01-31-2009, 02:33 PM
(This post was last modified: 01-31-2009, 02:37 PM by Hammerskjold.)
edited for mangled quote tags.
Again with this? Some folks seems to be mesmerized by the 'freedom to name your kid' angle of the story. And if anyone says differently, well they don't understand freedom gets trotted out. Might as well say anyone who isn't American can't understand the concept of freedom because the very notion burns their skin like so much sunlight on dracula.
Fine, whatever. I'll try this one instead. Let's play the potential fast forward game. (Like that Aston Kutcher cinematic magnum opus, The Butterfly Effect.) What could happen if a kid gets thrown into a group with a reputation for violence, that's despised by most people (for good reasons), with the parents practically giving him away to the ' righteous cause'?
Hmm, Alex, who is...Omar Khadr?
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/463466
Any takers on defending the group who trained Khadr to be a child 'soldier' as only an 'unpopular minority political' viewpoint?
MEAT, I say this with no ill will towards you. I'm not USofA-rican. But I got relatives who are. I spent some great times in various places in the States. I got nothing but the warmest feelings for it's people in general. Most Americans I've met are one of the friendliest, and most generous people both in material and in spirit.
When it comes down to the nitty gritty, most folks are not that different. They're not identical, and everyone's got their own stories. The relatives I have who are US citizens did not sell most of their belongings at a loss, to go start all over again in the US, just so they can go 'not understand and respect' the American way of life.
If you really believe that people who aren't native born to the US can't 'get it', even if they took an oath to become citizens. (Some even risking life and limb to just get a chance at a greencard.) Try saying that to their face. You'll probably find those words real hollow real fast when measured against reality.
Whatever else this is worth, let's at least try to differentiate between a country's government and it's policies, and it's people. Sometimes the 2 have vast differences of opinions. And that's just in the same country! I mean, if you get 10 people in a room, I doubt they'll agree on which 2 toppings are best for a pizza. That's just 10 people. Even if the FDA comes out and says which toppings it considers to be valid for pizzas, would everyone really treat it as gospel?
What is this thread about again? Oh yeah. No, the US isn't headed towards a socialist gov't, at least not in the way you think 'socialist' seems to mean. As long as there's still KFC buffets in the USofA, the smell of freedom is still pretty strong and tasty. The fact that this http://www.kfc.com/menu/bowls.asp even exists in America, should be a resounding answer.
Though what that says about responsibility, that might be another thread.
Quote:As was pointed out before, America has always touted itself as a Democracy that was the land of the free, with freedoms afforded to all. When kandrathe made his points known about naming a child Adolf Hitler, almost everyone on these boards thought CPS had the right to take the children away from the parents if they saw a real threat present (some even if they didnât), while kandrathe made the point that there was no known threat, yet most of the other posters shown a "cry me a river" attitude which leads me to believe this is one freedom (the freedom to choose any name you want for your child) most posters on these boards either don't agree with, or don't have in their own country so simply can't sympathize.
Again with this? Some folks seems to be mesmerized by the 'freedom to name your kid' angle of the story. And if anyone says differently, well they don't understand freedom gets trotted out. Might as well say anyone who isn't American can't understand the concept of freedom because the very notion burns their skin like so much sunlight on dracula.
Fine, whatever. I'll try this one instead. Let's play the potential fast forward game. (Like that Aston Kutcher cinematic magnum opus, The Butterfly Effect.) What could happen if a kid gets thrown into a group with a reputation for violence, that's despised by most people (for good reasons), with the parents practically giving him away to the ' righteous cause'?
Hmm, Alex, who is...Omar Khadr?
http://www.thestar.com/News/GTA/article/463466
Any takers on defending the group who trained Khadr to be a child 'soldier' as only an 'unpopular minority political' viewpoint?
Quote: Call me cynical, but thatâs the way I see it. But please, I am probably reading far too much into this and will only end up sticking my whole foot in my mouth (lord knows it wouldn't be the first time, and definitely not the last time), so forgive me if I offended you with that statement.
MEAT, I say this with no ill will towards you. I'm not USofA-rican. But I got relatives who are. I spent some great times in various places in the States. I got nothing but the warmest feelings for it's people in general. Most Americans I've met are one of the friendliest, and most generous people both in material and in spirit.
When it comes down to the nitty gritty, most folks are not that different. They're not identical, and everyone's got their own stories. The relatives I have who are US citizens did not sell most of their belongings at a loss, to go start all over again in the US, just so they can go 'not understand and respect' the American way of life.
If you really believe that people who aren't native born to the US can't 'get it', even if they took an oath to become citizens. (Some even risking life and limb to just get a chance at a greencard.) Try saying that to their face. You'll probably find those words real hollow real fast when measured against reality.
Whatever else this is worth, let's at least try to differentiate between a country's government and it's policies, and it's people. Sometimes the 2 have vast differences of opinions. And that's just in the same country! I mean, if you get 10 people in a room, I doubt they'll agree on which 2 toppings are best for a pizza. That's just 10 people. Even if the FDA comes out and says which toppings it considers to be valid for pizzas, would everyone really treat it as gospel?
What is this thread about again? Oh yeah. No, the US isn't headed towards a socialist gov't, at least not in the way you think 'socialist' seems to mean. As long as there's still KFC buffets in the USofA, the smell of freedom is still pretty strong and tasty. The fact that this http://www.kfc.com/menu/bowls.asp even exists in America, should be a resounding answer.
Though what that says about responsibility, that might be another thread.