It selects for people who are willing to follow a lead without question.
October 1, 2025 at 4:11 PM
It selects for people who are willing to follow a lead without question.
Stupid to want to annex Canada if they have nothing America needs. :)
April 25, 2025 at 11:39 AM
Stupid to want to annex Canada if they have nothing America needs. :)
How can there be true *innovation* in research/ scholarship without *courage*? The response of American intellectuals to Trump I/II has been flaccid at best! Makes one wonder if America’s celebrated research output - much like the rest of its institutions - is & has been tottering on hype as well.
April 16, 2025 at 11:31 PM
How can there be true *innovation* in research/ scholarship without *courage*? The response of American intellectuals to Trump I/II has been flaccid at best! Makes one wonder if America’s celebrated research output - much like the rest of its institutions - is & has been tottering on hype as well.
*without* due process
April 15, 2025 at 1:21 AM
*without* due process
No one ever truly belongs to America, do they? Even now, Americans may be deported with due process for imaginary transgressions. So much for the conformism.
April 15, 2025 at 1:20 AM
No one ever truly belongs to America, do they? Even now, Americans may be deported with due process for imaginary transgressions. So much for the conformism.
This, a 100%. This exceptionalism is also responsible for a culture of extreme conformism in Americans. It is unpatriotic to criticize America. But supremely important to be seen as a patriot. A winning formula for breeding total conformism & a lack of agency/ownership in the political process.
April 15, 2025 at 1:18 AM
This, a 100%. This exceptionalism is also responsible for a culture of extreme conformism in Americans. It is unpatriotic to criticize America. But supremely important to be seen as a patriot. A winning formula for breeding total conformism & a lack of agency/ownership in the political process.
So every American either voted for Trump or someone who won’t stand up to him?
April 11, 2025 at 2:20 PM
So every American either voted for Trump or someone who won’t stand up to him?
He’s trying to change the narrative here. Soon people will forget America started the trade war.
April 9, 2025 at 1:03 PM
He’s trying to change the narrative here. Soon people will forget America started the trade war.
Shouldn’t the CEA… um… resign at this point?
April 7, 2025 at 7:05 PM
Shouldn’t the CEA… um… resign at this point?
Precisely. Hence, defund education.
April 7, 2025 at 12:54 PM
Precisely. Hence, defund education.
This is American exceptionalism in action. America is best and a true American would never suggest otherwise. Hence, everyone stays put. I suspect all Americans, except the most brazen, spend their lives aiming to prove that they belong there. No belonging = no ownership = no agency.
March 28, 2025 at 2:18 PM
This is American exceptionalism in action. America is best and a true American would never suggest otherwise. Hence, everyone stays put. I suspect all Americans, except the most brazen, spend their lives aiming to prove that they belong there. No belonging = no ownership = no agency.
The “zero sum game” is so deeply ingrained in Americans, even the intellectuals. They have literally no experience, no memory, no point of reference to guide collective action. Nor do they seem to want this education. This is a serious crisis of agency.
March 15, 2025 at 2:44 PM
The “zero sum game” is so deeply ingrained in Americans, even the intellectuals. They have literally no experience, no memory, no point of reference to guide collective action. Nor do they seem to want this education. This is a serious crisis of agency.
Indeed. Looks like these particular fascists don’t have much to fear from these particular intellectuals.
March 14, 2025 at 5:05 PM
Indeed. Looks like these particular fascists don’t have much to fear from these particular intellectuals.
The answer would depend on the state of the Rule of Law in said territory.
March 14, 2025 at 3:21 PM
The answer would depend on the state of the Rule of Law in said territory.
Courage and agency. Americans will never know if there *is* risk in speaking out, unless they *do* speak out. We’re talking here about a prosperous country with a reputation of “stellar” institutions — why aren’t more people of this country willing to take that risk?
March 12, 2025 at 1:11 PM
Courage and agency. Americans will never know if there *is* risk in speaking out, unless they *do* speak out. We’re talking here about a prosperous country with a reputation of “stellar” institutions — why aren’t more people of this country willing to take that risk?
(Btw, I don’t disagree that Trump’s policies may have helped the Liberals in polls. I am hesitant only to interpret this phenomenon as evidence of Canadians needing to distance themselves from Americans.)
March 10, 2025 at 4:40 PM
(Btw, I don’t disagree that Trump’s policies may have helped the Liberals in polls. I am hesitant only to interpret this phenomenon as evidence of Canadians needing to distance themselves from Americans.)
Exactly! Some Canadians (eg Poilievre) are similar to Americans (eg Trump), some are not. Sometimes the “follower” of Americans polls well, at other times they don’t! We respond to information at our disposal, given our ideals. It has nothing to do with wanting to be like/unlike others. Agency.
March 10, 2025 at 3:05 PM
Exactly! Some Canadians (eg Poilievre) are similar to Americans (eg Trump), some are not. Sometimes the “follower” of Americans polls well, at other times they don’t! We respond to information at our disposal, given our ideals. It has nothing to do with wanting to be like/unlike others. Agency.
Max doesn’t deserve this, you know.
March 9, 2025 at 6:51 PM
Max doesn’t deserve this, you know.
Well, I certainly can’t argue that Canadians are not American… :) this being the reason I chose Canada over America 20 years ago. I do believe, though, that Canadians would have no objection to being like Americans if Americans were more like them! :)
March 6, 2025 at 1:09 AM
Well, I certainly can’t argue that Canadians are not American… :) this being the reason I chose Canada over America 20 years ago. I do believe, though, that Canadians would have no objection to being like Americans if Americans were more like them! :)
I disagree. Canadians live and act with agency, individual and collective. They respond to Americans & their actions because we are fellow humans living in the same world. Their agency is not *defined* by anyone, certainly not Americans. Americans don’t seem to *get* the concept of agency, do they?
March 5, 2025 at 8:09 PM
I disagree. Canadians live and act with agency, individual and collective. They respond to Americans & their actions because we are fellow humans living in the same world. Their agency is not *defined* by anyone, certainly not Americans. Americans don’t seem to *get* the concept of agency, do they?
Uh… I’d like to recommend that Americans watch “Gandhi” for ideas on kickstarting their resistance movement…
March 4, 2025 at 11:58 PM
Uh… I’d like to recommend that Americans watch “Gandhi” for ideas on kickstarting their resistance movement…
Is it even worth being a scientist if one can’t speak one’s mind?
March 3, 2025 at 1:54 PM
Is it even worth being a scientist if one can’t speak one’s mind?
Every street corner, cobblestone and memorial in Berlin echoes their acknowledgement of what happened there during WWII. One can feel the deep sorrow and regret, but above all the steely resolve that they will not let it happen again.
March 2, 2025 at 4:40 PM
Every street corner, cobblestone and memorial in Berlin echoes their acknowledgement of what happened there during WWII. One can feel the deep sorrow and regret, but above all the steely resolve that they will not let it happen again.
Nor is collective shame synonymous with helplessness, despair and cynicism. There is greater glory in accepting and righting one’s wrongs than in pretending that the wrongs were perpetrated by someone else. (Case in point: Berlin)
March 2, 2025 at 4:33 PM
Nor is collective shame synonymous with helplessness, despair and cynicism. There is greater glory in accepting and righting one’s wrongs than in pretending that the wrongs were perpetrated by someone else. (Case in point: Berlin)