This weekly roundup thread is intended for all culture war posts. 'Culture war' is vaguely defined, but it basically means controversial issues that fall along set tribal lines. Arguments over culture war issues generate a lot of heat and little light, and few deeply entrenched people ever change their minds. This thread is for voicing opinions and analyzing the state of the discussion while trying to optimize for light over heat.
Optimistically, we think that engaging with people you disagree with is worth your time, and so is being nice! Pessimistically, there are many dynamics that can lead discussions on Culture War topics to become unproductive. There's a human tendency to divide along tribal lines, praising your ingroup and vilifying your outgroup - and if you think you find it easy to criticize your ingroup, then it may be that your outgroup is not who you think it is. Extremists with opposing positions can feed off each other, highlighting each other's worst points to justify their own angry rhetoric, which becomes in turn a new example of bad behavior for the other side to highlight.
We would like to avoid these negative dynamics. Accordingly, we ask that you do not use this thread for waging the Culture War. Examples of waging the Culture War:
-
Shaming.
-
Attempting to 'build consensus' or enforce ideological conformity.
-
Making sweeping generalizations to vilify a group you dislike.
-
Recruiting for a cause.
-
Posting links that could be summarized as 'Boo outgroup!' Basically, if your content is 'Can you believe what Those People did this week?' then you should either refrain from posting, or do some very patient work to contextualize and/or steel-man the relevant viewpoint.
In general, you should argue to understand, not to win. This thread is not territory to be claimed by one group or another; indeed, the aim is to have many different viewpoints represented here. Thus, we also ask that you follow some guidelines:
-
Speak plainly. Avoid sarcasm and mockery. When disagreeing with someone, state your objections explicitly.
-
Be as precise and charitable as you can. Don't paraphrase unflatteringly.
-
Don't imply that someone said something they did not say, even if you think it follows from what they said.
-
Write like everyone is reading and you want them to be included in the discussion.
On an ad hoc basis, the mods will try to compile a list of the best posts/comments from the previous week, posted in Quality Contribution threads and archived at /r/TheThread. You may nominate a comment for this list by clicking on 'report' at the bottom of the post and typing 'Actually a quality contribution' as the report reason.
Jump in the discussion.
No email address required.
Notes -
Catholic school, same time period-
Lot of emphasis on colonial history, very in depth on the runup to the revolutionary war. Lewis and Clark and the Louisiana purchase were triumphal statecraft. We kind of glossed over the civil war era. We learned about religious discrimination in 19th century America- the know nothings, the mormon pioneers, the need for the knights of columbus, the KKK.
Lot of emphasis on the industrial revolution. US intervention prevented the European colonizers from doing far worse things to China and Latin America than they wound up doing. Monroe doctrine, Teddy Roosevelt, USA good. The AFL, Teddy Roosevelt, Cornelius Vanderbilt were all portrayed as good guys at the same time. Intervention in WWI was sadly necessary.
The depression was emphasized, but not as much as WWII. Oh gosh WWII ate the rest of the curriculum. Patton was a good guy, Macarthur was more conflicted, the new deal was a good thing but might not have worked as well as it's thought. Straightforwards USA and Britain good, Germany and Japan bad. The soviets were portrayed as bad, but maybe a lighter shade of black than the Germans and Japanese- but still very evil.
We learned about the cold war. Not a lot about anything in specific, but USA good-commie bad. JPII's role in ending the great evil of communism was very important. That's about where it ended.
For the world in general, we learned a lot about Rome, the renaissance, and the age of exploration. There wasn't a true global focus but we probably got a lot more latin american history, especially early latin american history, than a typical public school would have.
More options
Context Copy link