The Root

[grannywils]

"Nice of you to bring up the quote seeing as that's my least favorite presidential quote of all time."

 

Marharth, the above statement was yours in reference to the Kennedy quote about asking not what your country could do for you but what you could do for your country. Could you please tell me why specifically this is your least favorite presidential quote of ALL time? I'm just curious.

[marharth]

"Nice of you to bring up the quote seeing as that's my least favorite presidential quote of all time."

 

Marharth, the above statement was yours in reference to the Kennedy quote about asking not what your country could do for you but what you could do for your country. Could you please tell me why specifically this is your least favorite presidential quote of ALL time? I'm just curious.

Its implying that people should work for their government, and the government should not work for the people.

[Aurielius]

"Nice of you to bring up the quote seeing as that's my least favorite presidential quote of all time."

 

Marharth, the above statement was yours in reference to the Kennedy quote about asking not what your country could do for you but what you could do for your country. Could you please tell me why specifically this is your least favorite presidential quote of ALL time? I'm just curious.

Its implying that people should work for their government, and the government should not work for the people.

Why am I not surprised that you are tone deaf to the lyrics of civic virtue. Just out of curiosity what is your contribution to society ?

[marharth]

"Nice of you to bring up the quote seeing as that's my least favorite presidential quote of all time."

 

Marharth, the above statement was yours in reference to the Kennedy quote about asking not what your country could do for you but what you could do for your country. Could you please tell me why specifically this is your least favorite presidential quote of ALL time? I'm just curious.

Its implying that people should work for their government, and the government should not work for the people.

Why am I not surprised that you are tone deaf to the lyrics of civic virtue. Just out of curiosity what is your contribution to society ?

What are yours?

 

Why does it matter? It really doesn't at all.

 

I have done volunteer work before, and I am very glad that it is called volunteer work.

 

 

I think people should help other people and help out there country, they should not be forced to do so.

[Aurielius]

"Nice of you to bring up the quote seeing as that's my least favorite presidential quote of all time."

 

Marharth, the above statement was yours in reference to the Kennedy quote about asking not what your country could do for you but what you could do for your country. Could you please tell me why specifically this is your least favorite presidential quote of ALL time? I'm just curious.

Its implying that people should work for their government, and the government should not work for the people.

Why am I not surprised that you are tone deaf to the lyrics of civic virtue. Just out of curiosity what is your contribution to society ?

What are yours?

 

Why does it matter? It really doesn't at all.

I have done volunteer work before, and I am very glad that it is called volunteer work.

I think people should help other people and help out there country, they should not be forced to do so.

You really should not go there, I have served my country for thirty years through three wars, volunteered my time with the disadvantaged, coached in the Special Olympics, take inner city children on outward bound adventures and see it as only a drop in the bucket. But reading you strains my concept of good will.

[marharth]

"Nice of you to bring up the quote seeing as that's my least favorite presidential quote of all time."

 

Marharth, the above statement was yours in reference to the Kennedy quote about asking not what your country could do for you but what you could do for your country. Could you please tell me why specifically this is your least favorite presidential quote of ALL time? I'm just curious.

Its implying that people should work for their government, and the government should not work for the people.

Why am I not surprised that you are tone deaf to the lyrics of civic virtue. Just out of curiosity what is your contribution to society ?

What are yours?

 

Why does it matter? It really doesn't at all.

I have done volunteer work before, and I am very glad that it is called volunteer work.

I think people should help other people and help out there country, they should not be forced to do so.

You really should not go there, I have served my country for thirty years through three wars, volunteered my time with the disadvantaged, coached in the Special Olympics, take inner city children on outward bound adventures and see it as only a drop in the bucket. But reading you strains my concept of good will.

I wasn't asking you to be offensive, sorry if that came off wrong.

 

I will tell you now that I am glad you volunteer so others would not be forced to do such things.

 

I am not saying people should not help there country, and I am not saying people should not help others. I am simply saying it should be a choice.

 

A program I could see working would be a government job system where unemployed would be paid for working in community service.

[Dicecaster]

Originally, marharth was making a joke about big trucks, so please don't post further about the subject as it's off-topic.

 

@martharth

Country =/= government. The country is the summation of the character and ideals that America (in this case) is meant to embody, along with its residents. The government is the entity meant to regulate its people, protect its borders from attackers, and handle relations to foreign nations.

 

Now, on the subject on foreign relations. It is not our business at all to participate in other countries' affairs without suitable invitation. War should only be entered if all diplomatic attempts have been exhausted. In fact, our dealings with other nations ought to be restrained to economic trade only.

 

Furthermore, the great plethora of laws must be repealed, because they restrict rightful freedoms. "Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual." -- Thomas Jefferson. Any laws designed to "keep us safe" (seatbelt laws being a good example), that restrict our actions, but do not encroach on the limits Mr. Jefferson mentioned, do nothing but infringe on our freedom.

 

I have more to say, but my mind is dizzied at the moment from taking in the whole thread at once.

[WizardOfAtlantis]

Let's read that again, shall we?

 

Furthermore, the great plethora of laws must be repealed, because they restrict rightful freedoms. "Rightful liberty is unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. I do not add 'within the limits of the law' because law is often but the tyrant's will, and always so when it violates the rights of the individual." -- Thomas Jefferson. Any laws designed to "keep us safe" (seatbelt laws being a good example), that restrict our actions, but do not encroach on the limits Mr. Jefferson mentioned, do nothing but infringe on our freedom.

 

 

In addition to this, which would facilitate and make more efficient life in general, we have to understand just how banks and banking are ruining the world. Banks are often at the root of modern evils. Subprime lending-caused housing crash economic upheaval? Hmm...caused by bankers, bankers who, I might add, haven't been held responsible in the slightest for their actions. They've even been bailed out! Bailed out?!

 

This was the tactic that was used when the last financial crisis was orchestrated some eighty years ago. The bankers are warring and dividing the spoils of the planet between them...between who's left after the latest "financial crisis" and the subsequent buyouts. "All Hail, J.P. Morgan". It will keep happening again and again, until enough of the right necks are stretched.

 

Corporations are people. In the eyes of the law, I mean, I don't know if you know that. The rights that were supposedly fought over in the Civil War (the 14th amendment, unless I'm mistaken) were appropriated by corporations soon after, and in the 40 following years after said war, some 30-ish times, cases were brought to federal courts over said rights, and I think the number was 4 times that said rights were fought over when it had to do with black people's rights. The rest of the cases were brought up over a corporation's rights.

 

So I say, if a corporation breaks a law, put it in jail. If it leads to the killing of people, give it the axe. And start including some of these bankers and CEO's in the deal, too.

 

All this goes back to the very first thing I reiterated in this post, too.http://www.thenexusforums.com/public/style_emoticons/dark/pirate.gif

[grannywils]

Csgators, I must thank you so much for this thread. I am just lovin' it. Aside from providing some extremely interesting debate, I am hearing some delightful conversation and getting some wonderful insight into many of my fellow Nexus posters. Can't say that all of it pleases me, but all of it deserves to be here, and I am happy to read everyone's posts. Thanks again. Great idea. :thumbsup:

[WizardOfAtlantis]

As for civic duty and its bearing on decision making, I am personally of two minds. There's an idea I would introduce (probably in another thread) but this is part of the here-and-now of it.

 

There certainly is a part of me that doesn't like forcing people to do anything because true knowledge comes from within. However, that is tempered by the inarguable fact that a great many people, especially in the West, are do-nothings for their entire lives and give back little to nothing, and I mean to include not only to their government in this but also to their neighborhood, community and/or society in general. The human race, even.

 

This is especially painful when this do-nothing thinks he or she has some "right" to criticize a situation that he or she hasn't helped to better (and usually doesn't have any plans to in the future, either). And don't anyone bring up Free Speech, because what I'm talking about goes beyond that caveat. There are things that go beyond even the pen-on-paper glory that is the Bill of Rights, things in today's world that are too often ephemeral (at best), like honor, human/personal dignity, etc. People can say whatever they want, sure, but it doesn't mean that what they say has any real weight or change the fact that they might very well have been better off keeping their traps shut in the first place (but more on that later).

 

A LOT of people want to criticize the US for what it's become, but how many are actually and actively doing anything about it? Voting doesn't count, either, imo, in and of itself. That takes nothing *and yet it is still more than what half of the US population is willing to give*. If you've put in your time or done your deeds, then talk away, I say. If not, then your lack of doing had better be accompanied by one helluva grand idea (because *real thinking* is doing) or else I can't honestly say that what you say is worth too much.

 

*I do recognize the ordering of consensus in the modern world, for our societal structure gives this consensus the possibility of throwing its weight around* Hence, the utility of talking on this forum, for example, or electronic political group-gathering to show politicians amassed consensus. However, opinions by themselves are nothingness. I think they should be accompanied by something...deeds, the grand merit of the idea itself, something, to give them weight, substance, because in and of themselves they are worthless and it doesn't matter if you're free to speak them. Not having real substance to what they say, most people would be better off keeping their mouths closed.

 

As the All-Father (Odin) instructed in the "The Sayings of Hár":

 

"For the unwise man who comes among men,

it is best that be he silent.

None know

that he knows nothing,

unless he should speak too much.

The man does not know it,

he who knows nothing,

whether he speaks too much."