is jesus christ being sworn in today?

dunkman

soulsinging wrote:

The point was that America takes the "poor huddled masses" your countries won't. Sue us. I love the hypocrisy of you saying America can't call itself the greatest while you demean Uzhbekistan and Zimbabwe as being shit countries full of poor peasants. And WE are the arrogant ones.

the winky.. no one ever sees the winky that one... its called taking the piss.. the thread was on the AET... its been moved to the MT... i will remove anything remotely touching on satire.

soulsinging wrote:

I also admire your shameless openness about ducking and running the second the shakiness of your views is challenged and exposed. It is clear you have thought these arguments through almost as well as the people that claim America is the best and mean it.

thats your opinion.. its incorrect though.

josevolution

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cheesesteak

or this ...you can't have these in EUROPE ..

dunkman

The Jeagler wrote:

but when i say my country is the greatest, you will no doubt disagree with me. so what's the difference man???? who cares? i love my country. a man i didnt vote for got sworn in as our 44th president and im still feeling pretty damn patriotic. its a great feeling... GOD BLESS IT!

i dont think any country is the greatest.

enjoy your inauguration though folks

The Juggler

dunkman wrote:

The Jeagler wrote:

but when i say my country is the greatest, you will no doubt disagree with me. so what's the difference man???? who cares? i love my country. a man i didnt vote for got sworn in as our 44th president and im still feeling pretty damn patriotic. its a great feeling... GOD BLESS IT!

i dont think any country is the greatest.

enjoy your inauguration though folks

we did/are thank you.

Sludge Factory

dunkman wrote:

The Jeagler wrote:

but the jeagler will leave you with this...despite all its flaws, yes i do believe this is the greatest country in the world. there is a reason millions of immigrants flock here instead of scotland...or norway (legally or illegally) each year.

USA! USA!

cheap drugs?

i dont believe it is, but i'd be interested in hearing why you think it is? what has it got no other countries have?

do you have free healthcare, dental care and eyecare? do you have free education from age 5 right up until university? do you have a macho 70mph speed limit instead of some poofy 55mph? that'll be a no then?

The interstate speed limit in North Dakota is 75 and it is 70 in Minnesota. I can see what you mean though...those Minnesotan's are far inferior!

decides2dream

dunkman wrote:

decides2dream wrote:

dunky....i personally think you are purposefully being obtuse on the topic. there is nothing to 'prove'...it is a feeling, a belief, whatever...that some people may have. it is not based on immigration stats or any such thing, just a pride of place, etc. i am not saying it is my personal belief, but i do know people who say things like the 'greatest country on earth'...and yes, i believe they mean it...and really, it has NADA to do with stats or such, just a feeling of loving where they come from, etc. it may not be how you or i would choose to express ourselves, but really...it's not an 'argument' to be had seriously. :P


almost like saying pearl jam is the greatest band, etc.

but as Jeagles said... if i said Scotland was the greatest country in the world .. he'd not give a shit, but he'd think i was incorrect.. as i reckon the majority of americans on this forum would say to me.. a lot, and its futile to deny this, would mock anyone else saying they lived in the greatest country in the world.. but thats just ignorance i suppose.

whether one would mock, or not, isn't even the point...is it?
i don't give a shit either, and i would not mock...or if i did so, it would be purely for comical effect :P , and not for serious discussion. whether one thinks the personal assessment is incorrect or not really doesn't matter....and to me, that's the point. it may be misguided pride, but it is simply pride and not to the exclusion of others being blessed or thinking their country is great, etc. i think ignorance knows no national boundaries.

Yellow Ledbelly

So many seem to believe we are all going to wake up in a new world tomorrow and so many are going to be so sorely disappointed. I truly hope Obama does good things and makes the world and this country a better place, but I foresee no great "change" on the horizon except for who will be living in the White House. Obama never really explained what kind of change he was going to bring did he? Maybe that was all he meant.

But the media is outrageous. On msn.com today there was a story that said, nearly word for word, this:
Barack Obama was sworn in as the 44th Pres. of the USA this afternoon, banshing forever 200 years of history during which the presidency was passed from white hands to white hands.

Seriously? Nothing that happened before counts now? It is all banished? Wow!
I couldn't find the story when i went to look for the link to post, but the same headline was there with a different lead on it...I wonder...

dunkman

in keeping with the thread question.. at least if Obama is Jesus reincarnate he can say "Dad blesses America"...

Heineken Helen

decides2dream wrote:

no, it isn't...not at all.


in regards to christian americans, ARE only christian americans the only people to utter that phrase? i live here and i don't even know that. beyond that, i can say my mother - a catholic - certainly does NOT exclude other people of the world from her blessing. it's just a patriotic thing. sheesh. seriously, you are taking something personally that isn't meant for you, isn't personal.


when i say 'bless you' to someone when they sneeze, by default does NOT mean i don't want anyone else blessed. :roll:

YES, Christian americans are the only ones to utter the phrase 'god bless america' when I was a kid and said my prayers before going to bed it was 'god bless mammy, god bless daddy, god bless my sister and brother, god bless *insert aunt/uncle name here* and I named EVERYONE I knew but never did I say 'and god... please bless Ireland' that's just retarded... and I'm about as patriotic as you can get... and I was brought up religious so I know to ask god to bless an entire COUNTRY is just stupid. It certainly IS a patriotic thing. Here we have a few Americans listening to people from outside telling them what THEY feel are ignorant statements and being told they're wrong.

soulsinging

Heineken Helen wrote:

YES, Christian americans are the only ones to utter the phrase 'god bless america' when I was a kid and said my prayers before going to bed it was 'god bless mammy, god bless daddy, god bless my sister and brother, god bless *insert aunt/uncle name here* and I named EVERYONE I knew but never did I say 'and god... please bless Ireland' that's just retarded... and I'm about as patriotic as you can get... and I was brought up religious so I know to ask god to bless an entire COUNTRY is just stupid. It certainly IS a patriotic thing. Here we have a few Americans listening to people from outside telling them what THEY feel are ignorant statements and being told they're wrong.

Such irony. WE are ignorant... yet your first sentence is to claim that you know for a fact Christian Americans are the only ones to utter that phrase. You're wrong. It's said by many who are not religious. that phrase has become secular, just like the whole Santa Clause-Christmas thing.

You're entitled to say it's in poor taste or arrogant or whatever, but there is nothing ignorant about it. And I won't say you're wrong, but I will say you're overreacting. It's a meaningless, harmless phrase with as much religion meaning as "God bless you" after someone sneezes.

Bubba

Damn Jeags...I never thought I would agree with you, but alas, here we are. I feel the same way, it's like everyone believes just because Pres. Obama is in the White House, all our troubles are over. Like the email I received the other day telling me what a wonderful amazing person he is because he wrote a letter to his children telling them all the best things that he wants for his children...like no other father has ever wanted that for their children.....people acted like "OMG...he is the first person ever to want nothing but the best for their children....OMG he's amazing......" I mean c'mon, yes he is a great public speaker and he has a huge following of actors, actresses, Hollywood types and millions of people who were looking for anything anti-GOP they could get their hands on following and backing him, but this is the Presidency of the US......like someone else said, let's let him govern for a day or two before we anoint him the greatest President in the history of the US.

Heineken Helen

soulsinging wrote:

Heineken Helen wrote:

YES, Christian americans are the only ones to utter the phrase 'god bless america' when I was a kid and said my prayers before going to bed it was 'god bless mammy, god bless daddy, god bless my sister and brother, god bless *insert aunt/uncle name here* and I named EVERYONE I knew but never did I say 'and god... please bless Ireland' that's just retarded... and I'm about as patriotic as you can get... and I was brought up religious so I know to ask god to bless an entire COUNTRY is just stupid. It certainly IS a patriotic thing. Here we have a few Americans listening to people from outside telling them what THEY feel are ignorant statements and being told they're wrong.

Such irony. WE are ignorant... yet your first sentence is to claim that you know for a fact Christian Americans are the only ones to utter that phrase. You're wrong. It's said by many who are not religious. that phrase has become secular, just like the whole Santa Clause-Christmas thing.

You're entitled to say it's in poor taste or arrogant or whatever, but there is nothing ignorant about it. And I won't say you're wrong, but I will say you're overreacting. It's a meaningless, harmless phrase with as much religion meaning as "God bless you" after someone sneezes.

that was a joke... what i meant was... you won't find someone in Bratislava going 'god bless america' :roll: I thought it was pretty simple... but maybe I should have made it simpler?

soulsinging

Heineken Helen wrote:

that was a joke... what i meant was... you won't find someone in Bratislava going 'god bless america' :roll: I thought it was pretty simple... but maybe I should have made it simpler?

Don't they say "God save the Queen" in England?

catefrances

soulsinging wrote:

Such irony. WE are ignorant... yet your first sentence is to claim that you know for a fact Christian Americans are the only ones to utter that phrase. You're wrong. It's said by many who are not religious. that phrase has become secular, just like the whole Santa Clause-Christmas thing.

You're entitled to say it's in poor taste or arrogant or whatever, but there is nothing ignorant about it. And I won't say you're wrong, but I will say you're overreacting. It's a meaningless, harmless phrase with as much religion meaning as "God bless you" after someone sneezes.

but why is this so? why would someone who is not religious even utter the phrase "god bless whatever". and for fucks sake please dont bless me when i sneeze. i dont appreciate it.

Heineken Helen

soulsinging wrote:

Heineken Helen wrote:

that was a joke... what i meant was... you won't find someone in Bratislava going 'god bless america' :roll: I thought it was pretty simple... but maybe I should have made it simpler?

Don't they say "God save the Queen" in England?

Yep, but they don't say it in Bratislava besides, as hated as God save the queen is pretty much everywhere, I get the impression it's not much liked in England either :roll: and they certainly don't go around SAYING it

Heineken Helen

catefrances wrote:

soulsinging wrote:

Such irony. WE are ignorant... yet your first sentence is to claim that you know for a fact Christian Americans are the only ones to utter that phrase. You're wrong. It's said by many who are not religious. that phrase has become secular, just like the whole Santa Clause-Christmas thing.

You're entitled to say it's in poor taste or arrogant or whatever, but there is nothing ignorant about it. And I won't say you're wrong, but I will say you're overreacting. It's a meaningless, harmless phrase with as much religion meaning as "God bless you" after someone sneezes.

but why is this so? why would someone who is not religious even utter the phrase "god bless whatever". and for fucks sake please dont bless me when i sneeze. i dont appreciate it.

It's not for YOU... I say it to anyone who sneezes so they won't be possessed by the devil and kill ME.

soulsinging

catefrances wrote:

soulsinging wrote:

Such irony. WE are ignorant... yet your first sentence is to claim that you know for a fact Christian Americans are the only ones to utter that phrase. You're wrong. It's said by many who are not religious. that phrase has become secular, just like the whole Santa Clause-Christmas thing.

You're entitled to say it's in poor taste or arrogant or whatever, but there is nothing ignorant about it. And I won't say you're wrong, but I will say you're overreacting. It's a meaningless, harmless phrase with as much religion meaning as "God bless you" after someone sneezes.

but why is this so? why would someone who is not religious even utter the phrase "god bless whatever". and for fucks sake please dont bless me when i sneeze. i dont appreciate it.

Why do people say things like "fiddle sticks"? There's no rhyme, reason, or logic to cultural idioms. If you dissect any given folk saying or phrase, they're all going to sound odd or illogical.

soulsinging

Heineken Helen wrote:

soulsinging wrote:

Heineken Helen wrote:

that was a joke... what i meant was... you won't find someone in Bratislava going 'god bless america' :roll: I thought it was pretty simple... but maybe I should have made it simpler?

Don't they say "God save the Queen" in England?

Yep, but they don't say it in Bratislava besides, as hated as God save the queen is pretty much everywhere, I get the impression it's not much liked in England either :roll: and they certainly don't go around SAYING it

What the hell does Bratislava have to do with anything? Where did anyone here claim they say 'God bless America' outside America?

The point being, popular or not (and I'm guessing it's unpopularity is a recent generational development), it is simply a saying, a cultural idiom. It's not a true religious expression, even if it was derived from one. Thus, god bless America/the Queen does not literally mean the omniscient God or Jesus should bless the queen or american and nothing or no one else. It simply means "boy this place is great, best of luck to us all!"

But I suspect you and dunk and the rest all know this and are simply clinging purposefully to this for the sake begging an argument.

Heineken Helen

soulsinging wrote:

But I suspect you and dunk and the rest all know this and are simply clinging purposefully to this for the sake begging an argument.

ok then, good for you

kenny olav

soulsinging wrote:

It's a meaningless, harmless phrase with as much religion meaning as "God bless you" after someone sneezes.

I don't buy that. It's become trite, but not meaningless. I don't see any other way to read it than as a statement that America is more important to "God" than other countries are. God Bless America, and any other country is an afterthought. It's really silly.


I find myself agreeing with, I think, all of dunkman's posts. Patriotism should not be a slogan, but a way of life. What it means to me is basically helping out your neighbor and anyone you find that needs a helping hand, building community, and making sure no one ever gets royally fucked over. America used to be good at these things.

Here's an example of the lack of patriotism I find around me. When I park my car and walk a 1/2 mile to where I work (better than paying $11 to park near my building), there is a long stretch of road on which there are no buildings on either side of me. It's clear that I'm walking towards the end of this road, and despite the fact that many cars drive past me, and the temperature has been below the freezing point lately with crazy wind chills, no one ever stops to ask if I need a ride, even just to the end of the road. Maybe it's just because it's Boston. I have a feeling that if I were in the south or midwest, I'd get a ride nearly every day. At least I'm not in NYC, where the cars would probably beep at me to get out of the road even though there's several inches of snow on each side of the road. My point is patriotism is what you do for others not what you say.