The U.S. isn

[UK2K]

Too much government control over everything...

And with a 200 year history of ****ing up everything it touches, you'd think we'd be wanting LESS government, not more.

[QUOTE]With costly healthcare, a stereotype of obesity and a culture of creatively fatty foods,

[fiddy]

Do we really need a scientific study to confirm this? Common knowledge

[falc39]

Very believable. In many ways we have been drifting away from a free society for a while now. Economically, journalistic, surveillance, etc. There's a clear message: those in government increasingly do not trust the citizens they govern over.

[falc39]

Your "public servants":

Washington's governing elites think we're all morons, a new study shows.

https://news.vice.com/article/washingtons-governing-elites-think-were-all-morons-a-new-study-says


Voters are angry at the political establishment and the political establishment doesn't much care for the voters either. In fact, they think voters are pretty damn stupid.

That's the conclusion of a new survey of America's unelected governing elites by political scientists at Johns Hopkins University.

[ItsMillerTime]

Do we really need a scientific study to confirm this? Common knowledge

Pretty much.

USA - Home of the bankers, land of the ignorant

[gigantes]

the idea that americans are a bunch of innocents caught in the web of big business and govt always makes me laugh.

we consume more commodities and produce more waste than just about everyone. we're the opposite of self-reliant and resourceful. we want all the latest toys, services and use of earth's finite resources to amuse ourselves with and make our lives seem worthwhile. each dollar we spend is a vote, and we are the ones who effectively elected everyone in govt and industry as it exists today. as a people, we're seen as some of the loudest and most self-important ones on the planet.

then we like to sit back and point the finger of blame at our 'overlords,' or other nations, or anyone / anything at all that prevents us from seeing ourselves for who we really are.

it's all so friggin' hilarious and pathetic at the same time..

[JEFFERSON MONEY]

[
the idea that americans are a bunch of innocents caught in the web of big business and govt always makes me laugh.

we consume more commodities and produce more waste than just about everyone. we're the opposite of self-reliant and resourceful. we want all the latest toys, services and use of earth's finite resources to amuse ourselves with and make our lives seem worthwhile. each dollar we spend is a vote, and we are the ones who effectively elected everyone in govt and industry as it exists today. as a people, we're seen as some of the loudest and most self-important ones on the planet.

then we like to sit back and point the finger of blame at our 'overlords,' or other nations, or anyone / anything at all that prevents us from seeing ourselves for who we really are.

it's all so friggin' hilarious and pathetic at the same time..

Thank you so much for this on point criticism brother Gigantes. And although it is sad and tragic there is beauty and hope in this lovely objective diagnosis :) and we are young Oh so young.

We should definitely try hard to raise the importance of every other individual and understand the true root of our self inflicted problems. And yes understanding the laws the Natives respected i and the importance of complete humility are things we ISHers shall Inshallah learn

"We are all just prisoners of our own device..... In the masters Chamber we gather for the feast.... They stab it with their steely knives but they just can't kill the ......."

[nightprowler10]

the idea that americans are a bunch of innocents caught in the web of big business and govt always makes me laugh.

we consume more commodities and produce more waste than just about everyone. we're the opposite of self-reliant and resourceful. we want all the latest toys, services and use of earth's finite resources to amuse ourselves with and make our lives seem worthwhile. each dollar we spend is a vote, and we are the ones who effectively elected everyone in govt and industry as it exists today. as a people, we're seen as some of the loudest and most self-important ones on the planet.

then we like to sit back and point the finger of blame at our 'overlords,' or other nations, or anyone / anything at all that prevents us from seeing ourselves for who we really are.

it's all so friggin' hilarious and pathetic at the same time..

:applause:

We have exactly what we deserve. The 2 shitheads running for President right now are VERY representative of the country. Hillary v Trump IS democracy in action.

[Doomsday Dallas]

:applause:

We have exactly what we deserve. The 2 shitheads running for President right now are VERY representative of the country. Hillary v Trump IS democracy in action.


I just think they are representative of the Baby Boomer Generation.

All the bull$hit and every negative characteristic that comes along with that generation... Tump & Hillary are the absolute epitome of it.

[JtotheIzzo]

I just think they are representative of the Baby Boomer Generation.

All the bull$hit and every negative characteristic that comes along with that generation... Tump & Hillary are the absolute epitome of it.

I say the same thing all the time, its amazing that the Greatest Generation can still be called that when they spawned these collosal f*cktarads.

[Jailblazers7]

Too much government control over everything...

And with a 200 year history of ****ing up everything it touches, you'd think we'd be wanting LESS government, not more.



http://www.prosperity.com/#!/ranking

^ Link to study

Based on the description of Canada as #1 it seems kinda dumb. It seems to be based on public sentiment.

[Nanners]

the idea that americans are a bunch of innocents caught in the web of big business and govt always makes me laugh.

we consume more commodities and produce more waste than just about everyone. we're the opposite of self-reliant and resourceful. we want all the latest toys, services and use of earth's finite resources to amuse ourselves with and make our lives seem worthwhile. each dollar we spend is a vote, and we are the ones who effectively elected everyone in govt and industry as it exists today. as a people, we're seen as some of the loudest and most self-important ones on the planet.

then we like to sit back and point the finger of blame at our 'overlords,' or other nations, or anyone / anything at all that prevents us from seeing ourselves for who we really are.

it's all so friggin' hilarious and pathetic at the same time..

i definitely agree that people are not innocent, but i think we should acknowledge are powerful forces working against us. yes we want all of these things, but WHY do we want these things?

hundreds of billions of dollars are spent advertising products that people dont really need, and these ads are very effective at manipulating our primitive monkey brains into thinking that we need these things. there are ads plastered on every website, there are ads during every commercial break, there are ads injected into tv shows and movies, there are ads on every newspaper and magazine, there are billboards everywhere, there are ads on the radio...unless you live on a farm in the middle of nowhere you are absolutely inundated with ads.

if big business wasnt constantly bombarding people with ads for things they dont need, how much would we want all those things?

adam curtis has a really good documentaries on this topic - century of self (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ3RzGoQC4s)

[Jailblazers7]

i definitely agree that people are not innocent, but i think we should acknowledge are powerful forces working against us. yes we want all of these things, but WHY do we want these things?

hundreds of billions of dollars are spent advertising products that people dont really need, and these ads are very effective at manipulating our primitive monkey brains into thinking that we need these things. there are ads plastered on every website, there are ads during every commercial break, there are ads injected into tv shows and movies, there are ads on every newspaper and magazine, there are billboards everywhere, there are ads on the radio...unless you live on a farm in the middle of nowhere you are absolutely inundated with ads.

if big business wasnt constantly bombarding people with ads for things they dont need, how much would we want all those things?

adam curtis has a really good documentaries on this topic - century of self (https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=eJ3RzGoQC4s)

I think that's a bit of a cop out. We are way less susceptible because we understand we are being inundated. We are more susceptible to in program ads because we want to be like the characters we see.

I think the more pernicious stuff is how we are subtlety nudge with in-store placement and steering us towards the key products.

[Nanners]

I think that's a bit of a cop out. We are way less susceptible because we understand we are being inundated. We are more susceptible to in program ads because we want to be like the characters we see.

I think the more pernicious stuff is how we are subtlety nudge with in-store placement and steering us towards the key products.

im not trying to say thats the *only* reason for the way things are, thats why i started my post with the preface "i definitely agree that people are not innocent".

just saying marketing plays a big role in driving consumption. not just the in your face stuff, a lot of it is very subliminal and hard to detect, speaking only to the more primal parts of your psyche. i think you would enjoy the documentary i linked, its really long but its great if you tackle it in smaller chunks. the ways that marketing has infiltrated all levels of society are really fascinating.

[gigantes]

@nanners,
i hear that protest, but at the same time i think ad inundation is to be expected in a tech-based capitalist system.

it's not like there's some secret cloning facility buried in northern canada creating hordes of the world's salesman, marketing types and executives to manipulate us, and if only we could blow that place to hell, things would settle down. rather, it's just segments of the populace constantly filling those niches that are bound to exist, anyway.

there's really nobody to blame IMO. the whole, complex scenerio is based on centuries, really millennia, of things which happened before. at the same time i think that's a problem for the average joe, because our brains are still tribal in design and we're used to other tribes f-cking around with us at need. us and them, but more often us versus them.

now, i tend to think that people who are able to see these mechanisms at work tend to be better at letting aggravation go and not feeling so caught up in the consumptive american lifestyle. in general i would think they become people who are more self-sufficient, need less to feel happy, develop skill / pleasure at crafts and making their own commodities. there are little communities like that and plenty of individuals good at those things (for example the "tiny mobile house" people), but if the body of americans was peopled by such folks, the USA would be a hell of a lot different nation, wouldn't it?

then again, whether such a radical shift would work smoothly with national and world economics / politics, i sure as heck don't know..





http://cdn.homedesignlover.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/14-lomo-out.jpg



http://cdn.homedesignlover.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/3-small-inside.jpg



http://cdn.homedesignlover.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/11/6-kitchen-arrange.jpg

[gigantes]

https://s22.postimg.org/opyadnuk1/14566576_119247278540202_2937840123900854272_n.jpg


any arguments...?

[ILLsmak]

It sucks because when I was younger I thought America was too educated to be brainwashed. I was wrong.

Anything we do, it's because we chose it. We don't have 100% free choice as we pretend... but we do get a chance to make an impact. The only way we lose that is if we give it up or if we are manipulated. And we have been, and that's why things are the way they are.

It's offensive to see vulnerable people manipulated, but this isn't even that, this is people who should know better. Of course, on the other hand, they have done years and years of study on how to manipulate people.

-Smak