Sacred Spirit - Stop the Rain Altan - The waves of Gola David Arkenstone - Jewels of the Night Adiemus - Kayama + exactly 100 more chillout songs
As was mentioned by Xev, AIDS can be gotten by anyone with unprotected sex. It knows no boundaries and no politics. In unprotected sex you share with your partners those of 10 to 15 years ago who were partners, because the disease stays in the system once infected. I think that many of the American bashers are guilty of tunnel vision and if they truely knew what their own governments were capable of if would be a different matter. No one can help the blind...
better late than never RE: My patriotism The good feelings I feel for America always seem to be tinged by the bad. I love the variety and beauty of the land and the ingenuity and beauty of the people. Where else could my baby cousin, a "racial" mixture of Mexican, black, French, Irish, and native American, grow surrounded by people who love him, not hated for some aspect of "race." I love the fact that my Irish ancestors came here and were able to live more freely than in Ireland. But I hate the fact that those same Irish ancestors were labeled with the never-ending labels given to immigrants (lazy, have too many children, dirty, stingy, uneducated, etc.) and I hate the fact that my Navaho ancestors were driven like cattle onto government designated lands. I hate the fact that this "democracy" was built on the backs of slaves, on the lands of slaughtered natives, and continues to rise on the backs of the poor and enslaved in other countries. RE: The British Thor, The US learned its colonizing ways and arrogance from the British Empire. No matter how rebellious those original colonists were, they were still British, and those British colonists are the ones who set up most of the standards (good and bad) for this country. Oh yeah, the British "gave" back Ireland and India, only after a few revolts and massacres, and only after infecting the natives with the British sense of superiority (white/English-speaking=good, brown/non-English-speaking=bad). Oh wait, isn't part of Ireland still part of the British empire.... Americans must accept responsiblity (i.e. use the guilt they feel to find ways for exploitation to stop) for their exploitation of others and the human results of that exploitation, just as the British should take responsibility for their past exploitation of conquered peoples. (Exploitation, I might add, which the British are still reaping the benefits--and curses--of.) RE: Burning the Flag Why is burning a flag any worse than flying it from the side of your car until it is torn into tatters or thrown about in the dirty street and run over by the wheels of other cars? I find that much more unpatriotic than burning the flag...using a patriotic symbol as some plastic logo for pseudo-patriotism. I was so pissed off at all the stupid little flags flying on people's cars after 9/11 because I thought "I wonder how many of these people even voted in the last election." The US flag is no longer a symbol of freedom (except for perhaps the freedom to be "consumers" instead of "citizens"), it is a symbol, for much of the world, anyway, of colonialism and rampant greed. When I was little I believed what they told me. I adored Betsy Ross. I even wanted to make a dress out of a flag, until my mother introduced me to the wonderful world of politics by saying that by doing that I would be dishonoring the flag (like that 'hippy' Abbie Hoffman did by wearing his flag shirt). The flag has become a soiled symbol in too short a time. Joeman: "As long as the foreign policy of the politicians work for American's best interest, they should be supported 100%. Always. Questioning their effort would be unpatriotic." Questioning their effort would be a part of the democratic process, a process we have all but forgotten. This is where my patriotism/idealism really comes in: I believe the Revolution was fought not to make America wealthier, but to create that great experiment of democracy that all the world waited with bated breath to see the outcome (bad paraphrase of Tocqueville). I hate to say it, but from where I sit (hick-USA, and listening/reading comments like those from Joeman) the experiment has failed. XEV "when you are in power, everyone hates you." When you use your power as a bully, that is when everyone hates you. "I am too, and from what I've observed, its more of a request to God than a statement "God blesses America". " Where I live (Bakersfield--Buck Owen's country) I feel like they are somehow giving an order "God BLESS america."
Re: better late than never Most people bought flags after 9/11 because they care. Not voting doesn't mean unpatriotic. Abstaining is perfectly okay under democracy. There were no good candidates last election. Gore lost. Get over it. I am not too sure if US flags has ever been a symbol of freedom. It is a symbol of 50 states and orginal 13 colonies. But your part about colonialism and rampant greed is totally your unpatriotic opinion. US never participated in colonialism. Bullshit. Communicate is the word. You question congressmen's effort every 2 years, president's every 4 years, and senators every 6 years. When an election is over, you have to support the elected candidate 100%. Bashing and whining has to stop. If you don't like the politician, you have your chance to vote them out. That is democratic process. Questioning their effort, especially during war time is unpatriotic. BTW, I am not a hick by any means. Not even close. So if someone is not unpatriotic then the person is automatcally a hick? You give California liberals a bad name. Not a bad post if you can drop your self-rightous tone, since under democracy everyone is entitled to their own wrong opinion.
Joeman, There is a comma between Hick-USA and the rest which is meant to delineate two ideas. The Hick-USA I was referring to is where I am located, what I see from where I sit, the town I live in.
Wandering back to the main subject, I agree with Thor's opinion (great minds Please Register or Log in to view the hidden image!), flag's just a flag, don't think the British or US flag is particularly pretty, (probably cos they've been shoved in my face way too much) you cannot embody what a nation stands for in a set of colours and patterns, I think it's ridiculous to try. A4Ever - I have close relatives in Belgium, I noticed there isn't a huge amount of patriotism, seems to be quite a bit of racism too ... So, are you Flemish? Do you actively go about trying to belong to one group and not the other (and being proud)?
And the people doing the spitting were opposing a war. They were also draft dodgers and rather violent flowers. Do you see people spitting on them today? The flag is a symbol of our country, and the hopes and dreams that formed it(see the Declaration of Independence and the Constitution). Some of those dreams got screwed up, but one of the dreams was the ability to fix it. The symbolic nature is that people see the flag and think, "America," and then think of what that means to them. That depends on what our politicians do, and in most countries, that can be changed.
