This is Jezebel, for heaven's sake. And I don't know if you noticed, but I'm arguing with a guy who talks about Europe in the era of "surfdom," people who like to talk about how Hiroshima wasn't so bad (but are pretty quiet about whether they've looked at photographs of children injured by that bomb), and people who…

Also: I just told you that heirs to modern piles of wealth that was accumulated during slavery are keeping those funds to themselves instead of using them for reparations. That's a pretty clear example of modern people who are still absolutely a part of atrocities from 200 years ago.

The granddaughter of Holocaust survivors. You got a problem with that?

Surfs?

A valid point re: the Caribbean islands, but not really with regards to India - again, India is still mainly populated by Indians, and is currently ruled by them.

1) A modern nation-state has a single government, set borders, and a population with a sense of national identity. All of this is pretty recent in world history.

Did you look at the pictures of the kids injured in Hiroshima and Nagasaki yet? If you're going to argue about how it wasn't that bad, you need to have a good idea of how bad it was. If not, I'm sorry, man, your credibility is really pretty minimal.

Also, the notion that the US is "unusually preoccupied with how it…

My dick jokes come with a whole bunch of leftie grumpiness. But the two combine better than you might imagine!

Oddly, India, South Africa, South America, the Caribbean, Algeria, Vietnam, Cambodia, and New Guinea seem to still have substantial numbers (majority populations) of their indigenous population there, and are currently controlled by their indigenous population, not their invaders. That is kind of maybe a little…

1) Comparing past civilizations to modern nation-states is apples and oranges. You really think that comparing loose amalgamations of tribes and groupings under emperors and kings to a "democratic" modern country is comparing apples to apples? More like apples to aardvarks.

I mean, that's really not a good way to convince anyone of anything. You should work on your rhetoric skills. Take a class or something.

So basically, "I can't back up what I'm saying, but I'M RIGHT."

Does that work with anyone? Ever?

Also, the Vikings were not a modern nation-state; making that comparison is weird and ahistorical. Same with any of the other nasty civilizations or empires of the world. But modern nation-states have only been around for... I dunno, what would you say, not even 1000 years? So naming anything before that is really…

You just asked two different questions - first, you asked for "less evil" and then you asked for "spotless." You don't seem very clear on what you want.

Yes, I want answers. Real facts, not your vague feels that I must be wrong.

O rly? School me, dear.

1) I want to improve it, and believe that it's possible.

"There isn't a country in the world that can spout a better record than ours." ahahahhahahahhahahhahahahahhahahahahahhaha ok

"Probably"? Yeah, you sound credible. "Well, someone HAS to be worse, right?" Back up your assertions with facts, plz thx

The feeling is mutual. (Seriously, someone has to be delusional about how vile this country's history and present are in order to be able to have fun? You're gonna miss out on a lot of dick jokes due to your patriotism, your loss.)