wilso, you aussie communist you.
Remeber a few years back there was a movie w/ Mel Gibson about the American Revolution.
You remember the name ofthe movie? Of course. The Patriot.
The Patriot in this case was an armed dissedent... An anti-government terrorist, eh?
History is written by the winners... Treason never prospers etc.
Yeah. I like my country, but I suspect if I lived elsewhere all my life I'd like that too. For that matter, I can narrow it down quite a bit and say I like New England, 'cuz I've lived there most of my life...
I like white middle aged males, too, I guess. At least I hope the people I encounter like white middle aged males. But that's all just an accident of birth, eh?
Just because I was born white male doesn't make me want to be a White Supremist, nor a Misogynist.
Just because I was born in the US doesn't make me believe that USA is superior in all her actions.
poop. by now there is no alternative to war. It's not like our leader backed us into a corner. It's like our leader Marched us into a corner.
It would be a poor patriot that knowingly supports wrong action by the government. It is the purpose of free speech and assembly to help guide the government, which after all derives from we the people. I am patriotic and I have flown an American flag in front of the house for years. I won't let the other side take it away from me.
So what is a patriot? Dlowan has that particular piece of dirt; I have claimed three different states as home, and have spent a lot of time in another country. My piece of dirt has roamed.
One of the things happening now is that definitions once thought clear are changing. Loyalty, as defined by the Bush cabal, is different from what I think of as loyalty. Patriotism has changed meaning for me.
I am watching Rumsfeld as I speak, and find I do not believe him or trust him, nor would I give any loyalty to him, which may be because he demands obeisance.
I am an American by accident of birth, which has also determined a lot of the other parts of what I am. I am here; I have studied the history, and I truly believe in my country's potential. Is this patriotic? I disagree with many things today, including the utter secrecy with which so much government is conducted; the blatant politicism and ambition that dominates so much of policy; the awful denigration of the views of so many of us. And, by doing this, I feel that I am patriotic in asking more of my country than it is giving or doing.
And I feel it is strongly unpatriotic to criticize Daschle for his legitimate views. At least, he has the courage to voice them.
dlowan wrote: I DO live in a particular place, and I want it to be a good place for me and other people and people to come, so I am prepared to invest a fair amount of my energies into it. Unless I am stupid enough to think my country perfect, there are gonna be things I wanna change - therefore, if I have any independent thought at all, I am going to dissent at times. On my particular piece of dirt this is valued a reasonable amount of the time - it gets called freedom of speech and the democratic process and such - I consider it my duty to dissent sometimes, as long as I am reasonably lawful and don't use violence.
I am a patriot, as much a dlowan is, even if the smegging hippie doesn't acknowledge she is one.
What constitutes a nation? A common past, but most importantly, a collective desire to build a better common future.
Wilso, you are lucky they don't use butterfly ballots in Australia! :wink:
