As a fellow Eastern European of similar age, I suddenly feel quite nostalgic.

I really wonder how my life would be different if someone told be that the US, which for me was as close to a paradise as it gets, will go down the same road in the future - I think it would shatter quite a lot of my dreams of a better life.

US is nowhere near as bad as it was on the wrong side of the Iron Curtain, but it's on a fast track to it for sure.

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palmotea 3 hours ago | parent | next [-]

> I really wonder how my life would be different if someone told be that the US, which for me was as close to a paradise as it gets, will go down the same road in the future - I think it would shatter quite a lot of my dreams of a better life.

That reminds me of one of the things that stuck with me from The Man in the High Castle (the book). The main story is an alternate timeline where the Nazis/Japanese won WWII and conquered America. Then there's an alternate-timeline-within-the-alternate-timeline where America/Britain won WWII, but it's not our timeline (and it's hinted there that the liberal US was eventually defeated by a British Empire gone full authoritarian). Everything passes away. The good guys sometimes win, but eventually they lose too.

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anthk 3 minutes ago | parent | next [-]

Heh, I was watching the series two days ago. That reminds me that I have to buy both Ubik and The Man in the High Castle, preferabily cheap but commented (with footnotes) ones in Spanish. PKD it's very tedious to readin English for non natives. And sometimes in Spanish too.

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sam1r 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

Wow, thank you for the effort in typing out that this synopsis! Seems like quite the compelling read.

I have already retrieved the book & will start it tonight.

	▲	Gud 3 hours ago \| parent \| next [-]
		It's a great book. Phillip K Dick, there is no author like him.
	▲	TheAlchemist 3 hours ago \| parent \| prev \| next [-]
		It's a fantastic book, highly recommend to read. There is also a TV series based on it (on Amazon Prime I think), but as usually, it's not as good as the book.
	▲	30minAdayHN an hour ago \| parent \| prev [-]
		I also enjoyed the TV series equally.

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elbci 3 hours ago | parent | prev [-]

maybe it's not too late to find out that US was always like this and the fairy tale our parents listened on CIA's RadioFreeEurope was just - a fairy tale for gullible grown-ups ;)

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TheAlchemist 2 hours ago | parent [-]

I'm contemplating it, but I'm not that old yet !

Of course there was always a bit, sometimes a lot, of propaganda everywhere. But at least it was (mostly) for the right causes and ideals. Right now, US is being governed by what I see as the worst possible people, with 0 morals.

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I-M-S 2 hours ago | parent [-]

The story of the United States is one of genocide, racism, imperialism, and oppression of the working class. For an American, to confuse rhetoric for history is an easy mistake to make - an Eastern European does not have that excuse.

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9dev an hour ago | parent | next [-]

Before Trump, at least we had the hypocrisy —like, at least people would pretend to have a moral higher ground. Now there are just completely shameless thugs in charge. They don’t even bother to lie convincingly anymore; just listen to Kristi Noem in interviews, contradicting herself from sentence to sentence without a care in the world. They won’t be held accountable for anything, and they know it.

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TheAlchemist an hour ago | parent | prev [-]

One may genuinly debate the genocide, racism, imperialism etc. But I can guarantee you that the 'opressed working class' in the US had it 100 times better than the non opressed Eastern European one.

	▲	I-M-S an hour ago \| parent [-]
		Unfortunately it is true that the working class does seem to always get the short end of the bargain.