Political Forums - American Greatness/American Decline

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American Greatness/American Decline

In Robbin's thread "Current GOP Unmoored To American History", the article he linked to asked a basic and important question.

"Whatever their particular differences, all Republicans candidates, even those not named Trump, promise to make America great again. That implies, of course, that America is in decline now. That narrative of decline is an historical argument: We were great once, but we aren't any more. But that declension story begs a basic question: when, exactly, was America better than it is now? And what, precisely, defines the greatness we have lost?"

I've heard this complaint a lot. I'm sure we all have but I've never heard anyone give any specifics and certainly never propose any concrete solutions. I think the reason is pretty obvious. The people who imply or even flat out say that America has lost its greatness are offering up a bucket for their listeners to pour all their personal anger and frustrations into. The speaker is "telling it like it is" because, for myriad reasons, many of us already feel that way.

So anyway, this thread is offered as a forum for anyone, but particularly the Righties, to give specific answers to the questions quoted from the article. Have at it.

http://politicalchat.org/showthread.php?t=9655

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven...b_8194832.html

Glass half full here.

I dunno, just my $0.02 worth. The greatness we have lost is measured in the polarization of parties we now have. Maybe it always been that way, but it sure doesn't seem like it to me.

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boreas (Post 286843)

In Robbin's thread "Current GOP Unmoored To American History", the article he linked to asked a basic and important question.

"Whatever their particular differences, all Republicans candidates, even those not named Trump, promise to make America great again. That implies, of course, that America is in decline now. That narrative of decline is an historical argument: We were great once, but we aren't any more. But that declension story begs a basic question when, exactly, was America better than it is now? And what, precisely, defines the greatness we have lost?"

I've heard this complaint a lot. I'm sure we all have but I've never heard anyone give any specifics and certainly never propose any concrete solutions. I think the reason is pretty obvious. The people who imply or even flat out say that America has lost its greatness are offering up a bucket for their listeners to pour all their personal anger and frustrations into. The speaker is "telling it like it is" because, for myriad reasons, many of us already feel that way.

So anyway, this thread is offered as a forum for anyone, but particularly the Righties, to give specific answers to the questions quoted from the article. Have at it.

http://politicalchat.org/showthread.php?t=9655

http://www.huffingtonpost.com/steven...b_8194832.html

So did you not just answer it your self? America is not great...why?

Quote:

Originally Posted by JCricket (Post 286845)

I dunno, just my $0.02 worth. The greatness we have lost is measured in the polarization of parties we now have. Maybe it always been that way, but it sure doesn't seem like it to me.

You should have seen what was going on prior to the civil war. So yeah we are almost there in terms of one side pushing an agenda and wanting to divied this country.

Humans are worriers. Fear and anxiety top the list of our emotions. So most of us can be easily swayed by negative news than positive news. Happiness is momentary, gloom and doom stays within us for a long time leading to suspicion and apprehension.

So I vote with Bob, this is glass is half full attitude.

Quote:

Originally Posted by 4-2-7 (Post 286846)

So did you not just answer it your self? America is not great...why?

I'm the one asking questions here. Answer or go away. :D

No, I didn't answer it and I don't intend to, at least not until the thread has run its course. I'm looking for detailed answers to the questions raised in the article. (Sorry, Bob, "glass half full" ain't gonna cut it.;))

Is America no longer great and, if it isn't, when, why and how did it happen or begin to happen?

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boreas (Post 286849)

I'm the one asking questions here. Answer or go away. :D

No, I didn't answer it and I don't intend to, at least not until the thread has run its course. I'm looking for detailed answers to the questions raised in the article. (Sorry, Bob, "glass half full" ain't gonna cut it.;))

Is America no longer great and, if it isn't, when, why and how did it happen or begin to happen?

Impoverishment of the middle class and decline of educational standards are two that comes to mind. When did this start? I would say in the 70's. Why and how will need more thought. Are we only counting the negatives?

It is code language. For republican ideologues "America" means "White America".

Quote:

Originally Posted by Boreas (Post 286849)

I'm the one asking questions here. Answer or go away. :D

No, I didn't answer it and I don't intend to, at least not until the thread has run its course. I'm looking for detailed answers to the questions raised in the article. (Sorry, Bob, "glass half full" ain't gonna cut it.;))

Is America no longer great and, if it isn't, when, why and how did it happen or begin to happen?

It'll have to do, for now. I need to go squeeze some Meyer lemons and refill my glass. ;)
It started with Nixon in my opinion but I think I'll wait for your intended audience to weigh in.