Marc2b
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Joined: 8/7/2006
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This thread has the potential of wandering off into several tangents with many of those devolving into the old Left versus Right shouting match. I could write several dozen pages commenting on what I have read here but I will try to restrain myself.
As for culture in terms of art, literature, food, etc., America clearly has it’s cultural roots in Europe, particularly Great Britain, but this has been infused with culture from around the world and then bandied about and experimented with to produce a culture that is both unique and common. For example spaghetti is Italian in origin but spaghetti and meatballs is an American innovation brought about by the then average American’s belief that a meal without meat was no meal at all. Likewise that staple of Chinese food, chop suey, has it’s origins not in China but in Chinese living in America. Bottom line here, just as Americans are a mixed breed (I have a grand nephew who is German-English-Irish-Italian-African and Native American), so is our culture.
What concerns me more is the misunderstanding of such terms as "individualist" and "greed."
The term individualist does not mean self centered. It means a person who takes responsibility for their own life. It means a person who makes their own choices and accepts the consequences (positive or negative) of those choices. Being an individualist does not mean you are a person who doesn’t care about others and takes no interest in their community. Indeed, individualists are often the greatest of givers and philanthropists. They are the ones who help people while government bureaucrats bumble about making matters worse. Look at the aftermath of hurricane Katrina. While government workers spent the time doing little but pointing fingers of blame, thousands of people flocked to the region to lend a helping hand.
I am more concerned with the misunderstanding of the word "greed" which far too many people confuse with the phrase "self interest." Self interest is not greed. Self interest is exactly what it says, looking out for the things that matter most to you: putting food on your (and your loved ones) table. Having a warm bed to sleep in at night. Being able to seek out fun and relaxing activities. Enjoying life. Fulfilling these needs and desires is not greed. I pay my rent (i.e. a warm bed to sleep in at night) by producing advertising for an art gallery. In doing so I exploit no one but rather help others to obtain their need and desires. I help the artists sell their works. I help people who want to decorate their home with art obtain those works. I help newspapers to earn money which in turn helps them to pay their employees and so on. I and all these others are working for our own self interests whether it be a paycheck or having a oil on canvas landscape above the couch and in doing so serve not only our own self interests but the self interests of others.
Greed, on the other hand, is an attempt to secure one’s self interests by cheating others and it is self defeating. In the movie "Wall Street" the Michael Douglass character gives a "greed is good." speech. "Greed works," he says. This is a socialist’s perverted and ignorant view of the free market. Greed does not work. Our art gallery sells mostly original artworks with reproductions clearly labeled as such. The originals cost much more than the reproductions of course but what if we got greedy and decided to pass of the reproductions as originals? It wouldn’t be long before people caught on. Word would spread that we are not to be trusted and we would quickly loose customers and go out of business. This is true of any business subject to the free market. Enron is a perfect example. Some people point to Enron as an example of the failure of capitalism but in fact it is proof of it’s success. The company got greedy and paid the price. Meanwhile, similar companies that did not get greedy are still in business.
Lastly, I want to touch upon the matter of perceptions or rather, false perceptions. I don’t know why but people tend to forget that what they see on the news bears little resemblance to the overall reality. People see in the news the failure of such companies as Enron and Worldcom and thus picture that as the norm for American business. They fail to realize that there are thousands of other companies that are not cheating their customers and employees. We see stories about children being kidnaped, tortured and murdered and (as horrific as these incidents are) tend to overlook the fact that millions of children are not kidnaped, tortured and murdered. Given this, it is easy to understand how someone could get such a perverted and wholly unrealistic view of America such as Rule’s "inherently evil, destructive and ultimately self-destructive."
I know that there will be those who will want to respond with examples and arguments as to why capitalism is evil, destructive, greedy and all that. Quite frankly I have been trying to avoid shouting matches that always degenerate into "you’re stupid!," no! you’re evil!" If I wanted that I’d watch Hannity and Colmes. Instead I’ll recommend a couple of books: "Basic Economics" and "The Vision of the Anointed" by Thomas Sowell. In fact, I recommend any of his works. They are the perfect antidote for such nonsensical drivel put out by the likes of Chomsky and other ignoramuses of his ilk.
Yes, Meatcleaver, that last sentence is a dig at you, but it is a friendly dig.
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Do you know what the most awesome thing about being an Atheist is? You're not required to hate anybody!
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RE: The American Culture - 
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