Big money controlling news in USA

[BTGBullseye]

The problem isn't inside the corporations, it's inside the government. Just because the corporations are most of what's corrupting the government, doesn't change that the government is the part that is corrupted.

 

In China, getting good grades is more important than anything else that you can do before adulthood... Propagandize someone during that time for maximum effect. In the USA, that particular tactic won't work nearly as well since we don't put as much emphasis on pre-adult education. In the USA the time that you get hit with the propaganda is during college. (when most are looking to find their life-long friends, and political affiliations)

 

Culture changes everything... If you can't see that, then you're either blind to the differences, or you're intentionally trying to start an argument instead of a debate. (there is a massive difference between a debate and an argument)

[ThePest179]

The problem isn't inside the corporations, it's inside the government. Just because the corporations are most of what's corrupting the government, doesn't change that the government is the part that is corrupted.

 

In China, getting good grades is more important than anything else that you can do before adulthood... Propagandize someone during that time for maximum effect. In the USA, that particular tactic won't work nearly as well since we don't put as much emphasis on pre-adult education. In the USA the time that you get hit with the propaganda is during college. (when most are looking to find their life-long friends, and political affiliations)

You confirm to me that you are playing politics. This isn't a political discussion. Make another thread for politics.

 

Culture changes everything... If you can't see that, then you're either blind to the differences, or you're intentionally trying to start an argument instead of a debate. (there is a massive difference between a debate and an argument)

And you can prove this with 100% certainty? You're just dismissing my argument because you don't like what you hear. You're using an Ad hoc to discredit me now.

[BTGBullseye]

And you're doing even worse... You're saying that culture makes absolutely no difference. Arguing that end is moronic, ask anyone that has seen what different cultures are, and how differently they react to the same events.

 

If you can't see that everything in this thread is political, and politics is money, then you are blind.

[DoNotRemoveBeforeFlight]

China has an interesting background. Why there's so much emphasis on education is because of its past and "shame". China had suffered a lot of setbacks and was bullied for centuries (yep!). The leaders (utilitarian ones, of course) learned their lessons and are pushing to strengthen itself. Besides pumping out an absurd number of graduates, the South China Sea crap and some other territorial dispute also arise from the reforms. But realize that academics and scholars have been respected since ancient times, which means the culture of education is already there for at least 2000 or so years.

 

Right now China has a culture of priding itself as a country reviving itself from the ashes. But USA, sadly, although powerful, became incompetent and lax, too damn proud to stay ahead of its "puny" competitors. And there you have it, China is now a threat to USA. Nevermind the political/military debates about USA vs. China you see on the news, USA is a sore loser just because China's financial power took over. Did I mention that besides the taxpayers, USA owes China the most debt?

 

Anyway, the point is, as long as the government (and with the help of some other influential figures, like academics, philosophers, religious leaders etc.) highlights the importance of educating the kids, there is hope for the country. This is part of the cultural and social engineering process.

 

 

If you were to ask about my country, then I'd say I take pride in Singapore's education. The culture here is compulsory schooling for all. Yes, COMPULSORY. I don't have to worry about getting a degree either, because tuition's heavily subsidized! Hell, our government is pushing very hard to maintain our global education ranking. Best investment ever.

 

 

 

@Doom Shepard mentioned both India and Canada as peaceful examples?

 

India? I see India as a poor example of democracy. Biggest, yes, but today it's bad. (Coincidentally, the voting just ended.)

Fine, good ol' Gandhi led his people on a peaceful Salt March, but the modern Indian politics and economy is very confusing and volatile. For over a decade, I haven't seen any significant changes in the society. I don't care if there's ICT development, high outputs, or the Mars probe, as long as there's unreported bullshit (whoops) violence, gender discrimination, poverty... and that huge disparity between the working-class graduates and the poor... I'm not sure if it's going to improve soon. The traditional culture in rural areas remains very conservative and sexist. To be fair, the degree holders in India are not to be underestimated, especially in math. There is one issue that bugs me the most is that do the political followers know what they're doing? Do they support a particular leader or party just because of charisma and lampoon? (These questions apply to Thailand, Hong Kong, and Taiwan, too.)

 

 

 

Well, culture does affects ones way of thinking. Take Bulgarian nodding as an analogy, where nod = no, shaking = yes. Or if you like, honking on Indian streets is perfectly acceptable (and encouraged?), but in USA that dude's probably flipping the bird too.

[ThePest179]

And you're doing even worse... You're saying that culture makes absolutely no difference. Arguing that end is moronic, ask anyone that has seen what different cultures are, and how differently they react to the same events.

Before I can tackle that answer, we must ask, difference in what, exactly? Political, social, and/or economic change? If you claim, that this is all affected by culture, then you would be right, but only to an extent. If you were to argue, that major changes cannot be accomplished peacefully because of culture, and only culture, you're bullshiting. Let's use Canada. How different is the culture there (and I mean English Canada)? They got what needed to be done peacefully.

If you can't see that everything in this thread is political, and politics is money, then you are blind.

Fucking hell, where to begin? Where is the evidence that everything in this thread has to do with politics? Corruption doesn't care how far left or right you are when it comes, so you're just whistling in the dark. Politics is not just money. Politics is also power, and anyone (and I mean everyone from the Democrats, to the GOP, tea party, Occupy Wall street, fucking anything and everything) no matter what is said, which affiliation, what is done, is easily prone to corruption and greed, and frankly, if you can't see that, you're just another political preacher trying to make his respective ideology seem like it was handed to him by God/aliens/the fourth dimension/the Earth itself/Cthulu.

[BTGBullseye]

Let's use Canada. How different is the culture there (and I mean English Canada)?

Very different. Seriously, it looks similar on the surface, but it's massively different at it's core.

[ThePest179]

Let's use Canada. How different is the culture there (and I mean English Canada)?

Very different. Seriously, it looks similar on the surface, but it's massively different at it's core.

 

How? Canada doesn't really seem that different. Please use examples/proof.

[BTGBullseye]

Food for one... They put mayo on everything, and consider you nuts if you don't want it. (not joking, it is on/in EVERY FOOD ITEM)

 

Hockey there can cause massive riots over almost nothing. (it's actually easier to cause a riot there because of hockey than it is here for anything)

 

I can do more, but I won't. It's hubris to think that you know about a culture because the country looks similar on the surface to your own.

[ThePest179]

Food for one... They put mayo on everything, and consider you nuts if you don't want it. (not joking, it is on/in EVERY FOOD ITEM)

 

Hockey there can cause massive riots over almost nothing. (it's actually easier to cause a riot there because of hockey than it is here for anything)

 

I can do more, but I won't. It's hubris to think that you know about a culture because the country looks similar on the surface to your own.

 

Mayo and hockey? You're using Ad hoc on overdrive now.

[BTGBullseye]

And you're expecting what? A them to have identical problems so we can compare?

[ThePest179]

And you're expecting what? A them to have identical problems so we can compare?

 

I'm pretty sure this discussion was about how cultural differences doesn't matter to a great extant within this context (peaceful removal of dictatorial/corrupt government structures).

[BTGBullseye]

And culture DO make a SIGNIFICANT difference. Corruption for other cultures can mean more or less, and can be easier or harder to remove with peaceful means. We don't know exactly how far the corruption has gone here, but we do know it has taken over most of the federal government, and that similar corruption in the past required either bloodshed, or the threat of overwhelming force to remove. (and peaceful demonstrations have never done a damn thing to corruption)

[ThePest179]

And culture DO make a SIGNIFICANT difference. Corruption for other cultures can mean more or less, and can be easier or harder to remove with peaceful means. We don't know exactly how far the corruption has gone here, but we do know it has taken over most of the federal government, and that similar corruption in the past required either bloodshed, or the threat of overwhelming force to remove. (and peaceful demonstrations have never done a damn thing to corruption)

 

No evidence, huh? I still call Ad hoc.

 

Note: I don't dispute the severity or existence of the corruption. I doubt the significant difference in culture affecting corruption and the use of violence to disperse it.

[BTGBullseye]

Do a little research yourself then... See what the differences are between cultures, and decide for yourself AFTER you do some research.

[ThePest179]

Do a little research yourself then... See what the differences are between cultures, and decide for yourself AFTER you do some research.

 

You have not given any evidence to your claims. Unsurprising.

 

Canadian culture is a term that embodies the artistic, culinary, literary, humour, musical, political and social elements that are representative of Canada and Canadians. Throughout Canada's history, its culture has been influenced by European culture and traditions, especially British and French, and by its own indigenous cultures. Over time, elements of the cultures of Canada's immigrant populations have become incorporated into mainstream Canadian culture. The population has also been influenced by American culture because of a shared language, proximity and migration between the two countries.

Canada is often characterised as being "very progressive, diverse, and multicultural". Canada's culture draws influences from its broad range of constituent nationalities, and policies that promote a just society are constitutionally protected. Canadian Government policies – such as publicly funded health care; higher and more progressive taxation; outlawing capital punishment; strong efforts to eliminate poverty; an emphasis on cultural diversity; strict gun control; and most recently, legalizing same-sex marriage – are social indicators of Canada's political and cultural values.

-Wikipedia

 

American culture includes both conservative and liberal elements, scientific and religious competitiveness, political structures, risk taking and free expression, materialist and moral elements. Despite certain consistent ideological principles (e.g. individualism, egalitarianism, and faith in freedom and democracy), American culture has a variety of expressions due to its geographical scale and demographic diversity. The flexibility of U.S. culture and its highly symbolic nature lead some researchers to categorize American culture as a mythic identity; others see it as American exceptionalism .

It also includes elements that evolved from Indigenous Americans, and other ethnic cultures—most prominently the culture of African Americans, cultures from Latin America, and Asian American cultures. Many American cultural elements, especially from popular culture, have spread across the globe through modern mass media.

-Wikipedia

 

What is the difference here? the large diversity of the United States? If that's the reason, why didn't it collapse sooner?

[BTGBullseye]

I said research, not a short paragraph defining the word "culture".

[Vapymid]

To my perhaps naive eye:

 

"Canadian Government policies – such as publicly funded health care; higher and more progressive taxation; outlawing capital punishment; strong efforts to eliminate poverty; an emphasis on cultural diversity; strict gun control; and most recently, legalizing same-sex marriage" - all pretty much contrary to the American ways, especially the gun control

 

Seriously speaking, I think that the US is affected by one of the problems that was endemic to the USSR. There is a great difference between what the Establishment is saying about the country's values - equality, freedom, democracy etc and the what the situation really is. Equality is only as good as your bank balance and your family line. Freedom is fine, as long as you do as expected by the powers that be. Democracy is OK as long as you vote for the approved cause...

 

Regards

[ThePest179]

I said research, not a short paragraph defining the word "culture".

 

Okay then. Get me some of YOUR sources.

[BTGBullseye]

No.

 

Main reasons:

 

1. I don't have their contact info anymore.

2. They died.

3. They left the country permanently, and want nothing to do with it anymore.

4. They stopped frequenting the sites I met them on because of people like you.

5. You need to learn to research things in-depth yourself, that way you can start making informed decisions instead of wild assumptions. It will help with any post-highschool composition classes, since it uses the same type of researching skills.

[ThePest179]

No.

 

Main reasons:

 

1. I don't have their contact info anymore.

2. They died.

3. They left the country permanently, and want nothing to do with it anymore.

4. They stopped frequenting the sites I met them on because of people like you.

5. You need to learn to research things in-depth yourself, that way you can start making informed decisions instead of wild assumptions. It will help with any post-highschool composition classes, since it uses the same type of researching skills.

 

I cannot stand it anymore, how am I supposed to trust your word that these people are real? If you cant give me data information, with citations, from a literary or online source, then you have no basis for your argument. Actually, what are we arguing about again? The difference between the US and Canada? Or if the present corruption problems we're facing can be solved peacefully? Because if it's the latter, I've proved that point so many times I'm getting sick of repeating myself.