What do Americans think of their own history?

Its just like the history of any other country, a bloody mess.

Ah fair enough. I thought your argument was more along the lines of "what the us did in the past does not constitute atrocities". My mistake.majoras_wrath

Nope. All I intended to convey was that, regardless of the atrocicocity of the US, I don't feel guilty or depressed about it.

smart *alec*

Tokugawa77

I don't think not being guilty or depressed makes me too much of a smart alec. This does, though:

I am of German descent, but my family has lived in America for a very long time. Therefore, though I'm mostly American, I have a slight German racial identity. That makes me in some vague way related in a couple ways to the persons who developed the US space program, decades before I was born. This eventually led to the launching of STS-51-L, which resulted in the violent explosion of the Challenger orbiter. Therefore, I feel a deep sense of guilt and shame when thinking about the families of:

• Ltc. Francis "Dick" Scobee
• Capt. Michael J. Smith
• Ltc. Ellison S. Onizuka
• Judith A. Resnik
• Ronald E. McNair
• S. Christa McAuliffe
• Cpt. Gregory B. Jarvis

In some indescribable way, I'm responsible for this. I'm so depressed! :cry:

There are some good and some bad things about America's history. In the past it was slavery, Vietnam, Ronald Reagan, etc. but I can see it from their pov, the slavers were losing a multi-billion dollar industry because someone decided to free them. I'm happy that happened because we would be more ignorant than we are now. Vietnam I won't go into. And Ronald Reagan was the devil. Each of his names have 6 letters in them. (That was a joke btw) But today America even worse problems, like obesity and killing ourselves because our lives suck so bad so we drink ourselves to death. Oh we also love meth, crack, and lots of other synthetic drugs.

But thats ok because it lowers the population of the planet. ;)

Pictured; American history. That's right folks, it's NOT just slaves getting whipped and sad Native Americans being forced to march hundreds of miles

Cave Johnson, we're done here

Pictured; American history. That's right folks, it's NOT just slaves getting whipped and sad Native Americans being forced to march hundreds of miles

Cave Johnson, we're done here

Verge_6

Wait, so are you denying the more gruesome parts of American history? Sure all countries have shameful pasts but Americans try to gloss over ours.

Wait, so are you denying the more gruesome parts of American history? Sure all countries have shameful pasts but Americans try to gloss over ours.

Tokugawa77

How can I deny the more gruesome parts when I actually acknowledged them not just in this thread prior, but in the post you quoted? The whole "glossing over" bit isn't limited to Americans, most countries tend to do so with their respective histories. I've been to American, Russian, and British schools, and the American ones have actually spent more time on the darker sides of their history. Yet, in Britain, the whole thing of empirial conquest was given a quick going-over (especially India), and Russian schools conveniently left out little tidbits like the Purges or the Hungarian Revolution.

[QUOTE="Tokugawa77"]

Wait, so are you denying the more gruesome parts of American history? Sure all countries have shameful pasts but Americans try to gloss over ours.

Verge_6

How can I deny the more gruesome parts when I actually acknowledged them not just in this thread prior, but in the post you quoted? The whole "glossing over" bit isn't limited to Americans, most countries tend to do so with their respective histories. I've been to American, Russian, and British schools, and the American ones have actually spent more time on the darker sides of their history. Yet, in Britain, the whole thing of empirial conquest was given a quick going-over (especially India), and Russian schools conveniently left out little tidbits like the Purges or the Hungarian Revolution.

history of america is dark TBH.but anyway it's history now.if you read abaut the colonialism asians and aferican had to take becaus of britanania and france and turky and .... you really won't be so proud.the wars these poor people had to fight because any of these countries wanted that colony for themselves.and the poverty colonialism brought to them as well is horrible.but now it's diifrent I geuss.world has changed a lot.

Palantas, I have missed you.

coolbeans90

I missed you too, coolbeans.

We easily have the most notable history next to the Japanese.

I love all history, but I find it odd that American history is taught all over the world when its so recent compared to the long rich cultures in places like England and Greece. I mean, in Peru they teach you Peru history and world history and put a big focus on US events and history, but other then a chapter in a history book detailing the plight of the Incas, you don't get much teaching on Peru or Ecuador or anything here.

Still, I think US history is full of great (and bad) stuff worth reading about.

We don't have history; that stuff comes from Europe, I thinkxaos