American Vs European Culture

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Profile Bill Walker
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Message 1467706 - Posted: 23 Jan 2014, 14:31:06 UTC

The American Constitution intended that the state governments would be allowed to create militias, to balance the power given to the federal government by the federal military forces. 200 years later this has been twisted and distorted by wackos that think everybody needs a gun to be safe.

Americans live by the gun, and as a result many innocents have and will die by the gun. Their choice.

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Message 1467714 - Posted: 23 Jan 2014, 14:54:12 UTC - in response to Message 1467677.  

They hadn't been going 5 minutes when they had a civil war because half the country wanted to treat black people as slaves. It took the 20 years to sort out some fudge called a constitution. Even then it had 10 amendments tabled in the first 6 months. So much for getting it right first time round. But they called that 10 the "Bill of Rights" to try to give it some credence.

It was the British who brought slavery to America, and who profited from it for the first 250 years. They even portrayed Abe Lincoln as a baboon in their political cartoons for trying to stop it. And then when they found out that the South was going to lose the Civil War, they switched over to India to supply their cotton. It took a Gandhi to get rid of them there.
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Message 1467732 - Posted: 23 Jan 2014, 15:34:24 UTC

And then when they found out that the South was going to lose the Civil War, they switched over to India to supply their cotton.


No we switched to supplies from India and Egypt because those damned Yankee's blockaded the southern ports.
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Message 1467735 - Posted: 23 Jan 2014, 15:42:48 UTC - in response to Message 1467732.  

And then when they found out that the South was going to lose the Civil War, they switched over to India to supply their cotton.

No we switched to supplies from India and Egypt because those damned Yankee's blockaded the southern ports.

I guess the British Navy wasn't interested in getting involved. But until that time, the British had also been propping up the Southern currency. Once they concluded that the South could not win, they dropped Confederate money like a hot potato. It was all profit and trade for them, which is not all that surprising, since they had governed the Colonies under a mercantile system anyway.

Their actions had nothing to do with enlightenment or social justice, until Abe Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. And then the British sentiment changed, at least to the point where they would not openly recognize the South. They could at least recognize a lost cause when they saw one.
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Message 1467775 - Posted: 23 Jan 2014, 17:31:34 UTC - in response to Message 1467737.  
Last modified: 23 Jan 2014, 17:49:01 UTC

Their actions had nothing to do with enlightenment or social justice, until Abe Lincoln issued the Emancipation Proclamation. And then the British sentiment changed, at least to the point where they would not openly recognize the South. They could at least recognize a lost cause when they saw one.

Actually is was a 'Few Words' by President Lincoln (The Gettysburg Address) which changed the meaning of "All men are created equal", in the American Declaration of Independence, which changed the reason for the Civil War, and started the long road to Racial Justice.

That helped, but American public opinion was divided on the significance of the speech. (I was just down in Gettysburg a few weeks ago to once again see their outstanding museum, where they have one of the original copies of the speech.) Some of the newspapers thought that it was a great, inspired speech and some thought it was too short and mediocre (to put it charitably) to be serious. They were divided on partisan lines as much then as they are today. But at any rate, it took a while for the country as a whole to come along with Abe, though they did soon after start teaching the speech in all the schools, so some people must have recognized it.
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Message 1467796 - Posted: 23 Jan 2014, 17:56:37 UTC

the big difference in the US and EU countries is that each state of the EU runs its own military. They are united in name only. The only way to govern a bunch of separate states is to unite the states militarily, scientifically, governmentally as well as monetarily. Monetarily for economics scientifically for shared exploration and militarily for mutual protection. Governing the separate states is like herding cats or leading the UN. Some just choose not to go with a dictate so they aren't forced to comply So far the EU barely has 1 of these going.


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Message 1467815 - Posted: 23 Jan 2014, 18:23:10 UTC

I just watched Ken Burn's "Thomas Jefferson" which I think is an excellent documentary. For us, today, it is hard to fathom the thinking of even enlightened minds like that of Jefferson who on one hand wrote the declaration of independence and on the other owned over 200 slaves and would not even set them free upon his death. His was a common view of the time that negroes were in some way inferior to whites, especially in intellect. Slavery throughout the world was fairly common up until the early 19th century and is still practiced in a few cultures.

In the US it was only the moderately to very wealthy who owned slaves to start with and there were many white indentured servants (slaves).

Jefferson was a real enigma who even considered himself condemned by his ownership of slaves but was still unable to bring himself to free them. He knew that raising the issue during the revolution would only serve to keep the 13 colonies divided and most likely prevent the formation of the United States. Even then it was only land owning men who could vote in political elections and even women were considered property. Universal sufferage wasn't seriously considered until the late 19th century and the USA was one of the first countries to extend voting rights to women. In europe France was one of the last to do so in 1945 with Switzerland waiting until 1971.

American culture is really all over the board as the USA is a melting pot of many widely varied cultures. I think living in a country that tolerates(mostly) such a wide variety of cultures provides a great experience vs. countries the barely tolerate outsiders
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My motto: Never do today what you can put off until tomorrow as it may not be required. This no longer applies in light of current events.
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Message 1467849 - Posted: 23 Jan 2014, 19:37:55 UTC - in response to Message 1467829.  

The U.S. Culture is essentially a mixture from most of the world.

Because of this, unlike Europe, we tolerate, and do not make laws, nor regulations, regarding Free Speech, Free Press (UK parading the Press before their House!), Hate Speech, Offensive Speech. Nor The Nazi Party, Marxist's, and other vile things.

American Culture/Thought, unlike European Thought, knows there is no Government, or group of persons who are Superior to the People (Peasant in Europe).

American Thought/Culture: Never ever give Power to those who think they are Superior. It ALWAYS goes bad!


Isn't this very hypocritical, the press here has been guilty of hacking phones. The main case being the phone of a murdered young teenage girl. Now if you think it is wrong to take the press to task over this incident, then why is it wrong for the NSA to monitor communications for the protection of the US and its citizens.
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Message 1467862 - Posted: 23 Jan 2014, 20:22:37 UTC - in response to Message 1467855.  

The U.S. Culture is essentially a mixture from most of the world.

Because of this, unlike Europe, we tolerate, and do not make laws, nor regulations, regarding Free Speech, Free Press (UK parading the Press before their House!), Hate Speech, Offensive Speech. Nor The Nazi Party, Marxist's, and other vile things.

American Culture/Thought, unlike European Thought, knows there is no Government, or group of persons who are Superior to the People (Peasant in Europe).

American Thought/Culture: Never ever give Power to those who think they are Superior. It ALWAYS goes bad!


Isn't this very hypocritical, the press here has been guilty of hacking phones. The main case being the phone of a murdered young teenage girl. Now if you think it is wrong to take the press to task over this incident, then why is it wrong for the NSA to monitor communications for the protection of the US and its citizens.


As I said: Yours is a European View.

American View would not tolerate, nor would our Constitution allow, our Congress to be investigating CRIMINAL Activities by the American Press. It is a POLICE Investigation. Not a Political Drama. Most American's I spoke to were shocked by your actions.

Freedom of the Press means Freedom From the Politicians, not The Courts.

Regarding NSA monitoring data(a different issue): It has not yet played out.

So Murdoch and News International being investigated by the DOJ is a police action?
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Message 1467884 - Posted: 23 Jan 2014, 21:39:22 UTC - in response to Message 1467867.  

If it has been started by the DOJ then it is a political decision. It is not as though the police has discovered crime and reported upwards this is n investigation ordered by those at the top.
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Message 1467912 - Posted: 23 Jan 2014, 22:53:51 UTC - in response to Message 1467884.  

If it has been started by the DOJ then it is a political decision. It is not as though the police has discovered crime and reported upwards this is n investigation ordered by those at the top.

The DOJ is actually the legal department for the government, charged with various duties. So it, like everyone else in the federal government (with the exception of a few "independent" agencies such as the Federal Reserve Board) reports to the President, through the Attorney General, who is a Cabinet member. It does not follow that each investigation is approved by those "at the top", but on the other hand if someone had failed to investigate Murdoch and News International, then I think they should have been fired for incompetence.
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Message 1467917 - Posted: 23 Jan 2014, 22:58:14 UTC - in response to Message 1467884.  

If it has been started by the DOJ then it is a political decision. It is not as though the police has discovered crime and reported upwards this is n investigation ordered by those at the top.

again you don't really understand the US gov't. DOJ is typically apolitical. DOJ and the attorneys general investigate,through the FBI what they see as and states acknowledge as a federal crime. Illegal wiretapping, interstate/international drug trade and kidnapping fall under federal jurisdiction because to nature of the wire services and the likelihood of the crimes to occur over several state lines of jurisdiction. DOJ is not a workhorse to take up issues from congress.


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Message 1468040 - Posted: 24 Jan 2014, 6:17:04 UTC

American Vs European culture.

And here I thought that the Europeans allways thought us colonial types as uncouth heathens who have no culture:)

And now you say we do? Heaven forbid that some day we will be invited to join the EU. Boy, What an honour that would be. NOT

Truth be told, You have had 2000 years to get it right over there, And you still havent. We have only been at it a little over 200 years.

Kind of an unfair comparison if you ask me.
[/quote]

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Message 1468079 - Posted: 24 Jan 2014, 7:46:25 UTC - in response to Message 1467677.  

...we will have a law that says the people can have guns ... What sort of a way is that to start up and found a country

That is the way we demanded;


Ol' Corney really didn't get it until;
Let's all sing the ballad of New Orleans;


In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.

We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin' on
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.


I am proud to have established the Islamic Republic of Iraq.
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Message 1468081 - Posted: 24 Jan 2014, 8:09:23 UTC - in response to Message 1468079.  

...we will have a law that says the people can have guns ... What sort of a way is that to start up and found a country

That is the way we demanded;


Ol' Corney really didn't get it until;
Let's all sing the ballad of New Orleans;


In 1814 we took a little trip
Along with Colonel Jackson down the mighty Mississip.
We took a little bacon and we took a little beans
And we caught the bloody British in the town of New Orleans.

We fired our guns and the British kept a'comin.
There wasn't nigh as many as there was a while ago.
We fired once more and they began to runnin' on
Down the Mississippi to the Gulf of Mexico.


I am proud to have established the Islamic Republic of Iraq.

You do realize that Cornwallis surrendering and the battle of New Orleans are two differant time periods? And with out the French pirate Jean Lafette (sp) that battle could have gone the other way?

There is a differance in being patriotic and Jingoistic.
[/quote]

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Message 1468093 - Posted: 24 Jan 2014, 8:50:01 UTC - in response to Message 1468091.  


There is a differance in being patriotic and Jingoistic.
Differance is spelled difference; in the US of A anyway. Ja ja spelling troll; don't you hate spelling trolls? Well we avoid the subject that way.


Hay mods; this is a joke lighten up.

I get it. Your a troll who dose not know his history.
[/quote]

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Message 1468096 - Posted: 24 Jan 2014, 8:58:06 UTC - in response to Message 1468093.  
Last modified: 24 Jan 2014, 8:58:34 UTC


I get it. Your a troll who dose not know his history.

So you'r one of those loyalists who lick the bunions of the Queen.
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Message 1468125 - Posted: 24 Jan 2014, 11:17:11 UTC - in response to Message 1467695.  

We Americans understand the European theory of "Good Government - Run By Good People" has never worked. It ALWAYS goes bad.

Oh really? So then why are you a democracy? Because frankly, good government run by good people is pretty much what democracy is supposed to achieve. People vote for who they think is good, and as a result you get a government full of elected good people and that is supposed to turn the government into a force of good. And if they aren't good, well then you vote for someone else after 4 years.

And do tell, what is this advanced American thinking that supposedly prevents bad government? It being limited? European governments are limited. Individual freedoms to the people? Yep, got that in Europe. Free speech, free press, freedom of religion? Got that as well. So tell me, where exactly lies the difference between the United States and say...France or Germany.

I must say though, ever since the second world war, we had governments run by good people and those governments turned out to be good as well. So I really don't see proof for your assertion that governments ALWAYS turn bad.
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Message 1468127 - Posted: 24 Jan 2014, 11:20:24 UTC - in response to Message 1468040.  

American Vs European culture.

And here I thought that the Europeans allways thought us colonial types as uncouth heathens who have no culture:)

And now you say we do? Heaven forbid that some day we will be invited to join the EU. Boy, What an honour that would be. NOT

Truth be told, You have had 2000 years to get it right over there, And you still havent. We have only been at it a little over 200 years.

Kind of an unfair comparison if you ask me.

Kinda proves it
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