what is an American?

[nbdysfu]

I'm interested to know:

1. how do 'mericans define themselves
2. separate themselves from other 'mericans
3. define/view the majority of americans

for the Canadians, Mexicans and other Americans who aren't of the united states, I don't mean to offend. It's just nobody even tries to say they're a united statesian Act as if I were referring to all 'mericans if you like. If you hate being lumped in with the us on the basis of geography, feel free to state that.

for true geographic non-Americans who have never been to America or the US, what do we really look like from over there?

For everybody:

1.What would you think of an 'American Union'?
2.Would it be less or more offensive if it were simply called the United States?
3.didn't an 'american union' already happen a while ago? If so why did it fail?
4.Is the EU more like the United States or the UN?

 

[NightTrain]

1) As an American. My bloodline comes from many European countries, for the most part German, but I am American. My family has fought in every war fought by the USA since the Revolutionary War.

2) I work my butt off every day, and it pisses me off to see wealthy Democrats / Liberals whining about people that have not. They love talking about 'wealth redistribution' and promote class warfare. What a crock! They're socialists / communists, they just haven't come out of the weeds yet.

If you want to succeed, get off your ass and work for it! No one owes them a damn thing, but they believe it is owed. How many people do you know of that rose to true greatness by having a free ride? The great ones struggled for years and were fiercely competitive. How much competition do you see with welfare?

3) I believe the majority of Americans are decent, caring people. I believe most of them are weary of the ignorant liberals that do nothing but piss and moan about how terrible this great country is. I think there is a 'Silent Majority' - I used to be one of them. Next year will tell the story in the elections.

 

[timmy]

I am An American
by Elias Lieberman



I am an American.
My father belongs to the Sons of the Revolution;
My mother, to the Colonial Dames.
One of my ancestors pitched tea overboard in Boston Harbor;
Another stood his ground with Warren;
Another hungered with Washington at Valley Forge.
My forefathers were America in the making:
They spoke in her council halls;
They died on her battlefields;
They commanded her ships;
They cleared her forests.
Dawns reddened and paled.
Stanch hearts of mine beat fast at each new star
In the nation's flag.
Keen eyes of mine foresaw her greater glory:
The sweep of her seas,
The plenty of her plains,
The man-hives in her billion-wired cities.
Every drop of blood in me holds a heritage of patriotism.
I am proud of my past.
I am an American.

I am an American.
My father was an atom of dust,
My mother a straw in the wind,
To his serene majesty.
One of my ancestors died in the mines of Siberia;
Another was crippled for life by twenty blows of the knout;
Another was killed defending his home during the massacres.
The history of my ancestors is a trail of blood
To the palace gate of the Great White Czar.
But then the dream came
The dream of America.
In the light of the Liberty torch
The atom of dust became a man
And the straw in the wind became a woman
For the first time.
"See," said my father, pointing to the flag that fluttered near,
"That flag of stars and stripes is yours;
It is the emblem of the promised land,
It means, my son, the hope of humanity.
Live for it die for it!"
Under the open sky of my new country I swore to do so;
And every drop of blood in me will keep that vow.
I am proud of my future.

I am an American.

 

[eric]

 

[Scourge]

1) As an American. My bloodline comes from many European countries, for the most part German, but I am American. My family has fought in every war fought by the USA since the Revolutionary War.

2) I work my butt off every day, and it pisses me off to see wealthy Democrats / Liberals whining about people that have not. They love talking about 'wealth redistribution' and promote class warfare. What a crock! They're socialists / communists, they just haven't come out of the weeds yet.

If you want to succeed, get off your ass and work for it! No one owes them a damn thing, but they believe it is owed. How many people do you know of that rose to true greatness by having a free ride? The great ones struggled for years and were fiercely competitive. How much competition do you see with welfare?

point # 2: Most poor people who make 6-10 dollars an hour and work hard at crappy jobs are not slackers or commies, but see that there is inequality built in to the system. If you're rich, its easy to stay rich, if you're poor, it's damn hard to get rich.
Without inventing a new product or winning the lottery, most people can make a modest income but this whole "pull yourself up with your bootstraps" motiff is not realistic. Too many hard working people who have to do that just to scrape by, and too many middle class people who had every sense of opportunity and education since they were kids moaning about the welfare Mom's who are dragging the economy down. please. try spending a day with a single parent who works 70 hours a week at some dive and her kids cry because they didn't get a $50 toy other kids got (that cost $1 to make) and explain to them this free ride they are on.

Sorry for the rant... but this is what forums are for, ne c'est pas?

 

[Bern80]

You have somewhat of a point there scourge about the trouble with being poor and getting rich. It can be quite difficult for a person to dig themselves out of that hole. It has been my observation though that many people in that situation dug the hole themselves.

Secondly most of the rich people in this country got rich by exactley the means u mention. that had some sort of unique idea, yet you say it like it's a bad thing.

The whole "pull yourself up by your bootstraps" theme isn't unrealistic at all. There are very few exorbitantley rich peopel in this country and they got that way by doing exactley that. Essentially they have been paid for the use of their minds. it isn't a matter of how "hard" you work. Really there aren't a lot of jobs in this country that are truly taxing on the brain. Those jobs that do pay the most.

There are boundless opportunities in this country, but it seems that many forget what an opportunity is. They must be siezed not given.

I had something else rather righteous to say, but have forgotten.

 

[Scourge]

You have somewhat of a point there scourge about the trouble with being poor and getting rich. It can be quite difficult for a person to dig themselves out of that hole. It has been my observation though that many people in that situation dug the hole themselves.

Secondly most of the rich people in this country got rich by exactley the means u mention. that had some sort of unique idea, yet you say it like it's a bad thing.

WHOA! According to you most of the rich people got rich because of inventing something or winning the lottery? Wait, what about all those born into privilege and handed everything they have (sorry Mr. president!) it doesn't take ethics or hard work or ingenuity to come from a wealthy family or be brought up with only elite opportunities available. A lot of good, harworking people who aren't stupid (even if the don't invent the next Rubic's Cube) will have to deal with layoffs/temp work/medical issues and other things the wealthy elite have little concept of. Layoffs to a CEO mean more profits!

 

[jimnyc]

Originally posted by Scourge
You have somewhat of a point there scourge about the trouble with being poor and getting rich. It can be quite difficult for a person to dig themselves out of that hole. It has been my observation though that many people in that situation dug the hole themselves.

Secondly most of the rich people in this country got rich by exactley the means u mention. that had some sort of unique idea, yet you say it like it's a bad thing.

WHOA! According to you most of the rich people got rich because of inventing something or winning the lottery? Wait, what about all those born into privilege and handed everything they have (sorry Mr. president!) it doesn't take ethics or hard work or ingenuity to come from a wealthy family or be brought up with only elite opportunities available. A lot of good, harworking people who aren't stupid (even if the don't invent the next Rubic's Cube) will have to deal with layoffs/temp work/medical issues and other things the wealthy elite have little concept of. Layoffs to a CEO mean more profits!

It would help if you used the quote function built into the board, as I've just done, so readers can tell what words are yours and what you are quoting.

 

[Scourge]

Originally posted by jimnyc
It would help if you used the quote function built into the board, as I've just done, so readers can tell what words are yours and what you are quoting.

My bad, sorry brother.
My Commodore is fast, I just don't know how to use it.

 

[jimnyc]

No problem, it's just much better when highlighted apart from the rest of the text.

Thanks

 

[Bern80]

Originally posted by Scourge

WHOA! According to you most of the rich people got rich because of inventing something or winning the lottery? Wait, what about all those born into privilege and handed everything they have (sorry Mr. president!) it doesn't take ethics or hard work or ingenuity to come from a wealthy family or be brought up with only elite opportunities available. A lot of good, harworking people who aren't stupid (even if the don't invent the next Rubic's Cube) will have to deal with layoffs/temp work/medical issues and other things the wealthy elite have little concept of. Layoffs to a CEO mean more profits!

That is not what I think at all scourge and I think you know it. What I did say is that the richest people in this country got that way by w/ some manner of unique idea or a talent that is always in demand. The only job that I can think where you could be really rich w/o working at it is modeling and that's just luck of genetics. There is a major difference between being rich and successful and just being rich. I would consider Bill Gates the former and the Hilton sisters the later. The Hilton's were born into money, but it won't keep them rich forever and reletively speaking they have a lot less than Bill Gates. As is the case all over. Compare the wealth of the Bill Gates' and the Donald Trumps' of this country w/ the Hilton sisters and there is no comparison.

As for people who aren't stupid the best thing I can tell you is what my Dad told me about successful people. They are smart enough to get jobs where they will always be needed and not have to worry about being layed off. Probably why many successfull people run there own business.

I also suggest you take an intro to business course. When a company lays off people it is almost always because they are losing money due to inefficency or lack of sales. sure they could keep those people working, but that is only a quick fox to a problem that wil rear its head again. Most CEO's don't pocket the money saved in layoffs either. They reinvest it in the business I live in a small town where the major business is a paper mill. Almost 300 workers were laid off this last summer because the business was losing money from producing paper from a machine that was simply too old. Part of the money saved from layoffs will go toward a newer paper machine to keep the business competitive.

The successful people of this country made a decision that they wanted to avoid the complications you list above, w/ the exception of medicine i suppose, and found a way to make money to support that decision.

 

[William Joyce]

"I am An American
by Elias Lieberman"

Jews aren't Americans. They are JEWS, loyal first to their people, not the nation in which they happen to reside, unless it's Israel. Just ask Jonathan Pollard.

 

[nbdysfu]

What? Is that all you've got? It's the Joos? Okay.

:fu2: sniveling unamerican racist.

 

[Scourge]

Originally posted by nbdysfu
What? Is that all you've got? It's the Joos? Okay.

:fu2: sniveling unamerican racist.

Have you seen what GM and other companies have been doing? Go rent Roger & Me. then try and get a job making shoies for Nike, a job in THE USA making shoes for nike. or clothes for the GAP. OUr major companies aren't laying off because the are about to go bankrupt! They see cheaper labour (labour that wont unionize too) and they jump for it. Who's getting the benefit? American workers? Maylaysian 9 year olds? CEO's baby. CEOs.

Sorry, sometimes it's hard to type with two left hands...

 

[Scourge]

I meant to reply about the layoffs/getting rich in America!
(not the Jewish posting...about their conspiracy to what? Take over the world? lol)

 

[NightTrain]

I missed this, obviously you were talking to me. Sorry for the delay.

point # 2: Most poor people who make 6-10 dollars an hour and work hard at crappy jobs are not slackers or commies, but see that there is inequality built in to the system. If you're rich, its easy to stay rich, if you're poor, it's damn hard to get rich.

No one ever said it was easy. I was dirt poor as a kid & spent many years of my youth in a remote log cabin, 20 miles away from the nearest road. I was educated by correspondence.

I once worked for $3.15 per hour at a pizza joint. I decided I didn't like that, and maneuvered myself into a job that pays over $30 / hour with unreal benefits. If you're content with 6 bucks an hour, more power to ya! But I hear much pissing and moaning about how unfair it is and how impossible it is to make a decent living. That's bullshit.

Many, many rich people have ended up on skid row. It happens all the time. Many, many people have made themselves rich. Happens all the time. Inequality? No. Lack of motivation & determination. Luck is a factor too.

Without inventing a new product or winning the lottery, most people can make a modest income but this whole "pull yourself up with your bootstraps" motiff is not realistic. Too many hard working people who have to do that just to scrape by, and too many middle class people who had every sense of opportunity and education since they were kids moaning about the welfare Mom's who are dragging the economy down. please. try spending a day with a single parent who works 70 hours a week at some dive and her kids cry because they didn't get a $50 toy other kids got (that cost $1 to make) and explain to them this free ride they are on.

If you don't pull yourself up by the bootstraps, who will? Answer : No one.

I have no problem with a single mom getting a helping hand. It's a very good idea to ensure her kids get a decent meal and a roof over their heads. Free medical. Free education. It's all there. I don't have a problem with it. I do believe she should work, and I believe she should further herself and get a job eventually that pays decent wages. It's entirely up to her if that happens or not.

What galls me are the career welfare queens. I've seen a ton of them. And they piss and moan about how unfair it is, and how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. They do indeed get a free ride, and have zero ambition to make anything of themselves.

 

[Moi]

Originally posted by NightTrain
If you don't pull yourself up by the bootstraps, who will? Answer : No one.

I have no problem with a single mom getting a helping hand. It's a very good idea to ensure her kids get a decent meal and a roof over their heads. Free medical. Free education. It's all there. I don't have a problem with it. I do believe she should work, and I believe she should further herself and get a job eventually that pays decent wages. It's entirely up to her if that happens or not.

What galls me are the career welfare queens. I've seen a ton of them. And they piss and moan about how unfair it is, and how the rich get richer and the poor get poorer. They do indeed get a free ride, and have zero ambition to make anything of themselves.

I agree, Night Train. Hard work always pays off. It may not earn you a BMW or a designer wardrobe, but you won't starve, be naked or homeless. Since when is survival not good enough??? If you want more, earn more. Earn it by taking advantage of the free education we offer, having kids when you can afford them, working and earning respect, etc. The reason that those who are rich tend to stay that way through generations is that they pass on the tools with which they made the money. If the work ethic that got them there evaporates well, usually so does the money.

 

[nbdysfu]

If ye love wealth greater than liberty, the tranquility of servitude
greater than the animating contest for freedom, go home from us in peace.
We seek not your counsel, nor your arms. Crouch down and lick the hand
that feeds you; May your chains set lightly upon you, and may posterity
forget that ye were our countrymen.
—Samuel Adams