Opinion of the phrase "America lost its innocence after .insert national tragedy

[All Along The Watchtower]

Usually referring to either the JFK assassination or 9/11.

[Associate Justice PiT]

     There are tragedies and events that irrevocably alter the tides of American popular opinion. Talking about it as a loss of innocence is rather simplistic, though. Something like 9/11 made many Americans aware of international terrorism and Middle Eastern politics in a sense that they weren't before, but there are so many ways in which they were not "innocent" that it is silly to speak in such a manner.

[Pheurton Skeurto]

An excuse. America has certainly suffered great hardship, but we probably lost our innocence sometime during or just after either Revolutionary War or the Civil War. There's no way the JFK Assassination could top a war fought on our soil and 9/11 happened just too late in the timeline to have that be considered our first catastrophic tragedy.

[minionofmidas]

America lost its innocence after this platitude was first mouthed.

[ElectionsGuy]

Horrible Phrase. America doesn't "lose its innocence" after an event happens.

[Mechaman]

Ridiculous.

But I guess that sounds a lot more platitudious than "America has been attacked."  So there you go.

[TNF]

Insane. Are we to believe that we were a nation of innocents in spite of ethnic cleansing the Native American populations, enslaving (and then neglecting for a century) black Americans, treating immigrants like dirt, etc?

[Mechaman]

Insane. Are we to believe that we were a nation of innocents in spite of ethnic cleansing the Native American populations, enslaving (and then neglecting for a century) black Americans, treating immigrants like dirt, etc?

Exactly.

This makes America sound like a sweet schoolgirl who got taken advantage of by the dream guy and not like. . . .  . .the dream guy who took advantage of her.

[H. Ross Peron]

Absurd.

[Leftbehind]

' '

[Zioneer]

Insane. Are we to believe that we were a nation of innocents in spite of ethnic cleansing the Native American populations, enslaving (and then neglecting for a century) black Americans, treating immigrants like dirt, etc?

Exactly right. It attempts to portray Americans as totally innocent up until (insert tragedy here).

[AkSaber]

Insane. Are we to believe that we were a nation of innocents in spite of ethnic cleansing the Native American populations, enslaving (and then neglecting for a century) black Americans, treating immigrants like dirt, etc?

Took the words right out of my mouth. The arrogance of those people is immeasurable.

[barfbag]

We are the best nation in the history of the world and there's no need for innocence. Doesn't this thread seem to undermine the U.S.'s integrity?

[Mechaman]

We are the best nation in the history of the world and there's no need for innocence. Doesn't this thread seem to undermine the U.S.'s integrity?

Oh yes, an elections website where the vast majority of posters aren't old enough to run for US Senate just playing Captain Obvious is going to put America into absolute peril.

[opebo]

The idea that a bunch of bloodthirsty, racist, genocidal slavers could have 'innocence' is comical. 

[Lief 🗽]

It depends. Saying the United States lost its "innocence" after Vietnam and Watergate is accurate, IMO. In the 1950s and 1960s, Americans had considerable trust in their national institutions, and incredibly high levels of confidence in their government and its responsiveness to their needs. That level of trust plummeted during the 1970s and has never really recovered. Here's a paper on it.

[© tweed]

bourgeois hemming and hawing. 


I was taught in school that this occurred with the Vietnam and Watergate disasters.

[All Along The Watchtower]

It depends. Saying the United States lost its "innocence" after Vietnam and Watergate is accurate, IMO. In the 1950s and 1960s, Americans had considerable trust in their national institutions, and incredibly high levels of confidence in their government and its responsiveness to their needs. That level of trust plummeted during the 1970s and has never really recovered. Here's a paper on it.

More like it plummeted in the late 1960s.

[Maxwell]

Basically, what I wanted to say has already been said.