Alternate July 4 Thread

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slide_into_first
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Alternate July 4 Thread

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doe_boy
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Re: Alternate July 4 Thread

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http://www.vox.com/2015/7/2/8884885/ame ... on-mistake
But I'm reasonably confident a world where the revolution never happened would be better than the one we live in now, for three main reasons: slavery would've been abolished earlier, American Indians would've faced rampant persecution but not the outright ethnic cleansing Andrew Jackson and other American leaders perpetrated, and America would have a parliamentary system of government that makes policymaking easier and lessens the risk of democratic collapse.

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go birds
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Re: Alternate July 4 Thread

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I feel like that belongs in the wtf thread

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IMADreamer
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Re: Alternate July 4 Thread

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doe_boy wrote:http://www.vox.com/2015/7/2/8884885/ame ... on-mistake
But I'm reasonably confident a world where the revolution never happened would be better than the one we live in now, for three main reasons: slavery would've been abolished earlier, American Indians would've faced rampant persecution but not the outright ethnic cleansing Andrew Jackson and other American leaders perpetrated, and America would have a parliamentary system of government that makes policymaking easier and lessens the risk of democratic collapse.
We'd also have the British National Health System which is light years better than the garbage we have now.

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Re: Alternate July 4 Thread

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How many Americans die in World War I?

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IMADreamer
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Re: Alternate July 4 Thread

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Vidor wrote:How many Americans die in World War I?
How many don't die in Iraq and Afghanistan?

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Re: Alternate July 4 Thread

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IMADreamer wrote:
Vidor wrote:How many Americans die in World War I?
How many don't die in Iraq and Afghanistan?
You do realize that the British fought in both places.

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Re: Alternate July 4 Thread

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Vidor wrote:
IMADreamer wrote:
Vidor wrote:How many Americans die in World War I?
How many don't die in Iraq and Afghanistan?
You do realize that the British fought in both places.
Yeah because of the US.

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Re: Alternate July 4 Thread

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I have to say that I find that article wholly without merit. Not because I disagree with the assertions within it. Parliamentary governments are better--well, the defense of monarchy in that article is absolutely asinine, and that Michelle Jean chick that the writer holds up as a model of disinterest prorogued Parliament a few years ago at Harper's behest to stop an election. But for the most part parliamentary governments are better.

But the article as a whole does rely on hindsight in a way that is just ridiculous. In 1776 there was no reason to presume that Britain would eventually found an enlightened hands-off commonwealth, since at the time they were fighting tooth and nail to avoid doing just that. If they give us a commonwealth and home rule in 1775 the war never happens. And in fact probably the reason that the commonwealth was eventually created was the experiences of the British in the Revolution and the lessons they learned in how not to F it all up. And let us not forget the ways that Britain controlled their colonies for a looooong time after that--Canada, Australia, and New Zealand saw tens of thousands of their young men die in France and Gallipoli for no goddamn reason in a war they had no stake in. And Canada did not win true independence from Britain until 206 freaking years after the Declaration of Independence, when they finally passed a law ending the British veto on Canadian laws.

Plus, monarchy is goddamn stupid. This counterfactual requires that we'd have to pledge loyalty, and pay money to, an old English lady named Betty.

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Re: Alternate July 4 Thread

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