3 ms·

I moved back to the US after about half a decade in Europe. It's not as clear cut I think. The first thing you'll see getting off the plane in Brussels is the

by trgn 9y ago

I moved back to the US after about half a decade in Europe. It's not as clear cut I think. The first thing you'll see getting off the plane in Brussels is the military in full get-up, with guns that look like they'll blow your limbs clean off. You will find them patrolling in the city centers of many cities as well. This reminded me of my trips to the middle east and North Africa. I have never seen this in the US. I have never seen a military parade on the 4th. On Bastille Day, in Paris, the military will parade and drive their tanks down the streets and it will be broadcast on national TV. You're supposed to get all mushy when the foreign legion remains as one when leaving the traffic circle, the commentators will remind you. I've seen a whole bunch of flag worshiping in Barcelona and Spain on the news the last couple of weeks. I don't necessarily disagree with you, but the jingoism you refer to manifests itself in different ways in other countries. I don't think it's a difference in kind, rather in degree.

throwaway2016a 9y ago
> I have never seen a military parade on the 4th. My experience has been there is usually a presence from the local base if there is one but they are not the focus of the parade. Right in there with there between the Revolutionary War reenactors and the Boy Scouts. Edit: Though one could argue that war reenactors are glorifying war and the Boy Scouts is essentially training camp to get boys interested in the military at a young age.
Balgair 9y ago
The US is a weird 'country' when compared to the other 'Western' countries in Europe and South America. We're more 'commonwealth-y' than France or Argentina. We don't have a national police/gendarme and are very against the thought of forming one. Just look at the mess of jurisdictions that the FBI and ATF have, let alone any other agency. You'd have to re-write the constitution to get one. Our states really are sovereign in their own rights. In Colorado you can smoke as much weed as you like, but you can't even ride a bike if your BAC is over 0.05%. In Texas, you can drink in the car as long as you are 'sober'. California has some pretty strange laws over water rights and property tax. Pennsylvania won't allow you to buy liquor in certain counties on Sunday. The laws here are very strange comparatively. Each state has it's own 'army' in a kinda, sorta, not really, but yes really way. Navies differ, but Wyoming seriously wanted a battleship for a lake of theirs. Slavery is it's own mess of evil, but also demonstrates how different the US can be. We had a war over that one, still managed to keep on humming, kinda. Our second amendment is also insane to foreigners except the Swiss. Some states think it's fine, some don't. There's a bit of a spat going on right now over it, what with the massacres and all. We sure do love our flag though, that is true. Many people say that's because we are so diverse, we need something to keep together. I say it's the English language, football, and American Idol. Oh, also the racism. That seems to 'help' too. Also, we've never had sustained conscription here, like in South Korea, Italy, Austria, Israel, etc. Only ~7% of us have ever served in the armed forces in any way. I couldn't find easy numbers for other countries, but that 18-20 year old male conscription laws would skew the percentages higher, I'd think.
- rusk 9y ago
  we need something to keep together. I say it's the English language, football, and American Idol Based on my own stay in the USA a number of years ago, and I don't mean this in any bad way, the dollar has a primacy in American culture that isn't so matched in other countries. What I'm describing is something more subtle than "money" or "wealth" which are pretty much universally human, but that the dollar as a fundamental unit of exchange of worth is universally regarded as a fundament. The faith that Americans have in their currency, regardless of social class or ethnic background.
- dctoedt 9y ago
  > In Texas, you can drink in the car as long as you are 'sober'. Not true. See, e.g., http://www.texasdwisite.com/dwi-blog/2014/november/can-a-passenger-drink-alcohol-in-a-car-/ http://www.texasdwisite.com/dwi-blog/2014/november/can-a-pas...

by trgn 9y ago

throwaway2016a 9y ago

> I have never seen a military parade on the 4th. My experience has been there is usually a presence from the local base if there is one but they are not the focus of the parade. Right in there with there between the Revolutionary War reenactors and the Boy Scouts. Edit: Though one could argue that war reenactors are glorifying war and the Boy Scouts is essentially training camp to get boys interested in the military at a young age.

Balgair 9y ago

The US is a weird 'country' when compared to the other 'Western' countries in Europe and South America. We're more 'commonwealth-y' than France or Argentina. We don't have a national police/gendarme and are very against the thought of forming one. Just look at the mess of jurisdictions that the FBI and ATF have, let alone any other agency. You'd have to re-write the constitution to get one. Our states really are sovereign in their own rights. In Colorado you can smoke as much weed as you like, but you can't even ride a bike if your BAC is over 0.05%. In Texas, you can drink in the car as long as you are 'sober'. California has some pretty strange laws over water rights and property tax. Pennsylvania won't allow you to buy liquor in certain counties on Sunday. The laws here are very strange comparatively. Each state has it's own 'army' in a kinda, sorta, not really, but yes really way. Navies differ, but Wyoming seriously wanted a battleship for a lake of theirs. Slavery is it's own mess of evil, but also demonstrates how different the US can be. We had a war over that one, still managed to keep on humming, kinda. Our second amendment is also insane to foreigners except the Swiss. Some states think it's fine, some don't. There's a bit of a spat going on right now over it, what with the massacres and all. We sure do love our flag though, that is true. Many people say that's because we are so diverse, we need something to keep together. I say it's the English language, football, and American Idol. Oh, also the racism. That seems to 'help' too. Also, we've never had sustained conscription here, like in South Korea, Italy, Austria, Israel, etc. Only ~7% of us have ever served in the armed forces in any way. I couldn't find easy numbers for other countries, but that 18-20 year old male conscription laws would skew the percentages higher, I'd think.

rusk 9y ago
we need something to keep together. I say it's the English language, football, and American Idol Based on my own stay in the USA a number of years ago, and I don't mean this in any bad way, the dollar has a primacy in American culture that isn't so matched in other countries. What I'm describing is something more subtle than "money" or "wealth" which are pretty much universally human, but that the dollar as a fundamental unit of exchange of worth is universally regarded as a fundament. The faith that Americans have in their currency, regardless of social class or ethnic background.
dctoedt 9y ago
> In Texas, you can drink in the car as long as you are 'sober'. Not true. See, e.g., http://www.texasdwisite.com/dwi-blog/2014/november/can-a-passenger-drink-alcohol-in-a-car-/ http://www.texasdwisite.com/dwi-blog/2014/november/can-a-pas...