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While it can be pleasant to think that you and your household is an island, conventional wisdom and actual life experience would show that it’s simply not true. This becomes particularly visible whenever there is a major or minor election or just when the local intersection gets some slightly more complicated rule applied to it.
Someone asked “What's something current day America needs to understand?” and people shared their examples. So get comfortable as you read through, upvote your favorites and be sure to share your own thoughts in the comments below.
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#1
YOUR OPINIONS AND FEELINGS ARE LITERALLY NOT THE SAME AS ACTUAL ESTABLISHED FACTS.
They’re just not.
F*****g IRKS me. The pure confidence some of you have saying whatever you feel like, and believing that deserves the same platforms as actual educated experts.
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#2
Knowledge is not elitism and not trusting experts will literally k*ll us all.
keyboardtek 1 month ago
The anti science Evangelical Christians and the New Age antivaxers are a whole class of ignorance unto themselves.
#3
You are not temporarily embarrassed millionaires.
You are closer to being homeless than to being a millionaire.
A poor white person has more in common with a poor black person than with a rich white person.
Class solidarity above all else.
#4
Once freedoms are lost they are likely gone for good. A democracy is not guaranteed and is fragile. It takes checks and balances to make sure there is no overstep. Unchecked power will destroy this experiment called the United States of America.
Lucifer 1 month ago (edited)
During the Boris Yelstin years when communism was slowly falling, the Russian oligarchs stepped in to make everything private and loot as much of the public wealth as possible. Then Putin came in and got the oligrachs under his thumb. In the US it started with "Trickle Down Economics" and now literal billionaires are about to do something far more worse. As Carlin said " rights aren't rights if someone can take them away. They are temporary privileges". That theory is about to be tested, again.
#5
Russia is not a friend of Republican nor Democratic party nor the people of that matter. The goal of Russian state is to cause chaos and polarization within US. Well, this goes to anywhere in the world. Divide and conquer.
Pittsburgh rare 1 month ago
The goal of Russia is to cause chaos and polarization EVERYWHERE. It's proven to be linked to some independence movements within Spain as well
#6
Social media is not your friend.
#8
Social media is designed to get you to engage with it and use it. It is not a source of news. It is a source of propaganda.
#9
The politicians/party you vote for are not immune to criticism. If anything, you should hold your own politicians to a higher standard. They’re supposed to represent you, not the other way around.
#10
How important it is to follow the global news to understand what can hit home. For example, most economies had high inflation after covid, not just the Biden administration.
#11
That we no longer live in a country that was established for the people, by the people. It is a business, and has been run into the ground. Good luck everyone, may the odds be ever in your favor.
Megan Humphries 1 month ago
It has always been for the rich. Most of the founding fathers were fairly wealthy land owners. George Washington and Thomas Jefferson are two examples; they owned large plantations.
#12
We are *very* dependent on what happens in the rest of the world.
Americans seem to want to believe we can put up the walls and forget about the rest of the world. But from the temperature of the ocean to the price of semiconductors, what happens across the world affects us. Instability in countries across the world affects us. We're the world's biggest economy, everything we do has international implications and those go both ways.
We do not get to opt out. Any attempt is just surrendering control.
#13
That those who do not learn from their history are doomed to repeat it.
keyboardtek 1 month ago
Americans do not learn the true history of America. It is completely whitewashed to make the white ruling class look good.
#15
That you need to do your research BEFORE the election, not after.
#16
Voting in your local elections is more important than voting for president. Want that police reform? Education funding spread out? Someone in congress who wants to put on term limits? Local elections.
#17
America needs to understand that empathy and open dialogue are key to bridging divides, not just picking sides.
#18
Equality doesn’t mean someone else is getting more or special rights than you. Also that people need to mind their own business and focus on themselves instead and let people live their lives.
#19
You can't vote away economic forces. The post ww2 economy is gone for very explainable reasons. Coal mining and steel plant jobs are going away for very explainable reasons. Nobody is at fault. Nobody has stolen anything. People want to vote away having to adapt to the future and this is simply not the way.
Bear Hall 1 month ago
Individual people made all decisions to move these industries overseas and individals made the decisions not to stop them or at least remedy the consequences all in the name of money, stupidity and laziness. The individual responsiblity of these leaders should be researched andreveald to the general public. Not to punish them but to finally learn something from the past.
#20
How to listen, and that words mean exactly what they mean not what you feel they mean.
#21
How government works. How power is divided, how rules are made and enforced, how the court system works, and how each of these institutions can be manipulated to disproportionately benefit one side or another.
#22
It can be hard to recognize propaganda and disinformation.
StarCrossedFriday 1 month ago
Yes, social media plays an interesting role there, too. You can find ‘proof’ of virtually any claim. And yet people are more convinced than ever that only they ‘know the truth’.
#24
That one can be against violence and still be fine with defending themselves.
#25
That's being Christian isn't the be all end all of every Americans lives.
#26
America needs to understand that we’re more divided than ever, and listening to each other, even when we disagree, is the only way forward.
keyboardtek 1 month ago
I have yet to meet a conservative who has an open mind to an opposing view. It is their mental programming, like a member of Scientology is programmed to avoid all exposure to any views critical of their cult.
#27
Real solutions to the most important problems are almost always slow, frustrating, complicated, long term, unsexy. By the time they have worked people aren't even happy about it because they forgot about the problem. If someone arrives with a bunch of simple satisfying solutions to all problems they're ignorant or conning you.
#28
Tariffs raise consumer prices.
Forrest Hobbs 1 month ago (edited)
Import/export tariffs also harm overall economic performance, worsening industrial competiveness and frankly everything. Trade wars are bad for everyone's business. No-one wins: everyone loses.
#29
Keeping a democracy requires work and participation, lest you would rather have no voice any longer. Apathy is going to destroy this country.
#31
We are being manipulated by foreign enemies to hate each other. No other military in the world comes close to our power. China and Russia both know this, so they are using online armies to enrage us online. Sadly, it’s working and could have catastrophic consequences if our simmering fury ever boils over into widespread violence.
Lucifer 1 month ago (edited)
Yuri Bezmenov(defected Soviet journalist) actually gave an interview in the 80's describing how Russia will turn the US population against each other even more. He said it would take about 25-40 years for that goal to be complete. Social media accelerated the process.
#32
Taxes.
I’m an American living in Europe for 8 years, I’m repeatedly told how nice it must be to have free schools, healthcare, transport, etc.
We have all this because we pay around 40-50% income tax & 21% sales tax where I live.
It all comes back to taxes.
(PS… most of these aren’t free, just heavily subsidized and made affordable).
Forrest Hobbs 1 month ago
40%-50% income tax? Seriously? Here in the UK, the first £12570 of income is untaxed. The next band, up to £50270, is taxed at 20%. It's only income above £57270 which attracts 40% tax. And we have free health care. One reason we can afford it is that the NHS has huge purchasing power so can do good deals with the firms that supply medicines and medical equipment. Meanwhile in the USA, the medical industry is all about maximising profit so d**g prices are sky-high.
#33
Just because your government is doing it and not you, doesn’t mean you can ignore it.
Matt Richardson 1 month ago
Exactly what would you have us do? We know what they've done, what they are doing, and what they will do. Perhaps write sternly worded letters to congress? Go on a show hosted by talking heads and trash them? Or maybe a daytime talk show hosted by old ladies? Publish tell-all tabloids? Maybe incite mass riots and incinerate Wall Street (That's where the real power lies)? We are not ignoring the sins of our government, but I do think the rest of world is being hypocritical when it comes to their own Governments/Religions/Cults. Take this attitude and shove it. As it stands right now, we are more divided than ever, we are more repressed, and many of us are just struggling to survive on a rapidly dwindling paycheck in the face of ever rising inflation. We are in survival mode, and sadly, right now the enemy is not only our own government, but some of fellow Americans as well. Ask any American, and they will tell you the sins of our Government, so STFU.
#34
The power of genuine empathy and open dialogue. A little more willingness to listen and to consider perspectives outside our own experiences could really help bridge divides, reduce misunderstandings, and ultimately foster stronger communities.
StarCrossedFriday 4 weeks ago
Problem is, the overwhelming view these days is ‘why should I listen to his views if he doesn’t listen to mine?’. Which of course gets us all nowhere, but it certainly does make our actual enemies happy.
#35
Voting is important. Dedicating time out of your day to understanding the issues is important. It's also okay if you don't have time to understand everything, and it's okay if you don't vote on everything and only vote on what you do understand. But voting matters.
What do you think ?
Tams21 1 month ago
This should be titled "43 things everyone needs to understand". There are very few things that apply explicitly to Americans and ignorance and misinformation can be found everywhere.
Carl Roberts 1 month ago
Whoa...I think BP actually went a full 2 weeks before posting this latest "America bad" listicle
Forrest Hobbs 3 weeks ago
This list reads like a list of things that Americans think Americans need to know about - not so much "America bad", more "Americans trying to teach Americans".
Load More Replies... Pittsburgh rare 1 month ago
I'm honestly scared because they appointed Health Secretary an antivaxxer nutjob and my spineless country has never had serious health control in the borders so we're going to be the entry door for illnesses that were almost eradicated.
Sand Ers 1 month ago
I have to admit I'm at a loss as to why the Nazis want to reestablish and spread deadly diseases that had been nearly eradicated. But they've been arguing for it long enough to make it clear that it's intentional, and not just a side effect of some other goal.
Load More Replies...
Mike F 4 weeks ago
That ship has sailed. There are a whole new batch of BS ideas to quarrel with.
Load More Replies...
nuberiffic 3 weeks ago
I'd add: your casual attitude towards guns is sickening. These are incredibly dangerous, lethal weapons: yet you can just stick one in your pocket and go to McDonald's
Smeghead Tribble Down Under 4 weeks ago
One thing Americans seem to have a mental block about - active shooter drills in schools shouldn't be accepted as normal. Cannot and will not ever understand the American obsession with guns. And when there's a mass shooting? All run out and buy MORE guns! It just short-circuits my brain. No guns = no mass shootings. It really, truly isn't rocket science.
Brian irby 1 month ago
What a condescending article. Most of the people I voted for, including for the presidency lost, but that's democracy. We aren't on the verge of a hellscape. Republicans will overreach (just like the Biden administration) and then they will lose power. I've been voting for thirty years, we haven't careened off a cliff yet.
Steve Robert 4 days ago
Whenever BP puts " continue reading...", is when I leave their website.
Guess Undheit 4 weeks ago
Yanks still "think" there are always and only "two sides" of every discussion. WRONG. There is only one side on some (all people deserve human rights, including abortion, LGBTQIA people, etc.) and MANY sides on other issues. "Binary thinking" is ignorance.
Verena 4 weeks ago
The major problem for everybody living in huge countries is the distance to other cultures. This is one of my top 5 why I love to be an European. It is very hard to not come into active and close contact with entirely different cultures and languages. Spending holidays in a different country is fairly easy and not very expensive. The next border is usually a max 2 hour drive away. Physical shopping across borders is common, working in a different country than you were born in is nothing special. This results in a basis of at least knowing and often understanding that different lifestyles are nothing to get upset about, it is normal. And it makes it easier to "shop around" for better solutions to all kinds of poblems. You just see that a different approach does work.
Brian Garcia 4 weeks ago
Normally don't post too often here, tends to be an anti-American rant on too many articles. Cool, I get it. But your supposition is beyond reproach. We have a huge country, not by choice...any many of our states are exceptionally diverse and different in character, norms, and traditions. The insane notion that the U.S. somehow "picked" its geography is asinine. We have four borders...two oceans, the United States of Mexico, and Canada. If you want to deride the U.S. for other reasons, hey...that's your prerogative. But to slap down due to geography realities is just simple-minded. What you're celebrating is geographical and historically based, don't pretend to suggest you somehow had a voice in it. Been to Europe...love it, Asia...love it, much of Mexico...love it. So much bashing on our country...we're big, diverse, and quite spread apart. Please don't take that to mean that we don't appreciate other cultures, lifestyles, travel, etc.
Load More Replies... 
Ionescu Popa 1 month ago
smart, but self-interested. not what to do for the best, but what to do for your own best. most of them will not even secondarily move few rocks for the real good. its only good point is that it's more authentically patriotic that the usual shtshow, though not necessarily less self-serving. the problem down here is that anyone's efforts, including the government's or deep state's, can change little in general, and even less in a good sense - the bad things were born collective, systemic, self-learning and self-regulating. as matrix puts it: we tried more scenarios; fastest, they revolted against the best utopias.
Tams21 1 month ago
This should be titled "43 things everyone needs to understand". There are very few things that apply explicitly to Americans and ignorance and misinformation can be found everywhere.
Carl Roberts 1 month ago
Whoa...I think BP actually went a full 2 weeks before posting this latest "America bad" listicle
Forrest Hobbs 3 weeks ago
This list reads like a list of things that Americans think Americans need to know about - not so much "America bad", more "Americans trying to teach Americans".
Load More Replies... Pittsburgh rare 1 month ago
I'm honestly scared because they appointed Health Secretary an antivaxxer nutjob and my spineless country has never had serious health control in the borders so we're going to be the entry door for illnesses that were almost eradicated.
Sand Ers 1 month ago
I have to admit I'm at a loss as to why the Nazis want to reestablish and spread deadly diseases that had been nearly eradicated. But they've been arguing for it long enough to make it clear that it's intentional, and not just a side effect of some other goal.
Load More Replies... Mike F 4 weeks ago
That ship has sailed. There are a whole new batch of BS ideas to quarrel with.
Load More Replies... nuberiffic 3 weeks ago
I'd add: your casual attitude towards guns is sickening. These are incredibly dangerous, lethal weapons: yet you can just stick one in your pocket and go to McDonald's
Smeghead Tribble Down Under 4 weeks ago
One thing Americans seem to have a mental block about - active shooter drills in schools shouldn't be accepted as normal. Cannot and will not ever understand the American obsession with guns. And when there's a mass shooting? All run out and buy MORE guns! It just short-circuits my brain. No guns = no mass shootings. It really, truly isn't rocket science.
Brian irby 1 month ago
What a condescending article. Most of the people I voted for, including for the presidency lost, but that's democracy. We aren't on the verge of a hellscape. Republicans will overreach (just like the Biden administration) and then they will lose power. I've been voting for thirty years, we haven't careened off a cliff yet.
Steve Robert 4 days ago
Whenever BP puts " continue reading...", is when I leave their website.
Guess Undheit 4 weeks ago
Yanks still "think" there are always and only "two sides" of every discussion. WRONG. There is only one side on some (all people deserve human rights, including abortion, LGBTQIA people, etc.) and MANY sides on other issues. "Binary thinking" is ignorance.
Verena 4 weeks ago
The major problem for everybody living in huge countries is the distance to other cultures. This is one of my top 5 why I love to be an European. It is very hard to not come into active and close contact with entirely different cultures and languages. Spending holidays in a different country is fairly easy and not very expensive. The next border is usually a max 2 hour drive away. Physical shopping across borders is common, working in a different country than you were born in is nothing special. This results in a basis of at least knowing and often understanding that different lifestyles are nothing to get upset about, it is normal. And it makes it easier to "shop around" for better solutions to all kinds of poblems. You just see that a different approach does work.
Brian Garcia 4 weeks ago
Normally don't post too often here, tends to be an anti-American rant on too many articles. Cool, I get it. But your supposition is beyond reproach. We have a huge country, not by choice...any many of our states are exceptionally diverse and different in character, norms, and traditions. The insane notion that the U.S. somehow "picked" its geography is asinine. We have four borders...two oceans, the United States of Mexico, and Canada. If you want to deride the U.S. for other reasons, hey...that's your prerogative. But to slap down due to geography realities is just simple-minded. What you're celebrating is geographical and historically based, don't pretend to suggest you somehow had a voice in it. Been to Europe...love it, Asia...love it, much of Mexico...love it. So much bashing on our country...we're big, diverse, and quite spread apart. Please don't take that to mean that we don't appreciate other cultures, lifestyles, travel, etc.
Load More Replies... Ionescu Popa 1 month ago
smart, but self-interested. not what to do for the best, but what to do for your own best. most of them will not even secondarily move few rocks for the real good. its only good point is that it's more authentically patriotic that the usual shtshow, though not necessarily less self-serving. the problem down here is that anyone's efforts, including the government's or deep state's, can change little in general, and even less in a good sense - the bad things were born collective, systemic, self-learning and self-regulating. as matrix puts it: we tried more scenarios; fastest, they revolted against the best utopias.
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