achievements of the usa

If the human species survives, I imagine that future generations will be horrified by the militarism of the USA. Dropping an atom bomb on a civilian center at midday was a new crime. But militarism itself is nothing new.

By contrast, the ability to confuse people with an over-abundance of trivial consumer products, that seems new.

"Trivial?" Owning unnecessarily multiple items of clothing, cluttering one's home with inexpensive things that have little use. Above all, there is the madness of proliferating items which are in reality identical but which people have been mystified into thinking are distinct.

No, the madness of consumerism seems a truly and uniquely "American" contribution to human misery.

The arrogance of supposing by the magic of our advertisements and our propaganda we can make the same different---now that is a new level of hubris. Or, rather, should I say that Americans are merely the distant children of Protagoras himself?