What are Americans taught about U.S and what do you really believe?

by sleepy 160 Replies latest watchtower scandals

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  Crazy151drinker

  Three words come to mind. Poor, deluded and fool.

  This coming from someone who lives in a country were the common people were slaves to the Royalty for hundreds of years....

  Maybe if you were allowed to own guns you wouldnt have been royalties little pansies for such a long time? It didnt take us that long to get rid of your silly king.

  Simon of the Make me a Peasant Class

  Lets not forget Simon that the reason we have the Constitution is because the WONDERFULL Brits kept trying to SCREW US. So all of the things about us that you so lovingly hate are YOUR OWN DAMN FAULT.
• 

  TrailBlazer04

  Well, the good old USA beats the hell out of the communist dictatorship my mother escaped...and evidently it was a helluva lot better than post WW1 Germany for my father's family...

  TB
• 

  Paxil

  Hmmm - I think most americans think they live in a democracy - when for instance the popular vote is largely irrevalent. It is the college electorate vote that counts. Sure you can influence local and state issues by putting someone in office. But ultimately power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely. That's why the higher you go up the ladder, the fewer honest people you encounter. For instance recently the Republicans were denied on an issue and they extended the vote on the floor for 4 hours and influenced 10 to change thier vote for the issue. So much for accepting the will of the popular vote? Britain does the same thing or at least Blair has.

  It is a hierarchy system of capitolism. Not bad in essence. A pyramid if you will. Most of you are probably familiar with pyramid style MLM (Multi-level-marketing)

  The get a nation to believe they live in a democracy is the challenge. Our Bill of rights protects that, However if any of you have ever really read "The so-called Patriot Act" You would see that it sets the stage for a police state and martial law. All that's missing is another large terrorist attack to initiate those provisions. It over-rides many of the freedoms contained in the Bill of Rights and The Constitution. Many large cities have introduced legislation to protect The Bill of Rights from the Patriot Act including ironically New York City and Los Angeles. Has your City? You can check here. http://www.bordc.org/

  If you don't know the Patriot Act allows for electronic surveilance on any citizen they like, including telephone taps, your internet habits, etc...you can be taken from your home for no reason without a search warrant and denied due process of law. In essence you could just disappear, forcibly taken from your home by Home Land Security. Hail Der Furher! Nazi Germany liked to use the phrase "Homeland" alot to...thier homeland security was called the Gestapo, but they essentially had the same type of power as granted to our homeland security act. Not to say that's what ours is about - just an interesting parallel.

  The next attack is around the corner, our government is positive and you can bet on it. If security was important doncha think they would increase the border protection? Waterways? Immigration? No my friends they haven't and they won't. Because a fresh attack like a plaugue of smallpox or some other disease can be blamed on whoever and keep the war machine rolling, chuggin right along with new fuel.

  I know this seems cynical, but it's always nice to keep your eyes and ears open and maybe your mind. I wish I good give you good news.

  Concerning our political parties - The democrats win and you get a watered down version of the republicans. They are essentially one party.

  The Rich. It was interesting in the Fahrenheit 911 film, where Moore approaches congressmen to get thier kids of eligable age to sign up for service in Iraq...They are running from him. One congressman gives him a look that says...My kids...I don't think so. The Army recruiters in the film are targeting rundown strip malls in the ethnic parts of town...it's sad.

  If you saw the film and are interested in an even more in depth documantary that exposes much more, check out Alex Jones Documentary that he made in 2002 before Moore. It's called - 911 The Road to Tyranny. Very revealing. Matrix of Evil is good as well. You can find them here - http://www.store.yahoo.com/infowars-shop/videos.html

  Maybe it's all just a bad nightmare :) It couldn't possibly be true - could it...
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  Carmel

  Many Americans have never been outside its borders, not unlike the majority of humans around the world. I find that the people from America that have traveled extensively really appreaciate the rule of law and a degree of freedom we enjoy that surpasses most other culturs and nations. I also find that those that haven't traveled have a lack of appreciation of the qualities that other cultures enjoy. All the more reason for a world wide web to open up the channels of communication between common folk who will learn tolerance and appreciation without having to travel extensively.

  carmel
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  ColdRedRain

  What I was taught about America in school:

  Conservative teachers taught me that America was the land of the free and brave and nothing can beat American's hard work ethic.

  Liberal teachers told me that we should strive for equal outcome as well as equal oppurtunity.

  What I've learned being an American outside of school:

  Be fucking skeptical about people who are in charge. Only rely on them when they're the lesser ot 2 evils. Also, we're not a Democracy, nor a Representative Republic, we're slaves to the bloated, special interest addled government and their inefficiencies and their misservices to humanity, and we're probably the only country in the world where you're allowed to say that without being labelled "Racist" or "Anti-Gay" or "Right Wing Libertarian Nut" by the mainstream media.
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  ColdRedRain

  Many Americans have never been outside its borders

  Well, when you boarder only 2 nations, one of them being culturally similar to you, you don't really have that opportunity.
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  Max Divergent

  The thread has gone from 'what do Americans beleive?' to 'these are the laws that make America what it is'... so let me comment from my POV:
  
  I reckon the western world is the western world is the western world. Maybe the more similar the secular liberal democracies are, the more noticable the local differences.
  
  I think it dosn't matter much whether there's a written Constitutional Bill of Rights or a set of presumed rights built up over time by precedent and convention.
  
  But given the choice, I'd *not* have a written Bill of Rights. Emphisis on rights is very useful in some ways, but problematic in that it seperates what we allow or prohibit from the consequences.
  
  It means, for example, that an accused person may have a 'right' to be regarded as innocent unless there are two witnesses to his wrongdoing. Period.
  
  That right that exists within the JW world leads to really bad consequences for abused children. If we have a culture of written and unviolable rights, then that's where the matter ends - the accused's rights superceed children's need for protection.
  
  I'd prefer us to say, 'the evidence is overwhelming that Mr X abused little Billy even though there's only one witness. The consequences of denying X's right to two witnesses are much less than the cost of denying Billy and all other children protection from X's abuse. Therefore we'll punish X for abusing Billy even though there's only one witness becuase that adds up to the most benificial (least bad?) net outcome'.
  
  That's what I think, although I know it is diametrically opposed to the prevailing view taught in American schools (although a leading advocate of that outlook is Professor Peter Singer at Princeton). The philisophical outlook is called hedonistic utilitarianism.
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  Max Divergent

  Whoops... double post...
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  Max Divergent

  "Well, when you boarder only 2 nations, one of them being culturally similar to you, you don't really have that opportunity [to travel to other countries]"
  
  My country is an island that borders no other (Australia), but overseas travel is seen as an essential part of a person's education and development to broarden their outlook beyond the narrower constraints of our little corner of the world.
  
  I'm no rich person, but I've been to: US (Fl, Ga, DC, NYC), UK, assorted western European countries, India, New Zealand, and Indonesia. That's a prety normal range of travel. My wife has been to many more countries in Asia and the Middle East and we'll probably concerntrate more travel in Asia from now on.
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  sleepy

  No American poster yet, has really established how their freedoms are greater than others. You could say you have a unique set of freedoms, but so do other countries. And its no big deal to compare the freedoms you enjoy to third world countries and dictator ships.
  If America is truly what many proclaim it to be there must be some obvious example.
  Note for example, in the EU you can live and work in any country.
  I could leave Britain tomorrow and move to Italy and get a job, no questions asked, I could if bored move to Spain, or Germany. Or any other EU country. That?s a very valuable freedom.
  My wife is French, she lives in Britain and works there, and there is absolutely no procedure she had to go through to do this. Just turn up and get on with it.
  But do you see the EU nations boasting, "We are the land of the free"?
  
  For those who don?t know otherwise "anyone" can be a millionaire in most countries.
  Also note those who fled religious persecution to the new world in the 1600 and 1700's were fleeing to a British ruled colony.
  The war against Britain was a war for self-rule for the settlers; this has a slightly different connotation than a war for freedom, which implies enslavement.
  And any freedoms were for the settlers not the native people, who?s land was taken from them, and who?s descendants now live in reservations.
  And of course lets not forget that slavery was abolished in Britain and other European countries ages before the U.S.A.
  
  By the way I have no problem with The US, I just don?t like the idea of institutionalised nationalism that teaches a countries in subtle ways it is superior to others, when clearly it is not.