Up until 1990 that was a reasonable approximation to the truth. The USA certainly had its issues, but in a comparison between the USA and the USSR there was no question about who the relatively good guys were. Since the USSR collapsed, and especially since 9/11, things have gotten a lot murkier.
> but in a comparison between the USA and the USSR That's a false dichotomy if I ever seen one.
That was the dichotomy everyone had to deal with back in the day. Trying to be "unaligned" merely got you interference from both sides, with the possible exception of Switzerland.
I hope this doesn't come as a surprise to anyone. At least for a lot of people outside the USA it was super obvious that the mainstream movies in the cinema are painting an overly optimistic picture of the US.
> I think Hollywood is lot less subtle now at trying to push political propaganda I think the past efforts were pretty blatant. I think we just know more about how they operate and so it becomes easier to see. > wokeism Would love to know what this means.
> Would love to know what this means. It is a headstone marking the semantic battlefield where competing definitions killed the possibility of clear communication, and now it means nothing.
I demand you submit this to Urban Dictionary. Its splendind & I'd upvote if that were a thing on HN.
I feel like this is a facile view of the situation, especially if you take Lend-Lease into account. The fact that U.S. schools and media tend to downplay the importance of the USSR war effort in favor of Western allies doesn’t mean we should immediately take the polar opposite stance. I’ll quote British historian Anthony Beevor (who, by the way, agrees that the Soviet Union was key in defeating Germany): “[T]he reaso…
Oh well, the 24 millions dead soviets thank you for the Jeeps. That definitely made a difference. What a sacrifice for America.
I cringe every time I hear the US president being described as the leader of the free world, as if there were 2 specific sides and USA were leading it and as if USA was an advocate for freedom.
"Freedom" in American parlance is like "Truth" in Roman Catholic lingo.
I came to know about the Marvel movie military involvement from a youtube video essayist. I don't know whether it's good or bad. It's somewhere in the middle probably. Also every other country does the exact same thing afaik. The opposite of this would be potraying everything about the armed forces in a complete negative light. Now that won't be liked a lot I guess. The important thing here I believe is people should…
> Also every other country does the exact same thing afaik
Not true. US, Russia, China, North Korea - sure. Can you name any other countries? Can you give examples for even a fraction of "all other countries"?
Try asking most people about the Vietnam War, then visit Vietnam, especially the war museum in Saigon. Then pay a visit to the Landmine museum outside of Siam Reap, in Cambodia, to learn about Nixon's secret war that carpeted the border between Cambodia and Vietnam with bombs and landmines without anyone knowing. That's a trip that would make you rethink America big time. It absolutely did for me. As an Italian, I wa…
I'm glad that thanks to the internet and proper journalism, we have a better view on things. I grew up mainly in the 90's, with action movies from the time - think Rambo and co. I don't remember watching anything that glorified the Vietnam war though. Full Metal Jacket showed how it was a shitshow. On a weird kind of lighter note, Forrest Gump showed how people died or were gruesomely injured. Rambo may have been the…
The movies you mention always only show the atrocities from the American side, ending up justifying, pitying and damning or saving the American protagonist.
America is just always front and center. Americans just can't help being up their own ass so deep that even when they express criticism they can't not make it all about themselves.
I'm really sorry about the generalization, but as someone living in a city where US expats come to escape and complain about their own bubble by forming another, I'm reminded on a daily basis how that generalization never fails to hold true.
Yes, many philosophers (e.g. Nietsche) wrote of it. It is a pretty well established moral line today, completely undisputed - the holocaust, terrorism, etc. It is beyond political ideology.
If you accept the facts as presented in history books without critical review, sure.
I'm not sure how to read this, are you denying that the holocaust happened?
I grew up during a time when quite a few witnesses were still alive and I did talk to some, no need to read a history book (although it definitely helps your overall formation as a reasonable person).