Imagine a society where racial profiling didn’t exist. Where additiction was treated as an illness and not a crime. Where everyone was given the same weight under the law, regardless of their bank account. Where only the violent and harmful were locked away. Why is this so difficult to achieve?
Because people who profess to be Christian misread and discombobulated the the words "an eye for an eye". Read the whole chapter and you'll have your answer.
Wait - are you talking about Norway?
Because America has built itself on the myth of "rugged individualism" and the right wing politicians have worked hard to kill off "society" as a communist threat to liberty.
I don't want to blame religion only, it's just one factor, but in the current US imho it's very strong. Added to that is greed, as @fullnooneyes10 mentions. I hope I expressed myself understandable , I'm not a native speaker :)
You expressed your sentiment brilliantly.
IMHO, it is an unsurpassable problem for many believers to admit that some things in the Bible are outdated. A woman should not be “subject to a man as a man is to God”, and slavery should not exist, even though “Jesus urged slaves to obey their masters.”
Slavery was also explicitly written into the US Constitution, first by the 3/5 Compromise and then in the post-Civil War amendments. A person who has “committed a crime” could still be consigned to slave labor. Underpaid labor by the incarcerated is still a thing.
Because. Patriarchy. That’s why
Capitalism is one hellava drug
That society will remain imaginary as long as social services are run on a for-profit basis.
Imagine.
Greed. The deadliest of the sins.
Scandinavia says “hi lo!”
Racism and money. That's it.
Greed: Gold or power.
Because some people believe they deserve special treatment due to their social status or how much money they have.
The resistance stands for this 👆
Logic, empathy and general common sense fall to the corruption of the people who find themselves to be in power. Round and round we go, unfortunately.
Capitalism relies on violence against the vast population that works for money because they do not contrive means of subsistence
Because for weak men to feel powerful, there always must be a scapegoat. Someone to bear the brunt of the sins of the many and cast out.
greed… it all boils down to greed
But… but… how can I make myself a superior overlord?
Because lobbyists who want profit for their clients have literally rigged every portion of the system. A system full of rot, not willing to work together, with a leader who is on the verge of a full mob boss. Destabilizing government and decades of work.
Flawed human beings.
Some people own a lot of the stuff and use that power to block reform. Sorry if that sounds communist. 🤷♂️
I believe that day is coming, my friend.
Citizens United is part of it
It is difficult because humanity is deeply flawed.
Because how do the oligarchs make money off of that?
Scotland. It’s not Utopia, but it’s on the right staircase. They don’t argue about recycling, air quality, or healthcare. Safe drinking water is ubiquitous. Public transportation is rampant. Education is prized. History, including their failures, is openly taught. This is a treasure map.
Several nations in Scandinavia have met these standards already.
Not only greed, but rampant selfishness. In the screaming dystopia we have right now, these goals seem unattainable. In our society, I fear they truly are.
Because it’s been made that way on purpose. The elite think we don’t have anything better to do with our almost nonexistent spare time between two different schedules each. Soon they’re going to call electricity a luxury.
Racism.
It's hard to construct a reasonably succinct first approximation of an answer that isn't trite. Try this: A society whose members mostly do not know how to defeat a bully in their personal lives without resorting to bullying themselves cannot work that way.
People are inherently selfish garbage?
Patriarchy, Capitalism, Religion, Education, Justice/ Penal System … everything in the US was built on the master morality model. And we’ve been programmed to believe that “hard work” meant individually rising about others = worth.
PS. I hate this terminology, but it is what was originally written by Nietzsche. When you zoom out, I believe it is ultimately the difference between patriarchal and matriarchal societal values (which has nothing to do with gender & everything to do with the values & systems driving)
Thanks, It helps that you placed it in context. And I see the same. Also thinking of predator vs nurturer, not sure yet.