Mon, Nov 23, 2009
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JOSEPH C. PHILLIPS: Why Do You Love America?
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Name:
HarrisThomas
Comment: I love America because it's my home: it's a fixer upper needing massive renovation, nonetheless, it's home . . . . children's values and influences are filtered from whatever environment and associations are available to them and those values and influences shift and change over time so if some want to live in Canada or New Zealand, it would be interesting to find out why that's what their close associates want . . . . globally, people are impacted by the content in electronic communications, so, if America [my home] wants to be seen in the most positive perspective possible, it has to define itself and project an electronic image of that defined self in a manner that creates a global sense of warm and fuzzy feelings knowing that people remember us for what we do as well as what we say
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Name:
HarrisThomas
Comment: about July 4th, Frederick Douglass said "What, to the American slave, is your 4th of July? I answer; a day that reveals to him, more than all other days in the year, the gross injustice and cruelty to which he is the constant victim. To him, your celebration is a sham; your boasted liberty, an unholy license; your national greatness, swelling vanity; your sound of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants brass fronted impudence; your shout of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanks-givings, with all your religious parade and solemnity, are to him, mere bombast, fraud, deception, impiety, and hypocrisy -- a thin veil to cover up crimes which would disgrace a nation of savages. There is not a nation on the earth guilty of practices more shocking and bloody than are the people of the United States, at this very hour." . . . . well, I'd say to Mr. Douglass that not much has changed from his time to mine and that's why my home needs massive renovation
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Name:
bannedntheusa
Comment: JCP..bullshyt. What sort of radical school does your son attend? The Taliban academy of Latter Day Al Qaeda? Your son comes home to tell you that "many" of his 6TH GRADE classmates complained about America's greed and materialism? 6th GRADE? Your son sounds like he's being taught to think just like his dad...exagerrate. His "innocence" on this one is suspect. Sorry.
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Name:
rootsyd
Comment: I too find that hard to believe the 6th grade? wow I'm impressed. At that grade we were buttered in Columbus discovered america.etc. We didn't know any better.
There are ppl who feel this way about their beloved country. While you asked random ppl to say what they liked about america, i think you can go anywhere on earth and ppl find something they like, but asking what they don't like becomes more real, when we speak of america the product culture, or america the occupying vulture, for there are many faces to america, and we can no doubt ignore the atrocities that are being done in the name of the average american who is oblivious to these crimes being done, with their tax money. the supporting of Israel unabashadly, the murderous police brutality that is still very prevalent in this country, the complete corporate control over every thing we eat, everything we do. when you speak of being american, we are all aware, all americans aren't governed equally, and so your simplistic approach only keeps a docile view of what america really is in 2009.
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Name:
LazySusan
Comment: Isn't JCP a lying azz nicca? He always has some strange article, in which he blames the premise of it on his 'son'. 'My son learned this in school today'...yadda, yadda, yadda. I don't believe sixth graders had a discussion like that. And I'm beginning to wonder if this Tom even has a son. And if he does, then the boy is about as lame as his father. MIJAC died! JCP, do you not have any thoughts on that? A favorite song of his you liked? I know you had to have loved the man, since your hero Ronald Reagan honored him at the White House. Surely, for a weekly column, you can come up with better than this.
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Name:
BigRuss
Comment: It's interesting that a couple of you on this board could not possibly believe that JCP is telling the truth about his son. I have 2 boys 10 and 16 that are very in tune with history, current events and can form a well thought out analysis and argument on both. No matter if you agree with JCP or not I believe he can have a son that asks these types of questions. This shows that he is parenting his children and passing his thoughts and wisdom to them. Additionally, this shows that he is both arming his children with knowledge and allowing them to form their own thoughts.
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Name:
JAXXIE
Comment: BigRuss, JCP is ALWAYs writing about moral clarity and family values. The family values articles are written about a fictional family in order to strengthen his points about his conservative family values points of view. I don't doubt his wisdom with respect to his family. His children may very well be mild mannered with superior education. I am offended that he thinks that we don't see the thick layer of manure that he likes to spread. This is America. Some people like America because they have free speech to hurt other people by calling them despicable names like nygger which does not exclude JCP or real members of his family.
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Name:
HarrisThomas
Comment: The big umbrella that JCP writes under is "American exceptionalism" which is discussed on Wikipedia as "the theory that the United States occupies a special niche among developed nations in terms of its national credo, historical evolution, political and religious institutions and unique origins. The roots of the term are attributed to Alexis de Tocqueville, who noted that the then-50-year-old United States held a special place among nations, because it was a country of immigrants and the first modern democracy. The term itself did not emerge until after World War II when it was embraced by neoconservative pundits" . . . . what's not to love?
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Name:
ladybyrd
Comment: Tons of Blacks call other Blacks the same word n*gger, n*gga, n*cca etc. So you need to add many blacks in the group, unfortunately!
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Name:
ladybyrd
Comment: We as American have a responsibility to our families and to our country to be the best that we can be.
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Name:
DOne
Comment: Many in his son's 6th grade class may have expressed desire to live in other countries, but I doubt it had anything to do with hating the US; it's about dreaming of other places. It's more about having big imaginations. In fact, just this weekend, I have a nephrew that will be going to the 6th grade express a desire to live in Canada. Kids read about other countries and of course their young minds want to visit and live in those places. It's no difference than kids saying that they want to be movie stars. It has nothing to do with hating America.
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Name:
BigRuss
Comment: I have been thinking about the question "Why do I love America?". I honestly never thought of it from a standpoint of loving my country. America is all I know. I haven't been to other countries yet I have studied them extensively. Our country is very young compared to these other countries yet it is the superpower of the world. I am not at all unhappy and truly glad that I am an American. America does a lot of good for people around the world. I know many feel like America is this devil but I ask, why is everyone around the world looking for us to solve their problems? I cannot go so far to say that I absolutely love this country, more like i'm just glad to be on the team. There are a lot of things that I would like to see changed but overall with what I think I know I wouldn't want to be on another team.
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Name:
TGen
Comment: Some great comments thus far, but I think DOne's is probably most accurate in describing the mindset of the classmates of JPhillp's son (azzuming the story is true.) I think it's a shame that JPhillip's uses his sons' innocence to dirty their minds with his "pro-America" vs "anti-America" venom. I think it's a shame he is not more forthcoming about the whole of the country and chooses to keep his sons' naive about their country's truth. It's sad and it's crippling. When they grow up to see some of the other side, they will wonder why Daddy only sold them the White man's story, why he didn't offer the other truth about America, why their peers are so much more informed and have so much more a mature and realistic outlook on national and world affairs. What a shame to see an [apparently] good dad mentally handicap his kids because he can't let go of his simple ideologies and brainwashed ideas. *sigh* BigRuss, I appreciated your post in answering the "Why do I love America?" question. I think your answer is true for many--it's all we know, it's home. I don't think JPhillips will admit that since it does not fit into his inane pro-vs-anti USA ideology.
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Name:
blackdragon
Comment: I don't care if like or love the U.S. However, there are some things I want to put out there. Some say the U.S. helps other countries and other countries look to the U.S. for help. I'm not saying that's not true, but the whole thing is highly exaggerated. Where was the U.S. when European powers were colonizing countries where non-whites reside? Oh, I forgot, India, Ghana, Kenya, Singapore, Mexico, Vietnam, and others fought for their own freedom. Where was the U.S. when the genocide occured in Rwanda in 1994? Oh, yeah, the U.S. was MIA. It's the same thing in Darfur, Sudan today. It seems to me the U.S. is strictly concerned about whites in other countries and what happens to them while puppet dictators in so-called "third world countries," which happen to be inhabited by non-whites, are told what to do by so-called" Western powers." Why was there so much concern about Bosnia, but no mention of Rwanda? Another thing, America, where's the AIDS vaccine? It strikes me as strange how people are so concerned about the swine flu while AIDS has killed millions of people worldwide for decades, especially black folks in the U.S. Conspiracy theory? Maybe. Last time I checked, Iraqi people did not ask for America's help. This country does not have the right to go around the world imposing its so-called "Judeo-Christian values" on other nations. The European powers did that. It's called colonialism. At the end of the day, the Anglo-America empire, the seventh head on the beast described in the Bible (if you're a real Christian, you would know that), will fall sooner or later to Jehovah. By the way, chaeck out a Youtube video called "Bill Maher:America isn't #1." I'm cynical. It's in my DNA.
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Name:
JAXXIE
Comment: blackdragon, America was present in all of the situations that you mention, as a scavenger. Since its early history, corporate/financial interests have long determined what America does internationally and if America can't have whatever it is that it wants from another country, then America helps to trash that country. I still don't know why we invaded Grenada(!!) when Raygun was prez.
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Name:
JAXXIE
Comment: we = America corporate/financial interests
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Name:
BigRuss
Comment: I agree that the US has picked and chosen it's battles over time. I also unhappy with the US history when it comes to dark skinned people of the world (particularly African nations and African-Americans). However, I fully understand that whoever has the power that the US has would abuse it in the same way. Additionally, those out of power would have the same types of grievances against those in power. I personally would not condone any human rights atrocities but I am under no illusion that power is more the corrupter than the country itself. There is a lot of good here. We just have to fight for more power in the name of good.
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Name:
BigRuss
Comment: Correction::
I personally would not condone any human rights atrocities but I am under no illusion, power is more the corrupter than the country itself.
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Name:
ladybyrd
Comment: You all are funny! Most will barely lift a finger to help neighbor, let alone an African who just came to America. <shaking my head> We need to do our part. Make someone feel welcome, Today!
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Name:
DOne
Comment: Good point BigRuss. The issue is really more complex than many would like to think. Yes the US government and corporations does a lot of dirt around the world and are basically only concerned about US financial interests. However, we the citizens always play a role, as much as many of us like to think of ourselves as innocent bystanders. First, our consumer buying habits affect others around the world, often in a negative way, but most of us don't want to stop and think about the consequences of our consumerism. We LOVE cheap products, but give little thought to where or how they get to us. Frankly many of us don't really want to know. Second, let say the US government was to clean up its act and always do the right thing morally worldwide, how many are us are willing to give up certain luxuries that that we take for granted that would either be too expensive or completely unavailable. Like it or not we all benefit from the actions of our government, directly or indirectly. If workers worldwide were paid fair wages; if Africa countries controlled all of their recources, what would happen to cheap chocolate and WalMart goods. It's easy to say what should be done, but are we really ready to put our money where our months are.
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Name:
HarrisThomas
Comment: co-sign DOne: We LOVE cheap products . . . . LADYBYRD is right, we don't actively or lovingly extend to our neighbors and are not able or prepared to reach out to the newly arrived . . . . with regard to blacks in America, we have to get ourselves focused and productive concerning our well-being . . . . quandry: one cannot take care of another unless one's self is strong enough to be extended
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Name:
ladybyrd
Comment: HarrisThomas & Done> AMEN! That's what I'm talking about. A-M-E-N
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Name:
Conrad
Comment: "However, I fully understand that whoever has the power that the US has would abuse it in the same way. Additionally, those out of power would have the same types of grievances against those in power." BigRuss, you just accurately and succinctly summed up human nature.
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Name:
Conrad
Comment: D.a.m.n., to all you posters, whether I agree with you or not, are MUCH smarter, enlightened, and truthful than that tunnelvision twit who writes this inane and banal column. Kudos to you!
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Name:
jazzfan
Comment: I love America because we have the 1st Amendment. You can say what you want. Any idiot, if he knows someone @ a website, like say, EUR, can even get someone to post their lunacy on a weekly basis! ;o)
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Name:
Kofi
Comment: We can all agree that America has some serious issues. A friend sent me the a post about Fredrick Douglas "what is the 4th of July to a Slave." To compare and contrast that time until now is evidence of great progress. As black folks we have truly paid the price in blood and sweat for this piece of real estate we call America. Right from the jump Cripus Attucks took a bullet for American and black folks have been there ever since. The fact is black folks have pushed America to live up to those ideals in the constitution. When anyone anywhere in the world looks to be free, they look to us. Someone posted that America was MIA in Darfur, Rowanda, etc. The very fact that we are expected to do something say alot about America. No one said where was China, Russia, Japan, Europe or any other world power. America is a superpower but power has its limitations. What would the world be like if China or Russia were the superpower? I don't think anyone on this board likes those alternatives. We can pretty much speak our piece on this board and not worry about the police knocking on your door about something you posted. The majority of the world's population can say that.
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Name:
blackdragon
Comment: Kofi, I was the one who made the MIA comment. I really don't expect the U.S. to do anything about the Darfur situation. Organizational entitites are actually doing everything they can about that. So, unlike people like you who think America is so great it cannot be criticized, I don't expect the U.S. to do anything. I'm just pointing something out. I personally don't care if Russia, China or any other national entity were a superpower because I don't care for this world. This is Satan's world. I have no stake in anything controlled by the devil. Besides, when Jehovah or God comes, ALL national entities, including the U.S., will cease to exist and His holy, everlasting kingdom will be established. We're in the last days. Also, most countries are not communist countries. Most countries on the planet have the freedoms you describe. The only communist or pseudo-communist countries are Iran, North Korea, China, Russia, Venezuela and Cuba. That's not representative of most of the world now, is it? As for the "speaking your piece" thing, I have two words for you: Patriot Act. Look it up and stop getting data from Fox News.
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Name:
Kofi
Comment: Dragon, I never said America is so great. As we both know America has done some shameful dispicable shyt in its relatively short history. My point is that as Africans living in America we have paid the price in blood for the right to be here. We are the one's forcing America to live up to its ideals even though those very ideals were stolen from the Iroquori (sp) Federation a people killed off by whites. Contrary to what you believe, most of the world aint free. Idia the world largest democracy still have a caste system. 2 billion pulse in China are not free.
You say your god is coming back to earth. What type of god would stand back and allow 2,000 years of evil to continue? Evil can only manifest itself in human behavior. We have the free will to fight evil or become an accomplice to it. The battle is here and now. It starts with us.
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