What's so great about America

Here's something else to think about - you know, just for the sake of balance...


http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/aia/part4/4h2927t.html


"The Meaning of July Fourth for the Negro"



Fellow Citizens, I am not wanting in respect for the fathers of this republic. The signers of the Declaration of Independence were brave men. They were great men, too ‹ great enough to give frame to a great age. It does not often happen to a nation to raise, at one time, such a number of truly great men. The point from which I am compelled to view them is not, certainly, the most favorable; and yet I cannot contemplate their great deeds with less than admiration. They were statesmen, patriots and heroes, and for the good they did, and the principles they contended for, I will unite with you to honor their memory....

...Fellow-citizens, pardon me, allow me to ask, why am I called upon to speak here to-day? What have I, or those I represent, to do with your national independence? Are the great principles of political freedom and of natural justice, embodied in that Declaration of Independence, extended to us? and am I, therefore, called upon to bring our humble offering to the national altar, and to confess the benefits and express devout gratitude for the blessings resulting from your independence to us?

Would to God, both for your sakes and ours, that an affirmative answer could be truthfully returned to these questions! Then would my task be light, and my burden easy and delightful. For who is there so cold, that a nation's sympathy could not warm him? Who so obdurate and dead to the claims of gratitude, that would not thankfully acknowledge such priceless benefits? Who so stolid and selfish, that would not give his voice to swell the hallelujahs of a nation's jubilee, when the chains of servitude had been torn from his limbs? I am not that man. In a case like that, the dumb might eloquently speak, and the "lame man leap as an hart."

But such is not the state of the case. I say it with a sad sense of the disparity between us. I am not included within the pale of glorious anniversary! Your high independence only reveals the immeasurable distance between us. The blessings in which you, this day, rejoice, are not enjoyed in common.‹The rich inheritance of justice, liberty, prosperity and independence, bequeathed by your fathers, is shared by you, not by me. The sunlight that brought light and healing to you, has brought stripes and death to me. This Fourth July is yours, not mine. You may rejoice, I must mourn. To drag a man in fetters into the grand illuminated temple of liberty, and call upon him to join you in joyous anthems, were inhuman mockery and sacrilegious irony. Do you mean, citizens, to mock me, by asking me to speak to-day? If so, there is a parallel to your conduct. And let me warn you that it is dangerous to copy the example of a nation whose crimes, towering up to heaven, were thrown down by the breath of the Almighty, burying that nation in irrevocable ruin! I can to-day take up the plaintive lament of a peeled and woe-smitten people!

"By the rivers of Babylon, there we sat down. Yea! we wept when we remembered Zion. We hanged our harps upon the willows in the midst thereof. For there, they that carried us away captive, required of us a song; and they who wasted us required of us mirth, saying, Sing us one of the songs of Zion. How can we sing the Lord's song in a strange land? If I forget thee, 0 Jerusalem, let my right hand forget her cunning. If I do not remember thee, let my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth."

Fellow-citizens, above your national, tumultuous joy, I hear the mournful wail of millions! whose chains, heavy and grievous yesterday, are, to-day, rendered more intolerable by the jubilee shouts that reach them. If I do forget, if I do not faithfully remember those bleeding children of sorrow this day, "may my right hand forget her cunning, and may my tongue cleave to the roof of my mouth!" To forget them, to pass lightly over their wrongs, and to chime in with the popular theme, would be treason most scandalous and shocking, and would make me a reproach before God and the world. My subject, then, fellow-citizens, is American slavery. I shall see this day and its popular characteristics from the slave's point of view. Standing there identified with the American bondman, making his wrongs mine, I do not hesitate to declare, with all my soul, that the character and conduct of this nation never looked blacker to me than on this 4th of July! Whether we turn to the declarations of the past, or to the professions of the present, the conduct of the nation seems equally hideous and revolting. America.is false to the past, false to the present, and solemnly binds herself to be false to the future. Standing with God and the crushed and bleeding slave on this occasion, I will, in the name of humanity which is outraged, in the name of liberty which is fettered, in the name of the constitution and the Bible which are disregarded and trampled upon, dare to call in question and to denounce, with all the emphasis I can command, everything that serves to perpetuate slavery ‹ the great sin and shame of America! "I will not equivocate; I will not excuse"; I will use the severest language I can command; and yet not one word shall escape me that any man, whose judgment is not blinded by prejudice, or who is not at heart a slaveholder, shall not confess to be right and just.

But I fancy I hear some one of my audience say, "It is just in this circumstance that you and your brother abolitionists fail to make a favorable impression on the public mind. Would you argue more, an denounce less; would you persuade more, and rebuke less; your cause would be much more likely to succeed." But, I submit, where all is plain there is nothing to be argued. What point in the anti-slavery creed would you have me argue? On what branch of the subject do the people of this country need light? Must I undertake to prove that the slave is a man? That point is conceded already. Nobody doubts it. The slaveholders themselves acknowledge it in the enactment of laws for their government. They acknowledge it when they punish disobedience on the part of the slave. There are seventy-two crimes in the State of Virginia which, if committed by a black man (no matter how ignorant he be), subject him to the punishment of death; while only two of the same crimes will subject a white man to the like punishment. What is this but the acknowledgment that the slave is a moral, intellectual, and responsible being? The manhood of the slave is conceded. It is admitted in the fact that Southern statute books are covered with enactments forbidding, under severe fines and penalties, the teaching of the slave to read or to write. When you can point to any such laws in reference to the beasts of the field, then I may consent to argue the manhood of the slave. When the dogs in your streets, when the fowls of the air, when the cattle on your hills, when the fish of the sea, and the reptiles that crawl, shall be unable to distinguish the slave from a brute, then will I argue with you that the slave is a man!

For the present, it is enough to affirm the equal manhood of the Negro race. Is it not astonishing that, while we are ploughing, planting, and reaping, using all kinds of mechanical tools, erecting houses, constructing bridges, building ships, working in metals of brass, iron, copper, silver and gold; that, while we are reading, writing and ciphering, acting as clerks, merchants and secretaries, having among us lawyers, doctors, ministers, poets, authors, editors, orators and teachers; that, while we are engaged in all manner of enterprises common to other men, digging gold in California, capturing the whale in the Pacific, feeding sheep and cattle on the hill-side, living, moving, acting, thinking, planning, living in families as husbands, wives and children, and, above all, confessing and worshipping the Christian's God, and looking hopefully for life and immortality beyond the grave, we are called upon to prove that we are men!

Would you have me argue that man is entitled to liberty? that he is the rightful owner of his own body? You have already declared it. Must I argue the wrongfulness of slavery? Is that a question for Republicans? Is it to be settled by the rules of logic and argumentation, as a matter beset with great difficulty, involving a doubtful application of the principle of justice, hard to be understood? How should I look to-day, in the presence of Amercans, dividing, and subdividing a discourse, to show that men have a natural right to freedom? speaking of it relatively and positively, negatively and affirmatively. To do so, would be to make myself ridiculous, and to offer an insult to your understanding. There is not a man beneath the canopy of heaven that does not know that slavery is wrong for him.

What, am I to argue that it is wrong to make men brutes, to rob them of their liberty, to work them without wages, to keep them ignorant of their relations to their fellow men, to beat them with sticks, to flay their flesh with the lash, to load their limbs with irons, to hunt them with dogs, to sell them at auction, to sunder their families, to knock out their teeth, to burn their flesh, to starve them into obedience and submission to their mastcrs? Must I argue that a system thus marked with blood, and stained with pollution, is wrong? No! I will not. I have better employment for my time and strength than such arguments would imply.

What, then, remains to be argued? Is it that slavery is not divine; that God did not establish it; that our doctors of divinity are mistaken? There is blasphemy in the thought. That which is inhuman, cannot be divine! Who can reason on such a proposition? They that can, may; I cannot. The time for such argument is passed.

At a time like this, scorching irony, not convincing argument, is needed. O! had I the ability, and could reach the nation's ear, I would, to-day, pour out a fiery stream of biting ridicule, blasting reproach, withering sarcasm, and stern rebuke. For it is not light that is needed, but fire; it is not the gentle shower, but thunder. We need the storm, the whirlwind, and the earthquake. The feeling of the nation must be quickened; the conscience of the nation must be roused; the propriety of the nation must be startled; the hypocrisy of the nation must be exposed; and its crimes against God and man must be proclaimed and denounced.

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 sounds of rejoicing are empty and heartless; your denunciation of tyrants, brass fronted impudence; your shouts of liberty and equality, hollow mockery; your prayers and hymns, your sermons and thanksgivings, 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.

Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival....


...Allow me to say, in conclusion, notwithstanding the dark picture I have this day presented, of the state of the nation, I do not despair of this country. There are forces in operation which must inevitably work the downfall of slavery. "The arm of the Lord is not shortened," and the doom of slavery is certain. I, therefore, leave off where I began, with hope. While drawing encouragement from "the Declaration of Independence," the great principles it contains, and the genius of American Institutions, my spirit is also cheered by the obvious tendencies of the age. Nations do not now stand in the same relation to each other that they did ages ago. No nation can now shut itself up from the surrounding world and trot round in the same old path of its fathers without interference. The time was when such could be done. Long established customs of hurtful character could formerly fence themselves in, and do their evil work with social impunity. Knowledge was then confined and enjoyed by the privileged few, and the multitude walked on in mental darkness. But a change has now come over the affairs of mankind. Walled cities and empires have become unfashionable. The arm of commerce has borne away the gates of the strong city. Intelligence is penetrating the darkest corners of the globe. It makes its pathway over and under the sea, as well as on the earth. Wind, steam, and lightning are its chartered agents. Oceans no longer divide, but link nations together. From Boston to London is now a holiday excursion. Space is comparatively annihilated. -- Thoughts expressed on one side of the Atlantic are distinctly heard on the other.

The far off and almost fabulous Pacific rolls in grandeur at our feet. The Celestial Empire, the mystery of ages, is being solved. The fiat of the Almighty, "Let there be Light," has not yet spent its force. No abuse, no outrage whether in taste, sport or avarice, can now hide itself from the all-pervading light. The iron shoe, and crippled foot of China must be seen in contrast with nature. Africa must rise and put on her yet unwoven garment. 'Ethiopia, shall, stretch. out her hand unto Ood." In the fervent aspirations of William Lloyd Garrison, I say, and let every heart join in saying it:

God speed the year of jubilee
The wide world o'er!
When from their galling chains set free,
Th' oppress'd shall vilely bend the knee,
And wear the yoke of tyranny
Like brutes no more.
That year will come, and freedom's reign,
To man his plundered rights again
Restore.

God speed the day when human blood
Shall cease to flow!
In every clime be understood,
The claims of human brotherhood,
And each return for evil, good,
Not blow for blow;
That day will come all feuds to end,
And change into a faithful friend
Each foe.

God speed the hour, the glorious hour,
When none on earth
Shall exercise a lordly power,
Nor in a tyrant's presence cower;
But to all manhood's stature tower,
By equal birth!
That hour will come, to each, to all,
And from his Prison-house, to thrall
Go forth.

Until that year, day, hour, arrive,
With head, and heart, and hand I'll strive,
To break the rod, and rend the gyve,
The spoiler of his prey deprive --
So witness Heaven!
And never from my chosen post,
Whate'er the peril or the cost,
Be driven.




The Life and Writings of Frederick Douglass, Volume II
Pre-Civil War Decade 1850-1860
Philip S. Foner
International Publishers Co., Inc., New York, 1950

I didn't read your long post, but my question is "what used to be great about America?" c.i.

C.I.
I would suggest you read the post before commenting. What is being commented upon by the writer is as true today as it was yesterday.

One sentence summarizes D'Souza's article. "I really want to move to a country where the poor people are fat." Our country, the USA, doesn't require one to be in the top five percent in intelligence nor have a wealthy background to have food on the table. On the contrary, anybody can pursue happiness, because we have the freedoms to do so. When a person must struggle to feed themselves, it's difficult to engage oneself in education or life-enriching activities. Our standard of living is second to none; an astonishing accomplishment when viewed from the fact that we represent only five percent of the world's population. c.i.

Go where you may, search where you will, roam through all the monarchies and despotisms of the Old World, travel through South America, search out every abuse, and when you have found the last, lay your facts by the side of the everyday practices of this nation, and you will say with me, that, for revolting barbarity and shameless hypocrisy, America reigns without a rival....
--------------
It's pretty clear Freddy missed a few counties and continents on his search for every abuse. That statement is BS.

Sofia, That our country would have demagogs for leaders does not take away from the outstanding benefits of this country. c.i.

I got halfway through the first diatribe and didn't finish or read the next long post.

There are lots of things, each person probably appreciates one facet above the others.

The ones I appreciate the most go beyod the quality of life.

America has a high standard of quality of life but other economically powerful nations do as well.

So for me the most appreciated facets of the US are areas in which it differs, even from other wealthy countries.

I appreciate a culture of justice that exists in the US. After living in countries without it it is palpable. In America there are many things that are not juts, as there is in any country, but in America there is a culture that seeks to right these wrongs. No matter how petty it can be.

Sometimes it results in over-litigious courts but I appreciate even this. It's refreshing, especially so after living in placs where you sometimes had to live with being screwed.

I appreciate that many social movements for change are felt powerfully in America. Movements such as the anti-racism and gender-equality movements are much more a part of everyday culture in America than elsewhere.

Some would say we go overboard but I'd rather err on that side.

Another element I appreciate might cause others to cringe. I appreciate the deeply political culture here. It is by far the most political culture I have lived in. I'm sure some hate the resulting polarization and the fact that politics creeps into every single issue.

But after living in nations where the populace is largly apathetic about politics I recognize that a politicized culture is a culture in which individual gripes bring about change. In nations with political apathy the change is slow and frustrating.

I like the business culture of America. There are many many horrible elements in each culture and they way they do business but all things considered I prefer standard American business practics to, say, Japanese business models. This is on several levels, ranging from Government to individual businesses. I do reserve a qualm for the way that franchising makes everything seem plastic. Sometimes I miss the more authentic stores and restaurants. Eateries in the US start to get a generic enviroment.

But at least with the standardization of such locales the service and economy is statdardized and improved.

I like the educational facilities. I wish America had a more intellectual culture but I have little qualm with the actual facilities. The schools are exemplary and more than once have I missed American libraries while in other countries.

Unfortunately with such great institudtions I see small things that keep them from educating at the level of other nations, some with facilities I consider inferior. Nevertheless the institutions are there, and those who can get along with the many who don't take advantage of them can get a fine education.

Libraries just rock. I'm not sure but I think there are more libraries in the US than in places like Japan. I'm sure there are more than places like Brazil but I'm looking for an apples and apples.

I also like what is often derided as "Political Correctness". I do not use this to mean the many loaded definitions of the term. I do not mean liberal values and I do not mean the times when we go overboard.

What I'm talking about is that in America it's not acceptable to call people things that it is in other cultures. In Brazil it's common for people to give nicknames like "fatso", "blondie", "big negro" and other such names. They are usually used with humor but I appreciate a culture in which such labels are not as readily acceptable.

I really like the sport culture of America. Many many nations envy or admire America for this. One of the causes for a lot of animosity in the Us is, IMO, partly due to the competitive culture that we have. But on the other hand it promotes excellence. Sports is one area where this is evident.

Even in sports we really suck at we do well in, say, defense. After all defence is just heart and effort in many sports.

Brazilians admire the American soccer team in that they are one of the better defensive teams. Rarely taking a goal even if they can't score much.

Some elements I admire, such as the competitiveness and resulting excellence, are also things that IMO cause elements I dislike. The competitiveness causes conversation and social interaction to be a bit more agressive. I guess you can't ahve everything.

So if I had to pick two things I'd pick the competitive culture which brings excellence (even if the people are far more agressive than elsewhere) and the culture of justice.

I also like the technology driven economy, even if it's not something unique to the US.

I just realized that you might have been after more historical type things, being the 4th of July and all.

Hmm, off the top of my head it would be the initial focus on some issues that the creation of the Us sought to rectify. Separation of church and state etc.

I also like the strong language anout equality in our founding documents.

Even if America has had a hard time reaching the desired equality it is a clear part of our foundation. Even with more fricticious racial problems for example the desire to right the inequalities is strong. Few nations actually can boast a backlash to anti-racism initiatives. It's, IMO, indicative of a strong drive for equality.

the reason poor people are fat here is because the bulk of their diet consists of refined & sweetened carbohydrates

same reason so many Americans are diabetics

Darn it, Violet! We take you to the highest mountain top and show you the stary heavens above and the earth below, and what do you do? You show us a beer can rusting away on the side of the trail.

the truth comes in many guises

I read the title wrong.

It says "What's so great about America"

and I saw

"What's so great about America?"

It truly is a great and remarkable place. But one of the things I don't like is the habit of Americans telling each other, and anyone else who will listen, about how great they are, and waving flags everywhere.
Nationalism v. patriotism is an interesting debate, and I think Americans in general, at least the ones depicted in the media, have got it wrong.
Only in banana republics do they cheer El Presidente so much, and wave so many flags.

sometimes the truth looks like Frankenstein

And one has to examine who created that Frankenstein.

We the people.

What's so grat about America?
Ben Franklin, Batman, Ray Charles, Mark Twain, The Declaration of Independence, Bob Dylan, Henry Miller, Abe Lincoln, Eli Whitney, the trio of Tubman, King and Parks, for beginners.

Many of the great inventions were created right here in the US of A, the latest being the high tech industry. c.i.

Chemical industry
Steelmaking
locomotive and railway technology
Steel shipbuilding
Deep diving technology
optics and photography
cinematography
television
jet propulsion
atomic power
automobile
ic engine
telephone
radio communication

were not invented in the US

the silicon chip....was, I think
and the electric guitar

Our Finest export Liberty