Quote:Having lived in Germany for a couple of years I will say this. The attitude of Americans is vastly one of of arrogance and entitlement that I have seen nowhere else. On the whole we feel we deserve to act the way we do because we're from the Greatest Country in the World. With this attitude comes lack of respect for fellow Americans and authority figures. And the way 'role models' such as athletes and celebrities act, not to mention how glorified the gangsta lifestyle is.....then there are the politicians.


If you want to know why this is happening just look at what's on television, in magazines and at the movies. Radical individualism is killing this country. People don't look out for each other anymore, it's all about "what's in it for me" and that shapes our culture in ways you can't imagine.


Germany has their issues as well but lack of respect for each other and the authorities is rarely one of them. If a police officer stopped you and told you to empty your pockets and show your ID you just did it. I saw this several times and without incident. There was no screaming about rights and the cops went on their way.


As several have said though, the issue is broad and doesn't point to just one thing.

 

I disagree it's not the lack of individualism that has lead to our crisis of culture if anything it is the focus on the collective.

 

Focusing on the collective has let generations of families ignore the reality they are ultimately responsible for their well being and that of the generations to follow. focusing on the collective good of society has lead to the erosion of individual responsibility, accountability and ultimatum initiative to better ourselves. I love how everyone (not focusing this at you just ranting here) wants to point at how well things are done somewhere else, and yet this is the only place in the WORLD that has been free of tyrannical rule since it's founding.

 

We need a revival of radical individualism we don't have an excess of it, individualism requires ownership of ones decisions. There is no ownership in our society today, it's someone else fault, someone else built it, and someone else owns it. Give me individualism over collectivism all day every day. To hell with the collective.

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