I made this chart for an odd reason and didn't end up using it for anything. But as long as I made it, I might as well share it. Isn't that the kind of stochastic¹ mind dump that blogging is famous for?
¹Fancy word for "random."
17 thoughts on “Raw data: Americans are losing pride in their country”
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I'm not proud - I did nothing to be an American. My neighbors - he from Ukraine and she from Russia - have a right to be proud.
I'm lucky to be born in a Western democracy.
"Stochastic" isn't exactly the same as "random." A stochastic process is one that is modeled using a random probability distribution; that is, "stochastic" refers to the model, whereas "random" refers to phenomena. For example, many years ago, I modeled the scattering of light through biological tissue (an apparently random phenomenon) using a Monte Carlo approach (a stochastic method). Whether the scattering phenomenon really was random or not was beside the point; the stochastic model was useful because it accurately predicted the scattering.
Why "Stochastic Terrorism" is accurate.
People who vote for Republicans are the least patriotic people imaginable, every public action they take or position they endorse has the purpose of damaging others or damaging society, directly or indirectly.This is the real reason they're intransigent about guns, not that it's all about gun industry profits, but that they know it causes chaos and panic which they think they can exploit because as a group they're more self-coherent and more easily organizable due to their gullibility and witlessness.
It works out exactly like this in everything they do, so what are they really saying when they try to convince others of how patriotic they are? They are lying to fool the gullible, (including themselves), and they are actually really patriotic, but in a highly localized way, far, far up their own butts.
I'd lean more towards being proud of America, all things considered it's done about as well as humans could be expected to do.
I'm not proud of being an American, though. My luck not my choice.
When I travel, I am constantly apologizing for being an American and only speaking English.
But I also strongly feel that we take far too many of accomplishments for granted. Our nation is, for instance, far less polluting than it was in my childhood; the Clean Water and Clean Air acts are fantastically successful. My brother has been able to marry his husband, and I'll ever forget the exhale of "of course!" at their wedding as these two men who had been together for 25 years finally joined in matrimony. My transgender daughter has legally changed her name and gender marker on all her documents and on her passport. These are all things that make me proud.
But patriotism as a fashion leaves me cold, no room for self improvement in that founding-father's worship.
And I absolutely hate that our nations exceptionalism is in war.
Interesting that the things that make you proud are the things Republicans want to get rid of.
But not surprising. Republicans want to go back to 1955, when in their fever dreams America was perfect....perfect if you're a white male.
My impression is that Republicans would prefer 1855 South Carolina.
I’m on record that AI/computers do not possess “understanding” of the words they use and concepts they discuss in their conversations with humans. Nevertheless, even the dumbest computers have vastly more understanding of words and ideas than Republicans.
Case in point: almost 60% of Republicans in the Gallup poll say they are proud of being Americans.
Yet 55% of Republicans say the Jan. 6 insurrection was about “defending freedom” and 51% say it was an act of “patriotism,” according to a CBS/YouGov poll.
https://twitter.com/deanobeidallah/status/1640335549041897473
We live in different worlds. One in which words still have meaning, the other straight out of Orwell.
“When I use a word… it means just what I choose it to mean - neither more nor less.”
- Cheshire Cat
Extreme is a word I associate with fanatic. Count me out.
Isn't "pride" the worst of the Seven Deadly Sins? It's what got Lucifer kicked out of heaven, right?
Wonder what happened between 2009 and 2013 to narrow the gap between Republican and Democratic pride. Oh yeah, the Obama first term. And what happened between 2017 and 2019 to make it the widest? The Trump years.
Republicans aren't proud because Trump is always telling them how shitty we are and how everyone is laughing at us. Democrats aren't proud because of the Republicans.
Still proud of trillion dollar war budgets.
I would tend to be proud of the U.S. when it does something I agree with, like promoting science and historical truth in schools, or acting with restraint in international affairs. Republicans, overall, are proud of their country when it does something they approve of, like teaching divine creation in schools, or kicking butt and taking names in international affairs. The fact that we're all feeling less proud suggests all of us, on both sides, think the country is doing less stuff we agree with.