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Chielgirl, I can't give you any more +rep, but I respect how you've raised a reasonable question, stayed on topic, and kept up you're responses to the thread you started.
To your question, the most obvious answer is gun rights. I get a nice warm and fuzzy feeling owning mine, but it is a false sense of security. If all out, genuine tyranny reigned, we'd never organize or have a fighting chance.. we're kidding ourselves.
We are free to be apathetic, too. With so much open land, we've spread ourselves out into the sub-urbs and live in sheltered cacoons. The front door is a garage because our car takes us everywhere - thanks to a heavily subsidized transportation system. We trust no one, and there are no central gathering places for people to meet and share ideas. We're more concerned with who wins American Idol than the presidency, few people can even name a city councilman, state senator, or Congressman. We are free to live our high standard of living, and as long as that is maintained we won't pay attention to what's really happening... as long as gay people don't destroy the sacred institution of marriage.
Eastern, thanks for the response.
You've actually provided an answer to the question.
Since I'm a pacifist, I hadn't even thought of the gun response because I never consider weapons.
I appreciate your understanding that it is a false sense of security.
The OP brings up more emotional responses than answers, but I honestly didn't expect anything else.
Visvaldis is spot on with respect to my view of the US.
Americans don't really value freedoms, but they love the word freedom.
As the Bush administration has demonstrated, restricting the freedoms of Americans is like taking candy from a baby. Of the warrantless wiretaps, hardly any Americans complained. Many complained about those who were against wiretaps.
Many American would welcome Big Brother with open arms.
Many Americans despise the media which criticizes the president's policies. Many Americans feel that the media manufactures phony stories and is determined to destroy America.
There are plenty of Americans who think that people getting arrested without being charged is a great idea.
There are also plenty of Americans who feel that demonstrators are commies and traitors, and should arrested.
Americans don't really care about freedoms. What Americans really care about are the freedom to own guns, money, low taxes,(economic freedom) plenty of sports, good shopping, TV entertainment 24/7, and what else?(life,liberty, and the pursuit of happiness)
Somebody mentioned ideals. America has no ideals. American ideals are a thing of the past. Now, everything in America boils down to; get as much money as you can, however you can. It's a religion. But the word "freedom" sounds good.
As I've inserted above, I believe the things you've listed are related to freedoms and liberties. I also don't think that many, given the fact that others were arrested without being charged, would support the arrest of Americans. There are plenty of us, typically Libertarians and true conservatives, who will stand up and defend these freedoms and liberties to the death.
Is it because Americans have the delusion that they live in a free society because they are such conformists? I am of the opinion that the majority of the Americans drudge away endlessly working to be the most successful conformists.
What I mean with conformists is mostly that in America patriotism and criticizing the government is frowned upon, while in Holland we do not idolise our love for our country, nor do we mind criticising our government harshly.
I mean last night our public network aired the porno movie Deep Throat even when our government pleaded not to do so.
Another matter is that a government official Geert Wilders is trying to provoke the Islamic world with his anti-Islamic ‘movie’.
All under the cover of freedom of speech. The problem is that for the Islamic nations it is very difficult to understand that an opinion of a government official is not the same as the opinion of the Dutch government.
I guess it is easier to fight for a freedom instead of upholding it.
Is it because Americans have the delusion that they live in a free society because they are such conformists? I am of the opinion that the majority of the Americans drudge away endlessly working to be the most successful conformists.
What I mean with conformists is mostly that in America patriotism and criticizing the government is frowned upon, while in Holland we do not idolise our love for our country, nor do we mind criticising our government harshly.
I mean last night our public network aired the porno movie Deep Throat even when our government pleaded not to do so.
Another matter is that a government official Geert Wilders is trying to provoke the Islamic world with his anti-Islamic ‘movie’.
All under the cover of freedom of speech. The problem is that for the Islamic nations it is very difficult to understand that an opinion of a government official is not the same as the opinion of the Dutch government.
I guess it is easier to fight for a freedom instead of upholding it.
Please don't forget that we in the U.S. survived a civil war based upon the intrusion of the tyrannical federal government into states' rights. Also, remember we revolted against the tyranny of the British to form our own country. However, I do believe that many have taken the freedoms our forefathers fought for for granted. Many continue to ask the government for more and more assistance not realizing, maybe in some cases realizing, that they are also asking for more government control over their day-to-day lives, like forcing everyone to buy government health insurance.
I strongly believe that, at some point, we will wake up to this fact and demand that our legislators actually adhere to the principles of a limited government, as prescribed by the U.S. Constitution.
Also, remember we revolted against the tyranny of the British to form our own country.
I know, but pride (as in patriotism) makes it easy to suffer from 'blind spots'.
I can't help but compare modern America now with Germany before Hitler came to power. The socio-economic factors are very much alike; the threat for an economic crash and fear for immigrants (=scapegoating; looking for an easy direct solution to a complex problem) to which Hitler in his time capitalised on.
I certainly don't condone terrorist actions but we won't come close to understanding them if we think they hate us simply because of our freedoms as President Bush and others would want you to believe.
Anyone who claims that terrorists hate America because of its freedoms are flat out wrong, however anyone who claims it is entirely about American foreign policy are missing some points as well.
Regardless of American and Western foreign policy, Islamic Fundamentalists would hate the United States and the rest of the West. They view Western culture as a direct threat to the survival of Islam and only the destruction of the West can get rid of that threat. If you look at surveys done in the Middle East of what countries Arabs hate the most and what countries they would like to live in, the lists look very similar. For every Arab who hates the West, there is another that would feel at home in Detroit, London, Vancouver, or Melbourne. That angers the Fundamentalists, they know that many young people are somewhat envious of the West, they do want to be as rich as Westerns, they love Western pop culture, and they do admire Western freedoms. To the Fundamentalists, the West is attacking them, not with bombs and bullets, but with ideals and entertainment. I went to a high school that had over 50% of its student population foreign born, one day our history teacher gave us an assignment to create our own Bill of Rights and to justify the rights we put in it. As I was making my draft I had this Arab guy who wasn't in my history class proofread it, I explained what the assignment was and passed it to him. He was completely amazed by it, called a few of his friends over (who were mostly Iraqi and Syrian refugees) to take a look at it, he told me how my ideas would change the world and how it was beautiful in its simplicity. He thought that I just created the very concept of part of a country's constitution restricting the government's right to violate the basic freedoms and human rights of its residents. It was the first time they were exposed to a Bill of Rights and they were previously completely unaware of that they existed. And yes, to Islamic Fundamentalists, that is a threat to them.
Remember that Western countries and Islamic countries have been fighting each other for quite a while, if you have seen interviews with a lot of Islamic Fundamentalists, most of them claim this war has been going on for long before the First Gulf War, some going all the way back to the Middle Ages. This just another battle in the centuries old Jihad.
What America's policies regarding the Middle East have done is turn a lot of moderates sympathetic towards terrorists, gave the appearance of legitimacy to the claims of Islamic Fundamentalists, and have made America the main focus of a number of terrorist groups.
The "They hate us for our freedom" and the "American foreign policy is to blame" people are both wrong.
Please don't forget that we in the U.S. survived a civil war based upon the intrusion of the tyrannical federal government into states' rights.
Or possibly the assumption by tyrannical states of rights that they never had to begin with.
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Is it because Americans have the delusion that they live in a free society because they are such conformists? I am of the opinion that the majority of the Americans drudge away endlessly working to be the most successful conformists.
The problem is that for the Islamic nations it is very difficult to understand that an opinion of a government official is not the same as the opinion of the Dutch government.
I guess it is easier to fight for a freedom instead of upholding it.