Yes, it is satire and an intelligence test. (Just kidding!)
Thanks for your comments – and for taking the time to read. The OP was a little long.
To me, the heart of American patriotism should be embracing our diversity of thought.
Eva Luna, there was no particular post that prompted the OP, although many could have. I see this conflicting attitude almost everywhere.
Just yesterday, I was driving through a state with its own call in radio show. I heard a lot of words about pride in being an American and appreciating the freedoms that we have. I also heard suggestions that those who oppose war should “shut up” or be “slapped around.” And these opposing ideas were from the same people! I respect their right to say these things, but I personally don’t think they reflect a lot of depth. I am baffled by the irony.
I’m glad that not all people who support the war are like this.
Space Vampire, I originally posted it in Mundane Stuff – or whatever it is called. And I was a little surprised to see it moved to the Pit. (I really don’t hate all of those that I mentioned. The list includes me!)
Zoe, reading that made me giddy. You really nailed it.
[hijack]When seeing the thread title, I couldn’t help but think of “Le Québec aux québécois” (Quebec for Quebecers), which is an oft-used chant of Quebec separatists.[/hijack]
So she is satirizing what a few idiots think? If that is the case, good job. But I hope everyone realizes that America is not the garden of eden before the apple incident.
It seems to me that blacks , homosexuals, women, and anyone else who has been discriminated against in the past, has it better than ever in America at this time. Not perfect, but better.
Believe it or not, MOST people are tolerant of others as long as those people don’t REALLY bother them in some way. We all shoot off our mouths out of frustration, but when it comes down to it, most Americans are fair.
What IS disgraceful in this country (bordering on evil) is how we parole convicted child molesters and rapists from prisons every day somewhere in the country. And that the most dangerous drug is both legal and its use promoted everywhere in America.
Oh , and astroturf is still used in some ballparks.
We had “ethnic cleansing” in the Balkans. At this moment we have a new worry about Iraq descending into religious rivalries between the Shi’aa and Sunni Muslims, and, oh yeah, don’t forget the Kurds up north. We have hotspots all over Africa with ethnic cleansing, racial hatreds, and religious rivalries.
Yet somehow, someway, it’s always the U.S. that is painted as having some humongous, horrific, insane, unique and one-of-a-kind* gosh-darned problem of “us v. them”.
Pardon me if I think this is another in a over-long list of near-sightedness in the ranks.
I don’t believe that the problems of “us v. them” thinking are at all unique to the U.S. Sorry if I gave you that impression. I disagree with you that it is always the United States that is painted that way.
Sure it is. The very next thread in the Pit as I’m typing this is titled “Is America ready for democracy?” Tell me this is a bit of a stretch, not entirely in keeping with the “down with America” voices we’re constantly hearing.
In Sudan, Christians are dying in the thousands due to religious hatred. In Zimbabwe, Mugabe is expropriating land from white farmers and giving to blacks. Cuba conducted trials, appeals and executions in one week for crimes outrageously defined as “terrorism”. China maintains a “one-child” policy which results in forced abortions and sterilizations. The list goes on and on.
Do we spend endless hours bemoaning the state of affairs for far too many people around the world? No, we bang the drum over the U.S.
Are we perfect? Nope. Do we have problems? Yup. But, in the scheme of things, our problems are sporadic, not endemic.
Zoey, your post so makes me think of a woman who belongs to a newsgroup I subscribe to. Only thing is, she’s serious. Just today she’s been lamenting how the Vietnamese are “taking over” her little town.
Of course, she swears she’s one of the most open minded people that ever existed.
Every example you gave of the horrendous conditions in other nations is chilling and painful.
When we address a problem that some of us have in America, that doesn’t mean that we ignore problems elsewhere. And it doesn’t mean that we are always critical of what goes on within US borders.
The difference is, none of those countries are democracies. The Chinese government doesn’t give a shit if people in England are protesting their forced family planning. The don’t give a shit if people in China are complaining; that’s what all those tanks are for. Protesting about these countries various inhumane policies is a waste of time.
But in the US, we’ve got a government that answers to the people. We’ve got mechanisms in place to address and correct injustice. People complain about the US because they know that there’s at least a chance we’ll listen and change.
