I just can't help wondering where all this name calling gets you? I get it, you disagree mightily with the poltiics of liberals. There is much to argue about there. But doesn't the hating just end up turning back on you?
Clearly I am at a loss to deal effectively with your obsession to define everything I say as some sort of affection for Communism.
As far as our "well-documented values," I assume you're referring to the Declaration and the Constitution? Again, we are back to the problem where different people look at these words and have different interpretations of their meaning, and particularly their meaning for our time. This seems to be the crux of the problem with our govt right now. Some parts of those documents used wording that was deliberately vague and open to interpretation. Other parts, less so. There also has been fluidity in our understanding of these documents based on naturally evolving consciousness as time has moved away from the 18th century.
It might be worth the exercise to bring together groups of widely different Americans (different in political leanings, religion, social class, heritage) and have them all talk about what they think are American values. My guess is that there would be a few items of basic agreement and after that a lot of surprising differences in thinking.
I know the simplicity of that solution really appeals to you. Homogenous societies may be easier to govern, Roger, but that is not the world we live in, and I question whether we should or even can go back to that. My father took full responsibility for his choices. A better option might be learning to live with each other's cultural differences. There will always be assimilation. But we can actually DECIDE to become comfortable with people who look different, worship differently, etc., have a different point of view without regarding them or their ways as enemies to the so-called American way.
I'm sorry my post conflicts so mightily with your perception of reality that you have to call me a liar.
You misunderstand. My father was proud of his military service, he never felt himself a victim of it, nor do I perceive it that way. I am telling you that as proud as he was to be an American, being torn from his own culture was very detrimental to him and contributed to the stress that killed him. Yeah, he had all sorts of freedoms here that he would not have had in the old country, but the stress of assimilation was very damaging. He probably wouldn't have chosen to do anything other than what he did. It still saddens me and I would have wished for better for him.
Honey, it is your interpretation of a fact that you believe is truth. You may think what you are talking about is logically true. Your argument may follow logic. It is not true because of that. It is only YOUR truth -- a truth you may share with others who also interpret facts the way you do. A fact can have more than one interpretation.
But there is nothing to say that a people cannot AGREE to limit choice for an agreed upon common good.
Way too reductive to be a fair comparison.
Being the daughter of immigrants I can tell you it is never that simple. Most people leave because they feel they have to. My father desperately wanted to assimilate. He worked hard, faced terrible prejudice, achieved great success and died very young from the stress of that, and also because he had to in many senses betray what he came from. There was no question that he was willing to pull his weight as an American. He served in the Army at the end of WWII. But part of what killed him spiritually was the rejection and downgrading of the culture to which he was born. This is a terrible thing.
I find it difficult to separate these issues. But for the sake of argument I would say that the early rural communities in most states operated similarly, when it was accurately perceived that everyone's survival depended on cooperation and integrity. A lot of water under the bridge since then. And also a hell of a lot more people per sq. ft. I concede that a society like that is possible, even desirable, however.
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