Twilight – no, we can’t both be wrong, and I take your point that some in the US do use their grey cells to good effect. It would appear they’re in the minority, though.

In any large group of people there are a certain number whose mental capabilities are limited to their basic needs. In Britain, I call them the ‘beer, sex, and football brigade’. Their thoughts on life are completely self-centered and rarely stray beyond these three basic requirements. There is a similar group in the US, just with slightly differing basic needs. (You might, for example, add ‘guns’ to the list).
I’m always irked by those who refuse to think for themselves, wherever they happen to live. In America, there just seems a lot more of them.

Iota – he was a most intelligent and thoughtful young man. I, too, was struck by his words. I have no doubt, given the right circumstances, he will develop his mindset as he matures. Whether he will ever be convinced of the benefits of ‘socialized medicine’, however, is arguable. After all, as a doctor he will be in one group who definitely won’t benefit. Medics in private medicine always earn more than those working for a government health service.

How I hate the compulsion towards competitiveness that thrives in America: “if you believe it, you can achieve it”. Quite simply – if you achieve it, someone else doesn’t. You are right to feel uncomfortable.

WWW – “The Wire” is only available here on HBO, but I’ve seen clips on YouTube.
This is America’s future being flushed down the toilet by an education system designed to turn out factory-fodder for production lines that will no longer exist by the time they leave school. They’ll all have gone to China and Asia. It swells the ranks of the under-class at the very bottom of the economic pyramid – those who, in desperation, turn to drugs and crime as an alternative to life without hope.

My son’s Fifth Grade class motto was “if you believe it, you can achieve it”, which made me a little uncomfortable.

To be 100% fair though, we have to admit that there are some in the USA who have seen through the brainwash. Not nearly enough of ‘em though. Even the ones who vote Democrat in elections tend to have some residual bad feeling about socialism – because they’ve never lived with “Yurp’s” version of it.

Then we also have to tell ourselves that in the UK and elsewhere, even with socialised medicine, and other advantages, and no brainwash, except perhaps within family circles, there’s a good proportion of folk who rail against social programmes.
Thinking for themselves, they still come to the conclusion that capitalism and “small government” is better.

Duality, polarity, whatever. It’s with us always, but in the US it irks us more, for some reason. Me too. I wonder why?

At least he was willing to listen and to think about your words! There are enough people around who won’t even do that.

If you alter the education system to teach children to think for themselves, then you might get a generation of people who can think for themselves, and who can’t swallow all the lies and bull that you feed them in order to keep the gravy train flowing…