I think I might write a book

[Big]

I feel like I have to put some ideas on paper.

I would like to write about shortcomings of American mainstream culture and severe damaging effects these shortcomings have had on cultures and countries around the World, mainly during the period since WWII. and until now.

I don't want to simply point out what has been done or not done but to formulate the whole inability to do things truly right.

What do people think?

[matclone]

If I were a publisher, and you came to me with this, this is what I would say:

I think your proposal as it stands is rather vague (although you may have a clearer sense of what you want to say). I would want you to define in some way your concept of "culture", as well as "mainstream", "American culture" and how you think it has been exported and caused damaged in other countries. Is there some special significance to WWII (within your thesis) or is that just a starting point you picked? I'm confused by your reference to "an inability to do things right" for I don't know what that means.

Of course, if you are a celebrity, none of the above applies, except we'll need to define target audience. We'll get you some writers to help clarify your theme.

I think it would be far more thrilling, however, to have your own thoughts published, and not those of a hack. So maybe not so good to be a celebrity--just harder to get published.

[FloggingSully]

I'd also want to know why anyone would want to read your book, are you some sort of expert on the subject? have you made some new exciting discovery? are you famous? if not, good luck selling it.

[Big]

I think I have a unique position. I was born in Soviet Union and I immigrated to USA. I have lived in two totally different cultures and I know positives and negatives of both. I know what Russian people thought of other countries and I experienced it first hand.

It would be a book of just one perspective, one view point which is not necessarily right 100% nor completely accurate. Just an honest opinion of a regular person. It would be a book to get people to think.

I would concentrate on "The drive for wealth at any cost" type of a culture and how, while making some countries wealthier, it makes those countries sacrifice and forget their own way of life.

Also, just when American propaganda claims people in certain countries have been freed, in reality the situation simply helped America and made those people's lives much worse.

I would concentrate on things like: helping poor people is not always a sincere urge of American culture but an initiative to gain much in return. Jesus Christ for example would not seek fame from helping the poor. He would simply do it.

[Big]

The reason I am looking at WWII as the start is because that is when America officially took over England's role as the dominant player in World affairs.

See, American people don't realize that capitalism helped Hitler become powerful, that Al Qaeda/Taliban was built with major support from America that emboldened them with the victory in Afghanistan. Also, Saddam was emboldened by America and Iranians suffered a great deal of violence from American dealings.

Then, there is Vietnam, then there is Iraq now. When you put all these things together, ti is a different picture than when President Bush yells one thing and leaves out the history in the dust.

[Big]

And here is my main claim: America is a unique country where the whole continent was cleared out for a human experiment. In this experiment like-minded people had a choice to come to America and build a certain way of life.

Because these people are all like-minded in certain aspects, it blinds them from the view of other countries where people did not have a choice where they would live. Those other countries had prior traditions and have all kinds of different philosophies.

Consider getting all the best basketball players in the world on one team and then saying to a country like China, if you train like these guys you can play as well as them.

Will never happen. One team was drawn from all over the World and another is just one country where basketball is not even that popular.

This is my main basis for the inability to get the difference between American capitalism/Democaracy and other countries/cultures.

[matclone]

I agree you have a unique (or at least not typical) perspective contrasting U.S. and Soviet culture and that's an answer in part to Flogging Sully's question about your expertise. You've lived it. I enjoy hearing you talk about the differences and so others probably would too. You also have a sense of humor, which helps make this kind of subject more interesting.

Your explanation about WWII makes sense. The analogy about basketball players is a good one and I like your point about Jesus.

But remember capitalism and democracy are distinctly different concepts, no matter how many times GW Bush conflates the two.

[BonnieJ2]

I've been reading an interesting book by Margret Mead called "And Keep Your Powder Dry". It was written when she was called back to the US because it was unsafe for her to be in the field during WW2. There are lots of interesting thoughts, but she talks about America and the immigrants and the culture and in one section says that in Europe you can inherit money and title and do nothing your whole life and still be thought well of, but in America many wealthy people who could have led a life of leisure go into the workforce because our society is based less on lineage and title and more on personal accomplishments.
I think the glass is not always so empty, Big.

PS - She also says (in 1942) that trying to introduce democracy into a non-democtatic society would be like trying to force feudalism on a modern American city.

[Big]

Let me point out that I respect American accomplishments. They are absolutely fabulous.

However, again a sports example, a drugged up baseball player can also have fabulous homerun records BUT he is on drugs.

I am saying that America has to choose often between weaker resultes that are moral and stronger results that hurt others as well. It often chooses the latter.

What I am saying is too many celebrities try to help the poor BUT they proclaim themselves AMBASSADORS and so on. They go on TVs and constantly talk about their cause. People like Jolie and Opera. They go to Africa and live in secluded villages with protection. Sure, its nice they care but why all the need to glorify them to publicize them to the point where it seems like they are getting more fame out of it than they put into it.