"United?" States

[SinisterSilence]

Can teh Us still be classified as the United States of America? Think about it. THe only yime in recent history that we were "United" was when we wanted to go to war. And even then that only lasted under a year. People are divided as it is. Throw in some politicians and you've managed to create democracy. So ask yourself is the Name "The United States Of America" just a name now or does it still have theMeaning it did when created?

 

[MaggieMae]

Can teh Us still be classified as the United States of America? Think about it. THe only yime in recent history that we were "United" was when we wanted to go to war. And even then that only lasted under a year. People are divided as it is. Throw in some politicians and you've managed to create democracy. So ask yourself is the Name "The United States Of America" just a name now or does it still have theMeaning it did when created?

I still see an occasional ragged, faded "United We Stand" bumper sticker. I think it was Richard Nixon who once said that Americans have very short memories.

 

[WillowTree]

It's just a name now. The great divider is hard at work.

 

[Conspiracist]

It's just a name now. The great divider is hard at work.

I sadly agree with Willow on this. It seems the rift between races has only grown recently and I believe much of it has been done intentionally.

 

[Gatekeeper]

It's just a name now. The great divider is hard at work.

I sadly agree with Willow on this. It seems the rift between races has only grown recently and I believe much of it has been done intentionally.

Sad, but true, I was hoping one day the race card would be almost invisible, it is as bad now in my opinion, as it was in the 60's, to a point, and only the law is preventing an all out race rebellion in some areas, NOW, add to the mix, since everyone who even hints of using the word 'RACE', thinks BLACK, add LATINOS now. It seems there is no end to conflict and hate and drive-by innuendo which only escalate the already strained tolerance for one another including those of the same 'race'.It's is also clearly demonstrated in the threads in USMB and other sites.

The responsibility for all this B.S. lays at the feet of all of us who perpetuate it's existence.........just sayin

 

[Abelian Sea]

Can teh Us still be classified as the United States of America? Think about it. THe only yime in recent history that we were "United" was when we wanted to go to war. And even then that only lasted under a year. People are divided as it is. Throw in some politicians and you've managed to create democracy. So ask yourself is the Name "The United States Of America" just a name now or does it still have theMeaning it did when created?

There have always been deep divisions. That the name of our country includes the word "united" in the first place is a sign that it is a composite.

If anything, the states are more united now than they have been for most of the nation's history. For a minute there at the beginning, they even had distinct currencies. Less than a century later they were literally at war with eachother.

The rambunctiousness we're seeing these days is nothing new, and tame relative to what we've survived in the past. It's just our style of democracy, bless our hearts.

 

[MaggieMae]

It's just a name now. The great divider is hard at work.

I sadly agree with Willow on this. It seems the rift between races has only grown recently and I believe much of it has been done intentionally.

I didn't even think about the OP as being related to race relations at all. I'm just about as white as they come, and I'd venture 100% of the people who argue with me on this board are also white.

 

[MaggieMae]

Can teh Us still be classified as the United States of America? Think about it. THe only yime in recent history that we were "United" was when we wanted to go to war. And even then that only lasted under a year. People are divided as it is. Throw in some politicians and you've managed to create democracy. So ask yourself is the Name "The United States Of America" just a name now or does it still have theMeaning it did when created?

There have always been deep divisions. That the name of our country includes the word "united" in the first place is a sign that it is a composite.

If anything, the states are more united now than they have been for most of the nation's history. For a minute there at the beginning, they even had distinct currencies. Less than a century later they were literally at war with eachother.

The rambunctiousness we're seeing these days is nothing new, and tame relative to what we've survived in the past. It's just our style of democracy, bless our hearts.

Hostilities among the tribes may be the same, but the gridlock in Washington it has created is at an all-time high.

 

[Kevin_Kennedy]

Did it have any meaning when the U.S. was founded? There was just as much friction then as there is now, just different issues.

 

[goldcatt]

Did it have any meaning when the U.S. was founded? There was just as much friction then as there is now, just different issues.

I'm not even sure you can say they were different issues, if you look at the underlying principles of today's topics. The balance of power between States and the Federal government is a continuing theme. Disparate regional and ethnically-based cultures. Classism. Those are just the top few that come to mind, I'm sure there are many others. I can't remember hearing of any time when the main parties were both this corrupt and irresponsible at the same time, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. Our system was designed to run with a certain level of tension, after all. And that can be self-promoting.

 

[MaggieMae]

Did it have any meaning when the U.S. was founded? There was just as much friction then as there is now, just different issues.

I'm not even sure you can say they were different issues, if you look at the underlying principles of today's topics. The balance of power between States and the Federal government is a continuing theme. Disparate regional and ethnically-based cultures. Classism. Those are just the top few that come to mind, I'm sure there are many others. I can't remember hearing of any time when the main parties were both this corrupt and irresponsible at the same time, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. Our system was designed to run with a certain level of tension, after all. And that can be self-promoting.

There's a lot more of us now (4 million when the Constitution was signed and 309 million today), and information travels in nanoseconds, not by pony express. Part of the problem is probably information overload, but I don't know what can be done about that. People simply have to learn how to sift out truth from fiction.

 

[goldcatt]

Did it have any meaning when the U.S. was founded? There was just as much friction then as there is now, just different issues.

I'm not even sure you can say they were different issues, if you look at the underlying principles of today's topics. The balance of power between States and the Federal government is a continuing theme. Disparate regional and ethnically-based cultures. Classism. Those are just the top few that come to mind, I'm sure there are many others. I can't remember hearing of any time when the main parties were both this corrupt and irresponsible at the same time, but that doesn't mean it didn't happen. Our system was designed to run with a certain level of tension, after all. And that can be self-promoting.

There's a lot more of us now (4 million when the Constitution was signed and 309 million today), and information travels in nanoseconds, not by pony express. Part of the problem is probably information overload, but I don't know what can be done about that. People simply have to learn how to sift out truth from fiction.

Good luck with all that!

But you're right, the pace and amount of "news" and the sensationalist spin put on everything has a lot to do with the sky is falling perception. That and a nostalgia for a kumbaya time that never was, it's a fantasy. The way our system is designed it needs tension to function, and it perpetuates the same debates over and over again with new topics. Nothing going on now is anything new when you look at the core of the arguments.

 

[marcell]

Can teh Us still be classified as the United States of America? Think about it. THe only yime in recent history that we were "United" was when we wanted to go to war. And even then that only lasted under a year. People are divided as it is. Throw in some politicians and you've managed to create democracy. So ask yourself is the Name "The United States Of America" just a name now or does it still have theMeaning it did when created?

I still see an occasional ragged, faded "United We Stand" bumper sticker. I think it was Richard Nixon who once said that Americans have very short memories.

Interesting... we say the same about brazilians. And maybe other countries too. Short memory is a problem in the whole world... I guess.

 

[HUGGY]

It's just a name now. The great divider is hard at work.

Willow is right. Everything that is wrong in every and any one of our lives was caused by Barack Obama. It has absolutely nothing to do with the fact he is half black.

 

[ihopehefails]

Did it have any meaning when the U.S. was founded? There was just as much friction then as there is now, just different issues.

The friction is only a problem when other people can't seem to understand that the zone of control in their lives only extends to them and not to others. I'm not blaming you but it seems that those who want unity forget that unity is impossible because every human being has different desires in life. Some want to live a certain way but the problem occurs when others don't want them to live that way. It then becomes a violation of someone's freedom which then begins to make people upset at each other hence the creation of friction.

 

[CrusaderFrank]

A House divided against itself probably had a bad architect.

 

[Ringel05]

A House divided against itself probably had a bad architect.

Or a breezeway.