Happy 4th of July!
“I disagree with what you say, but I’ll defend to the death your right to say it.“
-Voltaire
Independence Day means different things to different people. For some, its a day to barbecue, watch some fireworks, drink some beer, and enjoy time with friends. For some its the name of a old Will Smith movie about aliens.
For others, its a day to remember why we wake up in foreign lands, put on a dusty uniform, and go out to keep doing what we do, to remember those who have come before us, and fought the first fight.
When those men took the field of battle, they had no guarantee of payment for their tolls and bravery, or even if the country they were trying to create would come to pass, or be snuffed out overnight. But they fought just the same, and won, helping to forge this country into something they could be proud of, and call their own.
And sadly, someone has me fired up enough…to rant.
The United States, its not perfect. But for those out there who believe we are not independent, and the government is evil and out to get you…please remember, you have the right to leave, and go live somewhere else. No one is going to stop you. Seriously. Hell, I’ll help you pack.
I don’t think anyone who has ever really seen how people live in other parts of the world, places where freedom is only a word, and and you live your life with a gun to your head, where the wrong word, gesture, or look could end with a bullet in your head, could say we are not independent.
I welcome anyone to debate me on this, and prove me wrong if you can.
Last 10 posts by Outlawe
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July 6th, 2008 at 10:36 am
I will not argue with you, brave warrior. Instead, I will wholeheartedly agree with you! And while I’m at it, allow me to THANK YOU for your service to this great nation, for it is people like you who make this nation great.
Oh, and did I mention thank you? Oh, and thank you.
Surf Wisely!
-dolst
July 6th, 2008 at 2:10 pm
if by “government is evil and out to get you” means individuals and organizations are using the united states government to promote their own agendas at the price of freedom. then yeah I think the gov. is out to get you. silent obedience is a great step towards fascism, quite anti-American. America was founded by individuals who disliked the government, and built a system to question it, and change it, from making slavery illegal, to women’s suffrage. america was made by people who “didn’t like it, and packed their bags” came to america, and then K. George tried to exploit them from across the sea.
July 6th, 2008 at 5:14 pm
I agree with you 100%, so I’m just posting to show my support for your position, and for you and your comrades overseas. Thank you so much for keeping us safe!
July 14th, 2008 at 8:55 am
First, hooah.
Second, the government, per se, isn’t out to get anyone. The government is a large collection of individuals. A significant minority of those individuals enter government service to advance their own interests at the expense of those around them. That’s just basic ‘human’ at work. People being people. That’s also why our government was split apart to an almost paranoid degree, at the time. No one group could control the others, the idea being that even *if* you get a bunch of self-serving folks in one or more branches, their interests won’t align with each other, and the infighting will prevent anything major from happening.
Nowadays, it’s not really much like that any more. And people who decide to campaign for office for the purpose of advancing their own interests can generally expect to be able to do so, if they get elected. The checks and balances are still there, but they’ve worn down over time and gradually more people get into positions of power with self-serving ideals that they can agree to advance.
Is the government out to get (person X)? Nah. Are (persons P, Q, and R) who happen to be in the government, out to get (person X)?
Prob’ly so, prob’ly so.
Being responsible for one’s self and distrusting people who claim to do things ‘for the greater good’ is a lot more in line with the original ideals of the country than ’shaddup and do as you’re told, they know better’.
…and I did 5 years for the greater good myself
(never spent time in Iraq, though. More power to ya.)
July 18th, 2008 at 10:21 am
I don’t see what’s wrong with loving the freedom we’re given by our country, but still wanting to improve it. I think a lot of the elements of ‘freedom of speech’ and ‘liberty’ that we claim to have so much of are gradually being eroded away in the name of national security; our right to a fair trial (or the right to a trial at all, in the case of Guantanamo Bay and similar places) and our right to privacy, to name a few.
You don’t have to wholeheartedly agree with everything a government does to want to live in the country it governs, and just because a place is better than most other places doesn’t necessarily mean it’s perfect, or even good. We have to keep making it good, and making sure no-one can take that good away from us doesn’t just mean fighting off anyone who disagrees. The protection of liberty isn’t just done through war.
It’s not just a case of “if you like it so much, why don’t you go live there”. The USA is better than most places, but not by a lot, and not for much longer if you don’t keep your eye on it.
That’s my opinion, anyway.
July 18th, 2008 at 10:28 am
I’m sorry, I just re-read your original post and realised what I sounded like. I’m not belittling the sacrifice made by the soldiers who go out every day and risk their lives, I’m just saying that offering criticism in order to improve something doesn’t necessarily mean condemning it totally. You guys do an incredible job at something most of us could never do, and nothing will change that. It’s just not the only way, that’s all.
August 6th, 2008 at 2:27 pm
My father would be pissed at all the, if you don’t like it, leave, responses people have had. He was a Marine for 15 years. He would always tell me that one of the most important things that our military fights for is the right of us, as a people, to insist on a good government, to insist on being told the truth, to complain when something is wrong, and get it changes. No, not the right, but the DUTY. When something is wrong with our glorious country, we as a people have a DUTY to point it out, to yell and scream and demonstrate to make it right. If we fail in that duty, THEN we have no right to call ourselves Americans.
August 6th, 2008 at 3:00 pm
I agree with your father, alexander. Whenever the government becomes too bloated, too cancerous, too corrupted to serve in our best interests, it’s time to surgically remove the diseased parts of it so that we can go back to a state of health. That was the sentiment of the founding fathers.
I’m proud of the state of Texas, because our Texas Department of Transportation has become increasingly, terrifyingly corrupt over the years… and guess what? We’re now “reorganizing” them (i.e. politically castrating the bastards).
August 8th, 2008 at 10:42 pm
Y’know, whenever I hear about all the supposed evils of the US, I can’t help but think of the brief time I spent in Bangladesh. It’s a desperately poor, conservative Muslim country, and although I loved the time I spent there, the differences were stark.
Anyway, maybe I’m just complacent, or comparing oranges to apples, but when people start complaining about this or that wrong with America, I can’t help but think back to Bangladesh, and thank God for–despite our country’s imperfections–how good I really have it.