Friday, May 5, 2017

Do We Want To Have a Country?

Who are we as a people?

Do we want to live as individuals, grasping for power and wealth, unconcerned about anyone or anything unless it touches us directly?

Do we want to have a country?

The Several States
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Join,_or_Die
Where is the melting pot?  We brought our troubles to these shores and, yearning to breathe free, we became Americans, of various origins and ethnicities, to be sure, but Americans above all.  The several states, founded by Quakers and Pilgrims and the Dutch and the English, agreed in 1776 to unite despite those differences.  Those were serious differences, you're going to Hell kind of differences, but the notion of a country was, ultimately, an idea worthy of preservation.

It wasn't an easy conversation.  Families were divided, friendships were ended. But the conversation itself, The Federalist Papers, Thomas Paine's Common Sense, was fascinating.

This is an important conversation, one that we need to have, as a nation, from time to time.  It takes a major stressor to engage us, something like Joseph McCarthy or Kent State or 9/11 or the election of Donald Trump.  It's painful and it's necessary and it seems to be inevitable.
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3 comments:

  1. Rain TrueaxMay 5, 2017 at 7:11 AM

    To me the question today is globalism or nationalism. Many don't want anybody to have a country but for to be a one world government, run by I am not sure who, but with no borders. It's an interesting time, to say the least.

    If you haven't seen it recently, watch 1776 as it's a reminder that our divisions within the US are not new. Not sure there are solutions for them either as somebody wins/somebody loses-- and then it starts all over again. :(

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    Replies
    1. Ashleigh BurroughsMay 5, 2017 at 8:33 AM

      Defining oneself as an individual within an ever enlarging space is an interesting dilemma, whether it's a nation dealing with globalism or a human dealing with a less homogenous home town. Scary stuff, at times, and that makes people antsy
      a/b

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    2. Rain TrueaxMay 8, 2017 at 10:04 AM

      it does and then leads to anger as fear takes over. I think some are more vulnerable in the current situation-- those where jobs aren't easily gained or depending on pensions from government where the money is being threatened. And then all the news that is set up to make people afraid as a way to gain power for someone.

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