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I sometimes wonder if it was an effect of the war. Seeing all the normal rules and power structures of society suddenly vanish, to the point that you can blow a

I sometimes wonder if it was an effect of the war. Seeing all the normal rules and power structures of society suddenly vanish, to the point that you can blow a hole in a 1000-year-old cathedral just by saying to your specialist "I need a door here, can you make it happen?", must have had a certain impact on how people think.

koheripbal 5y ago
I believe it's a consequence of the Cold War and the disinformation campaign that the Soviets and now the Russians engage in. It takes only a small number of operatives to organize grass roots groups that spread hate, cynicism, and division. It's easy to take amplify and escalate nascent conflict to ensure that discourse fails and that conflicts flare up
- RankingMember 5y ago
  I think the Vietnam war played a particularly strong role in damaging trust in government in the U.S., and we've never really come back from that. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/05/17/public-trust-in-government-1958-2021/ https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/05/17/public-trust...
  - bserge 5y ago
    Reading this chain, I'm reminded how we wonder, believe and think way more than do.
- StanislavPetrov 5y ago
  >I believe it's a consequence of the Cold War and the disinformation campaign that the Soviets and now the Russians engage in. The Russians, the US government, the Chinese government, the British government, and most other governments around the world. >It takes only a small number of operatives to organize grass roots groups that spread hate, cynicism, and division. It's easy to take amplify and escalate nascent conflict to ensure that discourse fails and that conflicts flare up That's true. And when you have a huge number of operatives, like the CIA, it's even easier to escalate nascent conflict. Read up on Conintelpro and watch the Church Committee hearings to get an inkling of what we were (and are) engaged in on a global scale.

koheripbal 5y ago

I believe it's a consequence of the Cold War and the disinformation campaign that the Soviets and now the Russians engage in. It takes only a small number of operatives to organize grass roots groups that spread hate, cynicism, and division. It's easy to take amplify and escalate nascent conflict to ensure that discourse fails and that conflicts flare up

RankingMember 5y ago
I think the Vietnam war played a particularly strong role in damaging trust in government in the U.S., and we've never really come back from that. https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/05/17/public-trust-in-government-1958-2021/ https://www.pewresearch.org/politics/2021/05/17/public-trust...
- bserge 5y ago
  Reading this chain, I'm reminded how we wonder, believe and think way more than do.
StanislavPetrov 5y ago
>I believe it's a consequence of the Cold War and the disinformation campaign that the Soviets and now the Russians engage in. The Russians, the US government, the Chinese government, the British government, and most other governments around the world. >It takes only a small number of operatives to organize grass roots groups that spread hate, cynicism, and division. It's easy to take amplify and escalate nascent conflict to ensure that discourse fails and that conflicts flare up That's true. And when you have a huge number of operatives, like the CIA, it's even easier to escalate nascent conflict. Read up on Conintelpro and watch the Church Committee hearings to get an inkling of what we were (and are) engaged in on a global scale.