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I believe you are comparing your Canadian upbringing, which reflected an adolescent perspective on a broad spectrum of society, to your adult experiences in a t

I believe you are comparing your Canadian upbringing, which reflected an adolescent perspective on a broad spectrum of society, to your adult experiences in a tech bubble. This is a pretty obvious fallacy (the tech bubble is a highly self-selected population of intelligent, well-educated people who like to build things). I grew up in suburban Minnesota. It's not exactly ambition central, but it's miles ahead of small town America. You're talking about a country that elected Trump here. It's afraid of immigrants, "foreign" religions (as though American Christianity weren't a shambling syncretic nightmare), doesn't believe in evolution, and believes overwhelmingly in hell. We incarcerate more of our citizens per capita than any other developed country. We're not exactly free-wheeling dream seekers, at the median. We ridicule weird people, we spit on people who fail, and we hate anyone who is ugly, awkward, old, or otherwise socially disadvantaged. Getting ahead is seen as fine - be ambitious! - but only because we think our friends are "winners" and won't be hurt by the risks they take, which is nonsense. We also don't prize reflectiveness as a culture, so when people gain sufficient experience to learn that this perspective is idiotic, they don't internalize it. I'm not a giant fan of American culture, and I'm sad to see that anyone from Canada (I watch your Supreme Court proceedings for entertainment, full disclosure!) would idolize anything about they way Americans do things.

sheepmullet 8y ago
> You're talking about a country that elected Trump here. A move clearly demonstrating the willingness to take a risk. That kind of boldness is not a thing in Canada. > It's afraid of immigrants And is that unreasonable? Why? It's obvious immigration can do serious harm to the lower and middle classes. What's surprising is how open they are to immigration despite the risk. For example most of the western world enforces stricter skilled visa requirements. > "foreign" religions And again is that unreasonable? Why? Even so the US is incredibly accomodating - just look at the Amish for a good example of tolerance. > We incarcerate more of our citizens per capita than any other developed country. Because Americans are more willing to take risks. Good and bad. > and we hate anyone who is ugly, awkward, old, or otherwise socially disadvantaged. Who is we? I certainly don't think that's true. Maybe you could argue indifference? > I'm not a giant fan of American culture You seem to only see the negatives. Why is that?

sheepmullet 8y ago

> You're talking about a country that elected Trump here. A move clearly demonstrating the willingness to take a risk. That kind of boldness is not a thing in Canada. > It's afraid of immigrants And is that unreasonable? Why? It's obvious immigration can do serious harm to the lower and middle classes. What's surprising is how open they are to immigration despite the risk. For example most of the western world enforces stricter skilled visa requirements. > "foreign" religions And again is that unreasonable? Why? Even so the US is incredibly accomodating - just look at the Amish for a good example of tolerance. > We incarcerate more of our citizens per capita than any other developed country. Because Americans are more willing to take risks. Good and bad. > and we hate anyone who is ugly, awkward, old, or otherwise socially disadvantaged. Who is we? I certainly don't think that's true. Maybe you could argue indifference? > I'm not a giant fan of American culture You seem to only see the negatives. Why is that?