Quote:
|
Which is why I strongly suggest that Americans need to start trusting their authorities more.
|
My humble approach as a South American foreigner and an adolescence devoted to the study of various historical and sociological texts about this and many other topics on the American way of life, is not that most Americans don't trust their authorities--they don't care. An active approval and support of a system is often called
legitimation of a system in continents like Europe, where people firmly believe in the democratic ideals that their government is supposed to uphold and take an active participation in political decisions. However, when applying this concept to America, more often than not, the word
consensus is used: a consensus doesn't presuppose an active approval, but a simple, passive conformism on the state of things. This is shown grossly by the extremely low percentage of people voting in elections. I can't remember the number pretty well, but it was
very low in last presidential elections for America. As long as the upcoming president maintains the
status quo, most Americans won't budge. Well, this attitude can also be observed as one derived from a society accustomed to be the leading world power.
I firmly believe this ain't changing anytime soon. The American "Empire", as it's known in many countries worldwide, is reaching its downhill. And until it smashes against the ground (carrying along hundreds of other countries with it, probably including my own), it's probable that most of its people won't move a finger to create a politically productive society, and will keep on caring only each for his own.