6 ms·

Seriously!?!? omg lol!! .... Hmm, actually after a tiny bit of rumination on that new information, that actually could explain a lot.

Miner49er 6y ago
Don't most countries teach that their kids they are good country? It's basically just patriotism.
- the-dude 6y ago
  Well, Zhe Germans, not so much.
- jstanley 6y ago
  No, most countries don't teach patriotism in schools.
- coldtea 6y ago
  >Don't most countries teach that their kids they are good country? Not such level BS. The teach the country's history, they try to portray most wars/disputes etc. from the perspective of the country (though most also allow for balance), and so on. Few, if any, countries tells students that they're some unique exception upon the world, or have some burdern to lead the others. Colonial Britain and WWII-era Germany comes to mind.
  - true_religion 6y ago
    Also, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal to name a few other countries with a chip on their shoulder. Prideful counties are hardly unheard of in the world.
    - coldtea 6y ago
      Yeah, was thinking of European countries, that I mostly know of.
JohnBooty 6y ago
Yeah, this is pretty standard in the USA. Or at least it was when I went to school. I was born in the 1970s... I imagine it has changed some. Good news is that this BS is generally NOT taught at a college/university level. Which explains a lot about our country... and our divide... as well. A large percentage of the country has been exposed to education that does not teach such ridiculous beliefs. So we have "educated" folks with a slightly more realistic view of the world. And then "everybody else" who has only been taught that America is a magical place.
- ymbeld 6y ago
  The great divide: the ones who think America is Great, and the ones who merely think that their own tertiary education group is Great.
  - everyone 6y ago
    My god what an unconstructive stance. I have just now learned about this idea of US exceptionalism, and have just read the linked wikipedia article about it. Apparently it is not supposed to merely be an ineffable magical quality. It is supposed to have some basis in reality. So it can be easily dispelled with a little bit of data. For someone with 3rd level education it should be trivial. Also, purely anecdotal, but several US HN users have responded to me saying they were actually taught this nonsense in their 1st and 2nd level school education.
    - ymbeld 6y ago
      I haven’t published a stance.
  - JohnBooty 6y ago
    and the ones who merely think that their own tertiary education group is Great. I think you managed to combine strawman and false dichotomy fallacies there. Kudos, I suppose. There are plenty of folks with postsecondary education who think highly of America, and I'm one of them. It is highly flawed, and also a pretty good place. We get a lot of things right. Let me be crystal clear: what I'm opposed to is simplistic, jingoistic, one-sided "America is the greatest thing ever" fantasies of American exceptionalism. This is how my primary and secondary education, in a fairly decent public school district in the 80s and 90s, generally described America. And that's mild, as far as "American exceptionalism" goes. My dad's wife is a member of a radical Christian sect. On a regular basis, she mails me glossy pamphlets and brochures describing how America's greatness is literally foretold in the Bible. There are significant numbers of Americans who believe this wholeheartedly. There is a clear divide between such delusional fantasies, and a more nuanced view of America. But that doesn't mean all of us on the rational side of the divide think it's an awful place or something like that. As for me, I don't even have a postsecondary degree. Just some postsecondary education. Not exactly ivory tower stuff. But some of it was eye opening. Ideally our public primary/secondary schools would just teach America's flaws as well as its strengths.

Miner49er 6y ago

Don't most countries teach that their kids they are good country? It's basically just patriotism.

the-dude 6y ago
Well, Zhe Germans, not so much.
jstanley 6y ago
No, most countries don't teach patriotism in schools.
coldtea 6y ago
>Don't most countries teach that their kids they are good country? Not such level BS. The teach the country's history, they try to portray most wars/disputes etc. from the perspective of the country (though most also allow for balance), and so on. Few, if any, countries tells students that they're some unique exception upon the world, or have some burdern to lead the others. Colonial Britain and WWII-era Germany comes to mind.
- true_religion 6y ago
  Also, Ghana, Nigeria, and Senegal to name a few other countries with a chip on their shoulder. Prideful counties are hardly unheard of in the world.
  - coldtea 6y ago
    Yeah, was thinking of European countries, that I mostly know of.

JohnBooty 6y ago

Yeah, this is pretty standard in the USA. Or at least it was when I went to school. I was born in the 1970s... I imagine it has changed some. Good news is that this BS is generally NOT taught at a college/university level. Which explains a lot about our country... and our divide... as well. A large percentage of the country has been exposed to education that does not teach such ridiculous beliefs. So we have "educated" folks with a slightly more realistic view of the world. And then "everybody else" who has only been taught that America is a magical place.

ymbeld 6y ago
The great divide: the ones who think America is Great, and the ones who merely think that their own tertiary education group is Great.
- everyone 6y ago
  My god what an unconstructive stance. I have just now learned about this idea of US exceptionalism, and have just read the linked wikipedia article about it. Apparently it is not supposed to merely be an ineffable magical quality. It is supposed to have some basis in reality. So it can be easily dispelled with a little bit of data. For someone with 3rd level education it should be trivial. Also, purely anecdotal, but several US HN users have responded to me saying they were actually taught this nonsense in their 1st and 2nd level school education.
  - ymbeld 6y ago
    I haven’t published a stance.
- JohnBooty 6y ago
  and the ones who merely think that their own tertiary education group is Great. I think you managed to combine strawman and false dichotomy fallacies there. Kudos, I suppose. There are plenty of folks with postsecondary education who think highly of America, and I'm one of them. It is highly flawed, and also a pretty good place. We get a lot of things right. Let me be crystal clear: what I'm opposed to is simplistic, jingoistic, one-sided "America is the greatest thing ever" fantasies of American exceptionalism. This is how my primary and secondary education, in a fairly decent public school district in the 80s and 90s, generally described America. And that's mild, as far as "American exceptionalism" goes. My dad's wife is a member of a radical Christian sect. On a regular basis, she mails me glossy pamphlets and brochures describing how America's greatness is literally foretold in the Bible. There are significant numbers of Americans who believe this wholeheartedly. There is a clear divide between such delusional fantasies, and a more nuanced view of America. But that doesn't mean all of us on the rational side of the divide think it's an awful place or something like that. As for me, I don't even have a postsecondary degree. Just some postsecondary education. Not exactly ivory tower stuff. But some of it was eye opening. Ideally our public primary/secondary schools would just teach America's flaws as well as its strengths.