this post was submitted on 13 Jan 2026
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lol those are some pretty bizarre examples of empathy. Whoever drew this is living in la-la land. delulu
I'm aware that the role of the US on the international stage is often not that of the good guys, but I'm not sure how you could argue that USAID and taking care of injured veterans are not examples of empathy.
Keep in mind that there are voters in the US who think that we should take care of our veterans, but somehow agree with Musk when he says empathy is bad. I think it's important to show those people some examples of empathy that they would support.
The left in the US is broadly so "america bad" that they've thrown away their only shred of actual political capital, nationalism, which can well be expressed through desire to actually make America less bad and have a country worth having pride in.
I know we're pretty far from a country that anyone with half a brain can feel pride in, but our bigger problem is that the bulk of the population has less than half a brain so we need to work within their worldviews.
As long as the left can't stop lecturing and shaming, we're going to keep losing ground to people who know how to validate and appease liberal sensibilities.
edit: cry harder, you threw away the flag and America's actual political capital: the midwit working class liberal masses, they look at you burning the flag that keeps them comfortable, then look at the right-wing nutfucks praying to the flag that keeps them comfortable and says "Hmn, I think I know who has my back." You have legitimate reasons to hate America, but as Americans we have the responsibility to figure out how to push the country towards a better future. We haven't done that in a remotely intelligent way. Again, look at what the current state of things are. We are fighting for a country nobody believes we even want. What power is there in that? You kids need to understand power on a much more practical and realistic level.
imagine looking at all the shit your country has done (way before trump too) and blaming the left for it
you can't make this shit up
some people really can't figure it out until the facists come for them, it seems
they prefer to call everyone else reactionary for reacting to a fascist state, US politics really brainwashed them
If you take that kind of persecution complex away from this conversation instead of realizing that we need to rethink our approach and work on finding actual political power, you do deserve all the blame.
well maybe I have a persecution complex because my country was literally mentioned by your orange ass after Venezuela's invasion
but thanks for blaming me a mexican living next to the new nazis I guess it is pretty spot on for a US citizen to assume what everyone else needs to do
Get the chip off your shoulder when talking to adults, I hope the country I live in but don't represent manages to get its shit together and they don't do the bad things they want to do to you. You need to understand who your friends and enemies are here. I won't see a reply, take a walk and blow off some steam.
These are decent examples. USAID was one of the greatest things in the world. It provided relief for millions of people and saved countless lives. It was one of the primer aspects of American soft power due to the positive affects it had. The US was also helping Ukraine defend freedoms, it's people, and it's sovereignty from a genocidal invasion from it's fascist neighbor which polls showed, skyrocketed America's image across the globe until Trump took over. Likewise, the VA, while not a great institution by any means, is still an example of the country giving help to the people that fought for it. The point isn't to wash over the flaws, but demonstrate America strength comes from empathy, it's not a weakness.
This aimed at Liberal America, they eat this kind of thing up and we have to stop cringing every time someone says "America not that bad" and lecturing people. They have a vision for what they want America to be, and for them dismembered veterans getting basic medical care is more good than bad. I won't try to make it make sense because it requires dumbing down. Which is something we also have to learn to do.
Nationalism moves nations, it's pure political capital, it's why Trump won and is now ruining our world, because he has the support of fucking armed nationalists.
You don't have to understand or like the theme, but if it moves median, tuned-out people against people like Rogan and Musk, on their own level, it will only help. They sure as shit don't care about social issues, most people don't, and the sooner we understand that, the sooner we can start actually shaping a world that respects social issues.
They'll ramp up their cringy "good guy USA, remember when we were amazing examples of empathy and world aid?" material.
Their current events have made their image even worse, but their entire culture is based around this illusion of being a shield for the world, so they'll ramp up cringe production to try and save it.
Who is the "they" here who are doing this? The author of the cartoon who is making a blatant anti-Rogan, anti-Musk message? I feel we've crossed some wires if we think getting median-voting, semi-patriotic liberals to reject authoritarian propaganda is more harmful than good.
Edit: the difference between people like MAGA and people who want a better world and equality and empathy, is that MAGA rejects nuance and smarter, less comfortable perspectives of the world, including the capacity to shift perspectives to people you don't relate with. What are YOU guys avoiding looking at in your daily rage-fueled scrolling? What nuance and perspective are you denying because it makes you uncomfortable? We can be the adults in the room and understand a thing without subscribing to a thing.
There are multiple victims of war pictured here and the comic doesn't seem to notice or care why that is. It celebrates it even, as empathy, which is such a crushing example of how warped perspectives can become.
Yah this is the general perception of Liberal America, and really the liberal populations of many countries who are just raised on propaganda and don't really think systemically. IE: the bulk of all people.
This comic SHOULD be a window into how the average, median voter thinks and feels about the country, if we understood and accepted this common perception instead of cringing at it we could make a lot better progress in actually getting people to recognize the problems with the military and the state, but for most people this is patriotism and they don't think "america bad" every time they see a soldier missing a limb.
A comic like this does more net good than all the lecturing and guilting people for being involved in a corrupt system, and I still don't know who the "They" are.
Probably in this context: the ruling class.
The lack of class awareness here in the comic being why the use of cultural hegemony is lost.
This comic is pure unapologetic propaganda and paints your military as smiling aid giving friends.
Fuck off.
The results of people like Musk and Rogan influencing people to let a fascist dictatorship take control of that same military is going to be a lot fucking worse for you.
Get fucking smarter.
Are you slow? Do you think I'm defending Musk and Rogan?
I'm saying your military - and your country - is a piece of shit force of evil in this world, and has always been, regardless of your idiot in chief. Any comic painting it as smiling empathetic friends is propaganda.
I can't be any more clear than this.
And I'm saying view it through the lens of the average American liberal who wants their military to be this image, this is what they think it is, this is what they want it to be, and forces like Musk and Rogan are trying to influence them away from this.
You are in your rights to hate the US military, many of us with any shred of understanding about the world do, but this comic is a window into American minds at large, and needs to be understood as a piece representing the average American starting to turn on the current narrative that would see you, and your country, wherever you are, harmed far worse than anything we've done before.
No. And that's exactly the problem.
You think fostering this narrative over your military is safer/better than the alternative, but it is under this malicious narrative that you're happily delivering aid that you've invaded and sabotaged a lot of countries, all with thunderous applause from your own populace.
BOTH of these narratives harm my country and many others. Both of them. Do not attempt to take a moral high ground because your version of your military is got sunshine and rainbows. It's the same fucking deal regardless of the democrat or republican in power, one party is just much more open about it than the other.
You are 100% on the road to becoming your country's version of MAGA. Congratulations, nuance is for losers, right? As long as you think it's a fight over "moral fucking high ground" you're going to be blind to more intelligent political analysis and you will get led around by your sensitive feelings. There is no moral high ground, only people with agendas and outcomes. I say again, get smarter. You're not invulnerable to the same forces that you despise. The more you think you are, the more vulnerable you are. I'm done. Won't see the reply.
You couldn't answer a single point raised lol
Seethe harder, the US military does have extremely positive moments. There's absolutely nothing negative about the US helping Ukraine defend itself from it's evil genocidal neighbor. There's nothing wrong with the US freeing Europe from the Nazis and then later from the Soviets. There's nothing wrong with the US Navy ensuring freedom of global trade and navigation. That's not propaganda, that's reality. Does that mean everything the US military has done is positive? Of course not, there's a lot of cruelty in there too. However, pretending that the US military has no positive achievements shows that you're the one who's drowned in pure unapologetic propaganda. This comic serves to highlight the positive examples to disprove the notion spread by Musk and Rogan that empathy is a weakness, it's a strength.
America throughout it's history was indeed an amazing example of both cruelty and empathy. America had slavery, but it also fought it's bloodiest war to free them. It had segregation, but it also had the most iconic civil rights movement in modern history. It invaded many countries, but it also liberated many countries. It had used it's military power for bad, but it also used it to bring about the global order of free trade and globalism which ushered in the most prosperous time in human history. It had anti-intellectual movements, but it also put people on the moon.
Remembering the positive moments in American history is not "cringe", that's such a idiotic line of logic. It's a reminder that the country should strive to be more positive, more empathetic, more understanding. That's how societies evolve, and America should rightfully go down the path of bettering itself.
Your attempt at patriotism could be refuted so fast it goes beyond cringe, its like when a child tells you they're going to meet Santa when they grow up... You just don't want to shatter their little world view.