Why Are Americans So Afraid? | Class Warfare Blog
“I was reading an article over at AlterNet with the title above. The subtitle is “Facts Take a Backseat to Deeply Ingrained Fears.” That article takes a fact-based approach in that they point out that violence has been and continues to be on a decline (for a very long time, even including world wars). That is per capita violence, not necessarily total violence as the population is still growing rapidly. That article’s author concludes that the fear people possess is a belief rather than a conclusion from the facts. A bit of discussion of fear mongering and they were done. I am using the same title, but they were asking the question; I will try to answer it, in part.
They didn’t quite go one step farther and they really need to. Why is America so afraid? That is the emphasis they missed. What might be the basis of American fear? We have experienced far less terrorism than much of the rest of the world, yet we seem to be more afraid, for example. The connection that they missed is that the U.S. is also one of the most religious countries in existence. If you compare our church going rates to, say, Great Britain or France, we are way out in front. It may be the case that not even a majority of Britons believe in a god.”
Full text: Why Are Americans So Afraid? | Class Warfare Blog
Fantastic post chez Steve Ruis. Go read it!
My Mazamet 
Reblogged this on O LADO ESCURO DA LUA.
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A country founded by Puritans justifying dominating others due to cultural and ethnic differences is bound to feel the upswelling of their own damnable karma. Plus there’s a real lack of culture in an artistic sense and too much difficulty obtaining a satisfactory education.
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“Belief” is a shaky ground to stand on, when I think of it. Disparagement of scientific facts leads to its own special brand of ignorance.
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It is. That’s what I found most interesting in Steve’s post. The idea of fear not just as a tool, but as an artificial construct.
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Well, yes. ‘Belief’ in and of itself is thus. It’s hard to even converse with someone whose entire existence is built on ‘beliefs.’ I find it hypnotically odd.
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Btw, LOVE the Joan Crawford image(!)
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Terrific piece! Yes, the United States is, by and large, the most religious and least educated of all the developed nations. The quality of its education system and the students it turns out is abysmal. There also appears to be a high correlation between unfavorable views of non-white people and levels of fear and anxiety.
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