Are most Americans Cowards?

[Bandit]

If they aren't why are they so afraid all the time? Why is Bush* so successful at fear mongering if Americans aren't afraid of their shadows? Why do so many Americans feel the need to walk around armed if they aren't afraid someone will try to hurt them. I know mostly it is Republicans that are so fearful and hold the second Ammendment sacrosanct. No other country that I know of keeps it's citizens in such constant terror. We seem to have the attitude that the glass is less than half full when it comes to carrying guns. We feel the odds are likely that we may need the gun instead of going with the odds which say that the odds you will every need a gun to protect yourself is over a million to one. Our glass is about a three quarters empty in America and I wonder where our courage dissapeared to. People have been scared in this country long before Bush* came along. I hate the fact that Americans are afraid of their shadows but have no idea how to bring about change.

[brainshrub]

1. Conservatives are cowards

Liberals & progressives have historically put their bodies on the line for Democracy & human rights.

We are the majority.

[DUreader]

2. I am

[Capt_Nemo]

3. Don't know about a majority but

those that vote for chickenhawks sure are...

[Deja Q]

4. Michael Moore said it best

in "Dude, where's my Country" wher ehe pointed out all sorts of restrictions and eliminations in the constitution yet they reduced restrictions for owning a gun. Um, guns can be used for terrorism... Why the hypocrisy?!

[niyad]

5. part of the answer to that lies in the mentality that swallows the

fundamentalist brand of religion, hook, line and sinker. why there is this psychological need in people to be fear-driven, I have absolutely no idea.
years ago, in a novel I was reading, there was a discussion about the mindset that goes to religion. it was observed that a kind of intelletual rot seems to set in once one embraces one of these fear=based belief systems. the question then became, does the intellectual rot lead to adhering to these belief systems, or does adhering to these systems bring on the rot.

the xians like to point out that the higher the crime statistics, the more people turn to xianity-- the other way of looking at it is the more people turn to xianity, the more crime there is.

[Touchdown]

6. Michael Moore explored that

in Bowling for Columbine. He raised some serious questions about why we are so fearful. Unfortunately, he, like the rest of us has no easy answers, and I think most Americans are also afraid to look at difficult questions,and come up with real solutions.

[sventvkg]

7. Most Americans are wimps nowadays it seems..I don't get it..

Also, a friend in a Boston College who is in her mid 30's very pro femminism and very liberal and active in causes, just told me in a coversation that the majority of kids on campus are conservative..She's says most are totally brainwashed..She is stunned by it as well and thinks we have a TALL Hurdle to win next year. She also thinks te Democratic party is broken...I agree but that was alarming coming from her nontheless.

[K8-EEE]

39. Christians The Most Fearful??

Yeah and hey I'm a Catholic myself so I don't mean to disrespect religion or anything but it seems to me that it's the biggest Bible-thumpers that are always shrieking "They want to kill us!!" etc...and about Iraq which, they weren't actually trying to kill us but you know it ALWAYS WORKS!

It just seems to me that those right wing radio guys just start from a premise of fear and work from there. And even before 9/11, before that it was fear of criminals or whatever, after 9/11 they weren't so scared of carjacking and all that, they didn't need to stoke that flame anymore since now there was something seriously, for-real scary.

[K8-EEE]

40. Abusing Fear

[K8-EEE]

41. oops sorry

still learning how this forum works...it just is ironic to me that the ones who are so scared of WMD and all that, are inadvertently doing more to convert the whole damn world into a WMD tinderbox!

It is just obvious to me that Iraq never had the WMD and that Bush & Co. KNEW it...that's why they went in. That's why they didn't go into Korea, so the lesson is, EVERYBODY SCRAMBLE AND GET YOUR NUKES OR THE U.S. WILL BE PAYING YOU A VISIT.

Now THAT'S scary!

[htuttle]

8. Yes

Just like the pResident.

[Character Assassin]

9. What are you talking about?

If they aren't why are they so afraid all the time?

Why do so many Americans feel the need to walk around armed if they aren't afraid someone will try to hurt them

I hate the fact that Americans are afraid of their shadows but have no idea how to bring about change.

Who, through all of these sweeping generalizations, are you trying to describe? 'Most' and 'many' are relatively useless when trying to identify specific populations.

[Bandit]

10. Sounds like you need to clean your pistol

:shrug:

[Character Assassin]

13. Sounds like you need to stop using generalizations and try logic

Perhaps having a point that can actually be clarified and quantified to the extent that meaningful discussion can take place would be a start.

Or is that asking too much?

[jsw_81]

21. Gun owners

Anyone who thinks that law-abiding gun owners are "cowards" is clueless. Those kinds of stupid comments cost us SEVERAL key states in 2000.

[Bandit]

22. I never said gun owners were

I said those people who feel the need to pack their guns around with them for their protection are. They are afraid someone will try to hurt them or they would not want to pack heat. I don't know maybe you do it as a status symbol. I think most people who carry are afraid. I'm not talking about hunters. They have a specific purpose for carying their gun and they have full intention of using it. The ones that fear for their safety are "Just being prepared" when by any statistic the odds of them ever needing a gun for their protection are a million to one. They operate on fear and don't believe the statistics. They don't want to become one. There is more chance they will be struck by lightning. Why are Americans so afraid? That is my question. Too much violent TV I believe.

[jsw_81]

23. Guns

Some people, including many elderly as well as many young, single women, live alone in dangerous neighborhoods where it can take ten or fifteen minutes for the police to arrive after dialing 911. I know this might be hard for you to understand since you apparently live in Alaska (as I once did), but I suggest you come down to the lower 48 and drive around a bad part of one of our major cities at night. Try to imagine that you're poor and living in such an area. Believe me, you'd definitely want protection. It's has nothing to do with liberal or conservative, it's just common sense.

Others live in the middle of nowhere with NO police for several miles. Would you take their guns away too?

[Bandit]

25. You made my point

People are afraid. Why? Why is our country more insecure than most others? Why are Americans so afraid. I guess I got off on the wrong foot by saying cowards. Being afraid and being a coward are not necessarily the same thing. I just wonder why so much fear especially if we are supposed to be the greatest country on the face of the planet.

[Solomon]

28. We know what you mean Bandit, and you are right. Americans are

always in fear. A great deal of it has to do with the burgeoning non-white population of the US. I know I will get flamed for this because the fear is so deep most people don't recognize it for what it is.

Anyway, it's much easier to keep a wealthy population in fear as they are always afraid of someone taking what they have.

[coralrf]

46. I know many that are cowards...

many. But can you cite what you are responding to?

I also know many very brave folks without guns. Many.

[camero]

11. Militarizing the population is a RW tactic

A couple of little known facts here. Hitler actually loosened gun control laws. Castro actually handed out firearms to the population until street crime got out of control. Saddam handed firearms to his population before the first Gulf War.

It's two fold. Put them in fear and then arm them. Then they have an excuse to tighten the grip on the populace.

[glarius]

12. Can I ask a question without making anyone angry?

This is not meant in any way as criticism, but as a question. I'm really puzzled.....Why do Americans seem to hate government?.....You revere your constitution but seem to have no faith in the peopleYOU ELECT to govern you....When ever someone announces they are running for office, whether for president or a lesser job, they more often than not go to great pains to convince the public they are "outsiders!" as if that will make them more acceptable!.....This looks rather strange to me.....How can you claim to be the world's greatest democracy and yet not trust your own democracy?.....I know there is a certain scepticism about politicians in most countries, but it seems to be quite extreme in the U.S.A....I wonder if this feeling towards your government is why you don't accept things like universal health care, which is a government responsibility?....Your people seem to assume that if it is government funded, it will surely be run by the government and screwed up....It can be government funded and run by the medical community, like it is here in Canada.....I hope I haven't offended anyone....I love you all but this is something I have wondered about for ages.....

:loveya:

[camero]

14. What I think

The amount of deceit that is needed to get elected. It's almost as if our politics have become Machiavellian.

An example: How many have been elected while saying we need to raise taxes, even if we do. Hardly any.

An honest person who asks the hard questions is almost always portrayed as "unelectable". Money is also a big deterant to getting good people elected.

[Bandit]

15. I think deep down we know we are a very corrupt country.

Our leaders are corrupt and it rubs off on every citizen. There is little left to be proud of in America.

[K8-EEE]

44. Power Corrupts...

Nothing corrupts like absolute power, and that is what is going on here -- they act like any kind of dissent is "unpatriotic." I think America is still one of the least corrupted countries but ONLY because of our history of tolerating debate and dissent and that is what is being attacked now.

I think it is human nature that money and power are corrupting influences...it even says that in the Bible but the Bible-belters always end up voting to keep a system that rewards the most money-grubbing. They more money you have the better your chances, isn't that screwy? Fundadmentally screwed up?

[AG78]

16. Good question

But I'm not sure that we've ever really been a democracy.

What is American government at this point? It's a two-party system, but it's basically one party because the same corporations own both sides. And the biggest corporations do as they please no matter what.

And also, under the surrect system, nothing ever gets done. The only time anything truly happens in this country, is when there is a national movement of people that want it. It's not the politicians. They'll do whatever they need to do to stay in office, since most are addicted to the power that the votes gives them. So if there's a movement for something, one side or the other will hop on so that they can get those votes. Not all the politicians are like that, but the guys that get all the press, and are propped up by the media(which is just another corporate plan), they do that.

Most, if not all, elections come down to taxes. All the other issues(whether it's education, health, gay marriges, abortion, who knows what else) are all secondary. Not that they're not important, they just don't usually decide anything. Those issues all get moved around on a cheesboard to keep as many people divided as possible. Because if people ever got together, we could change things. So a "right" issue will be moved a little to the left, but to counteract that, a "left" issue gets moved a little to the right. And that continues. Sometimes, an entire issue might completely flip sides. Then the people get completely confused. They don't know what side they're on anymore.

But to answer the question, I'm not sure we know what government is. At least not government for the people, by the people, and of the people. It's never been like that. As we were officially creating this country, we were practicing genocide and slavery. It took about 80 years before slavery was outlawed. It took another hundred years after that before black people were considered human beings. All the while women didn't have any say in anything. And now, it takes money to have an opinion. Or at least an opinion that means something. What is freedom of speech if it has no power? Ask Germany after WW2. Yes, we helped liberate them from a savage group of people, but today, Germany, in terms of world affairs, isn't even in the game. We saw to that when we didn't bother to listen to their opinion. We did the same in Japan, but since we nuked them twice, we give let them make everything that makes the world work, we just don't let them have a say in how the world works. We make fun of the French in reponse to them using their democratically given voice to disagree with us. We'll do the same in Iraq, and esecially if they're not just our puppet.

Again, what is freedom of speech if it doesn't mean anything? Yes, we can say whatever we want, and not be thrown into a pit for doing so. But since the system wants all the people to stay as divided as possible, because the system couldn't survive without that, then speech doesn't mean much, and the people in power will do whatever they want. Unless we actually got together as a people, but that gets harder and harder as each day passes by(because of a whole range of things).

[Eric J in MN]

36. the Constitution encompasses ideals

The Constitution encompasses ideals.

Most politicians are about winning an election and rewarding their campaign contributors.

[K8-EEE]

43. Outsiders!!

First of all beware of "outsiders," GWB himself had the nerve to describe himself that way in the 2000 "election," what a joke! I mean how many people are born with as many political connections as GWB & bro Jeb? Would they by any stretch of the imagination be where they are without them?

It's just posing -- give me a career politician with a track record any day. That's why I don't like term limits, you can't see the person's record, it's just to easy to minipulate.

[newyawker99]

48. Hi K8-EEE

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[TexasMexican]

17. why do people keep

on claiming that gun owners are cowards?

I'm pretty sure most americas are cowards or at the least completely apathetic, but that has nothing to do with gun ownership.

[jsw_81]

18. No, but...

I think a majority of the pro-war people would s--t themselves if they had to fight on the front lines. They love war and killing as long as they don't have to actually participate.

[Cat Atomic]

19. Americans are scared. They're no more cowardly than anyone

else.

This country has been motivated through fear for years. Remember when Reagan tried to suggest that Grenada was a threat to the US?

The people here are just ignorant and manipulated endlessly by fearmongers.

[leftofthedial]

20. we are complacent, comfortable and ignorant

our fear is based on the prospect of losing the things we have acquired that we use to define our selves and on the propsect of losing the ability to acquire such things in the future.

Notice how vague the threat always is. Shadowy, turbaned, swarthy evil doers with secret weapons. Who knows when or where they will strike?

Oooooooh.

The implicit "fear" is the loss of our way of life. We lose our property; we lose our identity. That is scary.

[kaybea]

24. That question occurs to me often...

when I listen to C-Span's Washington Journal. Most times I'm working and only listening with half an ear, but then suddenly my head will pop up like a sharp whistle has sounded and I'll turn to look at the TV. I finally figured out the cause.

It's the voice of fear. It has different tones, but the fear is there underneath.

In the elderly female it is a tremulous whine of indignation. About what? Usually it has something to do with welfare.

The elderly male has the voice of belligerent dread and suspicion that comes from knowing that they're confused but helpless or too set in their ways to do anything about it.

Males in their prime seem to suffer from that 19th century malady once attributed soley to females--hysterics. Their fear is so shrill, you can hear their bodies vibrating on the other end of the line.

Females in their prime seem to have the fear of insecurity in what they say or perhaps just expressing an opinion at all. A lot of them put a rising inflection on the end of a sentence, as if , you know? everything? is a question?

Final observation: a lot of fear seems to emanate out of rural areas. Perhaps the cause is isolation and loneliness.

I don't think necessarily that Americans are more cowardly than any other peoples. However, I will say that the tenors of their fears just grate my last fucking nerve. My problem though. Not theirs.

[newyawker99]

29. Hi kaybea!!

Welcome to DU!! :toast:

[jsw_81]

32. I know what you mean

I'm only 22 but one of my biggest fears is that I'll wake up one day as a poor 70 year-old desperately trying to survive on my meager social security and pension checks with little or no savings. Just try and imagine what that must be like! No wonder they're so concerned and fanatical about social security and medicare. Not to mention what it must be like for them to live in a confusing, high-tech society. It must be pretty damn scary at times.

[KFC]

26. Of course not

I have never met anyone who is "so afraid all the time". Since I have met thousands of people and not a single one is in "constant terror", I am well qualified to answer no.

[Trek234]

27. Most conservatives are

Take for example lynching. 50 klan members vs 1 african american.

To be fair there are also many liberal nut cases that want to kill tens of thousands of OTHER people (american and foreign) to accomplish a political goal. Unlike conservatives, however, they want to do this through power of law which is to a degree sicker.

[xchrom]

30. i live in a violent city

and i don't own a gun.
i lived in new york in the 70's and didn't own a gun.
went to az in the 80's{one of those gun owning paradises} and i was finally assualted at gun point several times -- and for hate reasons -- you know leaving a gay bar and such.
i'm way more nervous about gun violence in places like az, or wy, etc than i am in urban environments.

[maggrwaggr]

31. it's one more thing for which the media is to blame

remember in those heat waves in chicago where old people died in their apartments rather than open a window and let some air in?

Watch any local news broadcast, especially in big cities, and what do you get? the police blotter: killings, shootings, rapes, muggings ....

Almost every lead in to a local news show is "what you should know about protecting (fill in the blank)".

Now, after 9/11, it's become nationalized and institutionalized. Be afraid, be very afraid. It makes people watch the news. They get up every morning and turn it on to make sure some new disaster hasn't happened.

The fact is 3,000 people have been killed in the last three years from domestic terrorism. How many people have died from being shot by their own guns? Way more than that.

More people have probably slipped and fallen in the shower and been killed than have been killed by domestic terrorism.

Yet it's the big boogeyman that everybody's terrified of. Enough that we'll bankrupt the entire country and kill thousands of other people to invade other states that "might" have something to do with it.

What we need in this country more than a new president, more than a new congress, is a media that represents the truth.

[jsw_81]

33. This is true

How many people die from smoking-related illnesses each year? Isn't it around 500,000 or so? Yet when was the last time we heard the president speak out against smoking? When did Congress declare a war on tobacco? Oh that's right, most of the Congresspeople are bought and paid for by the tobacco companies.

[Scott Lee]

34. No, but they mostly fear inconvenience

Being in such a spoiled "lifestyle", most Americans seem to fear the lack of gas for their SUV or shortage of DVD's more than they fear the errant AlQaeda operative.

And it is precisely that which is wielded over them by the rightist powerbrokers.

[arewethereyet]

35. you miss the point

the guns are less about protecting yourself from criminals as it is to insure that your rights can't be taken away by the government.

Perhaps we need more people carrying weapons, not less, and things would not be going south as they have.

[FullerMacBride]

37. Fear and loathing in the U.S.

I also dislike it that most of us seem to be afraid of our shadows and have no idea how to bring about change. I personally don't have any idea whatsoever about what exactly to do to bring about change.

The problem may be as simple as how we are socialized, and I think that has a lot to do with it. Some latent symptoms seem to have burst through to the surface since 911 and indeed our fear of being hurt or having something taken away seems to be an over-riding theme the last few years. George Bush couldn't tap into it if it wasn't already there (although I agree Bush and his administration are ruthlessly manipulating and perpetuating those fears).

Also, although we may be compassionate souls as individuals, our system is not compassionate. When people are sure of their support network and that if they fall down there will be help getting up, they tend to have more confidence. But our system is very punitive and dehumanizing. In fact, in general it's very punitive about everyone but those at the top -- who seem to overwhelmingly be adept at lying, cheating, and stealing.

If Americans feel they have to figure out how to stay on the good side of government to avoid potential interruptions in their lives and if they feel they can't ever get sick or hurt or take one step down the ladder of success because there will be no help or caring or compassion for most of us, I think that sense of foreboding is based in reality.

[BiggJawn]

38. Who let you guys out of the "Gungeon"?

Just because the ods are pretty high that I will be struck by lightning isn't driving me to stand on the peak of the roof during storms.

1,000,000:1? I don't like those odds.

[Robin Hood]

42. Not only are they cowards, but they are lazy cowards.

because at least half of them are racists who long for pre-civil war days when they had people taking care of their every need for nothing. The majority of these people were also not interested in the American revolution, and were quite happy to kiss the kings ass.

Fucking lazy cowards, Their descendants are all around us these days.

[beevul]

45. Criticisms of generalisations, friendly nonetheless

Without offending you, I'd like to offer the following criticism.

"Why do so many Americans feel the need to walk around armed if they aren't afraid someone will try to hurt them."

This is just like saying why do so many americans drive cars that have a spare tire, if they aren't afraid of getting a flat, why do they wear seatbelts if they aren't afraid of being hurt in an accident..

or

Why do so many americans have a fire extinguisher...or why do they have insurance...or why do they have locks on their doors...or why...and so on, and so on.

Theres one thing I learned in boy scouts years ago that stuck more than anything else (no, I am not religious, I'd consider myself agnostic/atheist). That 1 thing is BE PREPARED. Don't confuse being prepared with being afraid. I am really not afraid of much, as an individual, I suppose you could say I'm afraid of being unprepared, but its more a case of uncomfortable...years of disciplining myself to be prepared, ducks in a row...etc. Whaddya expect from a Virgo?O8)

I DO fear for America, however.:scared:

Please don't take this post the wrong way, I agree with much of what you originally said. I just thought it would be good to make a distinction between being prepared, and being afraid, because they ARE different.

[Hogarth]

47. I'd rather cook a squash ...

... than obsess on gun ownership, but--I don't know. It might make me feel more secure. Would I shoot a person? Will I ever have to? I suspect the question is moot, but I do feel an attraction to gun-ownership? Sure. It translates to empowerment, but so what? I'm not living inside a movie, and if a burglar stops by I'm not going to shoot him (or her) dead.

I don't know. I guess I'm conflicted. It wouldn't be the first time. =)

[DivinBreuvage]

49. Same argument used by George III, Jefferson Davis, and Hitler

"Americans (or Yankees) are cowards, and they won't fight."

It seems some posters here at DU want Americans to take to the streets and shed blood at the dropping of a pin, like a hot-headed Carolina gentleman in the age of the Code Duello. Try reading a history book. The situation isn't bad enough yet. The American people haven't been pushed far enough yet. It takes time for a nation of 290 million people to realize that things have gone too far and to be stirred to action, just as it takes more time to push a fully-loaded freight train to top speed than it does a sports car, and, yes, working folks with mortgages and young children are a little more reluctant to storm the gates than hot-blooded college kids. Wait till another Depression or slave-secession crisis gets here and you'll get all the violence you can handle.

Francoise