US "Most Violent Country in the History of Civilization?"

It's been my experience that there are some pretty intelligent gamers here.   I'm not looking for political discourse really in this thread, but more of a historical discourse.
 
Spike Lee calls America the "most violent country in the history of civilization."  Would you agree?  If not, what countries/nations/civilizations would you say have us beat?  
 

On Today: Spike Lee Attacks NRA, Calls USA 'Most Violent Country In History of Civilization'
By: Geoffrey Dickens
Wednesday, January 12, 2011 12:27 PM EST
 
Director Spike Lee, along with his wife Tonya, came on Wednesday's Today show to promote their new children's book, but he couldn't leave without blaming the NRA for the Gabrielle Giffords shooting and slamming the United States of America for being "the most violent country in the history of civilization."

Initially both Lees just talked about their new book, Giant Steps to Change the World, but Today co-anchor Meredith Vieira couldn't let the controversial director of such films like Do The Right Thing and Malcom X go, without pressing him to comment on the Tucson massacre as seen in the following January 12 exchange:

MEREDITH VIEIRA: I want to talk a little bit about what happened in Arizona last week-

 
SPIKE LEE: Right.

VIEIRA: -because there's been so much discussion about discord in this country-

LEE: Right.

VIEIRA: -and the level of rhetoric. And not saying that it was responsible for what happened, but that it just adds to negativity, in general.

LEE: Here's my, my take in it. I think that, as film makers, as politicians, as artists, we have to understand that all, whatever we do goes out in the universe. And you should be aware of what you're doing. And you cannot just say "Well I just did this and, and my - had nothing to do with what happened." That's, that's not, that's not the case. Also the United States of America is the most violent country in the history of civilization. And this NRA thing. We gotta turn this around. You know these, these guns are out of hand. And I know they have a very powerful lobby but something has to be done about the gun control in this country. That's my opinion.

TONYA LEWIS LEE, WIFE: And I think words are powerful but I will tell you I was really inspired by listening to the parents of the nine-year-old girl, who unfortunately passed away.

MEREDITH VIEIRA: Christina Green.

SPIKE LEE: Christina Green.

TONYA LEE: Yeah her, I mean I was so moved by them. Because I was, I was inspired by what they said about her, just in how much she thought about other people. And we, and we need to focus more on thinking about the good in other people as opposed to just ginning people up for our own political gain.

Middle-Earth is way more violent.

" Middle Earth is way more violent. "

I dunno, the Romans having gladiators tear each other apart and feeding christians to lions for the amusement of the general populace seems a little more extreme then anything going on in the US right now. I don't even live there and I think thats sorta a silly statement.

Cause you know we love sacrificing random people several times a day atop our massive ziggurats by cutting them open with obsidian rocks and ripping their still-beating hearts out, flaying them and then wearing their skin to dinner.

Spike Lee has clearly not opened a history book recently then. 

" U.S. has never committed genocide like other countries and empires. "

I would not agree however they are very militaristic. Soldiers are held up as heroes and seem to get more credit than they really deserve from what I have seen of American TV,news  and media.

Nope, either Babylons or the Mayans. We're not even close.

Wait, so we're more violent than Nazi Germany?!!

Spike Lee can suck my nut-sack. How's that for intelligent political discourse?

How about Africa or Pakistan?

I think most countries have the US beat if only by being far older. I'm pretty sure the Romans, Azteks, Mongols and Viking nations/empires would also hold better claim to the title as well.
Still, it's Spike Lee. Does any take him seriously when he says shit like this? 
 
@ArchScabby: Middle Earth isn't a country, silly, it's a continent. GEEZE, LERN 2 GEOGRAPHY NOOB! Gondor is pretty fucked up though, what with their continued practice of Orc genocide. 
 
@VWGTI: Africa really isn't a country, brosef.

China. Warring States period and the Mongol Hordes are pretty hard to top.

" I think most countries have the US beat if only by being far older. I'm pretty sure the Romans, Azteks, Mongols and Viking nations/empires would also hold better claim to the title as well.
Still, it's Spike Lee. Does any take him seriously when he says shit like this? 
 
@ArchScabby: Middle Earth isn't a country, silly, it's a continent. GEEZE, LERN 2 GEOGRAPHY NOOB! Gondor is pretty fucked up though, what with their continued practice of Orc genocide. 
 
@VWGTI: Africa really isn't a country, brosef. "

Certainly a lot of hotheads ready to wage war to say its not =P

" I think most countries have the US beat if only by being far older. I'm pretty sure the Romans, Azteks, Mongols and Viking nations/empires would also hold better claim to the title as well.
Still, it's Spike Lee. Does any take him seriously when he says shit like this? 
 
@ArchScabby: Middle Earth isn't a country, silly, it's a continent. GEEZE, LERN 2 GEOGRAPHY NOOB! Gondor is pretty fucked up though, what with their continued practice of Orc genocide. "

" Cause you know we love sacrificing random people several times a day atop our massive ziggurats by cutting them open with obsidian rocks and ripping their still-beating hearts out, flaying them and then wearing their skin to dinner. "

" @EpicSteve said:

" U.S. has never committed genocide like other countries and empires. "

Excuse me what? Ever hear of Wounded Knee and everything going on around it, like, say...Manifest Destiny?  "

"Violence" and "Country" are very important words to understand in the context of statistics.  Also keep in mind Spike Lee is full of shit here.  But say he isn't, his is what he would be referring to.
 
The only way he can say that and have it mean anything is that a single country would have to have either the highest violent crime rate or the highest total crime.  America as one can tell is a country of over 300 million people under a system of democracy, free trade, diversity, immigration, and stratification.  Ultimately so many forces acting all at once produces a lot of variety.  That variety invariable produces crime and generally speaking the US is a free nation when it comes to guns (as the 2nd amendment attests to) therefore a lot of gun crime.  However "violence" also means domestic abuse, battery, use of blunt or bladed weapons.  Beyond that we have to consider organized crime for the violence it contributes.
 
The important thing to consider is that yes as one country it could make sense that America is the most violent but that does not mean it's because Americans are inherently more violent or that it's all the NRA's fault.  We can't even start to claim sovereign "countries" until trade began in the middle ages and the age of discovery emphasizing sovereignty.  Technically diplomacy is the sign of sovereignty and therefore we can start calling bordered states "countries".  Empires, city-state systems, and the like are kind of hard to quantify especially as move across the world.
 
If we're not talking countries then Spike Lee even under this context is full of shit because the Huns were way more violent.  Not to mention the continent of Europe and Britain has been involved in more wars than one knows how to count.
 
He could have said "Dangerous" and completely switched around the implications.

" How about Africa or Pakistan? "

Sensationalistic speaker makes sensationalistic comments, film at 11.
 
We could always be better, but we could also be a whole lot worse.

We sure do love our guns though.

The Romans had a government sanctioned killing arena. I'm pretty sure America does not. Wait, no, we definitely do not.

Spike Lee is clown shoes, to begin with. The US isn't the most violent country in our continent (Mexico has a longer history of violence and a far bigger problem with violence now).

Lee's comment is a spur-of-the-moment response to a question he wasn't equipped to answer. I'll let it's profound idiocy slide for that reason only.
 
America is many horrible, detestable things--hegemonic, anti-cultural, coercive, subversive--but it is not the most violent country that has ever existed. Any empire of the last 6000 years has us beat for casualties per capita and for all the talk about guns being an ultimate evil in the hands of citizens, at least murder is not religiously sanctioned here.

In my homeland's defense, it has used its vices to create the largest domestic avenue for progress and prosperity in the history of civilization.

" @Fajita_Jim: I could have sworn there were two other continents, one of which floated off into space, as continents so often do. But then again the whole place apparently transformed into Earth at some point. Tolkein Geography is some what peculiar... "

" "Violence" and "Country" are very important words to understand in the context of statistics.  Also keep in mind Spike Lee is full of shit here.  But say he isn't, his is what he would be referring to.
 
The only way he can say that and have it mean anything is that a single country would have to have either the highest violent crime rate or the highest total crime.  America as one can tell is a country of over 300 million people under a system of democracy, free trade, diversity, immigration, and stratification.  Ultimately so many forces acting all at once produces a lot of variety.  That variety invariable produces crime and generally speaking the US is a free nation when it comes to guns (as the 2nd amendment attests to) therefore a lot of gun crime.  However "violence" also means domestic abuse, battery, use of blunt or bladed weapons.  Beyond that we have to consider organized crime for the violence it contributes.  The important thing to consider is that yes as one country it could make sense that America is the most violent but that does not mean it's because Americans are inherently more violent or that it's all the NRA's fault.  We can't even start to claim sovereign "countries" until trade began in the middle ages and the age of discovery emphasizing sovereignty.  Technically diplomacy is the sign of sovereignty and therefore we can start calling bordered states "countries".  Empires, city-state systems, and the like are kind of hard to quantify especially as move across the world.  If we're not talking countries then Spike Lee even under this context is full of shit because the Huns were way more violent.  Not to mention the continent of Europe and Britain has been involved in more wars than one knows how to count. He could have said "Dangerous" and completely switched around the implications. "

" Lee's comment is spur-of-the-moment response to a subject he wasn't equipped to answer. I'll let it's profound idiocy slide for that reason only.  America is many horrible, detestable things--hegemonic, anti-cultural, coercive, subversive--but it is not the most violent country that has ever existed. Any empire of the last 6000 years has us beat for casualties per capita.  In my homeland's defense, it has used its vices to create the largest domestic avenue for progress and prosperity in the history of civilization. "

There's basically no more native americans so.....

Huh, i always thought us Brits were pretty high up on the scale of 'violence' but hey who the hell am i to argue with THE Spike Lee.

I think you could definitely make a case for that yes, especially in light of reading things like "The Frontier in American History".  Violence and aggression does seem to have become a part of American Society/National psyche in a fairly unique way.  

" Spike Lee has clearly not opened a history book recently then.  "

And don't you forget it

" I think you could definitely make a case for that yes, especially in light of reading things like "The Frontier in American History".  Violence and aggression does seem to have become a part of American Society/National psyche in a fairly unique way.   "

I guess this Spike Lee fellow has never heard of a tiny country called Canada.

" @Fajita_Jim: That's not genocide. Genocide is the systematic extermination of a people. While the United States killed a great many Native Americans it was never their intention to wipe them out, they were just in the way of expansion. in fact, many people of the United States wanted to civilize Native Americans with the intent of introducing modern medicine and education and teaching them Christianity so that their souls wouldn't suffer in Hell. Certainly the United States is responsible for many atrocities but not genocide. "

most violent developed society? no question its the US. In the history of Civilization? no. Unless I want to be a dick and count violence towards the environment. 
a pinko such as me would blame it on poor education, poor welfare system, racial anger and ready access to weapons.

Impossible. Australia is a country comprised entirely of convicts and funnel-web spiders.

" @Fajita_Jim said:

" @EpicSteve said:

" U.S. has never committed genocide like other countries and empires. "

Excuse me what? Ever hear of Wounded Knee and everything going on around it, like, say...Manifest Destiny?  "

You could make arguments for and against that. Regardless, saying the U.S. has been more violent than Axis powers, the Roman Empire, and Darfur is wrong. "

" most violent developed society? no question its the US. In the history of Civilization? no. Unless I want to be a dick and count violence towards the environment. "

" @Fajita_Jim: So Middle Earth is located on top of a giant tree? Is this canon? "

" @EdIsCool said:

" most violent developed society? no question its the US. In the history of Civilization? no. Unless I want to be a dick and count violence towards the environment. "

I think you would find that even if you narrow it to "most violent developed society" that the US still isn't in first.  Just because the US gets one psycho who goes nuts and it's all over tv.... the US doesn't have the highest per capita violent crime rate.  And even if you count violence towards the environment, I'm sure China's got the US beat. "