With all due respect, I think that you are the last person who needs to be casting aspersions about rational thinking. Especially now that you are trying to imply that americans are worse off than africans. My question is, why is everyone so afraid of the fact that the problems of the black community in africa, and black communities nearly everywhere they are to be found all seem to be very similar regardless of history of slavery. And WHY is everyone so afraid of the obvious implication that these problems may very well be a bit more than cultural? These very fearful reactions are very telling.
Quote where I claimed Americans are worse off than Africans. I am simply making a point that cultures are real, and in America we have a culture of corruption, materialism in the name of God, hubris, an ego the size of Ancient Rome, etc. " And WHY is everyone so afraid of the obvious implication that these problems may very well be a bit more than cultural?" I am not afraid to call you a racist... Try fishing at stormfront.org
I agree that america has some serious cultural shortcomings. But to compare it to africa? That's like comparing a fender bender to a train wreck. It's bordering on absurd. People like you are what has turned this message board into shit. When people mention ideas you are afraid of, you ignore them or attack them. It immediately turns in to a vicious cycle of name calling and flaming, instead of a forum for the discussion of ideas. Fear based reactions like this one are the essence of what has deteriorated this forum into the cesspool it now is. If you are so confident about your position, defend it/discuss it without the the name calling and ad hominem. You guys really like these straw man and non sequitur arguments. This conversation is not about america's cultural shortcomings, yet you keep mentioning them as though they are somehow a defense to your position, when in fact they have nothing to do with it. Is this the sum of your retort?
Every country has its shortcomings... Are America's shortcomings due to the largest group of Americans being members of the white race? Oh, and I see from your diatribe below that I hit your exposed nerve out of the park... Thanks for the confirmation...
No, I wouldn't say america's shortcomings are due to the largest group of americans being white BECAUSE these features aren't shared with other nations with white majorities. These features aren't shared with Canada, Iceland, Denmark, Czech republic etc.
The majority of Americans believe in God, the majority of the people who live in Canada, Iceland, Denmark, Czech republic also believe in God, therefore the corruption in America, Canada, Iceland, Denmark, Czech republic is due to a belief in God... That in essence is strikes at the irrational heart of racism, as racism paints with a broad brush trying to define a person's behavior solely by the color of their skin, leading to prejudice...which is fully irrational. It is a fallacy of generalization, is the chosen fodder of those who see their own race as superior...fundamentally stemming from some insecurity about their own race. Racists see a black man, a white man, a yellow man, a brown man, a red man...where a non racist sees only a man who happens to be of some skin color. Why are you so afraid to just admit you are a racist looking for some "rational" argument to support your prejudice against blacks?
I understand you reaction is fearful in nature, just as the reaction of church officials was fearful to the suggestion that the earth was round centuries ago. You are again incorrect, and I'll paraphrase one of the leading figures in cognitive science to explain further: "We have the intellectual and moral tools to defuse the dangers. "Is" does not imply "ought." Group differences, when they exist, pertain to averages, not to individual men and women. There are geniuses and dullards, saints and sinners, in every race, ethnicity, and gender. Political equality is a commitment to universal human rights, and to policies that treat people as individuals rather than as representatives of groups; it is not an empirical claim that people are indistinguishable. Many commentators seem unwilling to grasp these points." You are a fine example of one of the aforementioned commentators, and I'll leave you with that for now.
Indeed, and you'll also notice the rather punctuated decline in the standard of living which has been ironically associated with it.
It can look like anything you want it to look like, the point is, who has the money? Ya think it's the non-whites?