I'm re-reading a book by Régis Debray, and he says that for him, American civilization is characterized by these 3 fetishes that stand in opposition to Europe: space versus time, the image versus the written word, and happiness versus tragedy. However, this description of America is made without pejoration: "a value judgment on the comparative merits of this or that formula for organizing existence will never be more than a judgment of mood or opportunity, depending on our habits and attachments".
In your opinion, is the USA characterized by these 3 criteria? Space, Image and Happiness?
Well, allowing for the fact that Debray is speaking is speaking in rather abstract terms, what he is saying is not without a certain validity. The contrast is with Europe, a continent where, relatively speaking, people were crowded in together and the actions of one people were apt to have limiting - and sometimes perceived as threatening - impacts another people.
The net result was a a people that tended to think in terms of life's limits, so to speak. Either how to accommodate them or to build ways around them.
Americans, by contrast, developed on a continent that was mostly wide open spaces. Where the limits were apt less to be the difficulties of interacting with other people than of meeting the challenges of life on a frontier. This then lending itself to a less restrictive worldview.
Hence, Americans are known for their optimism. For their sense that "all things are possible," and "space versus time," i. e. the sense that the challenges are more of conquering the frontier - which takes time but is ultimately doable.
Having said all that, Debray's remarks are, as I say, a bit abstract, i. e. ironically, more "image" than "written word." It is easy to see periods in American history where his generalities were not true. This producing swings in America's cultural and political mood. See also the "can-do" spirit of the 1980s versus the agitated social mood in the USA at the moment.
So Debray's observations are not without merit, but are of limited utility. Every people has their own distinct cultural characteristics. Debray captured, in a phrase, a generally valid observation about America's cultural character, a character rooted in both the times and place in which the American people evolved.
However it is only a generally valid of observation. There are both times and places where it is not valid and indeed may be outrightly contradicted. Hence why even Americans teach their children history as the story is more complex in its' detail than in any broad observations.
Yeah , but Debray it goes into more detail than I've summarized, but it would have taken me much longer to write and translate, I confess I didn't have the courage 😅.
I must say that it's not easy to translate Debray because he often uses untranslatable words and there's also a lot of irony that I can't even manage to transcribe.
It's funny , he considers Macron to be a Gallo-American, not just Macron, but this expression made me laugh, I think I can qualify myself with this qualifier.
Fair enough. Even still, I think the general observation pertains - again keeping in mind that it IS a general observation.
In any case, I trust your translation skills. As I have said before, your English - whatever limits you may perceive - is still wildly better than my French.
I agree with you about Debray. I haven't forgotten that I was supposed to send you Mr. Kennedy's article, but I haven't found a way to send it yet.
I haven't forgotten that I was supposed to do a Mytake on Clemenceau but I have to say that doing a Mytake has become a real headache and what's more I only use gag on my phone which makes the task even more difficult. But I'll do it if I can get out of all the objections the site makes every time I write my Mytakes lol.
I'd be curious to know your opinion of Camus if you've read him...
Actually no. I've heard of Camus but I must confess that I don't have really any background on him nor have I read any of his works. Might be worth looking into.
As to using G@G only on your phone, that is my idea of purgatory. As I say, I am still on a flip phone and that is as techno-sophisticated as I will ever get.
Anyhow, I look forward to seeing that MyTake, but I imagine that you have other things to do than write reports for me. So when you get around to it, that'll be good enough for me.
Anyhow, I have to go out of town this week on business so I likely won't be on the site much this week. So until then, my sincerest and heartfelt best to you and your family from mine.
You have people that live in shoe box apartments in major cities or tiny houses just as much as you have people living on broad acreage... Not everything is big in America, culture varies from region to region. The founding fathers obviously knew the power of the printing press and use that power to declare independence from monarchs. The written word is the authority in American culture, not an appointed man like in Europe. Americans look to the words of the constitution and the laws of a republic. Words are the entire foundation of our culture. As the rest of that, capitalism in general has booms and busts. America has had much economic, technological, and political success, but we've also had war, famine, economic depressions, etc. There are stories from the great depression of mothers boiling dogs heads and feeding them to their children and begging people not to tell the children, what's in the soup. America has seen hard times before, it's not all pie in the sky.
The assumptions are pretty fucking ridiculous. Why do you think Americans are so cavalier in our speech? Why are foreigners so often offended by our bluntness? That's because we have freedom of speech in America and it is instilled in our culture. The word is at the very core of who we are as a people. We say what we think and we don't hold back.
12.9K opinions shared on Society & Politics topic.
Americans grow up with freedoms that people in a lot of the world do not have. They also have more personal responsibility that requires self restraint and accountability. Americans are good at innovation and fresh ideas.
Not at all. I wanna know where on earth he came up with that. Those are such broad characteristics that could apply to ANYONE. And it applies more so to specific individuals, bur I've never seen anyone put emphasis on it, as a cultural thing.
Images: American civilization values visual expression over writing. It is dominated by audiovisual media, cinema, advertising and social networks. It produces and disseminates images that shape our imaginations, lifestyles and opinions. It presents itself as a permanent spectacle, a constant seduction, an illusion of reality.
- Happiness: American civilization aspires to individual happiness and collective transcendence. It is founded on optimism, pragmatism, consumerism and entertainment. It promises and seeks material well-being, personal success and immediate satisfaction. It is experienced as a rousing adventure, an opportunity to be seized, unfettered enjoyment.
This is absolutely not the case in Europe. On the contrary, Europe is a civilization of the written word, of the tragedy of history.
But since Europe is largely Americanized, it has adopted many traits of American culture.
- A civilization of space is one that values movement, expansion, conquest, diversity, novelty, the present and the future. It's a civilization that seeks happiness, freedom, progress and optimism. It's a civilization that easily adapts to change and constantly innovates. Such is the case of the United States, born of migration, revolution, federation, westward expansion, industrialization and globalization.
- A civilization of time is one that privileges memory, tradition, continuity, unity, antiquity, the past and history. It's a civilization defined by its heritage, its culture, its writing, its literature, its philosophy, its religion. This is Europe
I think the US is a little of both. Some areas still value tradition. The first part of your statement is accurate, the second part, not so much. I don't believe the US easily adapts and we no longer have freedom happiness and progress. And the U. S. as a whole is extremely stubborn. We love to things our way, even if other systems have been proven to work better. So we are definitely time oriented as well. The US wants the rest of the world to operate like they do, not the other way around
But time definitely factors in as well. Tell me, why does the US refuse to switch to metric, include sales tax on the price tag and refuse to get rid of the electoral college?
If I were to try and sum it all up quite simply. what was the USA from its independence to the 19th century? A projection of Europe, what is Europe in the 20th century? A projection of America.
America projected itself far beyond its borders (not only militarily, but also culturally), and this is what makes the USA a civilization, and therefore a civilization of "space", whereas today Europe is no more than a culture.
Basically, American culture is what we call the American dream, the idea that anyone can succeed, achieve happiness (many French people who have been to the USA are always very surprised by the optimism of Americans). It's also Hollywood , pictures and music, etc.
Whereas in the past, the European imaginary was Michelangelo, Hegel, Dante, Voltaire etc., today we have the American imaginary.
Exactly! The American dream is just an IDEA. But Americans have more this notion that no one is gonna hold your hand, while in Europe you can do anything if you know the right people. The first thing I'd basically what the American Dream is, but in reality, it's really the second one. Americans also love to see others fail because it makes them feel better about themselves. Americans have no problem using you to get ahead, then tossing you when they no longer benefit from you.
Don't be so negative about the USA, in fact I would say that the USA have not forced other nations to adopt their culture, if Europe for example has adopted many American cultural traits, it is because American culture is really very attractive.
The United States has also made great strides for mankind thanks to its discoveries and inventions, and when Europe was sinking, it was a refuge for millions of Europeans.
I've lived in the U. S. for 31 years. I know what it's like here, so I'll be as negative as I want😂 It's the truth. When I start criticizing France you can tell me that😂
Maybe not, but they definitely force other nations to adopt their politics.
That may be true of Europe, but not everywhere, and some of the things they adopted aren't good, like woke culture.
This Bhutanese guy said it best, "The biggest weapon America has, is not nuclear bomb. It's Westerinzation."
There's no denying that the US has contributed a lot of positive things, but we've also contributed a lot of negative things too.
Polish youth for instance throw English words in the middle of their sentences. That's not a good thing. They claim to want America, but then when they get it, they say things in their own country are better😂
Most of the things Europeans love about us are things like IMAX theaters, amusement parks, free refills. Because those are more important then free healthcare, education and employment.
Basically, this criticism could be applied to any nation that has ever dominated the international system. Perfection is out of this world, and every nation, every civilization, has made its mistakes.
I saw a parade on YouTube once, where people from different countries were all dressed in their traditional dresses, and the American group were dressed like super-heroes😂 I will admit, that our contributions to pop culture are extremely immense, but still...
You're missing the point in my answer. I found an old answer I made on this site to a person who asked a negative question about the USA, I'll share it with you again.
" The United States of America is a nation that has accomplished great things in its history. From the Declaration of Independence to the conquest of space, to the fight for civil rights and technological innovation, the United States has been at the forefront of many advances in many areas.
Its popular culture has also had a tremendous influence around the world, from music and film to literature and art. The United States has been a beacon of freedom and opportunity for many people around the world, providing opportunity and refuge for the oppressed.
Of course, it is important to note that the United States has also experienced dark periods in its history, particularly in race relations. U. S. foreign policy has also been subject to criticism and controversy, with conflicts such as the Vietnam War and military interventions in Iraq and Afghanistan. In addition, the United States has also faced significant challenges such as rising economic inequality, the environmental crisis, and political polarization.
Note that all nations have their dark sides, and each has its strengths and weaknesses. Therefore, this is not unique to the United States.
Despite these challenges, the United States remains a resilient nation, able to overcome obstacles through innovation, creativity, and the ability to challenge itself. Despite differences of opinion, American democracy is an example of freedom and respect for individual rights, even though it has been severely tested in recent years.
In sum, the United States has a rich and complex history, with remarkable achievements and challenges. The United States has been able to adapt to changes in the world, while maintaining its innovative spirit and ability to inspire people around the world.
Yes, I agree with this, but the civil rights example doesn't really fit in here, because it was the PEOPLE not the government who were advocating for civil rights. And the US was late to the party in many things. The UK was the first nation to abolish slavery and New Zealand was the first nation to allow women to vote. And a lot of technologies already existed in Europe and Asia, before they became popular in the U. S. The US only became a leader in recent history.
And we declared independence. So what? We're not the only ones. Our constitution is more unique, but even our core political values originated from the Lycians and Native Americans. So they aren't even our concepts.
Do you actually have any examples of things the US gave the world?
Are you aware that the US has the lowest standard of living of any developed nation? It's not the worst nation on earth, but it's certainly amongst the worst Western nations. Maybe only Canada, UK and Australia are worse.
Yeah, we have the Grand Canyon and New York City. So what?
Who saved Western civilization during the Second World War and the Cold War? Where would the West be today without American domination of the world? Who enabled millions of European immigrants to escape death?
Yeah, only after WE were attacked and threatened. What immigrants? The 10 million people that Hitler killed? Russia did most of the dirty work. We lost in Vietnam and Cuba during the Cold War. And so many French and other women raped by American soldiers. Oh my gosh, so many rapes.
You're the first European who actually believes that the US saved Europe.
No, you're oversimplifying things. The US acted when its interests were threatened, like all nations. Yes, international relations mean that every country defends its interests. But in the end, American intervention saved Western Europe. Without American financial support, Russia would have collapsed. But don't get me wrong, communism was horrible, and I'm glad the USA prevented the USSR from dominating the whole continent.
As for the rapes, well, it was certain American soldiers who did that, not the whole American army, and unfortunately the American army isn't the only one to have done that.
