4 ms·

It's not just California, it's the whole country that's in a mess. How did it get there? In a word, greed. In a few more words, people failing to understand,

It's not just California, it's the whole country that's in a mess. How did it get there? In a word, greed. In a few more words, people failing to understand, tolerate, care for, and stand up for each other, especially people different from them. "Me, me, me" does not work. "We" works.

chrischen 17y ago
Well America is a very individualistic society. Unless we have a massive cultural overhaul, most people will keep thinking in terms of "me."
- trafficlight 17y ago
  Of course we will. Everyone is afraid of being labeled a socialist. Or a communist or a facist since they are all used interchangably now.
- chrischen 17y ago
  The very concept of the "American Dream" is individualistic. Individualism is ingrained in our culture. We are all taught to think for ourselves, and thinking for ourselves usually winds up being thinking about ourselves for most people.
miked 17y ago
In a word, greed. In a few more words, people failing to understand, tolerate, care for, and stand up for each other, especially people different from them. Greed wasn't just invented. Ditto for the rest. A scientific explanation requires that the dependent variable Y be a function of the independent variable X, if X is claimed to be causative. Another thing I dislike about statements like this is that the speaker always comes out smelling like a rose. That may not have been your intention, but there it is.
jacoblyles 17y ago
That's an incredibly simplistic worldview that is expressed here.
yummyfajitas 17y ago
"Me me me" made us one of the richest countries in the world. In a bad recession, our unemployment is about as bad as most of the "we" countries. We are still far richer. The fact that we have booms and busts (and are currently in a bust) is not evidence that our system doesn't work.

4 ms·

It's not just California, it's the whole country that's in a mess. How did it get there? In a word, greed. In a few more words, people failing to understand,

by chris123 17y ago

chrischen 17y ago
Well America is a very individualistic society. Unless we have a massive cultural overhaul, most people will keep thinking in terms of "me."
- trafficlight 17y ago
  Of course we will. Everyone is afraid of being labeled a socialist. Or a communist or a facist since they are all used interchangably now.
- chrischen 17y ago
  The very concept of the "American Dream" is individualistic. Individualism is ingrained in our culture. We are all taught to think for ourselves, and thinking for ourselves usually winds up being thinking about ourselves for most people.
miked 17y ago
In a word, greed. In a few more words, people failing to understand, tolerate, care for, and stand up for each other, especially people different from them. Greed wasn't just invented. Ditto for the rest. A scientific explanation requires that the dependent variable Y be a function of the independent variable X, if X is claimed to be causative. Another thing I dislike about statements like this is that the speaker always comes out smelling like a rose. That may not have been your intention, but there it is.
jacoblyles 17y ago
That's an incredibly simplistic worldview that is expressed here.
yummyfajitas 17y ago
"Me me me" made us one of the richest countries in the world. In a bad recession, our unemployment is about as bad as most of the "we" countries. We are still far richer. The fact that we have booms and busts (and are currently in a bust) is not evidence that our system doesn't work.