i'm not much of a patriot, being almost genetically averse to nationalism in all its various forms, as a godless coastal elite
but its basically impossible to overstate the opportunities the USA has created for me, my family, and many others like us
so, fuck yeah, America 🇺🇸🎇
as Jews escaping the rising tide of antisemitism in the wake of the collapse of the USSR, the US took us in
while we were poor as shit for a while, we had the opportunity to make a living here, dependent on our abilities to leverage our skills to be useful to the market
this sounds trite and obvious to many, but its important to realize just how uncommon this is throughout the world; in many places, your resources and lifestyle are highly predetermined by the lottery of your birth
yes, the US has its own massive issues, but the market provides
the Randian logic of enlightened selfishness truly has made its home in the American economy, where all is subverted to serve the interests of Capital; the playbook for success is pretty straightforward: be smart and useful.
this, being the highest principle, is why the US works
yes, its an incredibly dysfunctional society, yes, there is massive inequity and poverty traps abound, and yes, the rich have massive advantages and the playing field is not even
but if you think this is bad, try living somewhere else, especially in the post-Soviet states
many here take it for granted that those in power will do anything & everything to make the most money possible
this is absolutely untrue in other parts of the world, where old grudges, prejudices, & short-sightedness are the rule
the old world is being replaced for a reason
free markets are not the solution to every problem; hell, they don't even really exist, because they cant
but markets are an excellent solution to a wide variety of complex socioeconomic problems, in a computationally-undeniable way (altho many do)
---
RT @pee_zombie
contemporary society is founded on a sort of economic namaste: "the money-lover in me recognizes the money-lover in you"
money is the ultimate intermediary, a translati…
https://twitter.com/pee_zombie/status/1396173113608577026
i'm incredibly grateful that my parents left their entire lives back there to make a new one here; while growing up as a 0th-gen immigrant has its own challenges, they pale in comparison to those of trying to make a living in a poor and corrupt system, as a persecuted minority
honestly, i do find much of American culture deeply abhorrent and repulsive, low-class, unsophisticated, naive, all these other words
but i'd much prefer to live in a country like this, rather than one where people like me are explicitly denied opportunities on genetic grounds
i'm grateful to be able to call this set of social, economic, and political problems my own; there are many others out there, but this one is mine
the USA sucks ass; but most other places suck more
so give me that hot dog and sparkler and lets get fucked up under the fireworks
many think black people in the US get a raw deal, and to a large extent, this is true; but its difficult to make them understand how much better it is for discrimination to be subtle & systemic, than direct & personal: "no, we don't hire Jews here"
here, everyone has a chance