The US currently has a better standard of living for the wider population than at just about any point in human history (running water, AC, other modern conveniences, etc). Which could have been what he was trying to say, idk. But we definitely have a ways to go and its far from being the greatest. Slightly related, which civilizations would be considered the greatest historically?
It would be so hard to define. What would we even consider “great?” And would that greatness be judged to the standards of that particular time or would we try to retroactively judge the distant past by today’s standards? If it’s the latter, the entire list would probably be modern civilizations
Actually all I’ve really done this weekend is play the new AEW video game, watch some wrestling, watch some TV. Want to watch a horror movie now and I have 3.75 in Amazon video credit expiring soon so trying to figure out which one from my watchlist I want to rent
I have fun every 4th. I have a family tradition that my two oldest still come over for and it has zero to do with celebrating “America”. I am better of than literally billions of people on earth . That doesn’t mean we can’t acknowledge the shortcomings of this nation. I’ll eat a little too much, drink a little too much and go on a rant about the evils of capitalism.
I mainly just keep it simple and celebrate shit like; 1. I'm not human goo paste painted on the titanic wreckage 2. I'm not a fuckwad dad who tries to live his life through his kids and exploit them...or dipshit internet douches who make up memes and rad names for said fuckwad dads. 3. I'm not forced to watch my favorite MLB team (which is a very very bad MLB team) due to blackout restrictions. (go 'Merica)
Yes this country is still a shithole that hates its citizens and anyone who unironically celebrates this place is a moron or unempathic to the Plight of people with less than themselves.
Without the 4th of July Terry would have never learned his wheelchair had reverse. If you can't celebrate that, you're just a sad sack with absolutely no positive attributes.
I guess tweets about confederates getting slaughtered like fat pigs at cemetery hill don’t embed like they used too edit: working now… maybe
The neighborhood expects me to feed them ribs, cookies, and potato salad for our block party, so I will fucking takers
I don’t have twitter and tweets are all kinds of fucked up now. I used to be able to click on them to read them now when I do I just get an error message.
all the talk about gettysburg on my feed has me wanting to watch the movie but it's not on any streaming sites sad
Gettysburg: Extended Edition by Ronald F. Maxwell https://itunes.apple.com/us/movie/gettysburg-extended-edition/id460459827
Gettysburg is the shining example of how overrated Lee was as a general. His entire legacy was built off of playing defense in a territory he was familiar with, but he was a pronounced failure without those benefits and frankly a string of pretty poor Potomac commanders. The lost cause covered a lot of that up, but there was no way the South had any ability to win that war other than play for a stalemate. Grant ran circles around Lee and the other Southern generals (with some exceptions like the wilderness). /rant
Lee was dogshit. He was lucky to go against bitches like Hooker, Burnside, McClellan on his territory. That’s like going against a bunch of fucking Brady Hokes and playing nothing but home games. as soon as he had to go against real generals away from his home turf he did absolute smooth brained shit and got his secess stomped the fuck in
James Longstreet had a fascinating history. Kind of the opposite of Lee. He was pilloried in the Lost Cause mythology as an incompetent and key cause for Lee's failure at Gettysburg. These criticisms were post-war constructions. After the war, Longstreet expressed open support for Reconstruction (at least partially motivated by his desire to ensure white political power in the South, to be sure, but nevertheless a dangerous position to espouse at the time), and later assumed command of the New Orleans PD, which was integrated following the war. Republican control in Louisiana began to collapse rapidly in the early 1870s and shortly after the Colfax Massacre in 1873, a paramilitary org called the White League (or something to that effect) marched on New Orleans. it was Longstreet's police who fought them (unsuccessfully, unfortunately)
Generally speaking, Grants ability to make friends with southern generals post war by uncharacteristically not being "unconditional surrender grant" at Appomattox and there after is pretty interesting, and one of the main reasons he was able to win as many southern states as he did
Nice little run up to 9300 ft at sunrise this morning and now a full day of elite fiction by the pool. Same as any other day off work
Would highly recommend Butcher's Crossing for anyone looking for a read that shatters the myths of modern America
First time I’ve ever had a flag up for the 4th. Celebrating the America we could be if half the country didn’t have pudding for brains.
Finishing up the biography of Frederick Douglass I started reading last summer, but then got too sidetracked to finish. There’s something kind of funny about reading it poolside at a resort where there is a group of about 30 decked out MAGA assholes who keep giving me side eye when they walk by and see the cover (likely not because they actually know who Douglass is, but because there’s a photo of a black guy on the cover) just as I get to the part where he gives his famous July 5th speech at Corinthian Hall. Maybe these assholes should read a little about it to understand what real oppression is and what freedom actually means.