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How the U.S. Engineered Its Sovereignty

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Re: How the U.S. Engineered Its Sovereignty

#61
post #42

Earlier quoted context omitted.

This is what HN is now, sadly.

I'm sorry, did you believe that HN is a US-only website? Ask dang to geoblock the rest of the world then. Or maybe, just maybe accept that the US is a highly divisive country and that pretty much nobody in the world really likes you.

wait you're telling me an English-language website run by a company in California (which is the US) is not aimed predominately at the California tech startup scene?

what do you think this site is, mon ami?

Re: How the U.S. Engineered Its Sovereignty

#62
post #14

Earlier quoted context omitted.

> "country that lived in easy mode succeeds", yay. or "How to say you know nothing about American history without saying you know nothing about American history"

Mate, american history is so recent it can basically be covered in detail in a single middle school year. The US has had zero real external threats post revolution, so much land and resources it can afford to burn them for fun and was the recipient of the entire world's brain drain. Take a random south american country and it'll have a dramatically harder history. Including the part where the US probably attacked the…

> american history is so recent it can basically be covered in detail in a single middle school year.

Here's yale spending a semester on the revolution ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=shTBSGoYtK0&list=PLDA2BC5E78... ). Here's yale spending a semester on the civil war and reconstruction ( https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=QXXp1bHd6gI&list=PL5DD220D6A... ). If you took both in a year, you'd still only have the highlights of both events, covering about 40 years.

> The US has had zero real external threats post revolution

The US had external threats by Great Britain, Spain, Mexico, Barbary states, Native peoples, Japan, USSR, Italy, and Germany. They all took military and political action against the United States.

South american countries also have a fascinating history! But I'm not sure how that diminishes anything of the USA's struggle for existence. If anything, it heightens the fact that the founding of the USA is largely a miracle where the right people were in the right place at the right time. The fact that the USA's government has endured is by itself worth study.

and why limit it to external threats? are external threats the only one that threaten a country?

Re: How the U.S. Engineered Its Sovereignty

#64
post #43

Earlier quoted context omitted.

The US has actively suppressed any development in countries that could become competitors or non-aligned regional powers. Think Chile, Argentina, and Brazil (at least twice).

Argentina and Brazil do that to themselves Chile actually signed very lucrative trades deals with the US and serve as a stark contrast to their next door neighbours

> Chile actually signed very lucrative trades deals with the US and serve as a stark contrast to their next door neighbours

Sure. Totally worth torturing some people and throwing them off helicopters. Class move.

Re: How the U.S. Engineered Its Sovereignty

#66

[flagged]

Humans get jealous, it's normal. The best you can do is just scroll past it and resolve not to be that kind of person yourself

I get it, but it's certainly a thing that is seen really only directed at the US.

Re: How the U.S. Engineered Its Sovereignty

#67
post #52

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Russia - 1861. https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serfdom_in_Russia It's curious that serfdom rarely comes up. Not exactly slavery, but was, practically. Not conquered peoples, not POWs, "just local peasants".

Follow-up question: who freed the serfs of 19th century Russia? Here's another (not so) fun fact: over a million serfs were freed in 1959 . "Serf" is actually generous because these serfs could be traded like property. You know, like slaves. Where was this? Tibet [1]. [1]: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Serfs%27_Emancipation_Day

Can't say for sure, we were taught from the Soviet perspective and that class was 40 years ago. It was kind of a preemptive measure from Alexander II to prevent an uprising and perhaps in hopes to industrialize the empire.

Never knew about Tibet, thanks.

Re: How the U.S. Engineered Its Sovereignty

#68
post #64

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Argentina and Brazil do that to themselves Chile actually signed very lucrative trades deals with the US and serve as a stark contrast to their next door neighbours

> Chile actually signed very lucrative trades deals with the US and serve as a stark contrast to their next door neighbours Sure. Totally worth torturing some people and throwing them off helicopters. Class move.

Brazil and Argentina also tortured and killed some people, except they got nothing in return.
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