Words from Washington

Navy1960

Senior Member
Sep 4, 2008
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For this you have every inducement of sympathy and interest. Citizens, by birth or choice, of a common country, that country has a right to concentrate your affections. The name of American, which belongs to you in your national capacity, must always exalt the just pride of patriotism more than any appellation derived from local discriminations. With slight shades of difference, you have the same religion, manners, habits, and political principles. You have in a common cause fought and triumphed together; the independence and liberty you possess are the work of joint counsels, and joint efforts of common dangers, sufferings, and successes.

But these considerations, however powerfully they address themselves to your sensibility, are greatly outweighed by those which apply more immediately to your interest. Here every portion of our country finds the most commanding motives for carefully guarding and preserving the union of the whole.
Avalon Project - Washington's Farewell Address 1796

It seems to me that in the days where no one can seem to agree on anything and we seem to take sides on just about every issue often to detriment of our own nation that we should take pause and remember that we are Americans and are reminded that in the end we are in this thing together. I see things like this OWS movement and the Tea Party and and see people going back and forth about which is better than the other or which is worse than the other rather than looking for common messages. While there is nothing wrong with a good debate and that is what we are all about , debating our positions, in the end if it results in no common solutions we have solved nothing.
 

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