Incorrect, DtC. America is a Christian nation with a secular government. Any country with an overwhelming majority of its citizenry practicing Christianity is, by definition, a Christian nation.
If I described Egypt as a Muslim nation, nobody would contradict me, despite the sizable presence of religious minorities there.
HHmmm… only read the piece the OP put… and I didn’t like it. Reasons:
This type of argument has been popping up all the time… and its plain silly. So why not “liberate” North Korea… Africa and Pakistan ? I’m happy for the Iraqi… but what about the rest of the scared world.
Oh… so the UN is weak and the USA must save them from irrelevance. Its the US that is trying to make them irrelevant ! The fact that the Oval Office gets to play security council all on its lonesome isn’t dangerous at all… ?
Then he goes to accuse Europe of being too multilateral (and that they were a step away from fascism). Never mind that the US was pro-Hitler and isolationist at that time.
So he basically accuses europeans of supporting the Palestinians and being anti-semitic in the same phrase ? Nice move. Stop being anti-muslim yourself Bush.
Simple Summary: UN and multilaralism are irrelevant without "action". Europe is nice... but not right. Stop loving palestinians... and hating Israel.
Since “whiteness” doesn’t significantly affect personal and public character and morality, and the structure of society and the fovernmental and nongovernmental organizations that operate within it, I’d have to say no.
Or at least, that such a description is trite and doesn’t begin to address fundamental notions of American history and character.
If you think such a description is closer to true, have at it. Calling America a white country makes you sound like a Klansman, though.
Just the normal crap, fwiw he had some real competition just a few hundred yards down the road. The main opposition party has a new leader and it was PMQ’s at lunchtime today – it was back to the most exciting level of exchange.
This was gladiatorial stuff of the finest standard for which even Blair was on the back foot at times:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/uk_politics/3263655.stm
Bush was the second act and even at his very best, it was just another speech other people wrote for him. Maybe his delivery has improved - and his ability to not rely on an autocue so often - but it’s still other peoples’ words delivered without the crucial rebuttal or questioning.
Wow, I can’t believe I made so many mistakes in one sentence- ouch!
But it still stands that Sikh’s are definately not considered “people of the book” that would subcribe to the Judeo-Christian (and arguably Muslim) form of monotheism and cosmology. I believe most Christians would find the idea of “souls merging with God” to be a false view of heaven and perhaps even heritical (I’ve head plenty of people get down on Mormons for believeing that man and God could ever be equivelent). The Sikh concept of an afterlife seems to most resemble the Hindu concept, anyway. Kalpana Chawla, if she did reach her religion’s higher goal, isn’t hanging out with Jesus in the clouds, she’s ceased to exist as an individual and merged into a form of God that Christian’s definately don’t believe in. Certainly not any concept of “home now” that we have.
In any case, there was no reason to bring religion into things, and in this case it was blatantly ignoring the religious beliefs of a specific individual because it was just so damn important to talk about Jehovah in that speech. What if we had a Christian American die on an Indian flight and the Indian Prime Minister started running off at the mouth about how they hope she escaped samsara or at least ends up reincarnated in a good life? It’s callous to the family, it’s rude to the other nations, and it is completly unnceccesary unless you have some wierd little agenda that you can’t let go of long enough to make one little speech.
You seem to have a bit of difficulty understanding rhetorical questions, Mr. Moto.
It wasn’t that long ago that “whiteness” was thought to “significantly affect personal and public character and morality, and the structure of society and the fovernmental [sic] and nongovernmental organizations that operate within it”. You remember? Racism, and all that?
And if you think that the concepts of “blackness” and “whiteness” don’t “begin to address fundamental notions of American history and character”, then I don’t think you have much understanding of your country’s history. Civil war? Civil Rights Movement? Martin Luther King? Anything like that ring a bell?
And finally your statement “Calling America a white country makes you sound like a Klansman, though.” is a ridiculous “I’m rubber, you’re glue” argument. It might work when dealing with fourth graders, but we try to aim a bit higher here.
I thought Bush’s speech was fairly well delivered but relatively meaningless until he backs up his words with actions. Bush needs to hold Israel accountable for it’s actions by making sure all illegal settlements and outposts are dismantled and not let Israel continuously defy international law. Bush should exert pressure on Israel by withholding all foreign aid until Israel starts to obey international law.
On a separate note, it looks like terrorists are starting to attack British targets with car bombs just like they threatened to.Another pair of car bombs just went off in Instanbul outside a bank and the British Consulate killing another 25 people. So here’s to you Mr. Blair, and the one fine mess you’ve gotten your country into.