So Boerd

State-Church Separation

Also, if you think Christmas trees are going to create a theocracy, you should also know that the government caused 9/11, never landed on the moon, and is spraying us with mind control agents. You would be right at home with Alex Jones and LaRouche.

State-Church Separation

Here is my proof, it's called a dictionary. Do I need to define for you "in the name of"? Mao's justification was Communism. The people believed in Communism, even if Mao did or did not. They died as a result of Mao pursuing, no matter how incorrectly, Communism. Communism came out of his mouth, Communism was what was in his head, Communism made him break an alliance with the Soviets because they were being bad Communists.

Now, with regard to Science and Religion. Religion gave people an incentive to be literate. Do you honestly believe that if the Germanic barbarians had remained Pagan, kept their oral tradition that we would have been any better? Ever hear of Cyrillic? The writing system of almost all of Eastern Europe? Made by a priest. A lingua franca for all scientists in Europe? Thank a Catholic Priest for making Latin universal. Printing press? Thank a protestant.

Cool thing I learned about Reagan

Eh, that's nothing like "We tried to conquer the world!" or "We surrendered in an hour and a half in WW2". It's the big historical screwups that cause people to lose patriotism. I read an article which postulates a theory that the best means of estimating patriotism and belief in exceptionalism in the developed world is fertility rate.

Fire Emblem Battle Royale

Does my lord start with E-skill?

Cool thing I learned about Reagan

We are a nation that is most commonly on the moral side of a war, we have only few enormous evils in our past, we have never really lost a war (1812 was a draw and we just got tired of Vietnam), we lead the Free World, and we are, at least very recently were, a place you could show up with a few bucks and make something of yourself. We are the most generous people. Why shouldn't we be proud?

State-Church Separation

Uh, whether he successfully implemented Communism is irrelevant. Those people who died died for Communism.

Regardless of your false assertions about tge Dark Ages, which are patently so, People do dumb thing in the name of all ideologies or doctrines.

What if your Congress thought sea levels were going to rise 20 in a decade? Or thought that killing all the academics was needed for the proletariat? Nobody is taking about establishing a state church, we are talking about things loke Christmas Trees and "Under God" in a voluntary pledge. If you think those things will cause a governmental collapse, you are silly.

Driver who killed teen now suing dead boy's family

I don't think MDK is advocating ignorance, I think he's advocating not trying this in the court of public opinion. However, since there's no jury and the case is in Canada, I feel no compunction in saying this woman is a clown.

Cool thing I learned about Reagan

Halo said
I understand the point you're making, but would also say that those individual actions of generosity only affect one's locale and their community. My point was that Americans seem to take enormous pride in as a whole, yet refuse to contribute to the of American society. Sure, they will help the guy next door, but the guy a couple of towns over, or a couple of states away, can go fuck themselves. And yet the pride lies in all of American society, not just in the locale they're willing to help.I realise that I'm making sweeping generalisations here, and that it is not nearly so black-and-white as I paint it - don't worry, I'm not implying all Americans are inherently selfish individuals. I'm just highlighting this self-contradicting trend I've seen: this enormous, unconquerable pride in the abstract idea of one's country and culture and society (as opposed to simply pride in one's local community), while simultaneously actually opposing even the existence of any cohesive, "American" society which is unified and works together as one thing. How can someone take have such a fervour in their pride in the whole, in "America", yet not really want "America" to exist, desire everything to exist on a local, disconnected, individualistic level? That's the contradiction that confuses me.EDIT: I think you sorta focused in on my single use of the word "socialist", which was regarding one specific example, and took that to be the basis of everything I said. It wasn't. I'm not talking about what the government does or does not do in regards to America and American society. I'm talking about the contradiction in the views of individuals - whether it is the government or some other body that allowed/encouraged the existence of a coherent, wider "American" society, as opposed to local community, is irrelevant to my point.

Americans help other Americans across the country and show solidarity with them all the time. Remember "Boston Strong"? Or the aftermath of 9/11? Sure we argue, but Americans are incredibly tight-knit when the going gets tough.

Cool thing I learned about Reagan

Actually, you've touched on an issue that is a totally unrelated topic, but a valid one. Why the hell do agencies like the EPA have SWAT teams?

Cool thing I learned about Reagan

Have a helpful quote

"Socialism, like the ancient ideas from which it springs, confuses the distinction between government and society. As a result of this, every time we object to a thing being done by government, the socialists conclude that we object to its being done at all.
We disapprove of state education. Then the socialists say that we are opposed to any education. We object to a state religion. Then the socialists say that we want no religion at all. We object to a state-enforced equality. Then they say that we are against equality. And so on, and so on. It is as if the socialists were to accuse us of not wanting persons to eat because we do not want the state to raise grain. "
~Friedrich Bastiat

Au Contraire, you'll find Americans to be the most generous people on the planet.

http://www.cnbc.com/id/101240935

What we are, or at least what my side of the aisle is against, is putting a gun to someone's head and taking their stuff.