3 ms·

This is a bit older, but it's a citation: http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/multimedia/video/2008/wallace/fromm_erich_t.html http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/multimedia/video

This is a bit older, but it's a citation: http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/multimedia/video/2008/wallace/fromm_erich_t.html http://www.hrc.utexas.edu/multimedia/video/2008/wallace/from... > You said: "There has never been a better society than in the United States in 1958." What do you mean by that? > FROMM: Well, I mean it, of course, in relative terms. The history of man so far is nothing to brag about, from the standpoint of our ideas--and what I mean is, that in comparison with most other societies, our present-day American society has achieved things which are remarkable: material wealth, greater than for any other nation; a relative freedom from oppression; a relative mobility; a spreading of art, of music, of thought, which is also rather unique. So, I would say, compared with the 19th century, compared with most previous history, this is as good or better a society than any which man has ever made. But that doesn't mean it is such a good one. Not that I disagree with you, and a lot of things changed for the worse. But still, the US has a lot of tools to fix its problems that other nations never had, and currently don't have. If the US falls for good, it will have an incredible domino effect, I for one don't want to see that happening. Wherever you are, count your blessings -- not to rest on them, but to use them, fiercely.

lostgame 8y ago
The US's failure/fall is inevitable under its current 'leadership'. I think it's fall basically began to the rest of the world when that 'thing' was voted into office. Within the span of a night, the USA went from looking like one of the more progressive countries in the world, previously having an incredibly phenomenal African-American leader as a first, and was poised to have a female leader as a next first. This would have been a sign of a progressive, still-growing, still meaningful country, that other countries can look up to, respect, and learn from. And even as she 'swamped' Trump in the popular vote[1], the corrupt collegiate voting system in the USA, which is so easily bribed, went over and above the desires of the citizens of the country to instead swear in someone who is widely believed to be one of the more corrupt people in the country. [1] https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/21/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-popular-vote-final-count/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/21/politics/donald-trump-hillary... edit: would love to understand why the downvotes, any comment on that?
- calgoo 8y ago
  Bush Jr. also did a lot of destruction with the war on terror, and before that we had the war on drugs... Etc. Its something ongoing since the early days with the US (and most countries). Sometimes someone gets into power, but even if they wished to do great things, I get a feeling that they would not be allowed to do so.
- chrisco255 8y ago
  Yeah, I guess blacks must hate record low unemployment. [1] Lowest unemployment for the whole country since 1969 at 3.7% [2] 3.5-4.2 percent GDP growth [3] which Obama claimed Trump couldn't do, lacking a magic wand [4] But I guess if you're interested in virtue signaling, checking boxes and waxing poetic about what could have been...rather than looking at actual quality of life stats for Americans...I guess the U.S. might look like a lost cause. Oh and if you want to understand the electoral college, read The Federalist Papers [5]. It's far more resilient to corruption than a nationwide popular vote. [1] https://money.cnn.com/2018/06/01/news/economy/black-unemployment-rate-record-low/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2018/06/01/news/economy/black-unemploy... [2] https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/410081-kudlow-says-latest-job-numbers-proof-economic-boom-is-gathering-steam https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/410081-kudlow-says-latest-... [3] https://www.bea.gov/news/glance https://www.bea.gov/news/glance [4] https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/281936-obama-to-trump-what-magic-wand-do-you-have https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/281936-oba... [5] http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1786-1800/the-federalist-papers/ http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1786-1800/the-federalist...
- ameister14 8y ago
  I think you're getting downvotes because your statement brooked no argument, and people know if they comment they will be dragged into an off-topic back-and forth battle with a 9/11 truther that nobody could win.
- dcow 8y ago
  Despite what you want to believe, there is no virtue in having a first just to have a first. I’d rather have a kick-ass first female president than a “figurehead first”. You need to examine your virtues a little before getting uptight about missing a chance to signal. Further, the US is not great because it’s progressive. It’s great because we are allowed to be progressive. It’s great because it is structured to systemically fight oppression. Does that mean we are absolutely free of all possible oppressions? No. But we have invented a society that limits the damage oppressive factions can do. In other countries the government, the monopoly on power, is allowed to oppress (and we’re trending that way in the US, which is unfortunate) for the “greater good”. Because the government can’t do that in the US, it means we e.g. can’t silence homosexuals or transgender people arguing for equality. It means you can call Trump a thing and not have the police at your door. We are certainly not “the greatest country evar omgee” (I’m not into the imperialist stuff either). But the example we have set for the world has lead to the fastest expansion of human knowledge our species has ever seen. That’s pretty great.

lostgame 8y ago

The US's failure/fall is inevitable under its current 'leadership'. I think it's fall basically began to the rest of the world when that 'thing' was voted into office. Within the span of a night, the USA went from looking like one of the more progressive countries in the world, previously having an incredibly phenomenal African-American leader as a first, and was poised to have a female leader as a next first. This would have been a sign of a progressive, still-growing, still meaningful country, that other countries can look up to, respect, and learn from. And even as she 'swamped' Trump in the popular vote[1], the corrupt collegiate voting system in the USA, which is so easily bribed, went over and above the desires of the citizens of the country to instead swear in someone who is widely believed to be one of the more corrupt people in the country. [1] https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/21/politics/donald-trump-hillary-clinton-popular-vote-final-count/index.html https://www.cnn.com/2016/12/21/politics/donald-trump-hillary... edit: would love to understand why the downvotes, any comment on that?

calgoo 8y ago
Bush Jr. also did a lot of destruction with the war on terror, and before that we had the war on drugs... Etc. Its something ongoing since the early days with the US (and most countries). Sometimes someone gets into power, but even if they wished to do great things, I get a feeling that they would not be allowed to do so.
chrisco255 8y ago
Yeah, I guess blacks must hate record low unemployment. [1] Lowest unemployment for the whole country since 1969 at 3.7% [2] 3.5-4.2 percent GDP growth [3] which Obama claimed Trump couldn't do, lacking a magic wand [4] But I guess if you're interested in virtue signaling, checking boxes and waxing poetic about what could have been...rather than looking at actual quality of life stats for Americans...I guess the U.S. might look like a lost cause. Oh and if you want to understand the electoral college, read The Federalist Papers [5]. It's far more resilient to corruption than a nationwide popular vote. [1] https://money.cnn.com/2018/06/01/news/economy/black-unemployment-rate-record-low/index.html https://money.cnn.com/2018/06/01/news/economy/black-unemploy... [2] https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/410081-kudlow-says-latest-job-numbers-proof-economic-boom-is-gathering-steam https://thehill.com/hilltv/rising/410081-kudlow-says-latest-... [3] https://www.bea.gov/news/glance https://www.bea.gov/news/glance [4] https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/281936-obama-to-trump-what-magic-wand-do-you-have https://thehill.com/blogs/blog-briefing-room/news/281936-oba... [5] http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1786-1800/the-federalist-papers/ http://www.let.rug.nl/usa/documents/1786-1800/the-federalist...
ameister14 8y ago
I think you're getting downvotes because your statement brooked no argument, and people know if they comment they will be dragged into an off-topic back-and forth battle with a 9/11 truther that nobody could win.
dcow 8y ago
Despite what you want to believe, there is no virtue in having a first just to have a first. I’d rather have a kick-ass first female president than a “figurehead first”. You need to examine your virtues a little before getting uptight about missing a chance to signal. Further, the US is not great because it’s progressive. It’s great because we are allowed to be progressive. It’s great because it is structured to systemically fight oppression. Does that mean we are absolutely free of all possible oppressions? No. But we have invented a society that limits the damage oppressive factions can do. In other countries the government, the monopoly on power, is allowed to oppress (and we’re trending that way in the US, which is unfortunate) for the “greater good”. Because the government can’t do that in the US, it means we e.g. can’t silence homosexuals or transgender people arguing for equality. It means you can call Trump a thing and not have the police at your door. We are certainly not “the greatest country evar omgee” (I’m not into the imperialist stuff either). But the example we have set for the world has lead to the fastest expansion of human knowledge our species has ever seen. That’s pretty great.