What makes America right?

[The Democrat]

Ummmm...........a big ego mabe?

Yeah thats a part of the problem but why do we have such a big ego? What led to this whole problem.

 

[Isildur´s Heir]

And liberals wonder why we question their patriotism.

Leave the USA traitor.

Your funny kid, really funny......but, wake up and smell the roses.

First, i´m not even American.
Second, i´m not against America, never was...but i´m against blind people that only look at what is happening in their own backyard and not at the big picture.
Know anyone like that?

 

[The Democrat]

According to liberals, nothing is anti-american. Wake up and smell the coffee libs.

hmmm... I smell columbian...you are anti-American.

 

[14k london spider]

Yeah thats a part of the problem but why do we have such a big ego? What led to this whole problem.

Dunno but i read this once and guy's on to something:


The need to assert American exceptionalism is the keynote of American political culture. It resonates in the constant boasting that the United States is “the greatest democracy in the world,” a claim that was made even when the United States trailed behind most Western democracies by its own definition of what a democracy should be.[He's refering to a lack of universal suffrage up to '65]
.........
Nevertheless, Americans’ stubborn belief in American exceptionalism is indeed exceptional. Arguably, many countries suffer from a similar delusion, but what makes the case of the United States unique is the strength of the consensus that surrounds the myth and the poverty of the domestic debate about it.
Island nations tend to have a blinkered view, and the United States has developed as an island nation—the Atlantic separated it from Europe, and a sea of racism separated it from Latin America. From the outset, this young nation of immigrants who lacked the bond of centuries of a common history has felt the need to define itself by stressing its difference from those who stayed behind, the peoples of Europe. Therefore, a key ingredient of the American melting pot has been the belief in American exceptionalism.
In Western Europe, powerful groups—Socialist and Communist parties, for example—have questioned the very nature of their countries’ society. Their press, which is read by millions, the many prominent intellectuals in their ranks and their numerous representatives in parliament have challenged the foundations of their countries’ domestic systems and their foreign policies. In the United States, however, the debate has been much more narrow; it has dealt with the merits of a particular policy but rarely with the very nature of American society and the foundations of its policies. Those few who have wanted to probe deeper have been marginalized. The United States’ economic and military successes have reinforced the belief in American exceptionalism—power has been equated to virtue—and the keynote has remained: America may make mistakes, but its intentions are always good.

http://www.sais-jhu.edu/pubaffairs/publications/saisphere/winter03/gleijeses.html

 

[bored]

this thread has turned into 'bash Fred_Fury', and i love it. it's been along time since there has been such a fool on the Hype. The Democrat, i think you've done more to embarass him in this thread than anyone has, and i commend you for it. i don't know what is wrong with this guy. i also wouldn't be surprised if the pix from that 'rally' that he put the link up to were completely staged by some idiotic right-wingers. notice the caption that says a man is dressed like a Hammas suicide bomber, yet all he's doing is wearing the flag of a Middle-Eastern country. i am almost tempted to use proper capitalization when laughing at him, but not quite. his charges stem from generalizations and out-and-out bull****, and can not even find a simple response to TD's charges of being a chicken-hawk. you may have noticed he seemed to give up on trying to respond about a page ago. Fred_Fury, if you are still reading this, look at the second phrase in my avatar. you'd do good to think about it.

 

[cryptic name]

Why are we the good guys? What is your answer to this. What makes us the good guys as a general rule?

because we have to be, if we see our selves as the bad guys or wrong then we would crumble. you can't afford to look at things from the perspectives of other countries, we are right according to our standards and those are the only standards that should matter to us.

 

[The Democrat]

because we have to be, if we see our selves as the bad guys or wrong then we would crumble. you can't afford to look at things from the perspectives of other countries, we are right according to our standards and those are the only standards that should matter to us.

Thats an intresting way of looking at it. What I'm really trying to get at though is specifics.

 

[The Democrat]

what makes us "right" is our intentions. so many people think that the things that we're doing need to be done, and they need to be done in the manner that we're currently going about them, that they just say that we're right. obviously, that doesn't make it true.

as for Fury's statement that "we kill commies and nazis", we aren't exactly the only ones who've done that. france and england and the soviet union all killed nazis too, and, despite Fury's objections to non-Americans, they were all foreigners. and we aren't the only country to oppose communism, either.

Well the road to hell is paved in good intentions. I believe that we do need to do something but rolling in with our tanks, firing missles with in an area of chance as a target, dropping bombs on houses simply because they have alot of cars parked out front, should never be the first choice. There are plenty of appropriate ways to go about it.

Yeah well Fury is a moron and a CHICKEN HAWK. I respect his right to defend this war but I don't respect his refusal to fight it himself. I can guarantee that if I supported a war and I thought it was appropriate I would join up and fight it.

 

[Fred_Fury]

I'm joining the Air Force after I finish college. Its quite funny when a liberal candy ass chicken ***** calls you a chicken hawk.

My older brother is currently in the US Army.

 

[bluejake01]

I'm joining the Air Force after I finish college. Its quite funny when a liberal candy ass chicken ***** calls you a chicken hawk.

My older brother is currently in the US Army.

You are so anti-American. How dare you worry about your education when our country is in mortal danger? How can you sit by and watch as we defend our homeland from the horrible attacks of...oh wait, Iraq didn't attack us.

 

[The Democrat]

I'm joining the Air Force after I finish college. Its quite funny when a liberal candy ass chicken ***** calls you a chicken hawk.

My older brother is currently in the US Army.

Really drop out now and go join. Don't wait a single day, this war needs fresh meat and I'm sick of friends and neighbors dying for it. Go ahead join now. I'd drop out today and join if I agreed with the war.

My younger brother is forward recon in Iraq right now. I don't go to sleep a night that I don't think about him and why he's fighting. I want you to take his place I would sleep easier at night knowing your life would be replacing his. My brother is a patriot and a great American who is also voting for Kerry.

You are a CHICKEN HAWK JOIN NOW OR YOU DON'T HAVE A LEG TO STAND ON.

 

[TLATOANI]

no one in this world is the good guy no one!!!!

because everyone has his one oppinnion

 

[FlameHead]

This is a wonderfully informative thread. I finally get an insight into how America feels about themselves. I wonder a whole lot about your nation and the people reside there. I wonder how different it really is.

This is a great question to ask yourself. Wonderful thread folks.

 

[The Democrat]

This is a wonderfully informative thread. I finally get an insight into how America feels about themselves. I wonder a whole lot about your nation and the people reside there. I wonder how different it really is.

This is a great question to ask yourself. Wonderful thread folks.

The question is actually what creates the perception that many (Fred_Fury) Americans hold that we have moral authority over the world.

 

[The Democrat]

no one in this world is the good guy no one!!!!

because everyone has his one oppinnion

Thats really not the question. The question is what creates the perception that we are the good guys.

 

[Outsiderzedge]

Alot of americans believe in their government and trust what the media shows them. That's where the perception comes from with citizens. As for the government itself, they are looking out for the interests of the rich and powerful. They don't care about right or wrong as long as it isn't too wrong that it causes a uproar from a large majority of the population.

Right now, they are walking a thin line.

 

[Abaddon]

because we have to be, if we see our selves as the bad guys or wrong then we would crumble. you can't afford to look at things from the perspectives of other countries, we are right according to our standards and those are the only standards that should matter to us.

Excellent point.

 

[TheCheshireCat]

We were founded on Puritan ethics.

 

[Danger Mouse]

Dunno but i read this once and guy's on to something:


The need to assert American exceptionalism is the keynote of American political culture. It resonates in the constant boasting that the United States is “the greatest democracy in the world,” a claim that was made even when the United States trailed behind most Western democracies by its own definition of what a democracy should be.[He's refering to a lack of universal suffrage up to '65]
.........
Nevertheless, Americans’ stubborn belief in American exceptionalism is indeed exceptional. Arguably, many countries suffer from a similar delusion, but what makes the case of the United States unique is the strength of the consensus that surrounds the myth and the poverty of the domestic debate about it.
Island nations tend to have a blinkered view, and the United States has developed as an island nation—the Atlantic separated it from Europe, and a sea of racism separated it from Latin America. From the outset, this young nation of immigrants who lacked the bond of centuries of a common history has felt the need to define itself by stressing its difference from those who stayed behind, the peoples of Europe. Therefore, a key ingredient of the American melting pot has been the belief in American exceptionalism.
In Western Europe, powerful groups—Socialist and Communist parties, for example—have questioned the very nature of their countries’ society. Their press, which is read by millions, the many prominent intellectuals in their ranks and their numerous representatives in parliament have challenged the foundations of their countries’ domestic systems and their foreign policies. In the United States, however, the debate has been much more narrow; it has dealt with the merits of a particular policy but rarely with the very nature of American society and the foundations of its policies. Those few who have wanted to probe deeper have been marginalized. The United States’ economic and military successes have reinforced the belief in American exceptionalism—power has been equated to virtue—and the keynote has remained: America may make mistakes, but its intentions are always good.

http://www.sais-jhu.edu/pubaffairs/publications/saisphere/winter03/gleijeses.html

Very interesting article..

And the ending of it gives much food for thought:

The reality is that the gulf between Americans’ perceptions of themselves and the world’s perception of the United States is widening and that, at this moment of immense U.S. power, this widening gulf is frightening. The consequences are unforeseeable.

 

[The Democrat]

We were founded on Puritan ethics.

Things have changed since then.

 

[maxwell's demon]

and now they're changin' back!

head for the hills!

 

[litlgreendude]

i think denis leary said it the best when he said



Because we got the bombs... ya thats right nuclear ****en missiles!

 

[The Democrat]

and now they're changin' back!

head for the hills!

no there getting worse

 

[InsayneJayne]

neither of those answer the question though. I'm asking a serious question. What makes America right? What allows us to walk the moral high ground?

You're talkin to the wrong crowd if u want a straight answer

 

[The Democrat]

i think denis leary said it the best when he said



Because we got the bombs... ya thats right nuclear ****en missiles!

Yes Denis Leary is funny. What is also funny is people using comics to sum up your thoughts on politics.