Nope, that's not true. We have a day of Remembrance in the UK. Other countries have their equivalents. I've attended many Memorial Day services in both the UK and the US, met and thanked veterans from both countries for their endeavours.
Yes, you're supposed to believe this. It's fundamental to your society. However, freedom is a bad word to define to begin with, and the measure of it is an entirely subjective experience. The truth behind it may well be completely different, but until you have experience of LIVING in other societies (I recommend testing out some other western ones to begin with) you can't realistically STATE that the US is the most free. You cannot "know what you're talking about" until then, and even then it's going to be a subjective opinion.
In short, make a statement like that, and you really should expect confrontation. You can't expect other nationalities to yield when you assert your own nationalism/patriotism.
What is sad is that Memorial Day was started for the USA WW2 Vets, who lost their lives in that war.
However, hundreds of thousands of brave men from all over the world lost their lives also, so that Hitler, Mussolini,and Tojo would not dominate the world.
I thank them all for giving up their lifes,so that I have the freedom that I have today. But by saying as Becky Rose did that respecting them that died, so that they could have computers and LFS, is just disrespectful of what they sacrificed.
The fact that you define freedom by how well-armed individual residents are is a good measure of how different american culture is compared to the civilised world.
If you believe freedom involves filling your house full of guns and defending your right to fill your house full of guns regardless of how many children at your local school shoot eachother dead, then you'll be arguing at cross purposes to the entire European population of this forum.
I must say, as a Dutchy, I feel ashamed of the path our political leaders have headed. More and more things that contradict the once free minded way of thinking, plus our Bakellende (the chief) seems to like Bush alot and does everything Bush asks of him. While it seems we are not really helping rebuilding country's but it looks more like we are shooting people because they are hungry...
That said I must say that at our last elections it was a very close call between CDA and PVDA. CDA got the most votes but not enough to rule on it own, so they had to find a partner, but instead of PVDA (or more left winged party) they went for D66 + VVD, which left us with a more right minded, or kapitalistic goverment. So our current path of politics doesn't represent 47% of our voters... Lets just hope that at the next election things are a bit more balanced...
Yeah that is a shame (we have a similar situation in the UK - our electoral system often doesn't produce a fair and representative government, and it hasn't recently. That said, the USA's electoral system isn't fair either) but even so the Netherlands is still probably the most libertarian society in the world.
No- the right to have a gun for personal protection is an example of ONE right I have that you don't have...
News flash- criminals will get guns no matter what, they are criminals. Outlawing guns only takes guns away from law abiding citizens.
Hence, the US is still "THE land of the free".....
Yes the liberal wimps are activist judges are taking more and more of our rights away, but we still have far more than anyone else.
That says it all imho, regardless of everything else that's been said, and especially how it's been said.
This is what ANZAC Day is about in Aus/NZ - remembering why we went to war, the costs of war and why should never ever choose to go to war. It's a very important day down here and people take it seriously.
If we can keep focused on the topic, which is remembering people who have selflessly given their lives to defend others (regardless of the justifications, spurious or not, given them by their leaders), we can have a civil discussion.
So unless we can keep it cool in here, +1 for closing this thread before it gets ugly.
How did you arrive at that conclusion? Because your president tells you you're more free than anyone else? Or your schoolteacher told you? Which internationally-recognised standard unit of freedom are you using for your measurements?
Just repeating the word "free" as often as you can doesn't make you any more free than anybody else.
It's not proportional, so it can't be completely fair.
Anyway, I've had enough of this. Enjoy your beer on start-of-summer day. Maybe the local nutjob in your neighbourhood will put out one of those "POW - You Are Not Forgotten" flags, the rest of you will no doubt be firing up the barbeques and getting the kegs out.
"It is completely fair if you understand how our government works."
Ummmm. Dude - the people taking away your rights are in fact your government.
Your constitution is in tatters, the whole three part seperation of power that your founding fathers set up, President, Senate, & courts has been subverted and is now in the control of the executive & presidential decree is the way your governed.
Your govt illegally spies on the american people without even bothering to get warrents rubber stamped and when found out starts to prosecute those who break the story for disclosing state secrets.
- I'm really sorry that you feel that this is anti-american or bashing, it isn't, but it perhaps is a chance for people to reflect on war and why we should at all costs avoid pointless wars driven by private interests.
And this is something that sadly you govt doesn't choose to do.
This isn't what you'd call a strong counter-argument, IMO.
But no, I don't own a gun. I could if I wanted to, and I wouldn't have to buy it illegally. Fortunately I don't regard the ownership of small arms as a measure of my freedom, and neither do any of my neighbours.
And please remember that your "constitutional right" to own a gun was an amendment to the constitution, and not a part of the original constitution. Amendments can be amended. They have been, many times before. If America were a democracy, your "right" to own a gun would have been recinded some time ago. Majority opinion, majority rule, etc.
Obviously you have never read a book about it or ever heard any real facts about it.. if you had you would know why it's "fair".. It has to do with state's rights.
Edit..
Go read the Bill Of Rights... that isn't how it works.
Anyway, yeah we are losing our freedoms.. sad but true. Too bad most people are willing to just give them up without even a second thought.
I could say an awful lot at this point, but in deference to international peace and understanding I'm going to do my best to say none of it. This is going to be difficult.
No disrespect but I think the problem is you and a good proportion of the 250 million other Americans really can't see the whole worlds perspective (and I don't claim I can).
Was it really right to fight terrorists the way that was done after 9/11. Whilst loosing 3000 people was tragic it really needant have had the same impact it did. Had 2 planes both accidentally flown into the twin towers in a freak accident and the same number of people died we'd hardly be remembering it now. Look at the number of earthquakes that kill tens of thousands that happen every year. They appear on the news there's normally an appeal for them and then within a few days everyone has forgotten about them. What really sticks in peoples mind the 100,000 who died in the Tsunami, the 3000 who died in 9/11 or the 30,000+ civilians who have been killed in Iraq?
I'm not condoning terrorism just saying that never negotiating with them isn't always the best policy. In the end of the day we (the Western world, in particular America) are exploiting other nations so when they try and make a stand it's really, really a stupid idea to go and provoke them some more by starting a war that seems to suit US foreign policy.
In the UK we have Remberance Sunday to remember those fallen in the two World Wars. The last service I went to had no bullshit about living in a free society and actually wasn't very nationalistic, remembering all those who died in the wars regardless of nationality. The message that Remberance Sunday carries with it is one of peace and war being a nessecary evil only at last resort ie. not because it suits your economy
Whilst the Great War changed the colonial British attitudes of war being a game and dieing for your country being a good thing the Second World War (which don't forget America won single handedly) changed the isolationist US into a war loving superpower. Whilst American force may have been a necessary evil during the cold war Mutually Assured Destruction really isn't a terribly good situation to be in. There is now no need for America to be a world police.
...and remember one thing you didn't win Pearl Harbour illepall
It's clear BMX is spouting a typical my country is better than yours sentiment and I dont see any real intelligent discussion coming as a result of it, but I'm not one to get in the way of a growing flame war. +1 for locking this thread
I would say that I am proud to be an American and would rather live here than anywhere else, but of course I am a bit biased
j/k
illepall
