bill Moyers on Friday nights.

What a trashy whore I am!

:rofl:

[HiFructosePronSyrup]

19. TV is just another medium.

People who refuse to watch TV remind me of people who refuse to read books.

[Mist]

20. I think some of the examples you list have a common cause:

Sprawl, energy consumption, consumerism, diet, and factory farming are all producer-driven, most assuredly not consumer, or market, driven. That has distorted our culture, our economy, and our political system.

As for Culture with a capital "c," we have little to be ashamed about in terms of our literature, music, or art. IMHO.