Are the deaths of Americans more important than those of another country?

More attachment? No. Perhaps I identify better with Americans, simply due to cultural similarity, but I'm not attached to them.

And 9/11 is kind of a terrible example, but one that illuminates the entire issue, so to speak. You saw a lot about 9/11, because it happened to Americans. I doubt you saw much of anything more than a news blurb about other more recent attacks on foreign soil. More to the point, 9/11 was universally mourned the world over.

So no, I don't get worked up especially for American misfortune. I'm just more acquainted with it.

 

Yeah, it's natural. When I saw what happened on 9/11, I thought that was directed at me and my countrymen, unlike say, the Madrid train bombings.

Sure those were both acts against "Western Civilization" but 9/11 had a more immediate effect on me.

And as others have said, it's not that American lives are more important, it's more important to me. The issue stems from the fact that the US can react to it militarily as opposed to some other country.

 

no, they're not. and to the extent i've seen an American life as more valuable than another, I'm gonna ask for forgiveness.

 

Not only are the lives of Americans or of citizens of other developed countries worth more then those of developing countries (Which can be proved in numerous ways, but for simplicity's sake, let's look at a simple measure-The IPCC assumption that a developed nation can pay fifteen times more than a developing nation to avert a death due to climate change), present Americans are worth more then future Americans. This can be calculated by the social discount rate on climate change/financial markets.

As an example- William D. Nordhaus of Yale

"examines a model of climate change that is similar to the one used in the Stern Review but with a 3 percent social discount rate that slowly declines to 1 percent in 300 years rather than the 0.1 percent discount rate used in the Stern Review. In his model, the welfare of future generations is given less weight than the current generation’s welfare."

The easiest way I can explain it is the massive debt mounting in America due to short-term stimulus/tax cuts. Put it through a cost/benefit analysis, and it's obvious the benefits of this present generation are worth more then the cost to future generations.

Basically, what it comes down to-

1-We are rational, self-interested beings (or at least the system we have created assumes us to be so).
2-We are cornered by our inherent biases and our inability to see how others we cannot conceive matter.
3-The only way for people to truly matter in the capitalist system is for their lives to hold economic value.

A perfect case study of this-China. As soon as the Chinese middle class hit certain income thresholds, foreign investment exploded. Per-capita wealth is now steadily increasing in China, and while things are not perfect, a large part of the UN Millennium Goal of halving poverty was achieved through China (and it has to be added India) achieving prosperity.

This is why I'm a big proponent of Kiva and other micro-finance initiatives. It's not enough though. Eventually-well, I have a couple of crazy theories floating out there, but eventually something will have to give.

 

I won't flame you. I think they are Valid Questions

Yes. Several reasons.
1. The Media: I am shown their deaths and commentary on them far more than the reverse. This is seen in other instances within out society.
The short answer is that they affect me and my family personally more. The sense of danger and IT COULD HAPPEN TO ME is more realized.

For me. . . not so much but for others I could understand if it did. Kinship and closeness to the 'like' individual. Replace Religion with Race/Frat Brother/Party Affiliation and each person would like have different levels of yes or no on them. While I think alot of us may like to beleive these things do not affect us . . . . I beleive that they do.

Jazz fans have no souls . . .

Yes. Any other answer IMO is a lie. My son's life is more important to me than Barack Obama's life, You life or anyone else's life. To an extent even my own. He is probable the singe most important person to me. So His life has priority. My Mother's life.

Rocket River
I maybe wrong. . but I am honest.