I bet you need a big whoop to jump through?

Since when is the greatness of a nation dependent on their ability to invade other nations??

I support our military 100% for obvious reasons. However I personally think we need to cut our military spending down SIGNIFICANTLY because in todays day and age it isnt necessary as long as reasonable foreign policy decisions are made.

Certainly you need a strong military...But we outspend the next closest nation by almost 10-1.

Canada is a great nation, just because we are stronger militarily than them doesn't mean anything. Im a 26 year old former Marine who is trained in Jiu Jitsu and amateur boxing....just because I PROBABLY (im sure some of you could take me) could beat up most of the people on these boards does that make me somehow better than any of you??

Of course not.

Same thing applies to world affairs and foreign policy.

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"The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments"

--George Washington

"Never spend your money before you have earned it."

--Thomas Jefferson

"One man with courage is a majority."

--Thomas Jefferson

I'm not making a personal judgment, but the answer is "always." The opposite is actually the new idea.

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You don't have to pretend to like someone just because you are voting for him.

I disagree. I do agree that most of the time we equate greatness with military power. But there are examples where that is not the case. The one I can think of easily off the top of my head is athenian greece. We consider them to have been a great society, but that was because of their culture. They never were a global or even regional military power.

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R.I.P. Molly, I miss you every day!!

Im a Tarte, what! you want some of this?


To argue with a person who has renounced the use of reason is like administering medicine to the dead. Thomas Paine

No you are right here....I worded what I was trying to say incorrectly.

Throughout history those with the mightiest military are generally referred to as the greatest or most powerful nations. There are only really a couple of exceptions to that rule.

What I should have said is that quite frankly I think its ridiculous that the greatness of a nation should have anything to do with its military.

A military is a great thing, however it is great because it is there to protect the citizens of that nation. Certainly if yo have a great military it is something to be proud of.

But I can think of plenty of other things to be even more proud of.

__________________
"The marvel of all history is the patience with which men and women submit to burdens unnecessarily laid upon them by their governments"

--George Washington

"Never spend your money before you have earned it."

--Thomas Jefferson

"One man with courage is a majority."

--Thomas Jefferson

caution-this-is-sparta.jpg
This is Sparta.

The problem I have with the US is not with the people or culture. Most American's that I have come across in my day-to-day life are fine people - generous, friendly and high spirited. There are of course individual exceptions to this general rule, but this is not something exclusive to America. No, the problem I have, as many of us Europeans have, is with America's foreign policy, particularly in relation to the middle-east. The principles as enshrined within the US Declaration of Independence as articulated by the wonderful Founding Fathers of your once great nation is something worth fighting for and defending.

This is a progressive forward thinking ethos which nevertheless has been at odds during certain moments in your history - Jim Crow and Mcarthyism for example. Moments such as these represented major set backs. I am afraid to say that the legacy of Bush will go down in history as yet another example of a set back of the type of which will have the Founding Fathers turning in their graves and that makes me feel rather sad.

On this site I have regularly been labelled as an anti-American. Nothing could be further from the truth. The reality is that I am anti what America has become. It is for this reason that I would feel compelled - if I were a US citizen - to do all I could to stand up and reclaim the country in the tradition of some of your great forefathers of old. This is the same spirit that saw off Jim Crow and Mcarthyism, the same spirit that rocked Ohio, the same spirit of Martin Luther King and JFK. Yes, America was a great nation and can be again, which is why I want to be rid of the insular mindsets and racist bigotries that typify many of the attitudes of people on this site.

It is precisely the fighting spirit of progressive American's in the past that have been responsible for pushing the country forward politically and socially - attributes that many on this site who claim to profess their love for their country - sadly seem to want to repeal.

I concur!!!!

Holy crap! you made sense!

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You don't have to pretend to like someone just because you are voting for him.

I honestly believe that in spite of your good intentions (and I DO believe you are trying to help and that you DO care), the actions that you want us to take will only harm us.

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You don't have to pretend to like someone just because you are voting for him.