Warts, pimples and all...

Post #51,098 by screamer 9/9/02 11:54:36 AM Reply	Warts, pimples and all... I have been accused many times of being a slimeball - anti-American; having been an outspoken critic of the US policies since Reagan... That said, there is much to dislike about the way this country conducts bizness internally and externally. It is also our right as US citizens to criticize. Our "right" to criticize and to effect change (vote), separates us from many other countries in the world. That said, I liken real patriotism to true love. Many people are infatuated and mistake infatuation for love. If you truly love someone or something, you love it in spite of their/its flaws - warts, pimples and all. If you are a patriot, you see the flaws and love the country anyway. Patriotism (ethos) defies logical thought (logos) as a Socratic tool for contextual thinking, just as love. Thus, many times I have trouble justifying my love for country. I just feel - I feel that I love this place and am glad that I was born here. I have traveled abroad and found the beauty and pride of Europeans. I'm sure many Germans are proud and glad to have been born there. Having said that, I look forward to a time when (Utopian) we all are proud and glad to have been born on this planet - us human beings... In my "logical" mind I am a human first, then follow all the other subcategories such as American, Hoosier, Presbyterian, etc. Just a few thoughts, Screamer As soon as you're born they make you feel small By giving you no time instead of it all Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all J. Lennon - Working Class Hero
Post #51,167 by Brandioch 9/9/02 10:14:11 PM Reply	I am, of course, completely different. If there is a wart or pimple or blemish, we have the ability to remove it. To correct it. We can learn from the mistakes of others and from our own mistakes. We don't have to repeat the same errors. We can be better. The first "patriots" risked their lives to secure the freedoms we have today. Freedoms they did not have. They did the best they knew how to to make a country without the warts and pimples that they were familiar with. A patriot will work to fix the flaws.
Post #51,171 by Simon_Jester 9/9/02 11:13:57 PM Reply	But is perfection possible? While as a coder I believe perfection is possible (the code will do what I want it to do, and only what I want it to do), I'm not sure that is a realistic approach to non-computer things - Government being one of them. I love our country, warts and all. Certain individuals would have you ignore the blemishes because other countries are worse. I refuse to. There are OUR blemishes - for better, for worse. We can improve (and should certainly try) but perfection is probably impossible and I suspect their will always be blemishes.
Post #51,213 by Brandioch 9/10/02 11:39:17 AM Reply	Maybe not perfection, but improvement is possible. While we may never achieve the "perfect" society, we can work towards it. I love our country, warts and all. I don't. I still see it as a work in progress. We've had a great system handed to us. But that system has serious problems. As patriots, it is our duty to address those problems and to leave behind an even better system for the next generation. Of course, this brand of patriotism will never be popular as it involves too much work and too much involvement. We aren't in competition with any other country. Our problems are not less disgusting because other's have worse problems.
Post #51,241 by screamer 9/10/02 2:35:14 PM Reply	I'll answer your "criticism" here... by saying that I agree with you 100 percent. It is our obligation to future generations to try and make this country "better". If laws become antiquated, we must rewrite them. We need to strive for a "just" society and use our Constitutional freedoms to peaceably assemble, vote, etc... to affect positive change. Where we sometimes get into trouble is that my view of a "just" society may not completely coincide with your view. Justice, like Truth, are concepts and not easily agreed upon. This is where the democracy thang comes in handy. The price of freedom is eternally vigilance. What might not have been apparent in my original post was that I love this country, warts and all AND I criticize it in the hopes that some of these warts and all will be removed. If not, I am merely bitching for the sake of bitching. I love my wife despite some of her (my perceived) shortcomings. I am eternally vigilant in trying to point them out to her :-) . Even if she doesn't always agree with me and change, I love her nonetheless. I liken my feelings for her with those to my country. I am aware of its shortcomings, I would like to "improve" it, but I love it nonetheless. Just a few thoughts, Screamer As soon as you're born they make you feel small By giving you no time instead of it all Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all J. Lennon - Working Class Hero
Post #51,271 by wharris2 9/10/02 4:33:44 PM Reply	Screamer = USA's Compound W? (g)
Post #51,278 by screamer 9/10/02 5:17:16 PM Reply	Preparation H... Just a few thoughts, Screamer As soon as you're born they make you feel small By giving you no time instead of it all Till the pain is so big you feel nothing at all J. Lennon - Working Class Hero

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