Ask Me Help Desk - When did things change?

It seems to me that--once upon a time--this country stood more or less unified. Sure, we've always bickered some amongst ourselves, but overall, it seemed like Americans as a whole were pretty much on the same side. Or at least petty differences didn't have us all up in arms.

Nowadays, that spirit of unity seems to be eroding. I guess I started picking up on it in the late 80's or so. No longer are groups simply saying, "Hey! We want to be accepted, too!" Now, they are screaming their superiority over all other groups, and demanding that things be THEIR way to the exclusion of all other ways. The spirit of compromise is gasping its dying breath, and no one is paying enough attention to start CPR. It almost seems as if people are now only willing to sacrifice or give in a little if doing so will cause their opponent more grief than themselves.

I don't have any concrete examples to give you, but I don't think I'm wrong. It's a rare person who will give an opponent ANY credit for something they might've done that was good. It's got to be all or nothing. Politics is a perfect example. The prevailing wisdom says that there's no way in he! A Democrat/Republican could have a decent, workable idea, simply on the basis that they are a Democrat/Republican!

For all the talk about tolerance, I see precious little of it from anyone. Maybe that's why the perceived and alleged "attacks" are so strong. After all, if you slam a guy up against a wall, what's left for him to do?

Quote:

Originally Posted by kindj

It seems to me that--once upon a time--this country stood more or less unified. Sure, we've always bickered some amongst ourselves, but overall, it seemed like Americans as a whole were pretty much on the same side. Or at least petty differences didn't have us all up in arms.

Nowadays, that spirit of unity seems to be eroding. I guess I started picking up on it in the late 80's or so. No longer are groups simply saying, "Hey! We want to be accepted, too!" Now, they are screaming their superiority over all other groups, and demanding that things be THEIR way to the exclusion of all other ways. The spirit of compromise is gasping its dying breath, and no one is paying enough attention to start CPR. It almost seems as if people are now only willing to sacrifice or give in a little if doing so will cause their opponent more grief than themselves.

I don't have any concrete examples to give you, but I don't think I'm wrong. It's a rare person who will give an opponent ANY credit for something they might've done that was good. It's gotta be all or nothing. Politics is a perfect example. The prevailing wisdom says that there's no way in he!! a Democrat/Republican could have a decent, workable idea, simply on the basis that they are a Democrat/Republican!

For all the talk about tolerance, I see precious little of it from anyone. Maybe that's why the perceived and alleged "attacks" are so strong. After all, if you slam a guy up against a wall, what's left for him to do?

Immanual Kant, perhaps one of the most abstract of the great philosophers, reminds us that "examples are the go-cart of judgment". For we naturally think in examples and if a person cannot give any examples it is a sign that they may be wrong.

So I’ll just speculate too and say that I believe that there is just the illusion of a more fractured population because of media and the internet providing so much more information.

I would have to say that any unity (if there ever was any )in America eroded shortly after the Revolution . The debates over the nature of the American experiment were fierce . Although the founders were able to craft an imperfect compromise, there was hardly a consensus that our Constitution was the sacred scroll it is perceived to be. Imperfect ? Indeed . The silliness included the location of the capital in exchange for Hamilton's financial plan . Much of the patchwork unravelled in a generation ,and the civil war determined some of the details .

Back then political discourse was much harsher. The print press was the equivalent to the internet today. There was no such thing as an unbiased press ,and many of the founders took pseudonyms to attack each other . I guess the most famous example of where this led was the Burr-Hamilton duel .

I think this image of American unity is in our conscious because the WWII experience formed the foundations of how our parents and grandparents viewed the country and that was passed down to us. But I think that was a fleeting moment that may never be captured again.

A good book

Perhaps so. Growing up in the 40's and 50's, perhaps I saw unity as the norm. Although unity was seriously damaged in the Viet Nam war, I think it started to go down hill after the invasion of Iraq. The Democrats can't afford to have George Bush succeed. Reagan did enough damage to their special interests. Even though victory in Iraq is crucial to our national interests, in fact to the survival of civilization, they returned to the self fulfilling prophecies that undid our military victory in Viet Nam.

History is written by the winners. I am very afraid the word on George Bush will be the futility of resisting Allah.

Quote:

Originally Posted by labman

History is written by the winners. I am very afraid the word on George Bush will be the futility of resisting Allah.

Man, I hope you're wrong.

If they decide to wage their war here instead of there, I'm thinking (hoping) that there's still enough good ol' boys who'll grab their .30-30's and teach the jihadists a little lesson in manners.