KaiserJeep wrote:Doubtless, that is why the USA is the wealthiest nation, with the highest average income of any large country, with a better environmental record than any other large country. That would also be why there is a long line of refugees trying to sneak over the border, and why we set the Russian and European teeth on edge.
GHung, if you are not a fan of this country we live in, understand that as a citizen of the USA you have the freedom to move elsewhere. Try doing that in Cuba or China or Vietnam or North Korea or Laos, the five places where they still revere the teachings of those two clueless idiots Karl Marx and Friedrich Engels.
But BOTH of you, onlooker and GHung, have what you have because you live in a country that has successfully practiced Capitalism for almost 250 years. You have a share of that wealth, and use the infrastructure created by that wealth, every day of your life. That would include the information network we are exchanging today's pleasentries on, a creation of the latest wave of the Industrial Revolution, the so-called Digital Age. BTW, that Digital Age also created five of the eight wealthiest people in the world, and enabled ME with my BSEE degree to earn about a million bucks in my career.
You see, I have a problem with people who not only don't appreciate what they have, but don't even acknowledge what they have, or understand it is because of where they live and Capitalism.
He was a financier, financial sector. Capitalists are financial sector too, in this sense.KaiserJeep wrote:You have an extraordinarily narrow definition of Capitalism. I believe that when the predecessor to the Silk Road was concieved of in the Bronze Age, that wealthy merchant who invested in camels and armed guards to protect his caravans between China and Europe, was a Capitalist.
The man who invented metallic coins as a symbol of wealth was a Capitalist.
No. In order to be a capitalist, your earnings should depend on the value of your capital rather than the value of your working time. Overall, the majority of small and even middle business owners are not capitalists, for this reason.Female baboons who trade sex for ripe fruit are Capitalists.
Capitalism - n. 1. The economic system in which all or most of the means of production and distribution, as land, factories, railroads, etc. are privately owned and operated for profit, originally under fully competitive conditions: it has generally been characterised by a tendancy towards concentration of wealth, and, in it's later phase, by the growth of great corporations, increased governmental control, etc.
2. The principles, methods, interest, power, influence, etc. of capitalists, especially of those with large holdings.
3. The state of being a capitalist.
KJ, it's one thing to be grateful for everything your country has given you but you it's another to be complacent. If you see your government growing warts you should voice your criticism. You should not be offended by citizens voicing criticism about warts they see. Criticism is not unpatriotic.KaiserJeep wrote:...I said that I have a problem with people criticising the USA, and that's a fact.GHung wrote:.... and I have a problem with Americans like you who don't understand our duty to challenge the system they are a part of when they feel it could be better....
I also served this country and think it is the finest in the world. You do not, you find criticism is warranted, and as you said, that is your right. So be critical all you want. Me, I'm grateful for what I have, and do tend to overlook the warts....
Civil Rights, and Civic Duties and ResponsibilitiesThe citizen should not be so blinded by patriotism that he is unable to face reality. The genuine patriot owes his duty to the country and not necessarily to its leaders. Therefore wrong is wrong, no matter who does it or says it. Criticism is not unpatriotic. We could do well always to remember the words of Mark Twain who said - “Patriotism is supporting your country all the time, and the government when it deserves it.”
The good citizen must always place his or her patriotism beyond the sphere of political affiliation because patriotism does not consist of putting our blind trust in anything that our political leaders tell us.
Patriotism: Criticism is not unpatrioticPatriotism, to me, is the ability to overcome despair or cynicism, to say “Yes, we’re not perfect, but we’re trying.” It’s easy to get cynical about our country and the way it’s being run (just look at the recent NSA wiretapping scandal). But patriotism is saying no to these feelings, believing in our ideals even when we don’t live up to them.
Does that mean we never criticize our nation or our government? No. In fact, patriots should be the most fervent of critics when it comes to the way their nation is being run. But this criticism comes from a place of hope, not one of despair. Patriots criticize because they know their nation can be better.
KJ said; ...." and things are improving slowly over time...."
KaiserJeep wrote:My argument has always been, there is no thing and no person to blame, unless you believe in a literal Mother Nature. We are what we are and we behave as we behave, because we evolved a set of instincts to do that.
mmasters wrote:So what do you propose, GHung, we come up with a system that mirrors your mom's nurturing? Sounds like Socialism.
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