Fifty years ago, it was quiet, unambitious, un-sexual women, no homosexuals, blatant racism, and an attack on anything that people didn't like (communism, evolution, etc.)
quote: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
These, of course, are hardly original to the U.S.
Registered: Mar 1999
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quote:Originally posted by Jay the Obscure: Now I'm curious. What exactly does the United States of America stand for?
Simon pretty much nailed it. It probably stands for different things depending on who you'd ask, but most would probably agree that the Declaration of Independence and the Bill of Rights contain the essence of what our country ideally should be about. That we're all equal. That we all have these certain inalienable rights (see above) and that any government we employ should be set up for the express purpose of defending those rights and effecting our happiness and safety. Whether we actually get there is a different issue entirely.
-------------------- "Nah. The 9th chevron is for changing the ringtone from "grindy-grindy chonk-chonk" to the theme tune to dallas." -Reverend42
Registered: Sep 2000
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any government we employ should be set up for the express purpose of defending those rights and effecting our happiness and safety
PURSUIT of happiness. The government's job is NOT to make you happy.
As for the veins on your forehead, you might want to have that looked at.
-------------------- "This is why you people think I'm so unknowable. You don't listen!" - God, "God, the Devil and Bob"
Registered: Mar 1999
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Yes. Happiness would be thumping Omega's head into a wall for ten straight hours and then forcing him to watch "Barney" re-runs with his eyelids taped open and his ears stapled back.
Sadly, the government would have to send its agents to stop me. Grrr.
quote: We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
The man who wrote that was a slave owner, as were most of the 'founding fathers'; the United States also only freed its slaves in 1865 (The Emancipation Proclamation only applied to slaves in the CSA and was mainly designed to keep us out of the war)- this was 32 years *after* the rest of the civilised world (or the British Empire as it was then known ) did so. Also, when the people of the south attempted to break away from the US so that they could live their lives the way they wanted, the US brutally crushed them (Please note I am most decidedly against slavery I'm just making the point that the US isn't quite as nice as it's made out to be)
-------------------- "I am an almost extinct breed, an old-fashioned gentleman, which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-bitch when it suits me." --Jubal Harshaw
Registered: Feb 2002
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Ever seen an American movie? Or TV series? Hell, even 'factual' series are often biased towards the US to the point of telling outright lies: eg. one program I saw recently imformed the viewer that the American Civil War had happened in 1827 (a good 5 years before we banned slavery).
-------------------- "I am an almost extinct breed, an old-fashioned gentleman, which means I can be a cast-iron son-of-a-bitch when it suits me." --Jubal Harshaw
Registered: Feb 2002
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All men are created equal. Sounds just neat-o.
I'll assume that incudes women when I ask if in recent years the government of the United States, and in more recent times (under the guidence of the Mr. Bush) have upheld the words of the Declaration of Independence
quote:...they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.
I'd also like to ask if the United States has lived up to those words in its dealings with the rest of the world...paying special attention to the war on terrah.
-------------------- Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. ~ohn Adams
Once again the Bush Administration is worse than I had imagined, even though I thought I had already taken account of the fact that the Bush administration is invariably worse than I can imagine. ~Brad DeLong
You're just babbling incoherently. ~C. Montgomery Burns
Registered: Mar 1999
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Alas, the US is far from the Utopian proto(for you, Omega)-egalitarian society that The Declaration of Independence and The Bill of Rights outlined. We have come far closer, though, than when these documents were drafted. It may seem, particularly of late, that we are falling quite short of those guiding principles. (Assassinating our own leaders, funding private wars to suit our own interests, covering up scandals, not being popularly elected and somehow still being president anyway, etc.) We have, however made progress towards our ideals, and despite the transgressions of our ever-so imperfect leaders, our society is moving towards the goals set down in those documents 200+ years ago. (Slavery was abolished, women can vote, non-discrimination laws are standard, etc.) As an American I remain proud of these ideals, and of the noble American women and men who have lived up to them in our brief history.
-------------------- "Nah. The 9th chevron is for changing the ringtone from "grindy-grindy chonk-chonk" to the theme tune to dallas." -Reverend42
Registered: Sep 2000
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I see. We're getting closer to an "ideal", therefore, we shouldn't really worry about all the rest of it.
Is that the argument?
-------------------- Great is the guilt of an unnecessary war. ~ohn Adams
Once again the Bush Administration is worse than I had imagined, even though I thought I had already taken account of the fact that the Bush administration is invariably worse than I can imagine. ~Brad DeLong
You're just babbling incoherently. ~C. Montgomery Burns
Registered: Mar 1999
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![[Smile]](smile.gif)
![[Big Grin]](biggrin.gif)
) did so. Also, when the people of the south attempted to break away from the US so that they could live their lives the way they wanted, the US brutally crushed them (Please note I am most decidedly against slavery I'm just making the point that the US isn't quite as nice as it's made out to be)
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