Evan and Josh from Missouri - Bush Comparing Iraq to Vietnam
On August 23, 07 President George W. Bush made a comment to the veterans people that was in the war of Vietnam. I just want to say how stupid Bush is for making a comparison to the war of Vietnam. First of all, I just want for everybody to know that back in the Vietnam war, the communist country of Vietnam people have won the war. American's and other people think that we lost or it's a draw. But, I want our troops to pull out of Iraq, but if President Bush does that, it will be more stupid because it will be like we haven't accomplish anything, then in the future we will be like the Iraqis won the war just like Vietnam.
About the Author
Name: Evan and Josh
Age: 17
Country: U.S
City: St. Louis
State: Missouri
Gender: Male
Income: Medium
Labels: 10's, foreign policy, iraq war, male, medium income, missouri
Adam from Michigan on Freedom and Inaction
There currently exists an enormous divide within our great nation between people who wish to change our country for the better and people who don't. Those brave and vigilant enough to speak up about it are being criticized by those who refuse to. I have heard many responses to the constructive criticism of our country, and beyond pointless name-calling, it often involves the assertion that those questioning our government are 'anti-American' and should leave the country if they do not like it. There is nothing wrong with voicing such an opinion, and in fact, the freedom to express it is one of the basic rights that we still have left that continue to make our country great.
But in order to continue the absolutely critical and always necessary discussion and evaluation of our leadership, we must be honest with ourselves. We must step back and look, with neutral objectivity, upon our words and evaluate what they truly mean. To hold such an opinion, that questioning our government is invalid and unnecessary, is to demonstrate not only a complete lack of understanding, but also a contempt for those most basic ideas upon which our nation was founded. This opinion itself is, in fact, not only un-American, but self-destructive.
Our nation was founded by great men with great intelligence that questioned and criticized their government. It is not only the foundation of America's entire way of life, but the foundation of all democracy. America has long led the world by example, but in much of the last few decades, it has set a very poor one. In doing so, it has undermined our basic principles, destroyed the faith in and of our country both within and without, and discredited the very principles of democracy that so embody the American spirit.
We impose our will upon other nations under the guise of freedom, a concept so backwards that it is utterly impossible. Freedom cannot be given. If it is given to a country or a people, then it is done so under the implicit assumption that there is something to be given back in turn, which therefore nullifies the freedom given in the first place. Freedom must be taken, it must be fought for and won, and it must never be given up because it will never be given back again. America has given up it's freedom for the illusion of security.
I get it. America is afraid, and so am I. I am afraid of our government, and the actions it might take against people like me who stand up and question the things they are doing. I'm afraid to write these words, and pass them onto my fellow Americans. I'm afraid of their reactions, that they won't listen, or won't take any action. I'm afraid to post this video to Youtube. I'm afraid that our current situation is hopeless. And yet, here I am, doing what I have to in spite of my fears because I know' not think, KNOW' what I'm doing is right.
The media has betrayed us by assisting those in power in their quest to deconstruct our language. This deconstruction is very important, because it allows tyranny to enter, invited, into our homes under the false impression of good intentions. Once powerful and critically meaningful words like 'freedom,' 'patriot,' and 'terrorism' have been turned into media buzz words. We have seen this type of manipulation before, during other times in other countries, and if we fail to acknowledge and understand history, then we are doomed to repeat it.
It works as follows: first, these powerful words are chosen, because of their significance to the people, by those who wish to extend their reach. These words are then abused, misused, and overused so extremely to the point where they become meaningless. The media is often used, and has been, to enable the nullification of their meanings. Once their true meanings have been completely forgotten, the government is then free to redefine these words however they choose, and to distribute those definitions to an unassuming and unaware population. 'Freedom' becomes the will of the government. 'Terrorist' becomes anyone who speaks out against their government. 'Patriot' becomes an obedient servant to the empire. 'Citizen' becomes subject. 'President' becomes dictator.
Our schools have betrayed us because they have failed to teach us to think critically. They've failed to adequately explain history and stress its importance. They've failed to adequately instill in us the meaning and value of the ideas our country was founded upon, and the great sacrifice that was necessary to do so. Education is no longer a service, it is a business. America gets dumber as the rich get richer, the poor get poorer, and the powerful become more powerful.
The world has watched this happening and has heard the deafening silence of the American people, who either no longer care about or no longer pay attention to the reality around them. Complacency, inaction, and hopelessness are the enemies of free people, and America is ripe with them.
The objective of our form of government is to empower the people. The Framers constructed our government specifically around the basis that we govern ourselves. It is a government of the people, by the people, and for the people, and therefore, it is we the people who are ultimately responsible for the actions of our government. Questioning and changing our government for the better is not only our right as Americans, but our undeniable and inescapable duty as members of a self-governing body.
About the author:
Name: Adam
Age: 25
Country: United States
State: Michigan
Gender: Male
Income: Medium
Occupation: Authorized Inspector
Website: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FQAl8jsvyCU
Labels: 20's, democracy, education, foreign policy, freedom, government, inspector, male, media, medium income, michigan, terrorism
David from Missouri - No Amnesty
I recently received an e-mail inviting me to write a letter addressed to the United States telling the world how I feel about any and all topics relating to the United States which would be posted at a site called Blog to America. I took a little time checking out the site and found it very interesting. So, here we go.
I’ve had my own blog site, A Republic, if you can keep it since February of 2005. I’ve posted many messages there about our broken immigration policy and our wide open borders. I’ve written a countless number of letters to my elected officials urging them to get to work on the problem. I’ve let them know that I will remember them the next time I see their name on a ballot if they don’t do what most United States citizens feel is the right thing to do.
The best thing they can come up with is an amnesty deal for the estimated 12 million illegal aliens that are in the country now and a guest worker program for the ones that want to come in and work for low wages until their visa expires. They will go home, apply for another visa and return again. Big business will love it. They will be able to keep their labor cost down without the expense of moving the factory over seas. This will make it difficult for United States citizens to find jobs that pay a livable wage.
Our elected officials and the main stream media tell us it would be next to impossible to round up all of the illegal aliens that are in the country and send them home. I don’t feel a massive round up is needed. Let ICE (Immigration and Customs Enforcement) continue their raids on factories. Increase the fine for hiring illegal aliens to about $10,000 per illegal alien. Soon they won’t be able to find work. Fine landlords and realtors that provide them with housing, not having a roof over their head should be reason enough to leave the country on their own. Some of them will be pulled over for traffic violations or be involved in domestic disputes. Get rid of the catch and release policy that is now in place and replace it with a catch and deport policy.
Today I heard that one of my United States Senators, Kit Bond is planning on supporting the latest amnesty bill. All I can say is, Kit I hope you have another job lined out because I will do all I can do to stop you from being re-elected.
If I sound like a bigot or racist I’m sorry you feel that way. I don’t feel that I am. I’m not opposed to immigration. I’m opposed to someone breaking our law by entering the country illegally. If your thinking of immigrating to the United States I just want you to jump through all of the required hoops to become a citizen. Then I will welcome you as a citizen and a friend. After all this country is mostly made of immigrants. Each of them had something special to offer, that’s what makes this country great.
God Bless America, God Save The Republic.
About the Author:
Name: David Schantz
Age: 56
Country: United States
City: Saint Joseph
State: Missouri
Gender: Male
Income: Medium
Occupation: Pollution Control Plant Operator
Experience With US: Currently Live in the United States
Website: http://arepublic.blogspot.com/
Labels: 50's, immigration, male, medium income, missouri, north america, technical
Roger from Oklahoma - Reality
I read many of these letters to America but they are really not addressed to America. They are addressed to the writer's concept and visions of America, a phantasm created by their own cultures media, American TV and movies, and their own personal experiences.
I live in America. People in America don’t consume energy at three times the rate of a European. People don’t go and buy buy buy. People don’t live in houses like those in American TV. They don’t have police stations in America like in CSI. People in America do not act like the Americans in TV shows. New York has almost nothing to do with the rest of the United States.
People in America do worry about money. They scrimp on gasoline. They pay enormous taxes to live in a house. They shop on craig's list. Many people have never been on an airplane. They have never traveled more than 500 miles from their houses. Many who live west of the Mississippi have never been east of the Mississippi. Many people in the South have never been in NY. People in Iowa dream of visiting San Francisco.
People in America are consumed by the work of daily life. They say live and let live, but dont impose your religion or morality or way of life on us. And "your" could be the morality and religion of Washington, or Paris, or Oslo, or Mogadishu.
People in America are puzzled by TV news which tries to lie to them by presenting versions of reality rather than news, to once great papers like the New York Times which seem to be run by college dropouts from Soviet Union think tanks, by fanatics like Al Gore or David Dukes.
People in America see danger around the world stemming not from armies massing in distant countries, but my a politicization of false beliefs held by people both within and without her borders.
About the Author:
Name: Roger Hornbeck
Age: 47
Country: United States
City: Tulsa
State: Oklahoma
Gender: Male
Income: Medium
Occupation: Retired
Experience With US: Currently Live in the United States
Labels: 40's, consumerism, foreign policy, male, media, medium income, morality, oklahoma, retired
John from Pennsylvania
I'll worry about the US when the wall under construction on our southern border is being built to keep me in instead of keeping them out.
About the Author
Name: John Cunningham
Age: 59
City: Haverford
State: PA
Gender: Male
Income: Medium
Occupation: Retired
Labels: 50's, immigration, male, medium income, pennsylvania, retired
Larry from Alabama
I was going thru some of the letters that were submitted and just wanted to voice my opinion about a few things. But first, a thing or two about myself. I'm a Southerner here in the States and a Republican as well. I voted for President Bush and I support his policy on Iraq as well as Iran.
I think that President Bush was right to go into Iraq. He tried to go the diplomatic route, but it didn't work. He tried to go thru the United Nations, but all the wanted to do was the same thing they'd been doing for over a decade. Give empty warnings to Iraq. Saddam had been committing atrocities for years in that country, and what did the UN do about it? Nothing. He was accumulating weapons of mass destruction. And it wasn't just the intelligence agency of America saying so. France and Britain and a host of other countries. So in my opinion, President Bush didn't have a choice in the matter. It was either address the issue, or sit back and do nothing until we had another Hitler on our hands.
As for Iran, I honestly can't understand how anyone in this world could fault us for taking an aggressive stance with them. Who could possibly think that a nuclear Iran wouldn't be dangerous? And besides, we've tried the diplomatic route by offering them aid, financial assistance, lifting trade embargos, etc etc. And yet their leader continues to spew rhetoric about how they have a right to nuclear power.
And lastly, I do agree with the people who've mentioned that America shouldn't be the world's police. But frankly, I don't see anybody else stepping up to the plate to do it.
About the Author
Name: Larry
Age: 36
State: Alabama
Gender: Male
Income: Medium
Occupation: Technical
Labels: 30's, alabama, iraq war, male, medium income, middle east policy, republican, technical, united nations