There was once a dream that was Rome. You could only whisper it. Anything more than a whisper and it would vanish... it was so fragile. And I fear that it will not survive the winter.
~ from the film Gladiator
All my life, no matter what was going on in the world, I never thought of the dream that is America to be fragile. Now, at times, I fear some random spark could ignite a blaze that would burn it all down forever.
As America approaches 244 years this Independence Day, I wonder if the great rise of this noble experiment of we the people, of self-government, of liberty & justice for all, of all men & women being created equal, that which I proudly served as a US Navy Vietnam Era veteran, as my father before me served as a US Army career WWII & Korea veteran, the very concept of truth, justice, and the American Way.... I wonder if one soft strike of the Liberty Bell might cause it to shatter into a million pieces, and along with it the American Way Of Life.
I want to believe the dream that is America will overcome the clear & present dangers and endure, all the stronger for we the peoplefinding a way to reimagine that dream into one of real freedom, justice, and morality that can be shared equally by all. I want to believe that for all our divisions and disagreements, or perhaps because of them, America can rise up once more as one nation, under God, with liberty and justice for all....that together we shall overcome.
As I sit here today, I fear that it will not survive the winter. At the same time I cling to hope that there are better days ahead, maybe even our best days, and that we are still, in our own messy, at times chaotic way, witnessing the rise of America, rather than the fall.
That problem of fundamental internal contradictions is not restricted solely to the US, but was more or less universal at the time. Even NZ (whose founding document dates to 1840 and was a contract made between Maori and the British government) was conveniently forgotten in later years only to be resurrected 150 years later, primarily by young educated Maori activists.
Still, the ideals are still sound, even if their historical application wasn't. The only way ahead IMO is to acknowledge the injustices committed in the past, pay reparations and try and get everyone on board as you move ahead.
Yep. The ideals writ large are not the problem. Living up to them is the problem. Following our better angels is easier said than done.
We need to enable and allow our native and enslaved descendant citizens full access to the title of this thread.
Location: Perched on the precipice of the cauldron of truth
Posted:
Jun 16, 2020 - 3:54pm
NoEnzLefttoSplit wrote:
That problem of fundamental internal contradictions is not restricted solely to the US, but was more or less universal at the time. Even NZ (whose founding document dates to 1840 and was a contract made between Maori and the British government) was conveniently forgotten in later years only to be resurrected 150 years later, primarily by young educated Maori activists.
Still, the ideals are still sound, even if their historical application wasn't. The only way ahead IMO is to acknowledge the injustices committed in the past, pay reparations and try and get everyone on board as you move ahead.
Yep. The ideals writ large are not the problem. Living up to them is the problem. Following our better angels is easier said than done.
great article The starry-eyed idealist in me still thinks the US as a vision will survive, as long as it stays true to its founding ideals, but, hell, there is a lot of work today for the country to find its way back to that.
Good article though perhaps a little fatalist. The author is somewhat loose with a particular statistic: "Up to half of Americans say they wonât take a vaccine when it becomes available." In polling results I've seen about 48-50% of Americans polled said they would take a vaccine when available, about 31% said they were unsure, and about 20% said they would not. He's applying a binary "yes-or-no", inverse method to a ternary ("yes-no-unsure") set of responses. Also, the poll I looked through had fewer than 1,100 respondents, so there's that - interesting demographic breakdowns in the poll results though.
great article The starry-eyed idealist in me still thinks the US as a vision will survive, as long as it stays true to its founding ideals, but, hell, there is a lot of work today for the country to find its way back to that.
Yeah, about that... Those ideals were reserved for white, male, land-owners. That's the foundation our Constitution rests on. Which is why, among other reasons mentioned in the article, we're showing 'a few cracks', to say the least. c.
That problem of fundamental internal contradictions is not restricted solely to the US, but was more or less universal at the time. Even NZ (whose founding document dates to 1840 and was a contract made between Maori and the British government) was conveniently forgotten in later years only to be resurrected 150 years later, primarily by young educated Maori activists.
Still, the ideals are still sound, even if their historical application wasn't. The only way ahead IMO is to acknowledge the injustices committed in the past, pay reparations and try and get everyone on board as you move ahead.
great article The starry-eyed idealist in me still thinks the US as a vision will survive, as long as it stays true to its founding ideals, but, hell, there is a lot of work today for the country to find its way back to that.
Yeah, about that... Those ideals were reserved for white, male, land-owners. That's the foundation our Constitution rests on. Which is why, among other reasons mentioned in the article, we're showing 'a few cracks', to say the least. c.
great article The starry-eyed idealist in me still thinks the US as a vision will survive, as long as it stays true to its founding ideals, but, hell, there is a lot of work today for the country to find its way back to that.
It was so great because Dusty had a speech impediment and he said his name Dusty Woads and pronounced himself the Amewican Dweam.
Man does that bring back memories, you should check out Vice TV series The Dark Side of Wrestling; covered Bruiser Brody's death; the story of Randy Savage and the death of Ms. Elizabeth. And one being a Texas resident would surely have been interested in the fascinating story of the Von Erich brothers. Good stuff.
I was sympathetic up until I started reading about 'victim blaming' and the rant against capitalism.
Poverty is rarely about money, especially in rich countries, it is all about human capital and social capital.
As for ranting against capitalism, just because the USA has a unique EXCEPTIONAL form of capitalism does not mean that American pundits like the author should stop thinking and learning.
How dare these homeless muck up our beautiful OC bike paths! These people and their belongings were all cleared out with a bulldozer in less than a week. WTF did we put them?
