They also think that no matter how bad the USA was/is/will be, it’s worse everywhere else. USA education and culture have perfected the cultivation of anti-intellectualism.
Exactly. It’s why when poor working Americans speak up about their conditions, the upper class hammers down with “quit complaining at least you’re not in (insert random African nation)!” It’s all relative, and you have to have a class analysis when observing this. The poor working class in America, struggling to get by, being forced to work two jobs or overtime to feed themselves or their family, is not all that better than a poor African just because they aren’t literally starving or have access to an iphone. The immiseration and inequality is still there, and it’s not something that can be justified by simply stating that its a little worse somewhere else. There is still an exploited underclass in America, how poor the rest of the world is doesn’t negate that fact. It’s unfortunate that many poor in America internalize this though, and think “it could be worse”. It’s never thought that “it could be better”.
They also think that no matter how bad the USA was/is/will be, it’s worse everywhere else. USA education and culture have perfected the cultivation of anti-intellectualism.
Exactly. It’s why when poor working Americans speak up about their conditions, the upper class hammers down with “quit complaining at least you’re not in (insert random African nation)!” It’s all relative, and you have to have a class analysis when observing this. The poor working class in America, struggling to get by, being forced to work two jobs or overtime to feed themselves or their family, is not all that better than a poor African just because they aren’t literally starving or have access to an iphone. The immiseration and inequality is still there, and it’s not something that can be justified by simply stating that its a little worse somewhere else. There is still an exploited underclass in America, how poor the rest of the world is doesn’t negate that fact. It’s unfortunate that many poor in America internalize this though, and think “it could be worse”. It’s never thought that “it could be better”.