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[aardvark]

At least there were enough smart ones to vote for Obama!

[cecilia]

aardvark wrote:
At least there were enough smart ones to vote for Obama!

true.....let's hope Americans keep getting smarter

[Trev]

And let's hope Obama lives up to the hype. Let's also hope that he has good speech writers. Honestly, we need a new era of New Deal, Ask Not What Your Country Can Do For You, and I Have a Dream speeches to mobilize the citizenry and restore faith and trust in the presidency.

[cecilia]

I never bought into the 'Obama is a Savior' retoric.

To me, he is a man. He's human. He can make mistakes. Of course.

If he runs his presidency like his campaign, it will be well thought out, efficient and effective. All I really want in a president is a competent person doing the best he can. I don't expect miracles.

If he does the minimum we - at least - won't sink any lower into this horrible morass. If he does more, we all do better.

[pubzombie]

I wonder what stance he will take about the Isreal/Gazza issue? his initial actions will be a mark of the rest of his tenure me thinks

[coldfire]

pubzombie wrote:
I wonder what stance he will take about the Isreal/Gazza issue? his initial actions will be a mark of the rest of his tenure me thinks

I imagine he'll lean on Israel a little to tone down their reactions somewhat. If you're looking for a big reversal in American foreign policy concerning Israel I wouldn't hold my breath waiting. Generally speaking Israel is heavily favored by most Americans. The Democratic party has a large number of Jewish members also. Members who donate "large" amounts of money.

coldfire

[coldfire]

cecilia wrote:
I never bought into the 'Obama is a Savior' retoric.

To me, he is a man. He's human. He can make mistakes. Of course.

You're an exception then. From what I'm seeing on TV today he's MLK, Ghandi, Jesus Christ and Zeus all rolled into one. They're standing in line to kiss his ass. Kind of funny. I feel sorta sorry for him. Nobody could possibly live up to the expectations. After the last 3 clowns we've had I'm hoping he'll do okay.

coldfire

[cecilia]

coldfire wrote:

You're an exception then. From what I'm seeing on TV today he's MLK, Ghandi, Jesus Christ and Zeus all rolled into one.

I've always been an exception. :-D

I also understand people are desperate. They NEED someone who will "fix" this mess. of course, the only people who can fix america is americans. If Obama gives them the confidence to do that, he's done his job.

[cecilia]

Barack Obama Inaugural Address

part 2

[Trev]

@cecilia

People need someone they feel they can trust, whether he "fixes" things or not. And for the majority of our population, faith and belief are an easy thing.

When I spoke of rhetoric, I wasn't being rhetorical. I truly believe we need a president with the power to inspire Americans--perhaps the World--to do good and to rise above our differences, not through largesse and not through force, but through the strength of our own convictions.

[cecilia]

Obama seems to have inspired over a million people to come to DC and stand in the cold to hear him say the Oath. That alone is fairly impressive.

I've read about the good wishes from around the world. again, a good sign.

I wish him and all of us well for the future.

[Methuselas]

What it boils down to is Parents have to do their best to raise their children and teach them right and wrong.

Okay, now I've gotta step in. This is *COMPLETE* BS! Parents don't have to do *ANYTHING*, which is the problem. A lot of them don't and when they do, they typically teach racial and religious intolerances, narrow-mindedness and physical and psychological abuse. *THAT* is OUR SAID COUNTRIES now. Yes, let us all raise our children that it's okay to sit in front of a game console all day, to abuse the system and to dislike those of differing views and colors. Let us show our children that education is not important and they don't have to receive higher education. Most of all, let us show them that we, as a society have been completely demoralized by our Governments, that which are wholly corrupted.

Yet, we do nothing to stop it and those few, like myself, who try, are a minority. *EVERY* society, regardless of what country their in, is racially-biased, completely narrow-minded in their views to anyone outside their own beliefs, etc. Brits like to bash Americans, Americans like to bash Brits, Aussies get bashed on by the Brits, the Irish bash on the Brits. Hell, everyone bashes on Canadians and the French.

What does it prove? That we all, are destined to repeat ourselves and our self destructive nature. History abhors a paradox. We're not going to change, 'cos we don't want change. We'd rather go with the same system, 'cos it "works" when in reality, it doesn't.

It's like the problem with slavery in American. African-Americans are quick to lay blame on southern whites for racial intolerance, yet it's ejected from the history books that the first slaves brought to Europe and then the US, were captured warriors from other tribes, forced into slavery.

I was on facebook the other day and I found a group started by a Canadian saying that soldiers are not "heroes". Being ex-military, that was just opening a can of worms for me. However, this guy was not bashing on a country's military. He was bashing on the AMERICAN military and it's soldiers. He stated that they chose to go to war, to be where they were stationed and that's not a "hero". Ironically, this guy claimed to be a firefighter, but he's not a "hero" either.

I enlisted, for money for college. Yeah, I chose to go to Kuwait. I chose to go to Bosnia. I chose to go to Kosovo. :roll: I didn't enlist, for tuition money, or because I believe in the rights and the freedoms afforded by the Constitution of the United States and our Bill of Rights. I just wanted to blow sh!t up and kill people. How *DARE* he imply that I wasn't a hero. I stood up for the rights and freedoms I hold dear, something *MOST* people are too selfish to do.

This whole what's wrong this this country and that country is played out. Start thinking for yourselves and stop being cattle. If I saw a car accident and said car was on fire, I wouldn't care if you were white, black, Irish, British, Russian, African, German, Muslim, Buddhist, Catholic, or whatever. I'll do *ANYTHING* to get you out of that car, alive, even if it could cost me my own life, because that is what's most important, not your beliefs, or skin color or what not. We *ALL* bleed the same.....

.....and that's what makes me a human being.

FOOD FOR THOUGHT.....

[Speelgoedmannetje]

Methuselas wrote:

I enlisted, for money for college. Yeah, I chose to go to Kuwait. I chose to go to Bosnia. I chose to go to Kosovo. :roll: I didn't enlist, for tuition money, or because I believe in the rights and the freedoms afforded by the Constitution of the United States and our Bill of Rights. I just wanted to blow sh!t up and kill people. How *DARE* he imply that I wasn't a hero. I stood up for the rights and freedoms I hold dear, something *MOST* people are too selfish to do.

And what if your perception of right and wrong is being taken advantage of?
Also, wasn't it rightful of the Communist soldier to fight for a world that is free of famine? The very same hero you might kill in battle?
May I add to this that in the 2nd world war, many didn't hit their enemy. They missed on purpose because they didn't want to kill that very person. They only wanted to kill the idea this person had.

[Methuselas]

Speelgoedmannetje wrote:

And what if your perception of right and wrong is being taken advantage of?
Also, wasn't it rightful of the Communist soldier to fight for a world that is free of famine? The very same hero you might kill in battle?
May I add to this that in the 2nd world war, many didn't hit their enemy. They missed on purpose because they didn't want to kill that very person. They only wanted to kill the idea this person had.

There in lies the problem, Eyso. Our Governments, regardless, decide what it "right" and what is "wrong". Each and everyone of our Governments have committed atrocities in their past and will continue to do so. We can't stop it, 'cos we all, as a people, regardless of race, religion or creed, refuse to stand united. There's always got to be that *ONE* f*ck that's gotta continue to hate, continue to argue, continue to condemn.

So I'm supposed to hate you, 'cos you're from the Netherlands? I'm supposed to continue paying taxes, so welfare cases can refuse to work, collecting off the system. I have to stand by and watch corporations despoil the environment and when told to upgrade, to be more "green" or be fined, they just pay the fines as it's (arguably) cheaper. I have to watch my Government help cause a world-wide recession, by spending billions of dollars on loans to failing financial institutions, when it was Jimmy Carter who started the ball rolling for banks to loan money to people who couldn't afford the credit.

This way of thinking, is done. Capitalism, Socialism, Communism, Democracy, they've all become a farce. None of those ideals make a damn anymore 'cos the people who are in charge, are filling their pockets, at the expense of everyone else. There can't be Americans, Candadians, Norwegians, Britons, Irish, Africans, Germans, etc anymore. What's it going to take for us to get our heads out of our asses, global nuclear war??? At that point, will we *FINALLY* say "Frak it! *NOBODY* was right. *NOBODY* had all the answers. We have to work together, for a common goal, which is the evolution of our *SPECIES* and not the whims and desires of a sub-class!"

When I can walk down the street and not hear someone say "******" or "dink" or "gook" or "spick" or "honkey" or "rag head" or "bible thumper" or "dictator" or "terrorist" or so many others, only *THEN* will this type of thread have any merit.

'Cos only then, will the flames not burn. Instead, we will all, unified, call the person who started it, a moron. Only then, after thousands of years of war, famine, injustice, plague, slavery and whatever else kind of evil and narrow-mindedness we can throw in there, will we *ALL*, as homo sapiens, have learned something.....

We, all of us, have deep histories with our countries. It's been indoctrinated in us. The time has come, however, to stop being countrymen. We need to all be Terrans.

It's gotta end, somewhere. It might as well, start here. :-(

[Speelgoedmannetje]

Methuselas wrote:
It's gotta end, somewhere. It might as well, start here. :-(

Of course it can, and we're halfway there because the majority of people are just doing their job and pay their taxes for that what is necessary.