tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345829316389593795.post9019052361429493879..comments2023-09-15T06:47:22.738-07:00Comments on Politalk: What Makes America Great?Unknownnoreply@blogger.comBlogger4125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345829316389593795.post-14540235002793244522016-02-07T17:34:34.083-08:002016-02-07T17:34:34.083-08:00I guess its akin to school "spirit"I guess its akin to school "spirit"<br />Brendan O'Connellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05646730512740306538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345829316389593795.post-29139233662944556982010-07-07T15:49:00.600-07:002010-07-07T15:49:00.600-07:00So you're saying that America is great because...So you're saying that America is great because its patriots don't polarise themselves behind blind ideological positions? To a certain extent I agree with you: the intent of the Founding Fathers, as far as I can tell, was to set up a government based on truly pluralistic principles -- a government in which political parties and concentrations of power were actively discouraged and the passage of legislation was intentionally encumbered to give legislation the due debate required. And yes, I agree that blind adherence to any one particular ideological line is counter-productive as theory doesn't necessarily match actuality.<br /><br />However, whether these founding principles have manifested themselves as reality 200 years later is an entirely different issue; as far as I can see, we now have an America of two very ideologically distinct halves, an America that is just as ideologically polarised as any other western democracy.<br /><br />You yourself have set up a blog explicitly for the purpose of hawking your (very ideological) right wing stances -- does this make you unpatriotic? You've even gone so far as to co-opt Nietzsche as a blue-in-the-blood conservative. Are you trying to say 'America would be great if everyone looked at things logically instead of parroting right/left wing talking points' or 'America is great because, on the whole, people don't dogmatically follow ideology and base their reasoning on logic and sound arguments'? I still don't know what you mean by 'the mind/spirt of America'. Are you simply saying that America is great because of some fundamental sense of 'american-ness" that everyone shares? 'Cause that's a bit wishy-washy.Paddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08017698174793271613noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345829316389593795.post-52228095108702344432010-06-22T19:52:06.061-07:002010-06-22T19:52:06.061-07:00the point is what makes america great is the mind/...the point is what makes america great is the mind/spirit of america, and we must follow that as opposed to ideology to be true patriots.Brendan O'Connellhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/05646730512740306538noreply@blogger.comtag:blogger.com,1999:blog-5345829316389593795.post-76948862678435762852010-06-10T12:35:37.864-07:002010-06-10T12:35:37.864-07:00Erm, so your point is that America is great? The l...Erm, so your point is that America is great? The link between your initial question and your subsequent argument is tenuous even for you. I may have missed out on something, but I just don't understand what you're trying to get at.Paddyhttps://www.blogger.com/profile/08017698174793271613noreply@blogger.com