Patriotism

[cantdog]

I was an anarchist, in my youth. A fit of optimism about human nature. But I've since come to see that anarcism requires a culture supporting it which rewards the benign. I now think anarchy would produce a sort of rule by mafias.

cantdog

 

[Joe Wordsworth]

I don't think America has ever been a "peace loving nation". We were born from war, we endured internal wars, we participated in wars abroad, we've been (often) economically dependant on wars, we've seemed to always have the opinion that war is the language of correcting vast social wrongs on the international scale.

 

[rgraham666]

You're quite right about that, Joe. Much of America accepts violence as a legitimate way to solve problems. It's reflected in your country's homicide statistics.

"The blood of the people has become a legacy," as Thomas Jefferson put it.

But as a commentary I once read on the Art of War noted, "War is like fire. Those who do not put aside arms are consumed by them."

 

[fifty5]

Amongst other things, we were talking to Perdy tonight about a break-in that happened before we had dogs. She pointed out that if our story had happened in the US, we'd be dead, because the incompetent burglars would have carried guns.

The right to bear arms has passed its 'best before' date.

When the Brits imposed taxation without representation - and Native Americans were a real and present threat - that right made sense.

In contrast, could any arms-bearing US citizen have made use of that right to prevent 7/11?

As I said, "past its 'best before' date."

 

[shereads]

Albert Einstein, who was thought to be a fairly smart fellow, said, "Patriotism is a childhood illness; the measles of mankind."

 

[shereads]

Jack Handy said, "To understand mankind we need only look at the combined meanings of the worlds 'mank' and 'ind.'"

 

[TheEarl]

I'm a patriot because I consider myself a part of the country that is England. I'm proud of my contribution to that country and I'm also proud of the way my country acts, our history and our standing. We are world leaders in several fields and I'm a part of that. I like the communality of pointing to our collective achievements and saying - "I'm with them!"

Most of all I believe we are a good nation. Excluding some of Teflon Tony's actions, I believe we try to do right. And that is something to be proud of.

The Earl

 

[amicus]

Hmmm...I detest much of recent American history. Clinton was an embarrassment, Carter an embarrassment, Nixon an embarrassment, Johnson and Kennedy even worse for polarized reasons, Roosevelt in the worst way...we were late into WW1, taxation caused the great depression, we were late into WW2, we failed to stay the course in Korea and Vietnam, we failed to march to Baghdad in '91 and are reticent to deal with Syria and Iran and North Korea in present times.

My patriotisim is an intellectual one, it stems from the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution and the Bill of Rights.

The concepts of, "All men are (born) equal" "We declare these truths to be self evident..." "Life, Liberty and the pursuit..."

Like the Magna Carta, these documents are worth living for, cherishing and supporting in the best manner we can.

They are ideas and thin sheets of paper separating us from the barbarians of the past and they are in our hands.

The concept of 'unalienable rights' denoting the human condition, is perhaps the most important statement in all of human history. It is that which I salute and defend.

amicus...