You need to understand something. It's not America that is corrupt, humans are corrupt. EVERY country is corrupt from top to bottom. America just gets more spot light than others. Its not the wau the government is designed, its the way people behave.

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Most of those top countries (Norway, Sweden, Denmark) have homogeneous populations, oil money that runs their economy, a cold climate that nobody gives a shit enough to move to and have largely stepped aside from global politics in the last century.

I'm also going to go ahead and guess that Singapore and Australia are either fudging their numbers somehow or are going to soon be off the list. The UK is at number 14 and we're just now learning that many of their top government officials are running pedophilia rings, in addition to their rising anti-islamisicism and expanding govt. control of communications. If that's number 14 then it really isn't a surprise most societies are corrupt.

Its not the way the government is designed, its the way people behave.

As a Brit, I would say that ordinary Americans no more likely to be corrupt than people in many other countries (and probably less), but the US political class is far more corrupt than any other G7 nation (and they are all pretty bad).

There is one huge difference between the US political system and the rest of the developed world - the egregious laws allowing unlimited donations by corporations to individual politicians and political parties. This completely subverts the democratic relationship between politicians and their constituents, and makes politicians completely corrupt.

When elected politicians are corrupt, the judiciary gets corrupted, law enforcement gets corrupted, regulatory bodies stop doing what they are supposed to do. The rot spreads from the head down, like a rotting fish.

I don't recall any segment of the US population agreeing with Citizens United, and it became law easily.

I tried to point out to people that was an obvious sign of systemic corruption, but people feel helpless to do anything about it.

Yes, I think the politicians were bought out well before. Citizens United just formalised the process, and made it legal for them to accept bribes.

In the US we have the "best" (depending on one's social status) politicians money will buy...

I would refine the statement and say that humans in positions of power and authority are corrupt. That no matter how government is designed, the power it gives to the few corrupts them and enslaves the rest. I don't believe that humans are naturally (for the most part) born corrupt, but are shaped by the state of the society they are born into. Some say there is a "Law of Freedom" that states as the morality of the people in a society declines, the less freedom there is and vice versa.

Yes, I agree. Especially true if power is unchecked. How can we check the shadow government if they don't exist on paper?

Imagine from an Iraqi's perspective. Whew.

It disturbs me how we seem to agree as a society that it was OK for an American citizen to be against the Iraq war, but if an Iraqi fought the invasion then obviously they deserve to die.

Hey, we were the same way with Vietnam.

"Fuck the goverment for sending us over there, but the hell if I'm going to go to a restaurant that employs those goblins" was a rather typical expression of the time.

Reeks of entitlement.

The US appears like a group of blood-thirsty yahoos from the outside.

Jews--usury allows infinite money supply and control of economy. The mass media manipulates the public opinion. The pseudo-revolutionaries stir up the masses. The elections are financed by lobbies. The mafia is ready to take out those who try to change things (e.g. Kennedy). Secret societies ensure only insiders rise to positions of power.

Too much truth in one post. Reddit's brain explodes...

It was always so corrupt you just got wiser and older. The change is not within the USA but within you.

It has been engineered, "the great work" has been underway for centuries if not more. The conditions necessary to exploit basic animal instincts and survivalism have been carefully crafted and cultivated for the benefit of a few.

People can not be trusted with power over other people. This is why people can not be trusted as rulers. Whether it be in a monarchy where one person decides to take your property or a democracy where millions do, people will choose the easy route and abuse and take advantage of others.

Rules; not rulers.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Stanford_prison_experiment

IMO, it's Americans becoming lazy, complacent, consumerism, and endless entertainment that creates our identities rather than family and community.

Yeah man, it's definitely the debt slaves indoctrinated to near retardation by state sponsored propaganda in their news, television and movies that are to blame.

Every atom of children's programming is godly and holy and perfect and so awesome though.
I am always amazed by the crowds of ''it's the mass media'' who shove their kids into the dragon's mouth.
''Where is the coolest stuff on earth kids?'' ''In the MOVIES!!!!! YAYYYYYY On TeeVee!!! YAYYYYY!!!''
99.999999999% of redditors have an emotional bond with their lives of TV and Movies and will strike viciously against anyone who is not that into the electronic programming of children. 99.999999% of redditors with children will make sure their kids see as much film and TV as humanly possible.
Good guy/Bad guy with no grey area. Fucked.
Please start the attacks on me and my daughter who is smarter and more successful than 99.999999% of redditors' kids.
Go ahead folks, raise your kid to be average. Make sure they fit in with the TV and Disney soaked vermin.

Almost everyone will acknowledge that the entertainment/news can be harmful but almost no one understands the near total subversion of the political process born from it.

We are lied to in every way imaginable by our "leaders" on the magic box from cradle to grave and no fact is a fact until the magic box recognizes it as such.

Y'all better make sure your kids see every single children's TV show and film.
Flat screens in every room.
Every shove their daughters into idolizing future porn star heroin addicts , i.e. kid's media stars. They are guaranteed to teach your kid in a more influential way than some stupid parent who cares.
Come on folks.... Mr Rogers? Necessary.
Do not try to avoid the TV. Make sure they get hundreds of hours of Mr Rogers.
He is nicer than mommy and daddy. He is your best friend. Go ahead. Turn him on and let him take over. He is the awesome man from the Television.
He glows like a saint.
Never turn it off folks. Your kids will feel left out like a faggot picked last for a softball game, if they cannot prove to their peers that they have watched every possible kid's show or film. Only faggot parents would deny mass media programming to their kids.
We need to force kids to watch more kids' programming, for the community.

I would argue that in many ways we are more honest than in the past, but because EVERYTHING is visible now. Straight-up bribing used to be commonplace. Now they at least have to make excuses. Corporations used to catch our rivers on fire. Now they only get away with dumping in remote areas. People complain that life used to better as they are in a nursing home living a full 20 years longer than their grandparents. Life was better because life was simple and nobody really knew what was going on.

Life was better because life was simple and nobody really knew what was going on.

very true. It's just easier for smart people to see through the bullshit. Our grandmothers and fathers never heard about all the shit that happened in the middle East, and when they did it was on the state sponsered news [propaganda] channel. Now those who wish to do so can keep themselves informed 24/7

99% of redditors argued that the Apache should fuck off about their sacred lands that were just sold to a foreign mining corp.
Many tribes that were illegally decommissioned through the last 120 years have DNA evidence to prove they are still here and want many big slices of land back, now. The Montaukette and Klamath people come to mind.
Our press and government are totally dishonest and ignorant of this situation.
The vast public doesn't give a flying fuck.
''ooooooo looky Israel took someone's house!''
Mention Canada's treatment of the Natives and all Canadian redditors shit their pants and brigade the fuck out of you.
We are much less honest. We constantly grow less honest by the minute.

Basic rule #1: When I do it, it is OK.

yeah, well they lost and get over it. Are you going to repay all the gangster blacks reparations too?

When the BRICS roll the US government in front of a tribunal, I wonder if you'll feel the same way.

Its nice to see someone else "waking up" to the illusion that was implanted.

Welcome to the real world!

Everything fails eventually, its the way things go. When things are degenerating things get distorted, stressed, and bizarre.

Not just America is corrupt but the global elite or TPTB. America I believe is just a means for this to pan out. Aldous Huxley says it well in the novel Island "Armaments, universal debt, and planned obsolescence—those are the three pillars of Western prosperity. If war, waste, and moneylenders were abolished, you'd collapse. And while you people are overconsuming the rest of the world sinks more and more deeply into chronic disaster ". The level of corruption has been in place for years, and many have tried to warn us of our imminent demise.

Fascinating question!

There is a natural ebb and flow from societal traits, between authoritarianism and freedom, corruption and purity (or hiding corruption), puritanical and debauched. We got more corrupt because we assumed we were better because of the name of our land, not the sweat of our brow. Being incorruptible is difficult and takes moral fortitude. We have worshipped at the altar of self advancement and easy money too long for that to be an acceptable loss for many. And they can stomach being corrupt in large ways by holding tight to their belief in American (or western) exceptional ism.

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The kind of shit we do these days is a mockery of what I am talking about. We spin our wheels, and do busy work mostly. I do hard manual labor type stuff and there is so much waste in the name if working hard when we could accomplish much more with less effort and more brains. That's what I mean... so caught up in the myth of what it means to be American we are not accomplishing anything tangible.

Right. Meritocracy is dying a slow death.

First you crazy for thinking Obama is the top. Second you pick fake ss card as his corruption? How about Obamacare to help out the people who got him into office?

Because Lord Acton was absolute right: power tends to corrupt.

American has a lot of power (that whole "superpower" thing).

That causes lots of corruption.

Behavioral sink

Ask /r/IndianCountry or /r/NativeAmerican.
Ask the Apaches if they are happy about their sacred lands being destroyed by copper mining.
''Oooooo Israel is soooooo baaaaaad.
Harumph...... but Apache sacred lands that were agreed upon to be preserved are now sold to a foreign mining corp, and the pesky Indians should fuck off of their sacred lands and let profit wipe those stupid sacred lands away with a pollution swipe of ''it's federal propertry''.
This entire hemisphere is violently stolen.
I chortle at anyone in John Lennon Double Fantasy delusion.

empathy is almost nowhere to be found, and when we see a video that truly touching and show idk a guy saving homeless dog or a homeless man getting a haircut and being help by someone whos selfless in is action its a hero but if you ask him if hes a hero he will tell you he not,hes just felt that it was the right thing to do. Just more empathy towards your fellow human ,and lead by example... sry for my bad english. im a french canadian.

degenerate media. family structure being dissolved. corrupt politicians. decline of christianity. rise of single mothers/deadbeat fathers. low quality public schooling. increasing poverty rates.

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I don't doubt that many of the leaders were satanic... We did have some presidents that were good and the country COULD have changed... it just didn't. People didn't care or try hard enough. They didn't fight against the banks. But I'm not sure if it was planned to be a "Luciferian military arm" but it has basically become the big bankers personal army. Look at an aerial view of the whitehouse/washington D.C.

There's no way that's coincidence.

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It's only frightening because Christianity has been administered to the populace as a sedative. Anything that Christianity doesn't mandate is classed as counter or evil. Occult knowledge is just hidden knowledge. It's grossly misunderstood by most and automatically classed as satanic thanks to Christian brainwashing. There's a high probability that the powers that be have used occult knowledge often for power and nefarious deeds. But it doesn't have to be used that way.

what you see is the inevitable eventuality of the us constitution. the 3 branch system is fundamentally flawed. it was created out of fear that the president would have too much power. yes it was a step up from the monarchies but its time for another overhaul. maybe back to the articles of confederation with some of the good amendments

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id like to think we can repair the federal government slowly election by election but i dont think its possible anymore. im starting to think that if you start a country with our constitution 100 times out of 100 you will end up with a tyrannical police state 300 years later. maybe im wrong but i think the discussion is good either way.

Laissez faire capitalism.

Americans have always been corrupt. But it was all at the microcosm, towns, cities, counties and states. But as power has centralized their is a much bigger central pool of corruption.

And the Federal Reserve and Mega Bank money creation machine has also vastly added slop to the trough, for corrupt political and bureaucratic piggies to feed at.

A little bit of both.

It goes right back to the beginning. America was founded by and for white, property-owning slavers. Americans have always been slaves, they were just treated really well for 75 years. The system is coming to its logical conclusion. We're nearing peak corruption. The slaves are discontent. I do think a revolution is on the horizon, and it's not going to be pretty.

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You need to recall that Europe and Asia were destroyed before/during this period, so they could not compete. Now, they have come back to near equal levels of tech, education, and social progress. We do not have it as easy as we used to.

id like to think we can repair the federal government slowly election by election but i dont think its possible anymore. im starting to think that if you start a country with our constitution 100 times out of 100 you will end up with a tyrannical police state 300 years later. maybe im wrong but i think the discussion is good either way.

The kind of shit we do these days is a mockery of what I am talking about. We spin our wheels, and do busy work mostly. I do hard manual labor type stuff and there is so much waste in the name if working hard when we could accomplish much more with less effort and more brains. That's what I mean... so caught up in the myth of what it means to be American we are not accomplishing anything tangible.

Right. Meritocracy is dying a slow death.