A Facebook friend of mine told me tonight our friends in Australia are not as freedom loving as are we Americans.
All I can say is... *facepalm*
He said the same of Britain and Japan as well. None of them understand freedom like we do.
One of the reasons he offered? Because Australia was once a penal colony. LoL! Of all the silly-ass notions!
I absolutely despise the "we're number one!" mentality! Hate it! Nationalistic jingoism, at its worst, is nearly as ugly as fascism. Some would argue they are one in the same, and I would be hard-pressed to debate that suggestion.
Sure, we're number one in a lot of things of which we should hang our heads in shame... like the largest prison population in the world, for example; the most gun deaths; the most mass murders stemming from assault-style weapons; one of the most expensive health care systems; a military budget larger than the rest of the world combined.
So, yeah, we're number one... just not in categories which we can pridefully claim as a leader of the free world. I love our country as much as anyone, but calling out deficiencies is not blasphemy.
I absolutely despise the "we're number one!" mentality! Hate it! Nationalistic jingoism, at its worst, is nearly as ugly as fascism. Some would argue they are one in the same, and I would be hard-pressed to debate that suggestion.
Right-wingers love to say "facts are facts," so here are some inconvenient little nuggets right-wing conservatives conveniently leave out when they beat their chests as they wail "we're number one!"
Sure, we're number one in a lot of things of which we should hang our heads in shame... like the largest prison population in the world, for example; the most gun deaths; the most mass murders stemming from assault-style weapons; one of the most expensive health care systems; a military budget larger than the rest of the world combined.
So, yeah, we're number one... just not in categories which we can pridefully claim as a leader of the free world. I love our country as much as anyone, but calling out deficiencies is not blasphemy.
The old "America: Love it or leave it" crowd blather on and on (harsh, I know), but anyone willing to sit down and rationally discuss "the issues and the facts" and who are willing to listen to both sides of the argument are the ones who will affect a change of the gun legislation conversation of which our leaders lack the courage to do themselves.
Freedom loving? Yes, the Australians are a freedom loving people, the Japanese and British people too, They all live relatively free from the fear of the gun violence plaguing this nation; they are a freedom loving people free of the fear of a madman entering their schools or malls or churches. And the Aussies, the Brits, and the Japanese are a freedom loving people who have rejected the madness we seem unable--or unwilling--to break.
Freedom loving? Yes, the Australians are a freedom loving people, the Japanese and British people too, They all live relatively free from the fear of the gun violence plaguing this nation; they are a freedom loving people free of the fear of a madman entering their schools or malls or churches. And the Aussies, the Brits, and the Japanese are a freedom loving people who have rejected the madness we seem unable--or unwilling--to break.
If only our nation's leaders cared about our people as much as many other governments do theirs.
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