547

Actually, world history and world geography were once taught extensively in middle and high school in the US. Had they taught the same in Europe, you would know that the Urals represent the accepted boundary between Europe and Asia from North to South from the Artic Ocean, to the Border of Russia and Kazakstan. That falls East of the Caspian Sea, which is East of the Black Sea. European Russia is every portion of Russia West of the Urals, and Asian Russia is everything Eastward from the Urals. As Ukraine is West of Russia, it stands to reason that all of Ukraine is within Europe, and always has been. The Volga River is and has always been in Europe, as has been St Petersburg and Moscow. It doesn’t speak well of European education that those who grew up and went to school in Europe don’t even know which countries are actually part of Europe, or that Russia holds the unique position of having significant portions of it’s land mass in both Europe and Asia. This was about a 4th, or 5th year grade lesson in US schools when I was growing up.

You will not get any credit for this pro bono lesson in Geography.

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548

What is it with libs that they can’t correctly read the emotional reactions they inspire in others? It isn’t hatred, it is well-earned contempt.

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549

Ahh so this was your point…

550

Thank you i must admit I didn’t know some of this and appreciate your taking the time to educate me.
Russia is the only country on 2 continents.
The point is we and Russia are poles apart from each other in every way.
There is a reason no former Soviet Union countries want to rejoin.
Sorry europe and I inspire contempt in you just don’t understand why, still didn’t get an answer.
Contempt seems like too much hard work.
The thing is a lot of this anti Nato talk was amplified by you know who, a man with zero geo-political knowledge, the US and Europe were always allies and I’m not aware of any incident to change that.
I’ve always thought Americans were united by their patriotism and i hate to hear you have contempt for your fellow citizens, politics is not worth that.

551

The Revolution
WW1
WW2
The Spanish American war
the war of 1812
The psuedo war

It was European powers we were fightiing I’m pretty sure

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552

Don’t confuse the nations of Eastern Europe’s disdain for subjugation by Russia as anything unique. They don’t want to be subjugated by anyone else either.

I lived 6 years in Western Europe, as an adult. Great food, damp weather, lots of foolish socialists, and a propensity to freeload on the US defense budget. Many of the urban men have had their backbones rhetorically removed, along with their testicles. The general sense of contempt is earned.

And as for contempt itself, it isn’t a high-energy emotion, like actual hate. Contempt inspires one to roll their eyes. maybe give a snort, then ignore the individual and press on with whatever one is doing. Hate usually leads to rage and rage physical actions, often violent. I only hold shallow contempt for some of the arguments you make, but my contempt for those arguments was formed long before I heard you make them, as you are not the first. I don’t know you beyond a few posts on this board, so I can’t make an assessment of if I would hold you personally with contempt.

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553

Yes to protect our way of life together.
But you know our history and we’ve been a bit unlucky but if the US is sending financial aid it must be in its best interest to do so (whether you agree or not).
The European countries will do more in taking in refugees as some said they are our neighbours and apparently our problem.
Does the same apply to refugees fleeing South America after all they are your neighbours

554

Thanks I get that but can I ask why if American freedom is paramount to you why is a different political view ie libs classed as an enemy.
You guys have had 2 main political parties for ever, you’d think by now the differences would be accepted by the other.
Just a note again each European country is different from the other, we even have different languages and internal beef.
And I can guarantee that any cultural changes to our society today, started in the US.

555

I am sorry what? Both western russia and Ukraine are in Europe or if you want to be super cool Eurasia

What European history/geography were you taught where parts of austro-Hungary wasn’t Europe (because western Ukraine was part austro-Hungary)

556

Lots of reasons, but here’s one: there’s much less money for everyone if politicians cooperate and acts in sociable, responsible ways. You raise money, get re-elected, achieve cable-tv supremacy, etc. from scaring the ■■■■ out of people. So make it all a highly emotional and tribal team sport that we watch.

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557

That and this country is still young and is still figuring itself out

558

I know it’s a general thing but for me i think there is no single issue that is more important than love for my people.
They are you and nothing is worth more than the people.
I know you think I’m all airy fairy but it’s not like that.
I’m from a country where catholics were told to hate protestants and each killed the other.
So we killed each other some patriotism eh.
Once you are told to have contempt for your own people, something is badly wrong and nothing good will come of it.

559

That’s part of it too.

560

It appears that you don’t have much knowledge of US political history. A study of our political parties would show that we have had vigorous, sometimes violent, confrontations between our political parties since the foundation of our country. And we haven’t had the same 2 parties for our entire history. Nor have the parties reflected their current platforms for our entire history. Study us some, when you aren’t becoming more familiar with world geography and your eyes may be opened.

I also know very well that the EU is a confederation of independent individual states, with individual languages and cultures. But your EU political institutions earnestly wish to erase that individuality. meanwhile, the richer, more powerful members of the EU wish to dictate policy to the poorer, weaker members. And they have plans to impose a separate geographical alignment upon your nations’ representative districts to the EU parliament. They want the voting boundries of the different districts to cross the old political borders, to weaken nationalist loyalities in favor of EU loyalities. Your cultural changes have always been in flux, and while our Hollywood is influencial, we aren’t the only source of your changes.

561

Of course, an FBI official then took Nixon down with illegal leaks after Nixon had gone to China and negotiated arms control agreements that allowed huge cuts in defense spending.

The same FBI official was then convicted of a felony related to illegal, warrantless searches under the COINTELPRO operation. President Reagan pardoned him before sentencing.

Intel agencies and covert operations are a much bigger part of US history since WW2 than is generally acknowledged.

562

No I’m sorry i realise that but what I was getting at is Europe and Russia are the exact opposite in everything.
It is because the differences are so incompatible that Ukraine and other former Soviet countries do not agree with Russian ideology and want to be apart from it.
Some folks were saying Russia Europe are a part of each other.
They may be bordering on European soil but think of it in terms of north and south Korea.
South Korea is free but North Korea is a threat to them because they hate that very freedom.
For us it’s an East versus West they are literally forced to hate the west via state control and disinformation.
If the borders are changing these countries are looking at what a s***le Russia is and want out.
Europe the bad guy is trying to facilitate this and integrate their efforts, we are who we are because we stood against this before.
Hitler is a stain that will never go away and we paid untold amounts of carnage and human lives to turn our backs on people like us.
Like i say it’s like comparing North and
South Korea.
I don’t think it’s something Americans can really grasp the magnitude of us trying to get along and be so tolerant of each other and social liberalism.
The last time we were to told to differentiate each other 80 million or more about 3% of the world’s population were killed.

563

At @e7alr i haven’t a clue about American history not even trying to pretend i do.
But when I hear Americans allowing their differences to divide them and see each other as an enemy, i see history repeating itself.
I know it’s not a good sign and hope it can be resolved without bloodshed.
No citizens should turn on each other their very survival depends upon it.
I know you are a young nation but we are not we have many battlescars and are proof that we only exist because we tolerate each other.
You deride our way of life without knowing the cost it was to get there.
We’re talking bombings of cities, gas chambers, concentration camps and in the blink of an eye Germans turn on the other
I know you have had your history too but at the end of the day united you stand, divided you fall.
History tells us what that will look like.

564

Politicians and media are pouring gas on the divide in America. From my time in much of Europe I didn’t see news that mimics the US media and its opinion driven hyper partisan networks here. The two sides grow further a part and the lunatics have the loudest megaphone. They make everything and I mean everything about politics whether it’s as trivial as masks or more substantial as laws it’s all ideology.

Politics imho has become a religion of its own in the states.

565

Yes both are intertwined when you think about it both are a personal choice and none of anyone else’s business.
When I think about Northern Ireland catholics hated protestants and engaged in a civil war, all for what they were both Christians for gods sake.
Somehow being against each other was patriotic, depending which side you were on, never made any sense to me.

566

There is some question with that. Some 200,000 Irishmen fought for Germany in WWI and Ireland held out as neutral during WWII. But plenty of Irish Americans and Irish Brits fought against both the Kaiser and Hitler. And don’t forget, both Germany and Italy are European countries, and technically, so is Russia. Things are not as cut and dried as we often make them out to be.