The American Way

[Marc Chevalier]

Do what, exactly?


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[jamespowers]

Do what, exactly?


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ANYTHING!

 

[Marc Chevalier]

... you have two choices: either work to fix it or pick a better country.

But when some people try to fix it, others holler that The American Way / The "Original Intent" of The Founding Fathers / Family Values / (insert your pet belief here) are sacred and must not be tinkered with.

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[Marc Chevalier]

ANYTHING!

That's called hubris, and it leads to a bad end.

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[VintageJess]

Mr. Deckard,

I can say that I agree with you about the Homeland Security Department--it is big, bureaucratic, and I'm not certain that it is the most efficient means of protecting us.

What I am sure of is that SOMETHING needs to be done and quickly. This is no time for politics as usual. In my opinion, the United States of America has been under attack for years--long before this President and 2001:

* Iran Embassy Hostages, 1979;
* Beirut, Lebanon Embassy 1983;
* Beirut, Lebanon Marine Barracks 1983;
* Lockerbie, Scotland Pan-Am flight to New York 1988;
* First New York World Trade Center attack 1993;
* Dhahran, Saudi Arabia Khobar Towers Military complex 1996;
* Nairobi, Kenya US Embassy 1998;
* Dares Salaam, Tanzania US Embassy 1998;
* Aden, Yemen USS Cole 2000

The enemy has gotten bolder and bolder and counted on the fact that we would pay little attention as our wallets got fatter and we got lazier. 9/11 was a wake-up call for many, but how quickly we have forgotten and gone back to business as usual. We need to realize that there are people out there who seriously wish to do us harm--men, women, and children--simply because of our freedoms and way of life. I am afraid that many people don't fully comprehend what is at stake and the gravity of this situation. I can only hope that the factions within this country begin to unite to fight a very evil and deadly enemy. Hopefully, that "sleeping giant" will finally awaken...

 

[J. M. Stovall]

:They're JEALOUS.

I seriously doubt that.

 

[LizzieMaine]

Is The American Way synonymous with The American Dream? I'm not trying to start a ruckus, i'm just not sure. My views on this will be skewed by the answer to this question. If they are not one and the same thing, i'm going to need a little help on the meaning of The American Way.

That's a very good question, actually -- I think we'd all be much more likely to agree on a definition of the American Dream before we'd come to a similar agreement on "The American Way," because while the Dream has tended to remain fairly stable over the years, the Way has shifted and evolved with the political tides.

I was listening recently to an "America's Town Meeting Of The Air" radio program from 1938, in which a panel of experts from across the political spectrum debated the question "What *Is* The American Way?" There was no more agreement then than there is today -- and a lot of the same arguments we hear today on that point were being heard then over America's role in the international community, over the role of government regulation, over the power of big business, and on and on. None of it was resolved then, and none of it ever will be resolved.

So maybe the real answer is -- there *isn't* any one "American Way," no one orthodox and fundamental answer that needs to be enforced on all of us, but just a lot of individual conflicting perspectives on what it ought to be. Instead, maybe that diversity of opinion, in itself, is what the American Way ought to be -- E Pluribus Unum, after all!

(And I should add -- during that 1938 broadcast, those diverse points of view were expressed in a civilized, adult manner with no name-calling, finger-pointing, voice-raising, or modern cable-tv-style arm-waving hysteria. *That* should also be the American Way.)

 

[jamespowers]

But when some people try to fix it, others holler that The American Way / The "Original Intent" of The Founding Fathers / Family Values / (insert your pet belief here) are sacred and must not be tinkered with.

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I didn't say it was going to be easy and I also didn't say you were going to be right when you did try. However, there are ways to amend anything. It is not mean to be easy because change for change sake of for current fads are not what was meant to be done. You have to convince the people that you are right through discourse. If your argument is weak then you will fail.
Get all the evidence you need with facts to back it up and you will have a chance. There are 27 amendments to the Constitution. Its not impossible and even some amendments cancelled others.

Regards,

J

 

[jamespowers]

That's called hubris, and it leads to a bad end.

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So you are a defeatist without trying?! :eusa_doh:

 

[Matt Deckard]

He's not a defeatist... he's an anarchist... there is a difference

 

[jamespowers]

He's not a defeatist... he's an anarchist... there is a difference

I suppose the We Can Do It spirit of WWII would be lost on him then.

 

[scotrace]

Is there any person alive today that can be trusted to mess with the US Constitution? Does Congress as a group rise to that level? And in what way should it be changed?

 

[jamespowers]

Is there any person alive today that can be trusted to mess with the US Constitution? Does Congress as a group rise to that level? And in what way should it be changed?

It should not be changed but that is my opinion. It is difficult to change for the reasons you listed. 2/3rds of the states and all that business makes it difficult. Witness the last amendment May 7, 1992 was in existence since Sept. 25, 1789! It took over 200 years to get that across and all it did was this:
"No law, varying the compensation for the services of the Senators and Representatives, shall take effect, until an election of representatives shall have intervened."

That was needed and it made sense.

Regards,

J

 

[Marc Chevalier]

In my opinion, the United States of America has been under attack for years--long before this President and 2001.

But let's look at the reasons, too. They stem from what's good and what's bad about America.



First, what's good about America:

-- Because the U.S.A. was the world's greatest (and is now the only) superpower, it is the world's biggest target: for envy, fear, resentment, and a host of other angry sentiments.

-- Because the U.S.A. is not a police state, it is easier to penetrate and attack than the Soviet Union was or China is.



Now, what's bad about America:

-- Over the past 100 years, the U.S.'s penchant for rather darkly meddling in the electoral, leadership, and economic affairs of other countries -- from coups d'etat to presidential assassinations in Latin America, for starters -- has made those countries mistrust and even resent America. Our country gives more to the world than any other; but it also has the biggest stick, and some parts of the world have been repeatedly bashed by it.

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[Marc Chevalier]

He's not a defeatist... he's an anarchist... there is a difference

"Smile when you say that!"

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[Marc Chevalier]

I suppose the We Can Do It spirit of WWII would be lost on him then.

Are you still fighting that war?

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[jamespowers]

But let's look at the reasons, too. They stem from what's good and what's bad about America.



First, what's good about America:

-- Because the U.S.A. was the world's greatest (and is now the only) superpower, it is the world's biggest target: for envy, fear, resentment, and a host of other angry sentiments.

-- Because the U.S.A. is not a police state, it is easier to penetrate and attack than the Soviet Union was or China is.]

Before this gets out of hand, let me say that I agree with this completely. Yes, Marc, I actually agree with you.

Now, what's bad about America:

-- Over the past 100 years, the U.S.'s penchant for rather darkly meddling in the electoral, leadership, and economic affairs of other countries -- from coups d'etat to presidential assassinations in Latin America, for starters -- has made those countries mistrust and even resent America. Our country gives more to the world than any other; but it also has the biggest stick, and some parts of the world have been repeatedly bashed by it.

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Here's where we go off the wheels. Name a country that hasn't, in its history, intervened in areas where its national interest are threatened.

Regards,

J

 

[jamespowers]

Are you still fighting that war? .

Some say we are just dealing with the repercussions now. However, that war is over but the attitude that defeated the "Superman" Hitler threw at us and woke the "sleeping giant" is still there. :eusa_clap

Regards,

J

 

[Marc Chevalier]

Name a country that hasn't, in its history, intervened in areas where its national interest are threatened.

Instead, let me name a country which did not threaten the national interest of the United States, yet was bashed by it.

That country is Chile.

Salvador Allende, the president of Chile from 1971 to 1973, was a rotten president. He couldn't balance the Left at all, and was constantly under attack (and attempts at manipulation) by the extreme Marxist wing of his "coalition". Allende barely won in a three-way election: only 37% of the total vote. Though Salvador Allende was, in my opinion, a decent man and a savvy self-promoter, he was nowhere near the stature required of his era and station. Allende was the Jimmy Carter of Chile, only worse.

That said, Allende was chosen as president IN FULL LEGAL ACCORDANCE with the Chilean Republic's constitution. Though far from perfect, Chile's democracy was the longest-standing in South America. It was not even close to being a "banana republic".

First, the U.S. tried to sabotage the 1970 elections, giving enormous (and, under Chilean law, illegal) monetary contributions to Allende's opponents. Secondly, when Allende won, the U.S. (specifically, Nixon and Kissinger) declared economic warfare on Chile, via crushing embargoes. (This was done before Allende even took office the following March. Nothing had been nationalized yet.) Finally, the C.I.A. took an active role in helping Chile's military with its successful coup d'etat on September 11, 1973. The C.I.A. trained some members of Chile's secret police, whose head was even on the C.I.A.'s payroll.




Now, let's imagine a "worse case scenario": let's imagine that Allende ended up being dragged to the extreme Left and then overthrown by the Marxist side of the coalition. So what? There would have been a tiny Marxist country, with a small economy and smaller population, in the faraway south of South America. How on earth would this have threatened the U.S.A.'s national interests? By 1971, America was moving away from the "domino theory" of regions falling to Communism one by one. Why, then, should Chile have been bashed?

The answer? ITT and Anaconda Copper. Big companies with big investments in Chile. They feared that Allende would nationalize their holdings (which he later did, while offering them monetary compensation). ITT and Kissinger were very much involved in the embargo and the coup d'etat that followed.

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[Lady Day]

I have never lived in any other country than the US, so for me to say this is the 'best' in the world, without sampling other countries that have been there centuries longer than the ole stars and stripes would be tunnel vision.

From what I have seen in this country, I believe it has become "Its the American Way, so long as you are a believer of the consensus of the norm that has been established from x party and acknowledged by Y party" Weather its having a different lifestyle, or religion, you can be taboo if you dont agree with what is set as the guidelines for how to live in this country.

Its become a series of yes and no from the top of the top. This country has stopped taking care of its own. Im not talking of a hand out, Im talking of divide in what those with power do or dont consider their 'own'. Weather it be outworking jobs, or building a large fence around a public property, people are just a liability to anyone in this country who can change things. Not grass roots change, but hard financial change that can make a difference at once.

Its a lot more than money that this country needs. We have this narcissism in our society that has people screaming 'I am better than anyone else' weather it be pushing someone out of the way when getting on the bus, or passing over someone on the street looking for a handout.

As the opportunity margin narrows in this great country, its going to leave more and more people behind. People who were told, get a masters degree, and you can do anything! Yes, like be a line cook. Its beyond paying your dues, to take whatever you can to feed your family.

Sorry Im rambling, Ill stop now.

LD