Quotation: "America is the only nation in history, which miraculously, has gone directly from barbarism to ..?

Question

....degeneration without the usual interval of civilization"?

Please tell me why you agree or disagree. Thanks so much.

Answer 1

to highly complex form of barbarism....

Answer 2

Well,  I agree with you,  AzuA,  on this one!  No,  not because I'm tired of disagreeing with you on most of the issues.  But because I find a great deal of truth in it...which I guess people of America will NEVER  be able to see it...only outsiders can have that kind of objectivity!

America never had a history,  no culture of its own to speak of.  It is only a conglomeration of opportunistic people at best.  It became a DREAMLAND for quite some time...where anyone could try his luck.

But its foundations do not run deep.  The shallowness of the New World became apparent subsequently and its arrogance coupled with fear is becoming obvious for the whole world to see!  

Edit:  Achchaa Hji!  Yeh jaan ke bahut khushi h*i ki aap ka experience behadd khoobsurat raha!  When I wrote this answer I was thinking of American policies,  not people!  You know how they preach others to practice patience when facing terrorism  (We Indians know how it feels) while they have no qualms about throwing caution to wind.  That's what I call Arrogance!  And Fear is making them paranoid...suspicious of Asians (read muslims and look-alikes)  if I may say so!  If they do not change their mind-set chances are they will fall apart at the seams!  I am well-aware of some highly motivated individuals who dare to speak against all this and they are its HOPE!  Asha karti hoon ab aap thoDa bahut mera view-point samajh gaye honge!

Answer 3

I don't agree completely but I do feel that this quotation, with some modification applies more to America than to many other countries, unfortunately.

Answer 4

I disagree I think that we are the only nation to develop as a civilization without having barbarism. Even a stuck up British person will agree.

"Europe was created by history. America was created by philosophy."

Margaret Thatcher, Britain's first female prime minister

Answer 5

No, it had civilization up until the middle of the 20th century, when it started to degenerate.

The quote sounds like something from some stuck-up British intellectual.

Answer 6

I disagree.

We were not really barbarians!  We were God-fearing people!  And for a long time we retained this standard and chose God to lead this nation.  We were a proud people.  Proud to stand up and fight for the freedom, that it seems, we have slowly allowed to slip away.  Civilization is a way of life in this country.  We have prided ourselves of being a civilized nation, a little too much these days.  It has come down to; "Who is calling the kettle black?"

Answer 7

haaN-jii, param-jii, those tedious TDs!

America-bashing while-u-wait has gotten to be quite chic, but the thrill goes, like 'gone', within your first day or two ashore.

I don't know how to sum it up. After years of anti-American conditioning, I was scared right out of my sand-box when the need arose to go bury some relatives. How was I to travel in the States, when I couldn't even handle a gun or drive manual?

I went, oh yes, I went, alone, unarmed, and mostly by bus or on foot, through New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. I remained tensely on the alert every moment for that meeting with the typical White American. I rehearsed what I could remember of Howard Cosell's routines, and braced myself for ...I don't remember what.

I ended up craning my neck and straining my gaze like an anxious tourist, seeking that typical White American, maybe G.I. Joe or Homard Simpson. I worried that my picturesque English might blow my cover and chase away my shy quarry (and G.I.Joe has plenty to be shy about, you'll agree with that much?).

I never met that typical White American, not on the streets of Manhattan, nor in Brooklyn; forgot about him in Harlem; didn't see him anywhere in Pennsylvania (against all reasonable expectations); couldn't find anyone who knew him or even knew of him in Texas.

I witnessed remarkably little gun-play, and saw no one doing anything indecent (I mean, in public).

I didn't hear any typical radio or TV English, although I did hear at least fifteen languages that I sort of recognized, and over twenty others that left me in extra-planetary bewilderment. And I spoke more French in Houston than at home.

New Yorkers, long known as the rudest people in the world, rushed to my aid when I merely hesitated at a crossing (I am neither infirm, nor elderly, nor attractive and charismatic). Strangers insisted that I accept their umbrellas when I got caught in the rain. People in public occasionally asked me where I was from, and when I answered, other people passing by or standing around would all burst out in unison, 'Welcome to New York City!'

And I haven't the time to rehearse the actual refinements and social accomplishments of the people I met.

Better to drop generalizations from media-borne particulars.

America is an awfully complex place. The persistence of great diversity is as shocking as the extremes of all kinds in close proximity. It is astounding that the United States is functional and even governable. It must have developed some effective cultural apparatus that makes this possible. Although the country is very young, that cultural apparatus cannot be so shallow.