this post was submitted on 13 Mar 2025
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[–] Adderbox76@lemmy.ca 11 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

50 years of cuts to the education system and the demonization of the Liberal Arts (history, sociology, etc...)

A country that would rather keep a football program than an arts program is always going to suffer.

[–] FlashMobOfOne@lemmy.world 7 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

We're actively disinformed. That's why. It's really that simple.

[–] WhatAmLemmy@lemmy.world 2 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

As an example of the deeply ingrained disinformation and brainwashing, see a comment I made earlier today regarding Liberals continuously blaming progressives for Trumps win — without evidence — instead of the statistically verifiable, and multi-decade ratfuckery by the fascists... not to mention the ~100 million American adults who refuse to vote in every election (aka. the 100 million adults Liberals continuously fail to motivate), or the ~80 million voters who support fascist authoritarianism, or the corporations who have corrupted the political class and propagandized the entire population for 5 decades, or the political class who continuously serve the oligarchy.

War is peace! Freedom is slavery! The political class, bought and paid for by fascists, will save us from fascism!

[–] AynRandLibertarian@lemmy.world 7 points 4 weeks ago

You can't be concerned about things you don't know...

[–] mrcleanup@lemmy.world 6 points 4 weeks ago

5th stage of grief... Acceptance.

We know we're fucked and the government believes it's role is to wield power, not help people.

[–] ArchmageAzor@lemmy.world 3 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Because, quite frankly, Americans are idiots. They would rather scarf down misinformation given by their news anchors than open a book and/or think for themselves.

[–] stevegiblets@lemmy.world 2 points 4 weeks ago

Amen. A country of trash.

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 3 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

This is one of those scenarios where it may be better to look at fiber detail

  • life expectancy by state has an 8 year range, from 72 to 80 years
  • our nightmare of health coverage … In 2018, …coverage rates ranged from 82.3% of people in Texas to 97.2% of people in Massachusetts.
  • average income almost doubles, from $87,063 down to $46,511.

You can go down a list of stats related to quality of life, and see similarly large ranges by state, and the ones on the low end correlate strongly with people who voted Republican. These are poorer people with worse education, worse health, much less income, voting for disrupting the status quo without understanding what that means

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 0 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

The leading cause of death is the same. The leading cause of death of poor Republicans is the same as that of wealthy cardiologists: preventable forms of heart disease. There is so much toxic masculinity and superstition about food in the USA, even people who know better conform to the cultural norms, and kill themselves with unhealthy food.

[–] AA5B@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

That’s exactly the type of stereotype I was refuting. Some states have life expectancy similar to developed countries and some are more like developing, and I’ll bet preventable heart disease is the leading cause of death everywhere.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 1 points 3 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

And I'm saying that's looking for a reason to be helpless. The behavioral differences between educated and uneducated are shockingly small. Regardless of your education, you (AA5B) are probably doing the same stupid things, some of which you know you shouldn't be doing, but you keep doing them because of cultural conditioning. Leading to your own predictable, preventable death. Knowing that is hard to cope with and there are entire industries dedicated to helping people find a reason to be helpless and just accept their situation, when they could easily change. And some do.

Preventable heart disease is the leading cause of death in every US state, but not of every nation. It is not the leading cause of death in Japan, and nearly that alone enables them to have one of the highest life expectancy of any nation. Any two US states are more alike each other than they are a healthy country.

Canada is the USA with good (for the sake of discussion...) healthcare. The life expectancy is only slightly better, because they share the "Standard American Diet." There is only so much medicine can do with people are killing themselves at every meal.

[–] finitebanjo@lemmy.world 2 points 1 month ago

Because

  1. taxing the rich is a partisan stance

  2. people are unaware that the government would spend less on singlepayer than it spends currently dealing with middlemen

  3. a non-negligible number of people don't believe in micro-organisms, nutrition, or cancer as it is understood by doctors

TLDR: decentralized education with zero funding makes a whole country of dumb assholes.

[–] kalimbra@l.hostux.net 2 points 4 weeks ago

HATE: They are willing to accept anything as long as the people they hate suffer.

[–] LovableSidekick@lemmy.world 2 points 4 weeks ago

Anyone know why someone would think being in a house fire means you're relatively unconcerned about dying in a fire?

[–] callouscomic@lemm.ee 2 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago)

Americans are not a monolith. Tons of Americans are concerned. Tons are not. Also many Americans have lives where these issues the news typically stirs up don't really actually impact their daily lives. Others are dramatically affected. It really depends on location and status, among so many factors.

Various news and online channels might have you thinking all Americans are basically the same and experiencing things the same, but they are definitely not.

[–] match@pawb.social 2 points 4 weeks ago

d e s p e r a t i o n

[–] ickplant@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago

I’m concerned but I don’t know what I can do about that other than make sure my whole family is vaccinated.

[–] ipkpjersi@lemmy.ml 1 points 4 weeks ago

Many Americans are exactly as the stereotypes about them say they are, loud and stupid.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

How Not To Die in 82 minutes

How Not To Die in only 17 minutes

How Not To Die from Heart Disease, the leading killer of Americans

The leading causes of death of Americans are all preventable, and none of them are viral infections. (Though COVID might have moved the numbers somewhat.)

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Asking Americans why they are like they are is just going to result in a bunch of denial, obfuscation, rationalization, and misdirected aggression.

This is what kills Americans the most: https://nutritionfacts.org/video/uprooting-the-leading-causes-of-death/ And almost all of them are preventable.

[–] EightBitBlood@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Our educations system has been in decline for the last 20 years. Instead foreign money has combine with private interests to blast us with complete made up bullshit propaganda 24/7. Almost all of our major news sources are now owned or operated by MAGA donors, who care more about money than public well being. Basically, half this country is now too stupid to determine if the information they're viewing is corporate propaganda, or foreign government propaganda. Both are exploitative, and both want Americans sick because it's profitable to them. So despite having a president that publicly threw out our pandemic response killing more Americans than in all the wars we've ever faught in combined - 4 years later we reelected him. That's how bad the propaganda is here. Combined with poor education, we can no longer agree on how basic cause and effect works.

TL:DR - We're now too stupid and hopped up on propaganda to understand how preventing diseases works.

[–] shaggyb@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Christ man, we're screaming about it and have been for decades. Nobody will listen.

[–] BetaBlake@lemmy.world 1 points 1 month ago

Questions like this seem stupid, or they just need to be phrased in a more reasonable way.

[–] roofuskit@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 3 weeks ago)

If you think there are no anti-vaxxers in your country, you've got another thing coming.

Many of the anti-vax groups at the center of outbreaks are members of religious minorities. Menanites, Amish, and Hasidic Jews. The reason it's become more of a problem is that some upper middle class families have joined in and created more unvaccinated pockets in communities in the last decade.

For decades the conservative movement in the US has fostered a distrust in government and it has permeated just about everything.

Edit: I would also like to point out that these communities exist in the US because their ancestors likely fled religious oppression in YOUR country. Assuming you live anywhere in Europe there's a high chance that is true.

[–] bhamlin@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Because we also die from totally preventable school shootings too.

[–] CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al 0 points 1 month ago (2 children)

Sad thing is that I don't think gun restrictions would work cos criminals get their guns unlawfully

[–] shrodes@lemmy.world 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)

Which other countries with stricter gun restrictions than the US regularly have school shootings?

[–] CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al 0 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Yes, I agree publicised school shootings are generally in the US. Did any of the other countries go from firearms being lawful to unlawful over the last few decades? The US has a huge amount already there, and that's a significant difference.

[–] shplane@lemmy.world 1 points 4 weeks ago

Australia did it in 1996 and has only had one mass shooting since then in 2018

[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml 0 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

It works in every other country.

[–] CheeseToastie@lazysoci.al 0 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

Is there another country that illegalised guns when there were already a massive amount in the country? I'm unaware of one but happy to be enlightened if there is.

[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml -2 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago)

Buyback programs tend to work, because they're "no questions asked" and illegal guns still get bought and taken off the street. Australia did one that was very effective, though they're cheating since it's an island.

But one thing you have to remember is the US is the largest source of illegal guns in the world, because it makes them legally and they get smuggled. 40% of guns used in crimes come from just four manufacturers.

If the US stopped making so many fucking guns it would actually make the whole world safer. Especially Mexico! Trafficked guns are the main source of the cartel's armory.

[–] faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 0 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Because "totally preventable" is financially unaffordable for most of us. My insurance won't help pay for vaccines unless I get them done during a PCP appointment, but those are scheduled months in advance. I normally go to my local pharmacy and pay $20 for a flu shot, but covid vaccines are like $100-300 without insurance.

I've had gastro problems for a few years now, but because insurance and bureaucracy, I JUST got a scope done yesterday and they found a bunch of ulcers in my intestines that I've just been living with, untreated, because there's no option to speed things up without money. It COULD have been caught years ago, but getting prompt medical care is too bougie for me.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 0 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

The leading cause of death is not viral infection, it's heart disease. And heart disease is 100% preventable through diet that is cheaper than the SAD. There are more examples. Just go down the leading causes of death of Americans, they are largely preventable.

[–] faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 0 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

And heart disease is 100% preventable through diet that is cheaper than the SAD.

I need a source on congenital heart disease not existing.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 0 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

Lol got me. I am of course referring to atherosclerosis, which is on its own the leading cause of death of Americans. Now what?

[–] faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

It is currently unknown whether dietary weight loss interventions can induce regression of carotid atherosclerosis.

I just did a quick search, maybe you have a better source I can refer to?

Edit: Specifically for the 100% claim, not saying diet doesn't help.

[–] jerkface@lemmy.ca 0 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

Note that says reverse, not prevent. This means that if you are on the verge of a heart attack, you may wish to consider additional interventions. CVD takes years of bad behaviour.

Atherosclerosis is acquired from diet. There is no other way to get it. The components of diet that lead to atherosclerosis are entirely avoidable. They are not just non-essential, they are harmful.

I have a resource I can check for a source, but I don't think you're fully acting in good faith. You keep trying to deny the premise rather than actually engaging with it. Like I'm trying to pull one over on you or something. Or, like 99% of other Americans, you are desperately trying to avoid processing the truth of the matter.

I get that you are skeptical. I also see that you are not informed. So maybe just take a minute and consider, what if it's true? What would that discussion look like?

(Here is a collection of links to research showing that CVD is both preventable and largely reversible: https://pmri.org/research/heart-disease)

[–] faythofdragons@slrpnk.net 1 points 4 weeks ago

I just have trust problems whenever somebody says a medical condition is 100% one thing and nothing else could ever cause or cure it. I've had too many doctors tell me that my GI problems are just anxiety and couldn't possibly be a real thing. I've had doctors tell me that my GI problems are actually an eating disorder and I need more antidepressants. I've had doctors tell me that I should be happy about my GI problems because a lot of people struggle with losing weight.

So yeah, diet is a tricky subject for me right now, because all I want to do is eat a normal meal, and the main response I've gotten has been "have you tried eating normal meals?"

[–] veniasilente@lemm.ee 0 points 1 month ago (1 children)
[–] cm0002@lemmy.cafe 1 points 1 month ago* (last edited 1 month ago) (1 children)

YEA!

U-S-A! U-S-A!

'MURICA

Please send help

[–] tatann@lemm.ee 1 points 1 month ago

Help ? You mean prayers ?

[–] peregrin5@lemm.ee -1 points 1 month ago (1 children)
  1. The people who aren't idiots are already vaccinated so they'll be fine.

  2. The people who are idiots think they are safer without vaccination. They are the ones who will die (or their children) but they aren't aware of it.

  3. The people who can't get vaccinated but aren't idiots are kind of just screwed but this is an incredibly small minority of the population.

[–] BrundleFly2077@sh.itjust.works -1 points 1 month ago

People who are vaccinated are 100% going to die from mutated versions of diseases their idiot neighbours have been incubating.

[–] Float@startrek.website -1 points 4 weeks ago* (last edited 4 weeks ago) (1 children)

Almost every person I know got a measles booster in response to the recent outbreaks (all were vaccinated during youth).

Perhaps turn an eye on your biases.

[–] MiniMoose4Free@lemm.ee -1 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)
[–] ARealAlaskan@lemmy.ca 1 points 4 weeks ago

I confirm this anecdote. Just got my booster yesterday, and I know I am not alone.

[–] queermunist@lemmy.ml -1 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

Because we hate our lives and want to die.

👍

[–] embed_me@programming.dev 0 points 4 weeks ago (1 children)

They hate their fellow man more than they love life and its not just Americans