USA is NUMBER 1

[Muzh]

HAHAHA - from this last week?  Let me think


1, A woman who stabbed a man 27 times plus, plus ... holds the nation spellbound wondering IF she is guilty (pop voyeurism is not an American invention)


2, A tough guy, law and order type is interviewed after a man chains, rapes and brutalizes three neighborhood girls for over a decade, and the first thing out of his mouth is "I wonder what happened to him in his youth to cause this."


3, Everything that promotes gender neutrality (and our days our filled with this)


"Washington state, the network newscaster said, has outlawed what it calls gender-specific terminology so that, for example, new college students are no longer are freshmen, but “first year students.” Likewise, if you have a worm on your pole, you are not a fisherman, but a “fisher.”


4, Everything that promotes the decrease in the traditional masculine (television shows, commercials)


...  Contradictions.  Look, but don't touch. 


yesterday night I went to a little beach bar.   There was a promotion of some type.  Banners of beautiful women free beer samples, music.   Everything about the environment would suggest drink, drunk, fuck.  BUT!   There were only two women in the entire place that were properly feminine - thin, attractive, friendly, sexy - and they were working as promo-girls!   (I gave one a whirl - literally)   And, then there were the two police cruisers that were outside the bar, making sure people who sampled the beer, did not sample too much.

...  A Society that is overly cushioned and without consequences.

De Tocqueville "Above the people stands and immense power that takes it upon itself to ..."       


=====


On the plus column ... the Governor of SC was forgiven (elected)

"You still don't get it."

[Muzh]

Is it really the whole nation?  In any event, it has ever been thus.  You can go back to the late 1800's to find similar scandals that captivated the public.


But many serial killers, murderers and rapists are "forged" by their childhood experiences.  It doesn't excuse what they do, of course, but I can't think of too many serial killers who come from happy, stable, two parent families with white picket fences, clean sheets, church on Sundays, attentive fathers, etc.



Really?  Are we viewing the same programmes?  Two and a Half Men regularly has situations with casual sex, even hookers as the "girlfriend experience", as does "How I Met Your Mother", both top 40 programmes.



       
I don't view this as a negative.  Drunk driving is a plague and should be taken seriously.  Stopping it before it happens (those officers were likely paid for by the event) is a positive, not a negative, in my mind.

Boe, I think my response was more apropos.

[Boethius]

On the plus column ... the Governor of SC was forgiven (elected)

Why is it a plus that a guy who thought more about his penis than his four sons, and used public funds for private purposes (to visit his mistress in Argentina) was forgiven?  This is the real reason for the decline of the US - i.e. - the break up of the family, lack of personal responsibility, lack of accountability.

[Muzh]

Why is it a plus that a guy who thought more about his penis than his four sons, and used public funds for private purposes (to visit his mistress in Argentina) was forgiven?  This is the real reason for the decline of the US - i.e. - the break up of the family, lack of personal responsibility, lack of accountability.

How about voters were willing to forget Mark Sanford's "imaginary walk along the Appalachian Trail" because in 'a country so torn by dogma' and deep-rooted 'regional and partisan divisions' they'd rather elect a man they had once loathed and laughed at than let other guys win?

Safe bet. They know their clown.

[Shadow]

Really?  Are we viewing the same programmes?  Two and a Half Men regularly has situations with casual sex, even hookers as the "girlfriend experience", as does "How I Met Your Mother", both top 40 programmes.

In "Two and a Half Men" women are almost in all episodes portrayed as smarter, more stable and stronger. Men are portrayed as running after their penis
and money in order to be able to run after their penis.

While I have no problem, when you watch it from a viewpoint of euqality of sexes men are drawing the short end.

[Muzh]

In "Two and a Half Men" women are almost in all episodes portrayed as smarter, more stable and stronger. Men are portrayed as running after their penis
and money in order to be able to run after their penis.

While I have no problem, when you watch it from a viewpoint of euqality of sexes men are drawing the short end.

And your point is...?

[Shadow]

And your point is...?

That you should ream more as the last post in a topic. 

[Boethius]

In "Two and a Half Men" women are almost in all episodes portrayed as smarter, more stable and stronger. Men are portrayed as running after their penis
and money in order to be able to run after their penis.

While I have no problem, when you watch it from a viewpoint of euqality of sexes men are drawing the short end.

The mother is a self absorbed, multiple married harridan, the ex wife is a shrew, the housekeeper is a pot smoking loudmouth, and the neighbour, probably the most normal character on the programme, is an obsessed stalker though granted, smarter than everyone. 

[Shadow]

The mother is a self absorbed, multiple married harridan, the ex wife is a shrew, the housekeeper is a pot smoking loudmouth, and the neighbour, probably the most normal character on the programme, is an obsessed stalker though granted, smarter than everyone.

Told you the women are closer to real life. 

[Faux Pas]

Seems some folks are watching too much television and live their life in relation as to what they see. The bigger question is; why do some need their masculinity affirmed by TV shows and news media. Is that masculinity in doubt?

[Gator]

The mother is a self absorbed, multiple married harridan, the ex wife is a shrew, the housekeeper is a pot smoking loudmouth, and the neighbour, probably the most normal character on the programme, is an obsessed stalker though granted, smarter than everyone.

For someone who seems critical of the show, you sure do know the storyline.   Over the years I have watched maybe 45 minutes in total of 2 1/2 men.  Too predictable. 
 
For laughs I have my golfing buddies, sons and stepson (what a hoot), email humor (says something about my attention span), and an endless string of TV comics referred to me by friends (currently Jeff Dunham, especially his Achmed the Dead Terrorist).  Next month Jeff Dunham may be off my list.
 
 
Is television entertainment wrong for America?  I think not.  It seems too bland to be harmful.  I watch more sports than any other TV genre, and I do not consider it harmful for America save the participating athletes.  I question the compensation some athletes receive, yet it is free enterprise.
 
Is masculinity an issue important to America's success?
 
What constitutes being Number One?  A conservative will have a starkly different opinion than a liberal.

 
Returning to the topic, America has done well because America's business is business.  Business is the primary driver in reshaping the world.  America did not invent capitalism, yet American business has excelled in an ever changing world, frequently taking the lead for change.   American business is why English is the international language.
 
 
Do you know that only 3 of the Dow 30 stocks remain from 1922 and only one of those in the same name?  That demonstrates the incredible and successful change that has taken place.  This ability to adapt to change and succeed  results in part from American industry promoting the best minds to be its captains.    It also results from innovation, for which our government is to be credited not only for funding some R&D but in taking antitrust actions to support competition.  Antitrust is not an American invention, yet we have implemented it well.  Government is not bad in moderate doses,
 
What is changing are the ethics and values of the American citizens.  I am concerned about the direction.  And it would take days to explain.
 

[Gator]

How about voters were willing to forget Mark Sanford's "imaginary walk along the Appalachian Trail" because in 'a country so torn by dogma' and deep-rooted 'regional and partisan divisions' they'd rather elect a man they had once loathed and laughed at than let other guys win?

Safe bet. They know their clown.

How about the obvious answer:  Sanford was perceived as a better leader than Busch. 

[Shadow]

Seems some folks are watching too much television and live their life in relation as to what they see. The bigger question is; why do some need their masculinity affirmed by TV shows and news media. Is that masculinity in doubt?

Actually I watched three or foru episodes. However I agree that a lot of people see the roles on TV shows as models for their life. Luckily I watched Married with children and Star Trek.

[Boethius]

For someone who seems critical of the show, you sure do know the storyline.   Over the years I have watched maybe 45 minutes in total of 2 1/2 men.  Too predictable. 

Did I state I was critical of the programme?

I used to watch it in the early days, not so much in the past five.  Still, it one of the highest rated programmes on television.


I don't watch much television, no more than 10 hours a month.

[Faux Pas]

Actually I watched three or foru episodes. However I agree that a lot of people see the roles on TV shows as models for their life. Luckily I watched Married with children and Star Trek.

I too was a fan of those shows. Of course that was 20-30 years ago respectively. 40+ years in the case of the real Star Trek. I have never once watched Two and a Half men. That kind of indicates my interest in the pop culture shows. I do agree that there has been a serious erosion is standards and decency as far as "uplifting" the average white male father figure in the media and entertainment world. This is a by-product of choices. A conspiracy to emasculate the men, fathers or the ideal man? Hardly. For the most part people vote with their money. What we have is just an evolution of that.

[Darth_Budda]

I still find it hard to believe in the age were the computer is smarter than most people were these jobs are gonna come from?

Is green energy gonna save the economy? How?

Solar panels will be made in factories that are mostly automated...
Why hire a person when you can buy a machine....

So factories will not put all the people back to work...
The farm? Nope....

Just does not seem like it's gonna happen...
Hours will get longer and the pay less...

[LiveFromUkraine]

 
Is television entertainment wrong for America?  I think not.  It seems too bland to be harmful.  I watch more sports than any other TV genre, and I do not consider it harmful for America save the participating athletes. 

I don't necessarily believe it to be harmful, but it does have influence.  Look at Sex and the City and how many women really jumped on that band wagon.  Now, I am seeing more and more articles about women who modeled their lifestyle similar to that show only to find out they are unhappy and alone.

[Gator]

I don't necessarily believe it to be harmful, but it does have influence.  Look at Sex and the City and how many women really jumped on that band wagon.  Now, I am seeing more and more articles about women who modeled their lifestyle similar to that show only to find out they are unhappy and alone.

I liked such women but anything more than a couple of weekends was work. 
 
Is "Happiness of Single Women" one of the criteria for evaluating whether USA is No. 1.     There have always been a lot of unhappy women over the decades and centuries, even when America was clearly at the top, so I believe the happiness of women is not a variable in the equation. 
 
 
 
I played golf yesterday with a single friend in his 50s.  Good looking man with a warm Italian personality, and a successful fixed income investment adviser.   He is divorced from a long marriage, and you would think he would do well with women.  He meets plenty of single women but finds them nuts.  He told me of recent encounters with three women, and each was unfathomable.  BTW, the women were good looking and not fat. 

[Boethius]

I don't necessarily believe it to be harmful, but it does have influence.  Look at Sex and the City and how many women really jumped on that band wagon.  Now, I am seeing more and more articles about women who modeled their lifestyle similar to that show only to find out they are unhappy and alone.

I used to watch Sex and the City, but my husband called it "the most nauseating show ever produced" so, I didn't do so if he was home, and missed the last couple of seasons.  However, the show is really about a lack of love, the problems, in a big city, of finding  love.   All those women were looking for relationships.  The navigation of those relationships is what the show was about.  So, are women unhappy seeking relationships? 
 

[Gator]

  So, are women unhappy seeking relationships?

Many women seem angry because a man is not making them happy.  Each of us is responsible for our own happiness.
 
I recently watched a BBC/NZTV production called Top of the Lake.  There are many, many characters.  One set is a group of about 8 women in their 40s and 50s living in portable containers alongside the lake in a place called Paradise.  They are followers of a guru GJ played by Holly Hunter in a fright wig.     Women come to see GJ with their problems and she brilliantly guides them with a few words.  In the end GJ books a flight to Iceland and leaves because she "wants to get away from these crazy bitches."  A woman wrote and directed the production. 
 
 http://badassdigest.com/2013/02/25/top-of-the-lake-trailer-jane-campions-new-thriller-miniseries/

[IAmZon]

I offered a handful of examples that simply reflect two generalizations that are true, not false.

- It is in vogue to promote a gender neutral society.
- In the course of achieving the above, it is commonplace to decrease the value of the "masculine."

(then, I rambled with stupid examples that show a lack of moral clarity and black and white consequences.  I think we loose something when the threat of an ass- whipping is replaced by 9-11 and "them." )

These points are societal, not specific.  Yet, they exist.   There seems to be to further be an abdication of the strong to the weak in every regard. Example one, children's movies often show the children as smarter than their parents (and the mother always seem to have it all over the father).  Example two, there are new stop signs in Florida where the pedestrians no longer stop and look both ways.  WTF?

So, it appears to me that in the USA, we see Chivalry Run Amok!  Now, Colombia, where I spend much time is the opposite.  In that society, we see Machismo Run Amok!    I prefer a sober middle ground.






 

[IAmZon]

On the plus column ... the Governor of SC was forgiven (elected)

I was being sarcastic.  It is more forgivable to a person to find themselves in an unhappy marriage and either "tough it out."  Or, pursue open and honest changes.   It is less forgivable for a high profile public officer to go AWOL.  It was an interesting story nonetheless.

[LiveFromUkraine]

I used to watch Sex and the City, but my husband called it "the most nauseating show ever produced" so, I didn't do so if he was home, and missed the last couple of seasons.  However, the show is really about a lack of love, the problems, in a big city, of finding  love.   All those women were looking for relationships.  The navigation of those relationships is what the show was about.  So, are women unhappy seeking relationships?

Maybe for you it was about relationships while others could have taken something entirely different.  I remember one article where the woman stated she was influenced by the independence of the women on that show.  She ended up becoming very successful in her career.   She eventually said something along the lines of it not being as fulfilling as she had thought because of the things she had to give up.

[IAmZon]

But many serial killers, murderers and rapists are "forged" by their childhood experiences.  It doesn't excuse what they do, of course, but I can't think of too many serial killers who come from happy, stable, two parent families with white picket fences, clean sheets, church on Sundays, attentive fathers, etc.

True, of course.   

But, for the Tough Law and Order Figure (the masculine symbol) to be the first to say that, in the opening minutes of the startling and barbaric  news story!??!   I would have preferred it, if he said something like: "Due process ought to be suspended.  I suggest we skin the man alive, and then throw him in a pit with hungry dogs."  A clearer moral compass, albeit less "enlightened."


I like the days of black and white movies with John Wayne and Clint Eastwood:)

[Fashionista]

In "Two and a Half Men" women are almost in all episodes portrayed as smarter, more stable and stronger.

Of course they are, they are getting a monkey 


http://www.youtube.com/watch?feature=player_embedded&v=kPmLT-xlcsM
 

While I have no problem, when you watch it from a viewpoint of euqality of sexes men are drawing the short end.

There is also standup and Hollywood movies in the US, but I have yet to find a single person who uses that to learn valuable life lessons. 

That's why it's called entertainment, if people wanted to watch shows about every day events, driving children to school, going to work every day, working with excel files and so on, they have their life for it. In shows people like to see something they don't encounter every day, like screwups and losers with a lot of money or magic powers. You don't believe Americans have magic powers, do you? Or that TV shows "promote" vampirism?