America Bashing (page 8)

DannyBear

Reagan,

I like the way you think.

It is not such a preposterous notion, that we americans are proud.
We have reason to be. We have in fact, sacrificed many lives and untold amounts of money, helping other's around the world. Contrary to the opinion, that we were only protecting our boarder's.

With so much America bashing going on in the world (and here on Jw.com)is it any wonder, that we who must suffer these attacks, respond with our 2cents? No it is not. I for one, was duped for 30yrs into thinking that America was just another 'ceasar', only due respect because 'god' said so.

Like Dave said, it is silly to bash us for enjoying where we live. I see very little of the opposite from Americans, in fact I don't think I've ever seen any American on this forum, go out of their way to disparage or call down another poster's country. Why don't all you America basher's just find another outlet for your frustrations?

DannyBear

safe4kids

Dave,

Be proud of who you are and what you have been able to accomplish in your life. Cut they guy who hasn't quite figured it all out a little slack. Give the JW doom sayers who come here to start trouble what they deserve and maybe take a little time to learn about others that are from different countries and cultures. This whole planet is a pretty damn nice place to live but if you want to find fault and ugliness around every corner of it then that's exactly what you will find. It's what religion thrives on and uses that kind of thinking to keep the sheep in line. If you want to see the beauty in the world look out your own window and then ask one of your friends that may live on the other side of the planet about the beauty outside their window. You just might find out that beauty is beauty and ugliness is ugliness no matter what corner of the world you live in.

Bravo! I couldn't agree more.

Dana

"A single event can awaken within us a stranger totally unknown to us. To live is to be slowly born."
Antoine de Saint-Exupery

Roamingfeline

RCat
If you prefer America, why are you here?

BE,

I am married to an Australian citizen. We are, however, moving to the USA this summer. I love Australia as a country, but the government of Australia does truly SUCK. John Howard (a weasel if I ever saw one) especially! I've never seen so much propaganda splayed all over the TV as I have seen here. The people are inundated with it constantly.

RCat

Roamingfeline

How many other countries have you visited? How many of them have you resided in? Have you really taken the time to study other cultures, or are you just assuming your country is the best?

Good questions, Prisca. I agree that noone should say that their country is the best, when they haven't lived anywhere else. They have NOTHING with which to base that opinion. One must live in another culture to truly appreciate both their own and that of others.

I don't say America is the best, it's definitely different, for sure! And I do say that for myself, personally, it's the better government that I have lived under. But that's just my opinion.

Regards,
RCat

fodeja

Dan,

Like Dave said, it is silly to bash us for enjoying where we live.

you're attacking a strawman. I'm sure nobody here is bashing anyone because they are enjoying their life in [insert-nation-here]. Hey, I also like the place where I'm living.

What I personally dislike is the notion of superiority that comes with statements like "this is the greatest country in the world, now and for all time to be". I also strongly dislike the glorification of war that sometimes comes with it, but that's another story (one that I have briefly touched upon in another thread, some weeks ago).

As Prisca said, if you don't really know about the rest of the world, how can you tell? And if you are proud of the good things in your country's past and present, shouldn't you be ashamed of the bad things at the same time, with just the same intensity of emotions?

f.

p.s.: Here's something from your USA-bashing northern neighbours: http://www.laugh2day.com/america.html

reagan_oconnor

Thanks for the correction. My point is that Americans are the ones that made democracy work. It's a viable form of government that succeeds more than it fails.

DannyBear ---> Hi-fives!

Seeker -----> low-fives!

Prisca sed:

It's no different to JWs arguing their religion is the Truth, when they know nothing about life outside their insular world.

Interesting point; I do not feel that I have left my head in the sand on this. I do not cover my ears and refuse to consider the viewpoints of others who may disagree with my opinions on this issue. And, as I stated before, being well-traveled (or not) has no bearing on my ability to formulate logical opinions about being American.

I do agree effusively with all who have stated that it's more important to concentrate on becoming a good person, as opposed to being caught up in purely nationalistic rhetoric. I don't only strive to be a good person; I strive to be a good American. For me, being a good person=being a good American.

Reagan

I am the master of my fate/I am the captain of my soul.

larc

The fact that Greece had the first democracy is an interesting historical point. However, their democracy was a long time ago and was short lived. The U.S. resurrected democracy. As far as us being proud of our Contstitution, Bill of Rights, and our Declaration of Indepence, we should be proud. These docuements served as the blue prints for other nations to become democratic, starting with the French Revolution.

Although the merits of recent wars are debatible, our role in World War One and Two were critical in saving the UK and Western Europe from the control of a dictatorship. Furthermore, our magnanamous treatment of Germany and Japan after World War II helped these defeated nations recover to positions of leadership in the world. Over the years our standoff with the USSR helped lead to its collapse and a move in the direction of democracy and free enterprise. I think this part of our record that I have summarized should make us proud.

Seeker

My point is that Americans are the ones that made democracy work.

Once again, I point out that America does not have a democratic form of government. For an obvious example of this, look at the 2000 Presidential election. In a democracy, Gore would have won since he got more votes. Since we have a republic, not a democracy, those direct votes weren't used to decide the presidency, but instead were used to decide electors on a state-by-state basis to form an electoral college. Those were the folks who got to actually decide the election. In a democracy, the average citizen would have done so.

Greeks were the ones who made democracy work.

Steve Josef

hey we aren't the Number 1 supepower in the world for nothing!!!!

larc

Seeker,

You and I posted at the same time, so I wanted to add some comments. Whether we are a true democracy or a republic is a small matter to me. We are not a dictatorship, an oligarcy, and we do not believe in the divine right of kings.

The electorial college has its reason for being, but that is a discussion for another day.

As I stated before, the Greeks made it work, but not well enough for the idea to spread and maintian itself. We are in the unique postion of making that happen.

America Bashing

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