Is modern America a "warrior culture"?

[Honu]

OH a pic is worth a 1000 words for sure and this is sadly becoming the majority I fear
and of course add the progressive agenda that these types believe in
sadly the majority are becoming pathetic puppets !

Nah, ninja. ^^^^That's what this country has become.

[TomD]

The title suggests you were trying to start a humor thread!

[BGREID]

I think that the USA has always been a Warrior Culture, that is how we won the continent. And I say Thank God for it. If we are ever invaded it will be bad, for them.

[ruchik]

That's an interesting question. Here's my random thoughts on the matter.

I think that a true warrior culture, such as the Maori, Mongols, and Spartans are very rare nowadays. That's because an actual need for such a culture has pretty much disappeared. Speaking from the perspective of cultural and technological evolution, a warrior culture tends to stagnate or die out. In American and other modern culture, there is more emphasis on the other aspects of warrior mindset, such as dedication and persistence, not so much the willingness to fight anymore.

I also believe that warrior cultures tend to die out fairly quickly; I would argue that a more accurate description would be that every modern culture raises a warrior generation if necessary instead. Humans by nature are violent, so one could also argue that every culture is already technically a warrior culture. We just find ways to amuse ourselves until fighting starts, such as football.

[GunBugBit]

We have warriors in America, but America as a whole is not a warrior culture. Unfortunately many Americans let mass media tell them what their culture is supposed to be.

[Honu]

and look sadly how often the other side treats those warriors that protect the rights we have etc...

We have warriors in America, but America as a whole is not a warrior culture. Unfortunately many Americans let mass media tell them what their culture is supposed to be.

[interfan]

Certainly not, but the concept of a the US as a "warrior culture" is a just a jab at American Exceptionalism. The US was never really a "warrior culture" like what was propagandized in pre-WWII Japan; or historically like the Mongols; or in Western terms like the Vikings, Spartans, or Etruscans. What we 'were' was much tougher, self disciplined, and self reliant - and proud of being self reliant with the steadfast belief that America is exceptional.

Pre 20th century, rugged individualism was prized. It got the US to expand from ocean to ocean, fed the innovation that created wealth with the industrial revolution, and led to freedom and prosperity. The shift intellectually from the Protestant Work Ethic to Karl Marx by the labor movement and academia in the 1910s-20s, the "New Deal" of the 1930s, collectivism as a unifying force to support war production in the 1940s, then the prominence of it as part of the public school indoctrination of baby boomers starting in the 1950s has led to the 11th place trophy society of today. Rather than acknowledge that in human history that there has never been a society that allows for such freedom and mobility as we have here, we now must feel compelled to have to apologize for it.

As a whole, we have forgotten our history and what makes America exceptional. Current history taught in schools has been revised to show how "bad" our ancestors are and how the US is responsible for all that ails the modern world. While very few people actually have any understanding of history at all, much less of why America is exceptional compared to any other society in the history of the world; the expression of American Exceptionalism as "warrior culture" is designed to undermine the nature of what makes this country exceptional. Conquest by the glorification and commonality of violence ("male-ness"), enslaving women and minorities, genocide, etc. are all the hallmarks of this criticism of America as a "warrior culture". All of these grievances with American history are all common things that were perpetrated by other cultures at the same point in history (most other cultures were much worse), yet only America is indicted again and again by those who want to push the agenda to get "America off its high horse". This "warrior culture" claim isn't new and is all part of the same lie - where the words are chosen very carefully for that one to emote a very specific reaction.

The direction that we are going is to become more like European countries with weakness inherent due to agenda of dependence, entitlement, and wealth redistribution. European countries have not prized self reliance in their modern forms at any time since state centered monarchy (feudalism as collectivism - divine right to rule by monarchs) has just been replaced with social democracy (Marxist collectivism - dictatorship by the proletariat) where the rights and property of the individual are granted at the will of the state. They are basically the same system but with new management. Rather than rewarding those who achieve, the European system punishes them to provide for someone who choses not to. The few points where countries have, through nationalism, attempted to push themselves to prominence have always been centered on the who they (or their ancestors) were or came from, not what they can do. European nationalism is a bankrupt philosophy and is not the on the same intellectual plane as American Exceptionalism.

Unfortunately, many see the guarantee of the "pursuit of happiness" as some state guarantee of comfort or convenience with free televisions, phones, food, clothing, and shelter without any responsibility to work. What we are guaranteed is the "pursuit", not the outcome.

[Outlander Systems]

We are DEFINITELY a "Social Justice Warrior" society.

[SteyrAUG]

I think that the USA has always been a Warrior Culture, that is how we won the continent. And I say Thank God for it. If we are ever invaded it will be bad, for them.

I think we are more of a "can sometimes get our shit together" country.

Very few kids in the US are raised to be fighters, especially when compared to other warrior cultures. Take the US and Japan in the early 20th century.

Every member of the Japanese military was taught two things from childhood. First that the greatest thing they can accomplish is to sacrifice themselves for the Emperor and the second thing they were taught were all the skills that would be useful for that endevour.

In contrast, with the exception of some "dead end kids", few in this country grew up learning to fight. Indeed based upon our culture the Japanese considered us "weak playboys who were fascinated by gangsters." During the depression, we learned to "get by" but that really didn't leave time for learning to be a warrior.

But we took on two very militaristic cultures, and despite having one of the smallest armies at the time (334,473 in 1939 and 458,365 in 1940), we were able to organize and by the end of 1941 we had 1,801,101 serving in the military. 38.8% (6,332,000) of U.S. servicemen and all servicewomen were volunteers.

http://www.nationalww2museum.org/lea...-military.html

Most of those had to be trained to fight. A lot of the methods were new. Rangers, Airborne, carrier warfare and tank tactics were all new skills. We might have had a "shooting culture" but that's about it.

[26 Inf]

interfan - your thoughts in that post were well-organized and clearly stated.

Do you have any further thoughts on this? collectivism as a unifying force to support war production in the 1940s, then the prominence of it as part of the public school indoctrination of baby boomers starting in the 1950s has led to the 11th place trophy society of today.

I am a gung ho kind of guy, we all pull together we can get things done, and to me the WWII experience (the history I learned) typifies this belief system.

The rugged individualism was important in the early exploration of the nation, but as we moved westward it was in groups. The common belief is that each person was expected to do their share, so there was individualism in that aspect, as well as individualism in homesteading in an area where your nearest neighbor was at least a mile or so away.

I feel that what is absent from our society today is not so much rugged individualism, but altruistic action from those that could afford to act out of altruistism, the most American question is 'what's in it for me?'

What I would like to live in is a society where all that are willing to try can thrive and live better than those that don't at least try. I don't equate all labor as being equal, but I do believe that all labor is good, and should be adequately rewarded, with those that actually risk and create reap greater reward.

Unfortunately, such a society needs accountability, both up and down the social ladder, something we have lost.