Why Americans aren't revolting

[Nanda]

We'll never revolt.

I don't know, we've done it a few times in the past...

[RPin]

I didn't read the whole article Joel posted, but I remember reading one, much older, by Al Gore on this same subject. He basically singled mass communication as the one to fault for the american apathy.

[Kilre]

We'll never revolt.

I don't know, we've done it a few times in the past...

Back then we didn't have America's Next Top Model or Paris Hilton.

[Killbert-Robby]

We'll never revolt.

I don't know, we've done it a few times in the past...

Back then we didn't have America's Next Top Model or Paris Hilton.

Take them off the air, and watch the revolution begin.

[TheSuburbanLetdown]

One could say crap like Paris Hilton is popular because everything sucks, but not sucky enough to really do anything about it. She's just another distraction from an unpopular war that's being middle-managed to death.

[Kilre]

Take them off the air, and watch the revolution begin.

Can't do that, the public might get ideas. Idle hands and all that.

[Jim North]

I've found that I'm perfectly happy to sit back and watch the entire system bring itself down, which it seems to be doing pretty nicely without a single shot from our side having to be fired. Eventually the government will have absolutely no citizen support whatsoever, it's own in-fighting will cause it to burst like an overripe fruit, and we'll all be able to move in to sweep all the junk aside and set up something better afterward. It may go a bit slower than an out-and-out revolution, but I'm with keeping violence to a minimum if it's not absolutely necessary.

[Yeahduff]

Why the fuck would Americans revolt?

[Jim North]

Oh noes! The celebrity news and reality TV has already gotten to Yeahduff!

[Noise Monkey]

This is a republic. We got what we asked for. Even if it isn't what we want.

[Jim North]

Not everyone asked for the same thing.

[Kilre]

Yeah! I want more Lost. And 24.

And Fox News.

[RPin]

Yeah, I asked for hot big chested catgirls and where are they now, huh? I think it's about time for a revolution already!

[Noise Monkey]

Not everyone asked for the same thing.

Too many people asked for the wrong thing.

[Tyras]

I've found that I'm perfectly happy to sit back and watch the entire system bring itself down, which it seems to be doing pretty nicely without a single shot from our side having to be fired. Eventually the government will have absolutely no citizen support whatsoever, it's own in-fighting will cause it to burst like an overripe fruit, and we'll all be able to move in to sweep all the junk aside and set up something better afterward.

I really don't think that's going to happen. Rather, I get the feeling that the government will grow more and more powerful and apathetic as time goes on, and will, one-by-one, strip citizens of their rights under their radar. They'll be too distracted by Survivor 700 to notice or care that free speech and habeas corpus have been suspended.
Citizens will be reduced as tools for the government, which will in turn be a puppet for the rich upper class and their monstrous businesses. In some ways, that's the case now, with much of congress looking out more for business (and thus their own wallets) than for the welfare of the country of its citizens.

[Turnsky]

I've found that I'm perfectly happy to sit back and watch the entire system bring itself down, which it seems to be doing pretty nicely without a single shot from our side having to be fired. Eventually the government will have absolutely no citizen support whatsoever, it's own in-fighting will cause it to burst like an overripe fruit, and we'll all be able to move in to sweep all the junk aside and set up something better afterward. It may go a bit slower than an out-and-out revolution, but I'm with keeping violence to a minimum if it's not absolutely necessary.

the problem with that, is that no matter the outcome, cleaning up the mess will be a logistical nightmare. Still, if the current administration collapses on itself, the transition would be cleaner than the proverbial "bloodless Coup De'tat"

Just to note, that i'm beginning to get the impression that our own government (australian), is beginning to distance itself from the bush administration, at least on a PR front.

the problem with the general public these days is that we're all so easily distracted. most americans in particular, aside from most folks here, are distracted from this whole war in iraq business by the equally proverbial "shiny objects", That being reality TV, Paris hilton not wishing to drop the soap, or whatever. The fact being, that in this day and age, media saturation is at the point that when a war does break out, it's so distant right now that a lotta folks are just gonna think when they're gonna vote mr terrorist man off the island or some shit like that. Seeing carnage from a war with your own eyes is one thing, seeing it on you 60" plasma television is another. Americans are more likely to get outraged at something "blasphemous" on TV (usually related to either Sex, Homosexuality, or Abortion), then pictures of small children who are injured because of a friendly fire incident.

that's my take on it, anyways.

[RemusShepherd]

Americans are more likely to get outraged at something "blasphemous" on TV (usually related to either Sex, Homosexuality, or Abortion), then pictures of small children who are injured because of a friendly fire incident.

that's my take on it, anyways.

You're mistaken. American *Media* gets outraged at the little things while the big things are swept under the carpet. And that's the point -- american media is focusing on minor problems that americans can laugh at or wave aside, specifically because it defuses the tension caused by the real problems in our society. (And I say 'american' only because that's what we're talking about here; some amount of media pacification is being used in every society, worldwide.)

Maybe there will be a limit to the opiatic power of the media, some pressure point that will be reached when no amount of distraction will suffice to keep us from bloody rebellion. Maybe there is no limit, and they will successfully drug us into a Brave New World of perpetual serfdom. I can't tell which way it will go.

But I do know that the media's power fails when a sufficiently widespread and painful stimulus occurs. And I know that such disasters are unavoidable over a long timescale. So I don't think the word 'never' should be used between the words 'Americans' and 'revolt'.

[McDuffies]

There's so many things I could say that I'll rather say nothing.

[RemusShepherd]

There's so many things I could say that I'll rather say nothing.

Actually, I hope you don't think it rude of me, but I'd love to hear a bit about what happened in your part of the world. I know the outcome, but I don't think I ever really heard the cause.

[Yeahduff]

I'm not gonna say my life is perfect, but I get by, and the problems I do have I'm not gonna blame on the government or the media or rich people. I'm not gonna give up the things I enjoy, the people I love, or the pretty good chance I'm gonna wake up tomorrow just because of the decisions being made by a government I didn't elect.