RE: Little Ru on Risks and Expectations
Okay @insight-out, maybe a little "extra" for some input on your brilliant post. Comparing our two countries / cultures (see below), from the fascinating resource you've listed, there is a lot here.
As an American, the #1 "take away" for me is the difference in "Individualism" (a positive for this Steemian) and "Indulgence" (an even stronger negative for this Steemian). Our individualism is what has been a very important historical distinctive, so interesting to find it still has a relatively high ranking, although I think it is nonetheless greatly diminished from what it once was. Not good. And our "indulgence" and the seemingly insatiable "drivers" behind it. Even worse ...
In your post, you "call out" Sweden for being risk-takers. Years ago, we were looking to buy a home in the very northwestern corner of Washington state. In a little Dutch community. Our realtors were a man - woman team. He had (recent) Dutch ancestry and she (recent) Swedish ancestry. They told us a story with which they both agreed. This little community was a large boggy, swampy mess when the first settlers appeared in the area. Not habitable, in the eyes of some.
Like, the Swedes ... 😉 They took one look at the area, saw only problems as far as the eye could see and said "not for us" and settled in towns right on the coast, on "high ground" which was safe and secure. The Dutch? They looked at the area and saw opportunity. They set to work and transformed the land!
How? By their ingenuity and experience in knowing how to lay in "tiles" and drain the land, turning it into a very productive agricultural area. The result? Washington leads the nation in raspberry production, of which ~ 95% of it is in Whatcom County. My oldest children earned a very nice income (for children), working in these fields surrounding our little town ...
Risk? Problems? Reward? Opportunity? All in the "eye of the beholder" ...
So, now let's get to this replay. I would say that we have two completely opposite cultures here. Where Bulgaria scores high, the US scores low. And the other way around. The two culture seem to have nothing in common :)
I wouldn't say that I find collectivism to be a bad thing. Like you, I think that this is something that is an important national trait for us. People here stay connected. Families and extended families are close. This is something that foreigners find exciting about this country. But there is a negative side as well. People interfere in each other' lives and are usually more judgmental. No one minds their own business :D
In fact, I think that individualism is something that seems to be very difficult to adapt to when it comes to Bulgarian emigrants. Most of them complain about the other culture different "closeness". You can often hear: "Friends/families there are not like friends/families here". I guess the clash between collectivism and individualism is something which makes it difficult for them to get used to it. On the other hand, you can hear the same people saying: "It's a free society. Everyone is doing what they want and no one interferes". So they dislike the same cultural trait they like at the same time. That is because everything has two sides :)
The only thing you dislike about your country's culture is what I find great about it and am a bit jealous - indulgence. If you read the construct description below the charts you will see that indulgence is connected to optimism. And I think that optimism besides individualism is something that really shaped America. To let yourself enjoy life is something that brings happiness to your life. And happy people are usually the people who do good :) At least that's what I think. Bulgarians are rather pessimistic and skeptical.
But I guess I know what you were referring here. Pop culture lately has a focus on extreme consumption and materialism. It's like Idiocracy coming to life.
And, the more I look at the charts, the more I realize that I am a good representative of my society. Like it or not. Actually, I don't like it too much :D I would rather be on the optimistic side of the world :)
My little one is up, so I got to get going :)
As always, I enjoyed reading your “replay” and finding out your perspective on our cultural differences @insight-out. I would say there certainly are some, but in reading through what you have to say here, I think some of it is partly just simple differences in interpretation of some words.
For example, what you have to say about “collectivisim,” I would link to our word community. America once had a much greater sense of community than we do now. Being closely connected to family and neighbors was commonplace. Particularly true in small towns, which is why my wife and I greatly prefer them over bigger population centers. What is left of the historic sense of community in America today is most likely to be found in small towns, in general, and, even then, most likely in small farming communities. A lot more I could say here, but that is the general idea in linking your cultural reference to “collectivism” to ours …
And, as for this @insight-out …
… I say “What?!” I have to read the “directions?” 😧 Oh no, not that … Say it isn’t so! I’m a guy and we don’t have time to read directions … 😏 😉
Seriously, okay now I took the time to actually read “the directions,” rather than simply respond based on what the word “indulgence” means to me … and … Hmmm, here is what I am reading …
… and I do not find the word optimism. 😉
You and I are certainly like-minded on what you have to say about optimism and, yes, I think America has historically been remarkably optimistic. I would go so far as to link that characteristic to our Judeo-Christian worldview, which is distinctive, given our history in comparison to much of the rest of the world. But … We are “progressively” (there’s that word again … 😉) losing it …
What you say reminds me of my very first conversation (in northern England in the 1980s …) with the man who was soon to become my boss. He was very excited, since he had lived there briefly before, to be returning to America. Why? He said we, as a people, were so much more hopeful than what he experienced “back home.” He was pleased it had worked out that he could return there, having just started his family. And he told me he had no intention of returning to England either … Older than me, he retired awhile back. But, we keep in touch, from time to time (long story …). And, yes, he is still in America, retired to a small community in Virginia …
Well, gotta run and get on into my day here. “Things to do and places to go” which is not possible while “furiously” tapping away on my keyboard and clicking away on my mouse … 😉
Until “next time” @insight-out, I hope you and yours are enjoying a great day!
Haha. I opened the site again to paste you the text describing the optimism and guess what I found. You were right! There is no optimism mentioned in the US description. Actually, we read two different descriptions. You read about the US society which is an indulgent one and I read about the Bulgarian society which is a restrictive one. And none of the descriptions used the word optimism. They only made a connection between restrictive societies (like the Bulgarian) and pessimism.
Pessimism is something that I find very tiring - you can see and feel it everywhere here. Especially with the older generations. So, I kind of understand your ex-boss who wanted to move to the US. An optimistic society is a blessing. Makes everything look better. But it is what it is :) And things (mindsets) are slightly changing here.
P.S. I wasn't aware that drug abuse is so high in the US. That was a surprise to me. To be honest, I expected shooting and murder to be high because of the weapon permission. Weapons... this is something that is very curious about US culture in my opinion.
Yes @insight-out ...
... and our optimism is considerably less than it once was, so perhaps we'll "meet in the middle" someday ... 😉
Upon reading the "indulgence" detail for Bulgaria, I see to what you were originally referring. It is still interesting to me, first, that this English word is tied to the word "pessimism." I consider myself to have a fairly good command of "the King's English" and would not have thought to associate these two words ...
Anyway, this description of Bulgaria ...
... conveys a somewhat "dark" view of culture there. Frankly, what I have always read about communist societies comes to mind in seeing reference to "a tendency to cynicism and pessimism," but ... Having never been around one, I certainly don't pretend to know for sure ...
As for drug abuse, yes it is a serious problem here. And linked, in my view, to the decline of our optimism, among many other factors. Like the relentless effort to destroy our historic Judeo-Christian worldview ...
Ahhh yes, "weapons" ... 😉 Most of my fellow Americans have no clear idea behind why our Second Amendment rights are so important (yes, my dear Bulgarian friend, I am a strong advocate for them ...). Our "right to bear arms" has nothing to do with self-defense or hunting, as it is far too commonly portrayed in the press here.
It has everything to do with "the means of last resort against a tyrannical government." Arising from the tremendous sacrifice of our forefathers to be free of the tyrannical rule of an English King ... And to remain free from that point forward ...
Someday, perhaps I will write about riding on a train to London with my fellow former "English colony" compatriots, when the topic of "you Americans and your love affair with guns" came up ...
It would make an interesting article. However, it's an extremely controversial topic and perhaps it would lead to a hot discussion.
Weapons are somehow part of the American tradition and culture and seem to be a big part of the American identity. And the weapon market is a huge and very profitable market. So, I guess it is a win-win situation.
Personally, I am against it. If there is a referendum about it here I would vote "No". But this is a whole other discussion and maybe we can have it in another place :)
Yes @insight-out ...
... perhaps ... 😉
There is no mystery. They are based upon the Second Amendment, as part of the Bill of Rights, to the U. S. Constitution - the oldest on earth. To protect us against tyranny, as I state above ...
Beyond what I state above, if any foreign adversary ever felt capable of defeating the U. S. military, before "taking over," they would next face the most heavily armed people on the face of the earth ...
The "Reader's Digest version" of that conversation, started when I'd had enough of my countryman's miserable attempt to defend us in the face of a relentless verbal "assault" from our Aussie comrades (sitting across from us on the train ride down to London ...). Based on his right to hunt squirrels in West Virginia or some such nonsense ...
I started in "With all due respect to my friend here ...", then proceeded to give them a brief history lesson. Which of course included the fact we'd won our independence from "Mother England" by force of arms, while Australia (Canada, etc. ...) had acquiesced in becoming part of the British Commonwealth ...
Using the recent (at that time) example of the Tiananmen Square Massacre in China, to illustrate the helplessness of most people against a tyrannical government, since they've been disarmed, they began to "back pedal" agreeing that was terrible. When I pointed out their Commonwealth Governor (representing a "foreign power" - Britain) had recently dissolved their government, but nothing was done in spite of serious protests, they were embarrassed that I even knew about it ...
Anyway, maybe I'll write more about it some day. Like on Independence Day ... 😉
Independence day - that is close :)
Well, it's none of my business, it's not my country and it's not directly concerning the US foreign (military) policy (which is something that sadly concerns everyone on Earth) and what you say certainly makes sense ... but for a time that has already long passed.
Nowadays "tyrannical governments" have new faces - like businesses and private interests tightly bond with governments. Those who govern are not our presidents or prime-ministers but the businesses which stand behind them. And sadly I think that the US is very much into this situation right now and maybe even ahead of many other western countries (not us for sure).
On the other hand, the US police shoot much more people than anywhere else in the western world. Recent years the peaceful protests in the US often have ended with fire.
And those children armed like soldiers killing their schoolmates... And the weapon detectors put on school front-doors... it sounds and looks unbelievable to me. I don't think that there is an equivalent to this in Europe, Asia, and all other continents, except maybe some parts of Africa.
To me, it looks like something that had protected your nation 300 years ago is turning against you. I think that we all need a different kind of "weapons" nowadays that would help us confront this new kind of "governments". And this is education, critical and analytical thinking, emotional intelligence, social responsibility, etc.
Good morning @insight-out. Up “with the roosters” 🌄 (here) and reading your latest … Well written my dear Bulgarian friend and “from the heart,” I am sure …
My first thought, on reading it, is “are we okay?” For me, having reasonably objective “spirited” discussions is something which not only doesn’t bother me, I enjoy them. I do not view myself, however, at least here in America, as … uhhh … “normal” in our culture today. Most will do one of two things: 1) “Head for the hills” at the sign of anything which might lead to confrontation, or 2) Drop any “reasonably objective” response and become intensely personal to “shut down” any further conversation.
So … While I certainly can respond more in depth, for now, I will just ask a couple of quick questions:
Make one quick clarifying comment on my own thoughts on our "engagement" ... 😉 “Closing the communication gap” is how I think of it. Not “winning” nor “losing,” but simply “closing the gap” by having a “healthy” debate. Essential to me is that it be conducted in more or less a civil and respectful manner …
And close on this …
and simply ask you “Is it long passed?” Would you be surprised to learn I have personally had “conversations” here on our Steem blockchain (and Discord) with people from Venezuela? About what? Whether or not I might have news (they have zero trust in theirs …) about the U.S. militarily intervening to “save” them … Not out of fear, but out of hope! If you were in my place, how would you respond?
P.S. Yesterday was Father’s Day here in America, so I mostly “took the day off” from any Steem writing …