4 ms·

That undercurrent of "government is bad" doesn't come from nowhere. It comes largely from Fox News, which has advertisers that benefit from this message. It com

That undercurrent of "government is bad" doesn't come from nowhere. It comes largely from Fox News, which has advertisers that benefit from this message. It comes from our politicians who accept bribes to drive legislation. It comes from a general distrust of the government because of mismanagement.

majormajor 6y ago
It's much older than Fox News and also has plenty of racial origins. A lot of people fought very hard for a century to try to prevent national government from being able to tell them they couldn't have slaves.
- nelsondev 6y ago
  The history goes farther back than the Civil War, and I don’t see strong evidence that it’s always racial in its origins. A lot of immigrants, both recent and historical, came to the USA because they didn’t like the government in their home country, Pilgrims as a key example, Falun Gong members leaving China as a more recent example. The general distrust of a strong government is still part of American culture.
ipnon 6y ago
Government may be bad, but private businesses are not accountable in the same way as an elected representative. It's the accountability I want. Can we expect to see any judicial recourse for this gross criminal negligence here?
Floegipoky 6y ago
There is an anarchistic streak that has run through the US since before it was founded. Partly due to the realities of life on the ever-moving frontier which defined a large portion of the country's history, partly from the political pressures which caused many to emigrate in the first place, partly from fighting a bloody war for independence against an overbearing government. Mistrust of government has always been a defining feature of American politics.
ardy42 6y ago
> That undercurrent of "government is bad" doesn't come from nowhere. It comes largely from Fox News It's reinforced by Fox News, but it's got far deeper roots. The current US political strain ascended with people like Barry Goldwater and Milton Friedman in the 60s (but has even older antecedents), culminating in Reagan and the modern Republican party in the 80s/90s. Fox News was founded 1996, and the closely-related right-wing talk radio universe only got its start about a decade earlier, I think.
justanotheranon 6y ago
https://harpers.org/archive/1964/11/the-paranoid-style-in-american-politics/ https://harpers.org/archive/1964/11/the-paranoid-style-in-am... The Paranoid Style in American Politics 1964. American politics has always been this way. It's simplistic to blame it all on Faux News, or the Civil War or a vague over generalized "racism." The paranoid style even predates the American Revolutionary War. You can draw a straight line from the anti-Mason and anti-Catholic populist movements from the 1800's to QAnon amd Antifa today. It's the exact same narrative, paranoid about vast and powerdul malevolent conspiracies being run by a cabal of the most powerful. The coup plotters names and methods of attack may change, but the structural narrative remains the same. The Paranoid style it's in our blood, it's a unique trait that defines us as Americans. Therefore I don't knock it and I hope we never lose it.
treeman79 6y ago
That’s crap. The idea for Minimal government is centuries old.

majormajor 6y ago

It's much older than Fox News and also has plenty of racial origins. A lot of people fought very hard for a century to try to prevent national government from being able to tell them they couldn't have slaves.

nelsondev 6y ago
The history goes farther back than the Civil War, and I don’t see strong evidence that it’s always racial in its origins. A lot of immigrants, both recent and historical, came to the USA because they didn’t like the government in their home country, Pilgrims as a key example, Falun Gong members leaving China as a more recent example. The general distrust of a strong government is still part of American culture.

ipnon 6y ago

Government may be bad, but private businesses are not accountable in the same way as an elected representative. It's the accountability I want. Can we expect to see any judicial recourse for this gross criminal negligence here?

Floegipoky 6y ago

There is an anarchistic streak that has run through the US since before it was founded. Partly due to the realities of life on the ever-moving frontier which defined a large portion of the country's history, partly from the political pressures which caused many to emigrate in the first place, partly from fighting a bloody war for independence against an overbearing government. Mistrust of government has always been a defining feature of American politics.

ardy42 6y ago

> That undercurrent of "government is bad" doesn't come from nowhere. It comes largely from Fox News It's reinforced by Fox News, but it's got far deeper roots. The current US political strain ascended with people like Barry Goldwater and Milton Friedman in the 60s (but has even older antecedents), culminating in Reagan and the modern Republican party in the 80s/90s. Fox News was founded 1996, and the closely-related right-wing talk radio universe only got its start about a decade earlier, I think.

justanotheranon 6y ago

https://harpers.org/archive/1964/11/the-paranoid-style-in-american-politics/ https://harpers.org/archive/1964/11/the-paranoid-style-in-am... The Paranoid Style in American Politics 1964. American politics has always been this way. It's simplistic to blame it all on Faux News, or the Civil War or a vague over generalized "racism." The paranoid style even predates the American Revolutionary War. You can draw a straight line from the anti-Mason and anti-Catholic populist movements from the 1800's to QAnon amd Antifa today. It's the exact same narrative, paranoid about vast and powerdul malevolent conspiracies being run by a cabal of the most powerful. The coup plotters names and methods of attack may change, but the structural narrative remains the same. The Paranoid style it's in our blood, it's a unique trait that defines us as Americans. Therefore I don't knock it and I hope we never lose it.

treeman79 6y ago

That’s crap. The idea for Minimal government is centuries old.