How low can we go

[Jake Johnson]

A guy from the UK where they also have two major political parties (labor amd conservative) posted this joke; in America they also have two major parties. They have the democrats who are like our conservatives and they have the republicans who are like the Musolini fascists.

[How to be wise]

@Jake Johnson The conservatives from the UK are definitely more liberal than the republicans, that’s for sure. Under Corbyn, the Labour Party was more to the left than bernie sanders!

[Preety_India]

Why does it imply that you are going low? 

Doesn't it imply more progressivism? 

Maybe I'm missing something (that I shouldn't care about missing). 

 

[Jake Johnson]

@Preety_India the point is how extreme the republicans are becoming.

[Leo Gura]

American religious fundamentalism has held it back for the least 50 years.

Europe somehow shed the shackles of religion faster than America. Probably all the wars.

[Preety_India]

Oh I misunderstood completely. Sorry 

 

 

[Raphael]

Honestly... the US looks underdeveloped compared to main European countries.

[Stomatopod]

3 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

American religious fundamentalism has held it back for the least 50 years.

Europe somehow shed the shackles of religion faster than America. Probably all the wars.

Religious fundamentalism is not the main issue.

The main difference between Europe and the US is that unlike in Europe, the labor movement in the US was effectively destroyed in the early 20th century. In other democratic countries there is somewhat of a power balance between the interests of labor (Left) and business (Right). In America the labor movement (left wing economics) has been deliberately excised from the political conversation, to the point where they barely have any representation at all. Both major parties are business parties. One is surely more socially liberal than the other, but both primarily represent business interests. It's not a joke to say the Democrats would be considered a right wing party in Europe.

Noam Chomsky has written extensively about these topics. Basically he outlines how the biggest public relations campaign in history has been to convince the American public that organized collective action is "anti-American". The American cult worship of individualism and capitalism was completely opposed to what the working class believed prior to the 1920's. This ideology was deliberately designed and propagated at huge costs to turn the population against those fighting for their own class interests. Making people believe socialism (the natural outcome of any functioning democracy) is an existential threat to the American way of life.    

It's true that religion played a big part in this effort, especially during the Cold War where they stepped up the effort to fuse together Christianity and capitalism. If socialism is opposed to religion, by implication that would mean engaging in class struggle is also against god. Somehow. It's just amazing how they were able to get away with perverting Jesus to justify the exact opposite of what he preached.

I think this lecture is one that covers this in detail.

 

[Opo]

7 hours ago, Leo Gura said:

Europe somehow shed the shackles of religion faster than America. Probably all the wars.

I've heard from people with direct experience that when bombs start dropping atheists start praying. 

Could you explain what exactly do you mean? 

[commie]

War isn't racism so it must be a good explanation.

[Skenderberg]

War is business