The American Way of Life

DawnONight

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Oct 3, 2019
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I thought this poll, Americans Feel Divided On Core Values, Monmouth University (Oct. 14, 2019), and this article about it, J. Harper, Surprise: Voters fear American way of life threatened, but don't blame it on Trump, Wasshington Times (Oct. 14, 2019), raised an intriguing question:

What is "The American Way of Life"?

To me it centers on the line from The Declaration of Independence that we all have an innate right to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

The three "core values" of the "American way of life" are:

  • Self-sufficiency.
  • Equality of opportunity.
  • Freedom from government intrusion in your life.

Does anyone disagree?
 
Better than what it turned out to be

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I thought this poll, Americans Feel Divided On Core Values, Monmouth University (Oct. 14, 2019), and this article about it, J. Harper, Surprise: Voters fear American way of life threatened, but don't blame it on Trump, Wasshington Times (Oct. 14, 2019), raised an intriguing question:

What is "The American Way of Life"?

To me it centers on the line from The Declaration of Independence that we all have an innate right to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

The three "core values" of the "American way of life" are:

  • Self-sufficiency.
  • Equality of opportunity.
  • Freedom from government intrusion in your life.

Does anyone disagree?

I think that the founding fathers did everything they could to protect people from tyrants. The ideas were wise. But tragically the power mongers hate those ideas and every year those 3 things are being eaten alive. The lefts hate can be seen just from the reaction to your posting this thread.
 
Progressives, as has already been seen here, fucking hate everything about the USA especially the individual right to life, liberty and pursuit of ones happiness.

They want collectivism and equity.
 
Did you see the look on the interpreters face when trump said that Italy and USA had been allies since the time of the Roman republic. Um... Not quite you fucking moron.

In any event he clearly forgot WWII. USA was committed to the total destruction of fascism through that period. I guess trump regards that as someone else's war that USA should not have become involved in.
 
Progressives, as has already been seen here, fucking hate everything about the USA especially the individual right to life, liberty and pursuit of ones happiness.

They want collectivism and equity.

Depending what you mean by "equity," so do I. In some forms, it can be a means to "equality of opportunity."

Collectivism, however, is always the death knell of any republic.
 
Dawn you really need to stop with the anti-Semitic posts. It's getting out of control.
 
dan_c00000 writes (to Dawn): "This is all wrong! I shouldn't be posting here on this Literotica web-site! I should be back in school on the other side of the ocean! You have stolen my dreams and my childhood with your empty words - and yet, I am one of the lucky ones! People are suffering! People are DYING! Entire eco-systems are COLLAPSING! We are at the beginning of a mass EXTINCTION! And all you can write about here on this forum are money and fairy tales of eternal economic growth! HOW DARE YOU!"

Your passion for ending global warming & climate change are impressive, Dan - you keep up the good work, my friend!

https://timedotcom.files.wordpress.com/2019/04/greta-thunberg-london-mps-speech.jpg?quality=85 - (Photo of Dan speaking out against anti-Semitism!)

https://nationalpostcom.files.wordpress.com/2019/07/greta_thunberg.jpg - (Photo of Dan listening to the speeches of Bernie Sanders!)

https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipe...ta_Thunberg_4.jpg/1200px-Greta_Thunberg_4.jpg - (Photo of Dan protesting against climate change!)

https://images.firstpost.com/wp-content/uploads/2019/05/Greta-Thunberg_.jpg - (dan_c00000: "the teenager on strike for the planet!")

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rYxt0BeTrT8&t=2s - (Dan's impassioned plea to save our planet - runs 3:53)
 
If you accept "the pursuit of happiness" as a fundamental human right then you have to accept that in a society with such diverse racial, ethnic, social and cultural diversity there is going to be conflict. Beyond any doubt there will be times when I am in the process of pursuing my happiness that I will infringe upon your pursuit of happiness.
The question is, how do we settle these conflicts? Generally the answer has been to establish "government agencies" to assist us in this task. This raises further questions about how are these agencies funded, one answer, taxes.
That again raises more questions about govt interference in our lives.
It's a bit of a vicious circle.
But one thing is certain, I am not going to allow your right to your pursuit of happiness, whatever that might mean to you, to infringe on my right to pursue my happiness.
 
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I thought this poll, Americans Feel Divided On Core Values, Monmouth University (Oct. 14, 2019), and this article about it, J. Harper, Surprise: Voters fear American way of life threatened, but don't blame it on Trump, Wasshington Times (Oct. 14, 2019), raised an intriguing question:

What is "The American Way of Life"?

To me it centers on the line from The Declaration of Independence that we all have an innate right to "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness."

The three "core values" of the "American way of life" are:

  • Self-sufficiency.
  • Equality of opportunity.
  • Freedom from government intrusion in your life.

Does anyone disagree?



I was around in the 50s and 60s. Life was so less intrusive back then. You relied less on government and had to be self sufficient, rely on your own ability or go without and we were fine with that.

My opinion is, that, through the decades, especially the last 3, with the creation of the internet and other media platforms we as a people are too closely intertwined with each other, [ANONYMOUSLY], than what is healthy for a society. There is so much hate and vitriol on these media platforms that it's dividing this nation. People have access to too much information and can't process it or at least process it for the good. The internet, facebook, twitter have taken the place of face to face interaction. They contribute all this vitriol to these media platforms without fear of reprisal and in turn feeds on itself. I believe an informed electorate is critical but an over informed public is proving to be disastrous. By that I mean. Info we deal with today is massive, misleading, in many cases not factual, some meant to mislead its consumers. Now add the government to this equation. More intrusion.

We have a government that is frozen within all this vitriol and incapable of governing, a division so wide that its incapable of making decision on behalf of its own citizens. Our american way of life is in conflict with its own citizens because of its own citizens. As a society we have have taken sides against each other to the detriment of our own wellbeing. We as a society are slowly but surely surrendering our rights to big government. The younger generation ( GEN X ) are finding that today's seniors and government can't lead. They view our society as crippled, inept and destroying their future. They may feel the american dream is passing them by, leaving them with a crippling debt.

If socialism is creeping into our society we have ourselves to blame, we have to look inward as to what we're passing down to our youngers. Free market capitalism is strong but what has changed are the political parties and the principles they use to stand for. Today it's all about the vote. Free everything and collectivism is the antithesis of a free society but we're creeping ever so slowly towards that very way of life. Giving away free stuff is a very deceitful way government is creating an entitled and dependent society and strangling self sufficiency and innovation. We will become a serfdom society were we are all equal under the rule of big government ( our lords ) the elite. They will determine what's best for us. Just my humble opinion. Go medicare for all!!!
 
#13 above
I have never understood this fear that yanks have of socialism. Perhaps because I grew up through the 50's & 60's when my country was fundamentally socialist in nature.
All that changed in 1984 when we went through an economic remodelling that turned us into free market capitalists. However, we did retain elements of our socialist past such as universal free health care. I've had the benefit of this twice in my life, one lot of open heart surgery and one lot of cancer treatment which, so far, has me cancer free 5 years later. Didn't cost me a cent. No health insurance involved. We have universal old age pensions not self funded superannuation schemes, although this is changing as recent govts have introduced compulsory superannuation contributions, over a couple of generations this will replace the current govt funded pensions.
However, my point is, many countries which are fundamentally free market capitalist have "cherry picked" elements of socialism and built these into the fabric of their societies without any sign of them going rogue and turning into fanatically rabid socialist societies. All these countries face the same technological driven social problems that face the USA and while they are not problem free they seem to be avoiding the self destruction that is happening in the USA.
Perhaps the problem could be rooted your archaic constitution and system of govt? While it worked well for 200 years perhaps it is not capable of dealing with the accelerated rate of change that has been happening in the last 30 years. Other countries, especially those in Europe, but also the more western British commonwealth countries have more "modern" constitutions that retain the good of the ancient, like the Magna Carta but deal with the issues of the modern world.
Perhaps it is time to look more closely at what other western nations have achieved with selected elements of socialism yet have retained their fundamental liberties and freedoms rather than simply cry out in horror whenever socialism or progressive policies are suggested. It may not be as frightening as you have been lead to believe.
 
Socialism books down to taking from some to give to others.

That's pretty much infringing on my rights.
 
#15 above
Simplistic arrogant nonsense and clear evidence of a closed mind.
Common to yanks and a principle reason why your country is imploding.
Until you take a genuine open minded consideration of alternative possibilities you are condemned to continue repeating your mistakes and your downward spiral.
 
#15 above
Simplistic arrogant nonsense and clear evidence of a closed mind.
Common to yanks and a principle reason why your country is imploding.
Until you take a genuine open minded consideration of alternative possibilities you are condemned to continue repeating your mistakes and your downward spiral.

If I work hard to earn something, why should I allow it to be taken away so that someone else (that is capable of working for themselves) can simply sit back and take? That's not arrogance. That's common sense.

Our country isn't imploding, by the way. We're doing just fine, thanks. Did you know unemployment is at 50 year lows? People are working and happy.

As for alternatives, I really see no need. Our system works, by and large. We have a few nutters on the left, like that occupy bs a few years ago, and lately some lefties haven't been able to accept that the raving lunatic lost in 2016, but I've been all over this great country and a good part of Europe and South America and I vastly prefer our way of life. They have some really neat castles over in the UK though, I'll give them that.
 
#17 above
As I said. Insular and deluded.
No question that Hilary Clinton is bad news but there is no doybt at all that the lunatic won.
 
I found it interesting that the restriction of leaded gas, has corresponded with a reduction in crime. This has been postulated as an effect of lead's reducing the mental functions of the polluted population. Perhaps a happenstance but it does correlate.

The effected population has not completely died off, yet. So how much will blue collar crime go down in the future? White collar crime is just easier thnt extortion and bootlegging, and lawyers are there for the buying.

Maybe such structural changes are beneficial?:)
 
Couple Thoughts on the thread above.

1. Pursuit of Happiness. This isn't a right. It's not an enumerated right in the Constitution. It's a phrase in the Declaration of Independence, and while historically, important, it's not a governing document we use.

2. Pursuit of Happiness. It not a guarantee of Happiness. It confers no obligations on behalf of society. In fact, it obligates the individual to act in their own self-interest...within the laws of the land.

3. The U.S. isn't afraid of Socialism. They're simply aware of history. Socialism has resulted in the deaths and starvation of millions across the globe. Venezuela is only the most recent example. Yes, people voted for socialism in Venezuela, so it's definitely something people can impose on themselves, but it results in the worst living conditions of any system of government aside from Communism.
"The goal of socialism is communism"....Vladimir Lenin.

4. Government Welfare Programs...are not socialism. Socialism is a form of government, typically identified with government control of the means of production, distribution, and cost allocation. Sorry, that's does not describe Social Security, Medicare, or Medicaid. The only system in the US that could legitimately be considered "Socialistic" is the VA...and look how that operates.

5. Tax Rates. The countries who have generous welfare benefits for their citizens also have huge tax rates. Some people are fine with that. Some aren't. The US typically has not been a country where people look to the government to solve their problems. That's certainly changing, but it hasn't been our history.
Trump was just asked by a French Journalist...why is the US unemployment rate so low? His answer was complete trash...but it was definitely a 'teaching moment'. The difference is as much cultural as it is legal or governmental.

Some good points, but worth pointing out that the Declaration of Independence was actually in violation of the law of the land, at the time.

Remove abuse from the welfare system and people wouldn't care so much what it's called. Someone that CAN support themselves, SHOULD.
 
When you have a welfare system in place there are always going to be some who try to cheat it, no question.
However, in the same boat when you have a taxation system there are always those who try to cheat it. I don't know how it is in the USA but those who don't pay there fair share of tax, including deadbeat dads who don't pay child support, are generally a greater drain on a countries economy than those who improperly claim welfare.
 
There's nothing wrong with our constitution. What's gone off the rails are the political aspects of our government, The framework of our constitution is solid but the human component has become ineffective. To put a finger on what exactly ails us is like squashing jello, there's no one thing to point to, but the cumulative effects are quite apparent and startling. Issues like, why was the debt allowed to get out of control, how did immigration become such a divisive issue, why is illegal immigration conflated with legal immigration. These are leadership decisions or lack of.

Politicians don't want to make tough decisions for fear of losing votes. Politics has become a career for many. The intention of our forefathers was to serve for the public good not carve out a perpetual paycheck.

I believe one fix could be term limits on politicians which could possibly lessen the effects of perpetual campaigning and just maybe dumb down this poison of "party above all else".

Some people like who they voted for, no doubt, and want to keep their politicians in office, myself, I believe change is important. Familiarity breeds contempt.

Our constitution isn't polluting our government, politicians are polluting our form of government. When you have a losing party banging the drum about doing away with our electoral college it smells of a power struggle and maintaining absolute power rather than serving the people.

When party politics becomes so toxic that attempts by a party to overturn a duly elected official becomes first and foremost, we have lost our way.

To use the full weight of the government to undo the will of the people by way of impeachment identifies more of a struggle for power than the leadership of its people.

Politics has always been a dirty business but when parties are divided by basically equal numbers and leadership breaks down along fault lines, the people suffer, the debt grows, immigration laws are ignored and we move forward with no guidance, no plan for the future and no leadership. Decisions are being made in the best interest of politicians and not their constituents.

Sooner than later our younger generation will start to lose total faith in their present form of government, younger people will start to envision an altruistic and utopian form a government where equality for all becomes the norm, a rush to mediocrity, all for one and one for all, where the pursuit of happiness, self reliance, responsibility, innovation, equal opportunity and minimal government intrusion become a thing of the past. Vote for the Warren/Sanders ticket for an authoritarian progressive anti-american socialist way of life, let's make AOC speaker or maybe EPA director.
 
#13 above
I have never understood this fear that yanks have of socialism.

It's antithetical to everything our liberal country/society is about.

And it's directly responsible for the murder of over 100 million people in the 20th century.

Perhaps it is time to look more closely at what other western nations have achieved with selected elements of socialism yet have retained their fundamental liberties and freedoms

You've been disarmed and no long have free speech...just like other "western" nations who have abandoned their liberal backgrounds in favor of the nanny state.

You can be free or you can be well kept, can't be both.

It may not be as frightening as you have been lead to believe.

Most of my family was part of that 100+ million murdered by socialist in the name of progress.

It's frightening.

#15 above
Simplistic arrogant nonsense and clear evidence of a closed mind.

But it's accurate.

I don't know how it is in the USA but those who don't pay there fair share of tax,

Define "fair share".
 
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#25 above
I was wondering how long it would be before your chimed in with your arrant, prejudiced nonsense. Have you been on holiday?
Fascism has been responsible for as many deaths as socialism ever has been. Yet this doctrine, or at least elements of it are embraced by many in your country.
And besides I agree, socialism has been proven to be an failed doctrine, as I've said many times on many threads on this forum.
I disagree entirely with your misinformed and closed minded opinion that those countries that have embraced elements of socialism, generally described as social democratic, have lost their individual liberties and freedoms. That is demonstrably untrue. My own country, which is a capitalist free market economy, social democracy, routinely appears ahead of the USA in independently assessed international surveys of individual liberty and freedom. Perhaps that is why increasing numbers of yanks are buying bolt hole hideaways here. It is patently absurd to claim that citizens of social democracies have given up their freedom of speech or that the choice is between freedom and being "well kept" whatever that means.
If you're happy living in an environment ruled by arrogant nonsense and closed minds. Go for it. I prefer tolerance and open debate.
"Fair share", that could be a long debate. I'd define it as whatever has been decided by those elected in a representative democracy that has regular free elections with universal franchise. In my opinion those that unlawfully cheat on their legal obligations are a greater threat to freedom than those who cheat on welfare payouts.
 
Warren and Sanders political platforms

1. Medicare for all/ dismantling 18% of our economy
2. Eliminate all college debt
3. Free child care
4. Free tuition
5. Open borders/free healthcare and tuition for illegals
6. 75% tax structure for the rich/ 500,000 and over/ wealth distribution
7. Paid leave
8. Reparations
9. Eliminate the electoral college
10. Minimum wage $15/PH
11. Ban fracking
12. Ban on assault style weapons
12. No limit abortions
13. Repeal statute on illegal entry
14. No wall funding
15. Slash defense spending
16. Break up tech companies
17. Felons allowed to vote while incarcerated
18. Closing all nuclear power plants/Sanders
19. Increase capital gains tax

Looks like a lot of Government intrusion/ what's left?
 
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