CDZ Are we American first?

[SobieskiSavedEurope]

To be a true American you must salute this flag.

 

[Skull Pilot]

It's stupid to be proud of the random patch of dirt on which you happened to be born

No it isn't. That "random patch of land" may be your past and your future.

And it's something that I had absolutely nothing to do with.
Like my skin color, my gender, my ethnic background, my eye color, or the fact that I am left handed.

I'm not "proud" of any of those things because they are all just random events with which I had absolutely no input.

Be proud of something YOU actually did instead

 

[yiostheoy]

As Americans, are we all first and foremost American citizens, or do you believe it is by our racial ethnicity, gender(s), etc that we should be labeled?
Personally, I think religion is as big or bigger than patriotism, but I would like to hear what you have to say

Public schools brainwash American kids to believe they are "American first".

Church schools brainwash American kids that they are that particular denomination or else that major religion (Christianity etc -- here meaning Catholic, Eastern Orthodox, or Protestant) first.

Private secular schools, which are rare, probably follow some other philosophy of devotion -- maybe to Plato or Aristotle or Descartes or some modern philosophy.

Hippy communes brainwash their hippies that dope is most important for Nirvana.

It all depends on where you have been indoctrinated. Most brainwashing is begun in schools. Ergo it is your parents who are indirectly brainwashing you based on where they put you in school.

 

[yiostheoy]

It's stupid to be proud of the random patch of dirt on which you happened to be born

No it isn't. That "random patch of land" may be your past and your future.

And it's something that I had absolutely nothing to do with.
Like my skin color, my gender, my ethnic background, my eye color, or the fact that I am left handed.

I'm not "proud" of any of those things because they are all just random events with which I had absolutely no input.

Be proud of something YOU actually did instead

I was born left handed but they made me switch over in preschool.

Now I am pretty much ambidextrous in everything even writing.

 

[yiostheoy]

To be a true American you must salute this flag.

Looks like you SobieskiSavedEurope worship Wall Street.

 

[yiostheoy]

We all should be Americans first, but with the influx of other nationals, it often is found that the new arrivals do not assimillate into our society. Some new entries from other countries want to live in America where the "streets are lined with gold", or at least you can find a job. Others are here to do harm to our citizen and way of life.

I believe we should strongly vet new comers with full knowledge, when they break our laws, they will have to find another country to take them in.

This issue went through significant debate and controversy in Europe during WW1 when millions of people were killed in the name of nationalism.

It has not been resolved.

 

[yiostheoy]

I'm just American, but then I'm a WASP and my folks all got here before it was a country. And I'm not a believer, either, so nothing between me and the red white and blue.

You are a female.

You first loyalty is to all other females.

This is called feminism.

Keep that butter handy too!

 

[yiostheoy]

It's changing. More and more now are hyphenated Americans, and there are obviously many who aren't thrilled about this place and happy to see that.

I'm mixed race (half Hispanic), but we've never thought of ourselves as anything other than Americans. In fact, I'll bet I've discussed my ethnicity more on this site than I have in the rest of my life combined. I just don't see any relevance otherwise. It's trivial.

You're not a melting pot when you have ethnicity-based lines of demarcation and when you're scolded for "cultural appropriation". So we're becoming something else.
.

I think we should each be philosophical and justice minded, above all else.

No nation is above the laws of morality.

Nor is any religion.

Nor are races.

Nor are genders.

Nor are species.

Our worth consists of the good that we do and nothing else.

 

[jwoodie]

Ah, the coolaid your have bought and a party cheerleader you have become. Evil / good a team you have to root for or against.

Let me add another thing that separates us: Thoughtful debate vs. mindless name calling.

 

[jwoodie]

It's stupid to be proud of the random patch of dirt on which you happened to be born

No it isn't. That "random patch of land" may be your past and your future.

And it's something that I had absolutely nothing to do with.
Like my skin color, my gender, my ethnic background, my eye color, or the fact that I am left handed.

I'm not "proud" of any of those things because they are all just random events with which I had absolutely no input.

Be proud of something YOU actually did instead

We should be grateful for being Americans, whether we were born here or not.

 

[SobieskiSavedEurope]

To be a true American you must salute this flag.

Looks like you SobieskiSavedEurope worship Wall Street.

I was obviously being sarcastic.

 

[DonaldReagan]

As Americans, are we all first and foremost American citizens, or do you believe it is by our racial ethnicity, gender(s), etc that we should be labeled?
Personally, I think religion is as big or bigger than patriotism, but I would like to hear what you have to say

I don't know what Republicans are. They seem to hate this country and they want it brought down and destroyed.

Maybe some "moderate" or liberal Republicans just want power and recognition, rather than working for the best interests of the nation, but Conservatives and Constitutionalists are another story entirely.

 

[DonaldReagan]

It's stupid to be proud of the random patch of dirt on which you happened to be born

Although this is a beautiful country, it is not the land we are most proud of. It is our founding morals, principles, ideals, and beliefs that make America something to be proud of.

 

[Skull Pilot]

It's stupid to be proud of the random patch of dirt on which you happened to be born

Although this is a beautiful country, it is not the land we are most proud of. It is our founding morals, principles, ideals, and beliefs that make America something to be proud of.

And all that is still just a result of the accident of your birth

 

[DonaldReagan]

It's stupid to be proud of the random patch of dirt on which you happened to be born

Although this is a beautiful country, it is not the land we are most proud of. It is our founding morals, principles, ideals, and beliefs that make America something to be proud of.

And all that is still just a result of the accident of your birth

So it wouldn't make any difference to you if you were born in North Korea?

 

[Skull Pilot]

It's stupid to be proud of the random patch of dirt on which you happened to be born

Although this is a beautiful country, it is not the land we are most proud of. It is our founding morals, principles, ideals, and beliefs that make America something to be proud of.

And all that is still just a result of the accident of your birth

So it wouldn't make any difference to you if you were born in North Korea?

That's like asking if it would matter to you if your mom had an abortion instead of having you.

 

[Correll]

It's stupid to be proud of the random patch of dirt on which you happened to be born

Although this is a beautiful country, it is not the land we are most proud of. It is our founding morals, principles, ideals, and beliefs that make America something to be proud of.

And all that is still just a result of the accident of your birth

But that birth makes us a part of it.

I was taught those morals, principles and ideals and beliefs and I support them and live them, and am in the process of passing them to the next generation.

Thus, they are MY morals and principles and ideals and beliefs.

So, why not be proud of something that is MINE and that survives and greatly benefits the wordl, because of the small individual contributions of tens of millions of people just like me?

 

[Skull Pilot]

It's stupid to be proud of the random patch of dirt on which you happened to be born

Although this is a beautiful country, it is not the land we are most proud of. It is our founding morals, principles, ideals, and beliefs that make America something to be proud of.

And all that is still just a result of the accident of your birth

But that birth makes us a part of it.

I was taught those morals, principles and ideals and beliefs and I support them and live them, and am in the process of passing them to the next generation.

Thus, they are MY morals and principles and ideals and beliefs.

So, why not be proud of something that is MINE and that survives and greatly benefits the wordl, because of the small individual contributions of tens of millions of people just like me?

Not the same as being proud of where you were born or what color your skin is or whether you're straight or gay, right or left handed, blue or brown eyed etc.

You can be proud of your behavior but that has far more to do with you than it does where you were born

 

[Anathema]

As Americans, are we all first and foremost American citizens, or do you believe it is by our racial ethnicity, gender(s), etc that we should be labeled?
Personally, I think religion is as big or bigger than patriotism, but I would like to hear what you have to say

In my mind I am an American first. Before race, class, religion, family, etc...

 

[Correll]

It's stupid to be proud of the random patch of dirt on which you happened to be born

Although this is a beautiful country, it is not the land we are most proud of. It is our founding morals, principles, ideals, and beliefs that make America something to be proud of.

And all that is still just a result of the accident of your birth

But that birth makes us a part of it.

I was taught those morals, principles and ideals and beliefs and I support them and live them, and am in the process of passing them to the next generation.

Thus, they are MY morals and principles and ideals and beliefs.

So, why not be proud of something that is MINE and that survives and greatly benefits the wordl, because of the small individual contributions of tens of millions of people just like me?

Not the same as being proud of where you were born or what color your skin is or whether you're straight or gay, right or left handed, blue or brown eyed etc.

You can be proud of your behavior but that has far more to do with you than it does where you were born

When someone says they are proud of being an American, they are not referring to geographical location.