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Not only am I a veteran, I am also an immigrant. Our family fled communism and settled in the US.
A country with contestant governments will result in a civil war. The corollary is that a country with contestant symbols will result in a divided people. This reasons out that a symbol should be a unifying factor.
No country is perfect, but from my personal experience, the US is better than most. By most, I do not mean %50.1 of the countries out there. More like %80.
If no country is perfect, that means it must have a blend of 'good' and 'bad' things and people. So the question is how does one compare the good/bad pairs between countries ? Actually being in those countries help. When I was active duty, I experienced the good/bad of West Berlin, then the good/bad of East Berlin ( when they existed ). Although the experience was brief as I was only a tourist for a few days, it was still interesting to see the radical differences between the two sides of the Cold War. I also experienced the good/bad of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
When people make these comparisons, inevitably they asks themselves where would they want to live. So it always come down to GOOD/bad or good/BAD in assessment. Take this 'freedom of speech' right Americans and Westerners enjoys. Is it GOOD/bad or good/BAD in our countries ?
When I was in Turkey, we were briefed prior to arrival that we must not show any disrespect to any visual depiction of Kemal Ataturk, of which just about every town and city have somewhere.
So it is safe to assess that as far as the 'freedom of speech' right goes, the US and the West is GOOD/bad whereas for China and Turkey is is good/BAD. Essentially, in China and Turkey, showing the middle finger towards their symbols of national significance will get that member cut off. That is why when it comes to rights and freedoms, no one brings up China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the ( once ) Soviet Union, or assorted dictatorships in Africa as examples to emulate.
As the national symbol represents everything there is about a country, it also must suffer containment of the bad things as well. Do you give the middle finger to your husband/wife boyfriend/girlfriend dog/cat just because each of them contains that good/bad pair ? The marriage vow expects standing with each other thru the bad times as well as the good, it also means supporting each other despite the things you may not like about each other because you chose to value the good over the bad. That means no middle finger. Period.
Recently, Saudi Arabia finally gave their women the freedom to drive.
How long did that take ?
In emphasizing the good over the bad, you are not whitewashing or covering up anything. When the 'freedom of speech' came, it did not came from nothing. It evolved from having a deficit to being a surplus. It means if you continuously emphasizing the bad things about the US, you are not giving due credit to the previous generations of Americans who made possible the evolution of the country to the status it is today. You take the good and say this is where we must stand. People already know the bad. They are living in it. It is moving towards the good that is the unknown. No one among the writers of the Constitution had any idea on how the 'freedom of speech' idea would work for the country. But they were living in a condition where there was such a deficit of so many rights and freedoms that they felt the unknown was worth the risk.
The result is a country that evolved many things from being good/BAD to GOOD/bad at a pace that no one wanted to try in their own countries.
Do you think that there is going to be mass protests in China over the government's new law ? Not likely. That is the Chinese people -- as a whole -- for you to think about.
On the other hand, any US politician that even propose such an idea is going to be excoriated in the press, let alone experiencing public protests in his district of representation. That is the American people -- as a whole -- for you to think about.
By the way, I am Asian-American, so drop any charge of racism.
So when you chose to give the middle finger to the US flag, you are engaging in the same hyperbole that you earlier mocked about me. Further, you are not making any contribution to any changes because essentially, you insulted ALL the good and bad things about the US. You insulted the sacrifices of the civil rights fighters as well as the Klansmen. You insulted the slaves as well as the slaveholder. You insulted both men and women. You insulted civilians and military. You insulted the draft dodgers as well as the willing patriots. You insulted the technologists and the Luddites.
You insulted EVERYTHING there is about the US.
Nicely done. Oh, and thank you for serving.
Come on folks. Put down the hatred of Trump and let's put the Lame Stream Media out of business.
1. That they actually have enough cultural influence to be able to redefine what standing for the flag means.
2. That there will begin an earnest competition to redefine what patriotism means.
What's actually going to happen, and is happening, is that liberals and their special interest groups are coming off as unpatriotic "revolutionaries"; except that the nation is so weary from the constant, never ceasing, essentially anti-majority and anti-social complaining that this is the negative connotation that "revolution" has taken on. The brakes have essentially locked in this nation insofar as any magnanimous empathy is concerned from non-libs. Knee bending, complaining, rioting, etc. merely comes off as anti-civilization at this point.
What some groups do not realize is that this era is a large test that they are failing. The test is whether or not they can culturally re-orient and thrive under legal equality and freedom. In other words, the test is a demonstration of equal behavior. Every time that there are large national complaints or riots, which actually have no foundation in objective reality, the test is failed. What the ultimate social penalty will be for a continuously failed test remains to be seen.
Seems we have broke your husband also. It doesn't help but I did not support that.
He's not broken lol! It's what he is called to do. Just like teachers, Drs, nurses etc.
Quote:
Originally Posted by Roderic
Not only am I a veteran, I am also an immigrant. Our family fled communism and settled in the US.
A country with contestant governments will result in a civil war. The corollary is that a country with contestant symbols will result in a divided people. This reasons out that a symbol should be a unifying factor.
No country is perfect, but from my personal experience, the US is better than most. By most, I do not mean %50.1 of the countries out there. More like %80.
If no country is perfect, that means it must have a blend of 'good' and 'bad' things and people. So the question is how does one compare the good/bad pairs between countries ? Actually being in those countries help. When I was active duty, I experienced the good/bad of West Berlin, then the good/bad of East Berlin ( when they existed ). Although the experience was brief as I was only a tourist for a few days, it was still interesting to see the radical differences between the two sides of the Cold War. I also experienced the good/bad of the United Kingdom, France, Spain, Italy, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, and Egypt.
When people make these comparisons, inevitably they asks themselves where would they want to live. So it always come down to GOOD/bad or good/BAD in assessment. Take this 'freedom of speech' right Americans and Westerners enjoys. Is it GOOD/bad or good/BAD in our countries ?
When I was in Turkey, we were briefed prior to arrival that we must not show any disrespect to any visual depiction of Kemal Ataturk, of which just about every town and city have somewhere.
So it is safe to assess that as far as the 'freedom of speech' right goes, the US and the West is GOOD/bad whereas for China and Turkey is is good/BAD. Essentially, in China and Turkey, showing the middle finger towards their symbols of national significance will get that member cut off. That is why when it comes to rights and freedoms, no one brings up China, Turkey, Saudi Arabia, the ( once ) Soviet Union, or assorted dictatorships in Africa as examples to emulate.
As the national symbol represents everything there is about a country, it also must suffer containment of the bad things as well. Do you give the middle finger to your husband/wife boyfriend/girlfriend dog/cat just because each of them contains that good/bad pair ? The marriage vow expects standing with each other thru the bad times as well as the good, it also means supporting each other despite the things you may not like about each other because you chose to value the good over the bad. That means no middle finger. Period.
Recently, Saudi Arabia finally gave their women the freedom to drive.
How long did that take ?
In emphasizing the good over the bad, you are not whitewashing or covering up anything. When the 'freedom of speech' came, it did not came from nothing. It evolved from having a deficit to being a surplus. It means if you continuously emphasizing the bad things about the US, you are not giving due credit to the previous generations of Americans who made possible the evolution of the country to the status it is today. You take the good and say this is where we must stand. People already know the bad. They are living in it. It is moving towards the good that is the unknown. No one among the writers of the Constitution had any idea on how the 'freedom of speech' idea would work for the country. But they were living in a condition where there was such a deficit of so many rights and freedoms that they felt the unknown was worth the risk.
The result is a country that evolved many things from being good/BAD to GOOD/bad at a pace that no one wanted to try in their own countries.
Do you think that there is going to be mass protests in China over the government's new law ? Not likely. That is the Chinese people -- as a whole -- for you to think about.
On the other hand, any US politician that even propose such an idea is going to be excoriated in the press, let alone experiencing public protests in his district of representation. That is the American people -- as a whole -- for you to think about.
By the way, I am Asian-American, so drop any charge of racism.
So when you chose to give the middle finger to the US flag, you are engaging in the same hyperbole that you earlier mocked about me. Further, you are not making any contribution to any changes because essentially, you insulted ALL the good and bad things about the US. You insulted the sacrifices of the civil rights fighters as well as the Klansmen. You insulted the slaves as well as the slaveholder. You insulted both men and women. You insulted civilians and military. You insulted the draft dodgers as well as the willing patriots. You insulted the technologists and the Luddites.
They can be fired for their views if it violates NFL, Team and or university policy. Protesting is limited to private organizations and businesses that don't give prior approval. You can't hold a large scale march or demonstration in public without obtaining a permit ie...permission. As I have said in numerous threads numerous times. Exercise your rights to Protest all you want on your time, not company time.
Tuning out?? Not really, it probably seems crazy but cable companies are dropping local networks, mine just dropped CBS and Fox within the last 24hours. No local news, football or tv shows apparently. College and the NFL are being watched, just not through cable or fiber optic or whatever.
Indoor antennas are the way to cheat and get local stations plus a ton more, there are no ratings for those of us using this system, which equals about 50 million in the US at this point.
I kept basic cable for years that came with the internet, soon I won't need it either.
I guess as a possible contender for Democratic nomination we know what her platform will be now.
It's so predictable with the Democrats and Kamala Harris no different. Lots and lots of very vague statement and a total obsession with social issues. Then they promise all these goodies paid for with federal money which is a combination of increased debt for future generations and European style taxes.
Very little talk in her speech about bread and butter issues like jobs, economic growth, low taxes, lots of military spending to keep America safe and improving health care.
Rather her church focused on social issues from generations ago and talking about millionaire NFL players.
Seems like based on her Twitter page that like many Democrats she speaks in very, very vague and idealistic terms.
The same Democratic losing play book of fixation on social issues and the promise that if only they vote for a Democrat that a magic wand will be waived and sunshine and unicorns will dot the landscape and all will be just perfect.
Zachary Stinson is a perfect example of why we should protest. We did that to him and for what reason? No, that is not why the NFL is kneeling but it is a part of the reason why I have NO problem with the kneeling. We should all be giving a big middle finger to the country for what is is doing to the people.
No one will be able to explain when kneeling became disrespectful or why Zachary Stinson was in Afghanistan to start with. Why do we not care about the corruption in the police force in Baltimore? Why do we not care that there are very likely many behind bars simply because of this corruption.
The United States is corrupt. I want that changed.
Its easier to say and more realistic that America has a dark side. It's not all corrupt. But I did feel the same way when I was younger.
Its easier to say and more realistic that America has a dark side. It's not all corrupt. But I did feel the same way when I was younger.
Why are we not permitted to point out and protest that dark side?
Why are so many so willing to ignore that?
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Kamala Harris delivers political speech at church focusing on social issues and NFL players
