>>24594099
Honestly I admire the cynicism. Americans are too idealistic. The United States has not been hit upside the head enough by history to know better than to trust to sound political governance.

On the other hand, Americans still believe they can change the nature of things on a world-historical level. I am an American and I think that myself. Maybe it's good for a nation to believe it can crack the Firmament itself, even if the price of that is it being very naive.

America also seems to hate its great artists more than Russia does. Pic absolutely related, the United States had to be dragged kicking and screaming into loving Melville. In Russia he'd have been a god from the outset.

>>24580526
I really think it's somewhat notable how democratic republics tend to regard their great artists with disdain and contempt. Think about what the United States did to Herman Melville.