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Comment by close04 | Hacker News Reader

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I think your observation is valid, but - perhaps from very understandable frustration - overwrought, and unfairly characterized as a specifically American foible.

Success always has many fathers, failure is always an orphan, anywhere. At least I am recognizing failure, if only to disown it!

(And if I rightly feel shame now, even without personal responsibility, can I not be allowed some sober pride in equal measure in other circumstances?)

I think that's human psychology[0], not necessarily specifically American. Either way, I think that the people most likely to say the things in your first paragraph are also much more likely to consider the "bad stuff" you're talking about as "good stuff" and brag about that as well.

American voting systems are bad. Average Americans have minimal influence on the policy that's enacted[1]. I wonder if where you are from these don't apply as much, and you are used to having more control over what the government does.

[0] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Fundamental_attribution_error?...

[1] https://pnhp.org/news/gilens-and-page-average-citizens-have-...

I don’t think you want to do anything here except rub Americans nose in failure.

Which is fine, but attempting to grandstand while doing it is just boring to read.

Or maybe you just need more practice at this kind of internet kickdown.

That's a lot of handwaving and broad generalizations / hyperbole that does exactly what the GP complained about from the GGP, and failed to answer their question: "What do you propose I do?"

Move to Alaska to become the greatest salmon catcher that ever lived.

In actual fact I did move to a boat far from American shores. Ha.

Contributing to fisheries decline?

So are you!

You wrote three paragraphs and never once answered “what do you propose I do?” because there isn’t an answer, just a vibe you wanted to deliver.

Congrats on discovering that people claim credit collectively and blame individually. That’s not a uniquely American sin, that’s every human tribe since forever and you just gave it a paragraph structure and called it a diagnosis.

It's easier to throw stones than realize "this could happen to my society too and in all likelihood I'd be just as screwed as the Americans, Russians, 1930s Germans..."

COVID was another vivid illustration of how you're just along for the ride with people who can act contrary to everyone's collective self-interest

Seems it's people with outsized media influence that have the most agency for change, beyond that a fish rots from the top down

At the very least don’t point the finger at others, obviously. It’s your people, even if different individuals. You are a democracy, there’s no “not my fault, someone else must have voted wrong”. Whatever the result, good or bad, it comes from all of the votes, including the ones not given.

If the question was “what do I do to fix it” that’s not something you’ll get answered in a comment.

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