Let's hope that constitution protecting from subversion includes stooopid white people who think that racially motivated crimes don't count as being against the law
thank you for your two cents, 2cents. I was given to wonder whether the person i responded to felt the same way however. In truth the law does or should protect all citizens.. unfortunately records show that it does sometimes fall short of expectations and duty when it comes to crimes and discrimination against race, women, disabled people etc. Even in the good old fair minded UK we see police still being accused of institutional racism, and extremely low conviction rates for rape and domestic violence..and even sadly child abuse.. I guess the law isn't perfect sigh but lets hope they would mostly do their duty
For a country that's based on multiculturalism is nothing but immensely simplistic to say race relations.s don't matter. Trump made it his number one campaing issue, for God's sakes. Obviously youre not an unintelligent person. So your views, must come from a different place. They must come from a sense of anger at the perceived freebies or advantages that the "others" are privileged to. A sense of blaming others for your own failure to achieve what you think you deserve. Now remember, if we go with your impeccable record on free speech, I'm sure you will be thankful for me for trying to teach you something, and recognising my right, you will not respond in a hypersensitive weakling type of way. Make me proud.
This post was edited by Benedict Arnold at November 25, 2016 9:32 AM MST
Free speech just means that the government won't criminalize your speech. It doesn't mean that someone won't use their free speech to attack you if they don't like what you said.
I didn't say that everyone who gets upset is weak. I said that everything upset someone somewhere.
I didn't say race relations were unimportant. I said race was meaningless (i.e. like eye color). If everyone thought race was a meaningless concept race relations would be excellent. It's precisely because people think race is an important concept that tension develops.
Ok, looking at it from that light I will have to agree with you. We are the ones who attach labels on color and it should not even be a consideration. But that then would have to apply to all. Religion should be also meaningless, things that make us different from one another. Things intrinsic to the fabric of a multicultural communitty, color, religion, language, and costumes, for example, should all be meaningless (or unimportant), since we should all be able to look past them. Unfortunately that's a little removed from.reality. If this is what you are saying. Then I wholeheartedly agree with you.
How deliciously subtle your concept of culture. And how you don't expand on what you really mean with. But we know what you mean don't we? The defense of it, the making sure it stays pure and everybody knows their place and recognises the dangers of the invading hordes. Why aren't you courageous enough and say what you really mean. I challenge you. The problem is that you can't.
I thought I was perfectly clear. Yes I do believe some cultures are better than others. Don't you? Seriously?
Yes I do think that western culture is far and away the most civilized and advanced culture on the planet. Don't you? Would you rather live somewhere else? We basically invented liberty and transmitted it to some of the rest of the world.
Yes I do think some cultures have a negative influence and we should stay away from them.
I just can't understand why the left bang on about gay marriage, and women's rights etc and yet tolerate a culture that is so homophobic they execute gay people and so misogynistic they execute women for adultery. The left will give a Christian baker sh*t for not wanting to bake a cake for a gay wedding, but say that criticizing Islam is racist (even though Islam isn't a race). It just boggles the mind.
This post was edited by Zeitgeist at November 25, 2016 11:08 AM MST
" We basically invented liberty and transmitted it to some of the rest of the world" Dude, come on, Saying this ignores the world history all the way from Athens, to the Carta Magna, to the French Revolution. So, I'm just going to let you have it. Thanks for your reply.
I meant western civilization is awesome, not just the U.S.. The U.S. came out of Europe.
This post was edited by Zeitgeist at November 25, 2016 11:35 AM MST
No discussion needed. There is no order. There is only dis-order. Chaos and confusion aplenty. Now you want to argue semantics and why?
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Let's try this.
Love Truth Right Action Service to fellow man Compassion/empathy Human Dignity Integrity and to be CLEAR? We don't have to line them up in order of importance. They are all necessary ingredients.
Although I think that some of the option you give overlap somewhat, I'll give it a go. :)
Civilisation. Culture. Personal Freedom. Free Market. (Not really sure what you mean by this; if it's the freedom to make people miserable, I'd tend to place it last). Nation. US Constitution. Race.
I have to say though, that some of these could move rather easily if I think, 'What if?'.
Of all those concepts, it intrigues me the most Free Market one. How the question automatically assumes, by force of repetition, and maybe because it has the word free in it, that it is the ideal economic model. It has been drilled into our brains ad nauseam, to the point of blind acceptance. Without even knowing what it means or where it came from. We brandish it above the heads of the third world masses as the bastion for salvation. Saying that we should let the forces of the free market dictate solely the direction of the economy, has become as fundamental as accepting that the moon is responsible for the tides. We all say it, but not many understand what the hell it means.
There is a fundamental flaw in your question. One cannot, in reality, isolate the concepts you list from each other or from the linguistic frames in which they are embedded.
Let's take one example: US Constitution
In your self-answer, you describe it as the most important of the nouns you list, giving the explanation. "We are a nation of laws, and this is the Supreme law"
This suggests what you REALLY value is some form of agreed-upon societal order, because clearly the Constitution was used historically to oppress some and advantage others, yet you feel those injustices were a tolerable price to pay for whatever benefits accrued from organizing the nation-state around constitutional principles.
Even the Framers noted in the preamble that Constituion was an instrument being utilized to pursue other goals ("...in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity..."). Making the Constitution more important than the principles it is supposed to produce is like saying a 10mm wrench is more important than the car the 10mm wrench is used to repair so the car works properly.
Zeitgeist 