"Americans have elevated denial to a form of art."

[Robb]

Hungarian acquaintance of mine uttered this today. And he's old enough to remember the revolution.

Thought I'd share it. Valid, you think? Unfair?

[fooj]

1. Completely valid.

Peace.

[babylonsister]

2. Valid for 1/3 of Americans, maybe. And some of them are

shaking themselves out of it.

[Hissyspit]

3. I use the word 'delusional' all the time nowadays.

And 'stupid,' too.

[tom_paine]

4. 100% valid.

We are only exceeded, as I consider it, by the Germans of the 1930s.

But we are catching up on the outside.

NOTE: Equalling the 1930s Germans in levels of denial & living in false realities does NOT mean we will be having Industrialized Death Camps. More likely it will only be Slave Labor Camps.

[spacelady]

5. Slave Labor Camps? Is that all? Then I wash my hands of the whole

situation.

[Solomon]

8. Slaves to do what though? We don't make or produce anything anymore.

I guess the slaves would be the military and sanitation.

[spacelady]

9. I was in deep denial. Isn't it sad though, that we are not known for

quality goods? We are only known for world's deadliest nanny-state police foreign relations.

[bluerum]

6. Far beyond simple denial. We are into delusion and mass hypnosis

now.

In that sense - not valid because it's too simplistic.

[ladjf]

7. Something bad is making Americans dumb. Is it the physical

environment, or some kind of strange educational things happening? Look at how we have handled ourselves during the past 10 or 15 years. We are the dumbest Country in the world. Sad.

What ever edge we had in certain high tech fields will be lost as a result of out sourcing. Thanks Mr. Gates and others. (actually Gates brings in the foreigners with green cards. Same difference)

GM for example keeps whining about labor costs. If they would get the engineers off of the ass and build some great cars, the profits would happen. Why don't they hire the Toyota and Honda engineers away for the other companies? Throw some money at it. The fact that foreign car companies can build the cars in the U.S. with no appreciable drop in quality proves the the engineering is the key.

[SharonAnn]

12. Well, that would mean that management is making bad decisions.

And management knows that can't possibly be so.

[ladjf]

14. Bingo. That is exactly what is happening in corporations all

over America. The CEO are thinking like accountants. (That's because they are focusing on their stock options.) So, what we have is a combination of accountants and attorneys planning the strategies and all they want is their few hundred million and they're out of there.

If Japan can design a great car, why can't Detroit? Are Japanese smarter than Americans? I don't really think so. The people with creative engineering skills apparently are being allowed to think and innovate. Too bad. But, that's life. And speaking of life, as the U.S. plummets in it's ability to design and build anything and standards of living are headed downward, it is inevitable that America will be a third world country within 40 years. The rich people will be living in gated enclaves, hiding from the hungry citizens at the walls of their compounds. Sooner or later, all hell will break loose and their money won't do them much good.

[Porcupine]

16. We have to deny that we steal for a living. All of us.

Our clothes, our shoes, our food, most of our consumer goods are made by people who have little choice. In much of the world it's work for the yankee dollar or starve. Should you try to organize a labor union you will be found dead or beaten in a ditch. If the police weren't the ones who beat you they will do nothing to protect you.

Every adult who watches television KNOWS THIS IS TRUE. And we do not care. Hell, worse, we make a stink about how "Christian" we are. The denial is killing us. Our college students drink massively to shut something out; what?

[tservo]

18. America is resting on its laurels

They won the cold war, they're fat and happy.

[cynatnite]

10. Part denial, part uninformed and part laziness...

Still your friend makes a very valid point.

[PatrioticLeftie]

11. Unfair summery

I'm so tired of all these generalizations.

Although it is accurate for a minority of people, those lonely 34%.

[Zodiak]

26. mind you

that 30% used to be 90%.

[alittlelark]

13. I nominated it because it would be a great Bumper Sticker or

Sound Bite.

[mdmc]

15. apt.

:kick: / R

[Swamp Rat]

17. I agree

Tell him thank you for telling it like it is, if you ever see him again.

[RBHam]

19. When good men do nothing...

Remember Nuremberg...

[Solly Mack]

20. Valid. Fair. Accurate. Honest. Painful but true

[salin]

21. caller on washington journal, just now stated

that the nsa spying only happens if one person in a call is "a suspected al qeada" member. Of course that is how the repubs frame it - but reading about it, it is clear that there is no such caveat.

I would call that denial.

Still believing any spin - and not questioning the credibility of the source that has proved to lie and lie again - yep an elevated form of denial.

[moondust]

22. ANYTHING but reality!!

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

23. "All politics is local" If it doesn't directly affect them, it doesn't

exist.

Most people go about leading their own narrow lives. Their family, their neighborhood, their friends. What's going on in the rest of the world is only of interest or concern if it somehow intrudes into their comfort zone.

[Ufomammut]

24. America is in the terminal stages of psychological avoidance

Never underestimate the power of denial.

[Vidar]

25. Been saying this for years.

[shadowknows69]

27. spot on

our national apathy is staggering and embarrassing.

[earth mom]

28. Agree with your friend hands down.

There are people around DU still saying that 9/11 wasn't LIHOP/MIHOP after all the sh*t the BFEE has done the past 5 years! That to me is denial to the nth degree. :crazy:

[windy252]

29. Even I've started coming around to the possibility of

MIHOP but sometimes I wonder if denial would be better.

[IndyOp]

30. Real Shock & Awe: After 15 Years War & Sanctions 1,000,000 Iraqis Dead

A relevant post?

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=364x751011

[Pachamama]

31. An Understatement...n/t

:cry:

[BigBearJohn]

32. Wow! That quote sums up the last 5 years at least. Phew.