“A great deal of what passes by the name of patriotism in these days consists of the merest bigotry and narrow-mindedness; exhibiting itself in national prejudice, national conceit, and national hatred. It does not show itself in deeds, but in boastings--in howlings, gesticulations, and shrieking helplessly for help--in flying flags and singing songs--and in perpetual grinding at the hurdy-gurdy of long-dead grievances and long-remedied wrongs. To be infested by such a patriotism as this is perhaps among the greatest curses that can befall any country.” LongDoeCountryHelpingShowsSongNamesDealsSingingHatredPrejudiceDeedsFlyingThese DaysCursePatriotismBigotryFlagsPerpetualBoastConceitGrievanceNarrow MindednessSinging Songs Book:Character Source: Character
“I would say my being disheartened has more to do with American culture than anything else. We are becoming a very shallow culture. My goodness, the celebrity ethos has taken over completely. Turn on the television and you see that over and over. There's very little substance. And so, everything gets shorter. Everything is entertainment oriented. Our churches reflect that. A thirty-five minute sermon without a Power Point or video clips is rare these days. That's not true in other countries so much.” LittlesCountryTurnsCultureChurchTakenFiveMinutesTelevisionBecomingGoodnessEntertainmentVideoThese DaysSubstanceThirtyOther CountriesShallowSermonsFive MinutesAmerican CultureTurn-onEthosClipDisheartenedVideo Clips Author:Philip Yancey
“Most people, I suspect, still have in their minds an image of America as the great land of college education, unique in the extent to which higher learning is offered to the population at large. That image used to correspond to reality. But these days young Americans are considerably less likely than young people in many other countries to graduate from college. In fact, we have a college graduation rate that's slightly below the average across all advanced economies.” PeopleMindStillsCountryFactsRealityAmericaYoungUsedEconomyLandCollegeHigherUniqueRateAveragePopulationThese DaysSuspectsGraduatesOther CountriesCollege EducationCollege GraduationHigher Learning Author:Paul Krugman