Happy to be an American? Yes or No?

[Common Sense Party]

On Edit: Okay, strike the word "proud." The question now is: Are you happy you're an American?

If so, why?

If not, why not?

[UndertheOcean]

1. You can only be proud of things you accomplish , not things that happen

to you through accident of birth.

[Common Sense Party]

2. I disagree. I'm proud of my parents, but I didn't have anything to

do with choosing them.

[mitchum]

8. But you are proud of their accomplishments or qualities

and that's a good thing

[Common Sense Party]

12. I'm proud to be called their son, and yes, it has much to do with

their qualities and values. I had nothing to do with picking or causing those qualities or values.

I also had nothing to do with picking the values of the USA.

[UndertheOcean]

10. I disagree with you . Pride is a useless emotion anyway.

But yo be proud of what you did not achieve does not make sense to me.

Well, you can say "I am proud of what America had done to the world" , that makes some sense , "I am proud to be American" makes no sense at all .

[mitchum]

4. Excellent reply

It would be like my being proud that I am tall or blue-eyed or allegedly intelligent

[CaliforniaPeggy]

3. I love my country.

There are many things wrong here, but I am proud of what is right.

[Common Sense Party]

23. Amen to that.

[Greyhound]

55. Link?

:rofl:
Joking aside, what is it about the US that you love?

[sweettater]

5. one word

Iraq.

[rucky]

6. I'm more proud to be a Cleveland Browns fan.

Take that any way you want.

[Deja Q]

7. To those who think it sucks: What would YOU do to make it less sucky?

[Onceuponalife]

13. Switch to all socialist systems

and those who don't like it can GTFO.

[Deja Q]

15. How do you propose to change the system?

Details and realistic measures.

It's terribly easy to say "I will do this". The issue is in the action. Not the word.

Nothing terribly wrong with socialism; God created me and God would want me to be used to the potential God gave me. Funny how the party of God often allies itself with the most ungodly entities, but that's their problem...

[Common Sense Party]

16. That's obviously never going to happen.

Since it isn't, are you planning to GTFO?

If not, what specific steps are YOU going to take to improve the country?

[krabigirl]

98. Why not? How can you be so sure?

And yes, I am slowly planning to leave if it doesn't. I don't want my kids growing up thinking that health care is a privilege, rather than what it is...a human right.

[JanMichael]

24. Decent healthcare system, put restrictions on trade agreements, tax the

crap outta companies who move their operations overseas, make it way less profitable for mills to operate in third world countries, bringing back manufacturing, and tell the car companies to get their shit together immediately.

Fund the hell out of trains and other public transportation, reduce the interest on school loans to 1% or less--

And regulate the crap out of utilities and airlines.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

27. +1

Yes, business as usual is what has gotten us into this mess. We need to do the opposite of what we've been doing for the past 30 years or so.

[Selatius]

30. To boil it down to one thing, it would have to be a law enacting publicly funded elections.

If we can get the lobbyist money out of the government, then the people would be empowered to do what makes them happy, such as electing people who favor health care reform and better schools and mass transit and so forth.

[krabigirl]

96. Get religion the hell out of our government, period.

[Onceuponalife]

9. As long as we still have black kids getting thrown out

of whites only swimming pools, what's to be proud of?

[Common Sense Party]

14. A great deal, if one opens one's eyes. n/t

[Greyhound]

56. Please enlighten us. n/t

[conturnedpro09]

109. Really? You need to be told why people love America?

Playing right into the GOP's hands, I must say. Get out more.

[proteus_lives]

114. Yeah, because that totally encapsulates America.

:eyes:

[Tierra_y_Libertad]

11. Indifferent.

It's seems ridiculous to be "proud" of an accident of birth.

"Patriotism is the most foolish of passions and the passion of fools." Schopenhaur

[Deja Q]

17. No, sex without a condom is the most foolish of passions.

All the diseases, unwanted children :(, tickets to be on the Jerry Springer show... no good can come out of all that...

[UndertheOcean]

18. "Patriotism is the most foolish of passions and the passion of fools." Schopenhaur

bears repeating

[Tan Gent]

31. And the last refuge of a scoundrel

same thing, really...

[RUMMYisFROSTED]

19. Oui!

[Common Sense Party]

21. C'est bon!

Or something like that. My French sucks.

[FormerDittoHead]

20. Ask after the public option passes. n/t

[Common Sense Party]

22. Perhaps I will, but I'm asking now.

[FormerDittoHead]

38. and you can wait for my answer until then. n/t

[Common Sense Party]

40. So as of today you don't like the country. I'll mark you down for "no" then.

[FormerDittoHead]

42. Yes, add that to the poll. Have it again after we get the public option, and you can change it.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

25. I don't like being part of a country that pursues wars of aggression,

cuts back on Constitutional rights, and coddles the corporations while ordinary people are losing their jobs and the lines at food banks are growing longer.

The fact that ANYONE can think it's still a good idea to be spending millions per day in Iraq and Afghanistan or that private health insurance is just dandy or that the corporations don't need to be cut down to size makes me wonder where Americans' heads are at.

The fact that even the supposedly enlightened DUers fill the pages of GD with thread after thread after thread about Michael Jackson or Sarah Palin or other People Magazine topics while threads about labor issues or Constitutional issues sink after three or four comments makes me wonder where DUers' heads are at.

Yeah, yeah, I know we have to have some fun in our lives, but as Neal Postman wrote several decades ago, we're "Amusing Ourselves to Death." We at DU may claim to be such mighty media skeptics, but face it, we buy into all the hype.

What percentage of Americans know that Michael Jackson died and had a memorial service televised around the world?

What percentage of Americans know that there's a proposal to allow indefinite detention of Guantanamo detainees even if they're judged innocent in court?

Yet how will history judge us, by the size of our celebrities' memorial services or by our tolerance for wars of aggression and denial of Constitutional rights?

That's why I'm not happy to be an American. I wish I had taken the opportunities I had in the 1980s to emigrate, but honestly, I never thought it would get this bad.

[Greyhound]

59. Few of us did, we grew up in a nation that still had a chance to realize our potential.

What we have become is shameful and where we are headed is terrifying.

The Greyhounds are focused on escape, while there is still time.

[proteus_lives]

115. What's stopping you now?

" I wish I had taken the opportunities I had in the 1980s to emigrate, but honestly, I never thought it would get this bad."

[truedelphi]

26. End the endless wars, and give us Single Payer Universal Health Care

And my no would be yes.

My country is the data base inside my head where the great thinkers, planners and human beings live.

My Buddhist leader speaks to me from there. My high school English teacher, Sister. B.

My first husband. My best friend who died three days before my son was born.

Gore Vidal. Numerous people that I have loved but lost track of.

My Dad.

And Anyone ever who wrote a song or poem or novel that I enjoyed.

Political types who occupy office - not that many of them there these days.

[krabigirl]

99. I totally agree

[stray cat]

28. I have more opportunity and security here than many other possible birth sites

In parts of Africa you have a good chance of dying from Malaria or something else in your first year. You can always find someone that has it better but I guarantee you can also find a vast number that have to struggle a hell of alot more than those of us in the US

[Greyhound]

60. You speak of the African continent and the problems that exist there, do you know

why http://www.powells.com/biblio/17-9780452289574-0">those problem exist there?

[Selatius]

93. Probably because of something our government or corporations did there or some European power did.

The history of Africa in the last several hundred years has basically been the history of colonialism.

[Selatius]

29. This is like asking me if I'm happy to be born the skin color I am. nt

[Common Sense Party]

39. Not really, since you can always change your address.

Not so easy to change one's skin color.

[LooseWilly]

58. Unless you have a job lined up elsewhere in advance

you aren't legally allowed to work elsewhere... which can make it awfully difficult to "change your address".

US citizens can travel fairly easily. That isn't the same as being able to relocate.

[Selatius]

92. That still doesn't change the fact that you were born on US soil.

You can change the fact of your location. You can't change the fact of your birth, and even if you erased the official facts from paperwork; you would still be the one who knows. Harder to delete a memory than to change address.

[Blue_In_AK]

32. I am what I am.

Having only been an American I have nothing to compare it to.

I AM generally happy, though... :shrug:

[seabeyond]

33. happy, not proud. there is a difference. would have paused on the proud.

i think the u.s. is still the best thing going. i feel blessed with so many opportunities. but then i am happy i was raised in family i was. i had lots of opportunities. and i am happy being born as i am, again, it allows me a lot of opportunities.

i am just an happy appreciative kinda gal

[LWolf]

34. Other: my nationality is not related to happiness or unhappiness.

It's a fact.

I don't particularly like my country, at least, not the political and cultural aspects.

I appreciate what I perceive to be of value, and dislike what I do not perceive to be of value, but none of that affects my state of happiness.

[dysfunctional press]

35. all things considered, i'd rather be norwegian, swedish, or french.

currently their societies are more representative of my personal beliefs.

[Joe the Liberal]

37. +1

[Hardrada]

43. I am Norwegian. 100% by descent. Unfortunately not a citizen

of the Kingdom of Norway.

[dysfunctional press]

91. i'm 75%...both of my paternal grandparents were born there.

[Xenotime]

103. Exactly. There are many better progressive options than the US

[dysfunctional press]

112. the problem is that they aren't options we can choose.

or we'd be packed and gone.

[proteus_lives]

117. Then....

Why aren't you hip-deep in snow, eating bagettes or ogling street of perfect blondes right now?

[dysfunctional press]

121. if i could, i definitely would...

but most countries aren't real big on letting middle-aged disabled people immigrate.

[Maru Kitteh]

36. Yes.

[Common Sense Party]

47. Why?

[InvisibleTouch]

41. Yes, I count myself fortunate.

I have lived and travelled all over the world, and there are lots of wonderful aspects to other countries that we don't have here - but I've found that only here can I pursue my dreams to the unfettered extent that I've been able to. It's easier to do one's own thing and march to a different drum here than anywhere else, in my experience. I would not trade it for all the Western European social safety-nets in the world.

[Common Sense Party]

48. That sounds about right to me.

I haven't traveled the world, nor have I had much experience with European social safety nets, but I lived in Latin America for a couple years. I loved it there (Argentina), and really grew to love and admire the Argentine people and their culture. But at the same time, I grew to love and admire what we have here in the U.S. even more.

[uppityperson]

44. Happy to be an American? Yes and no

There are good things about being an USAnian citizen, and bad things about things in this country and what this country does/has done.

[Common Sense Party]

49. USAnian? I've not heard that word before.

But where do you think you'd come down? You say yes and no. Would it be 50% happy, 5-% unhappy to live here? Or 60/40?

[uppityperson]

54. "American", to me, is too broad a term since there is a S and N America and United States of America

I started calling us USAnians a while back, being uppity and all. Having thought about what %, it depends and is difficult to pin me down to a specific number. I like where I live, I like my community, like having family somewhat nearby. I like a lot of what the Constitution offers, but do not like how it has been interpreted in recent yrs. I do not like the culture of Worship the Almighty Dollar and the lack of community.

If I had the means to live in another country, it depends on which where. I do not like the Fundamentalism that has ruled so many places in the USA, but that is also worldwide. The Fundamentalists vote and work as a bloc so get things done, while we who believe there are many routes to the same end end up each finding our own way and being overwhelmed by the vocal minority.

Overall, since I am an American/USAnian and stillhere, I am happier than not while continuing to work towards trying to make things better, or not so bad, and am very sad at how bad things have become, also realizing that the USA politically has fucked up things in many other countries for a long time back also.

[ContinentalOp]

108. uh, NONE of those other countries have "America" in their name AFAIK.

We are America. Not our fault if they named the remainder of a couple of continents after us. :p

[uppityperson]

113. Eye roll indeed

We're NUMBER ONE WE'RE NUMBER ONE WE"RE NUMBER ONE!!!!!!!!!!!!11111111

[BlooInBloo]

45. It has good sides and bad sides.

[Common Sense Party]

50. Yes, every place does.

Show me one place on the earth that is 100% great.

The question is, do you feel happy, or lucky, or proud, or whatever to be a U.S. citizen? Or, if you had your druthers, would you live somewhere else?

[MrSlayer]

46. Yes. I have it pretty good here.

Would I prefer to be rich? Certainly. But I'm doing ok. Better than most people in the world for sure.

[Common Sense Party]

51. Yup. We're doing FAR better than most of the world.

And yet we get in an uproar about the most trivial things (e.g.: Unrecommend option on a message board).

[Greyhound]

62. What do you mean by "have (having) it pretty good here"?

The OP seems to equate your reply with the acquisition of stuff, is that your gauge?

[Common Sense Party]

64. I do no such thing.

Carry on.

[pipoman]

74. The only people who don't think standard of living

i.e. 'acquisition of stuff' is an indicator of quality of life are those who have all that they reasonably need or want. Quality of life in the US is as good or better than most of the rest of the world's population has available to them. Some people live in countries with better standard of living than the US, not a very high percentage of the world's population.

[Greyhound]

76. Quality of life and acquisition of objects are two very different things.

Most of the people you mention, those that have a higher standard of living, have far less stuff than Americans.

It is true that the bottom 85% of the world population live under worse conditions than 95% of the US population, but even that is misleading in several respects. Comparing industrialized nations to the "third world" is meaningless and the principle cause of those conditions is exploitation by industrial nations.

Pick your hell-hole, it is usually in a place with vast and very valuable resources. Resources that are taken for next to nothing by and to support an industrialized country, and we have supplanted Europe as the most egregious offenders. Without US participation, the WTO and IMF do not exist and they are the most common tools we use to exploit those other nations.

[MrSlayer]

106. I mean that my life doesn't suck.

I have a good job, my family wants for nothing, I can pretty much do what I want within boundaries. I don't have the freedom that the rich have but I'm not simply slaving myself just to get by either. Doing pretty good means I'm able to pursue things that I enjoy rather than devoting all my time to survival.

[ChimpersMcSmirkers]

52. Yeah, I am.

What other country has our diversity of ethnic backgrounds, religion, culture?

Norway? France? Yeah, right. It's easy being homogeneous.

It's not always pretty, but in the end it makes us a better place.

[Common Sense Party]

53. You got it. n/t

[LooseWilly]

61. I'm not sure about your label of "homogeneous" for France...

if France were so "homogeneous", would they need to pass laws to ban religious imagery (especially headscarves and such) in their schools?...

http://www.allacademic.com/meta/p_mla_apa_research_citation/2/3/5/7/7/p235771_index.html

"The past decade has seen a spate of anti-headscarf laws passed by supposedly liberal European constitutional democracies. The French have banned the hijab for public school students; several German states ban it for teachers. Meanwhile, towns in Belgium ban the wearing of the burka. Likewise, there was a recent row in the United Kingdom about whether lawyers could wear the niqab."

Seems to me that this spate is a reaction to a lack of "homogeneity". It also seems to me to be "not always pretty", as well as suggesting that this is not something that "makes us a better place".

[krabigirl]

100. Um, you do know that there are many cultures living in France, right?

Also, I don't see too much diversity of religion here.

[proteus_lives]

118. Slam-Dunk post!

:thumbsup:

"Norway? France? Yeah, right. It's easy being homogeneous." Damn-right.

Melting-pot baby!

[tammywammy]

57. Yes

I can vote, drive down the street, I don't need a male to follow me around and I own my own house and no one said "so, you're husband...."

[LooseWilly]

63. No. The US is a "Democratic" country, which means that it is a reflection of the people.

The political system of corporatism is a reflection of the people. The enduring bigotry is a reflection of the people. The neo-imperialist foreign policies are a reflection of the people. Etc.

In my opinion, "we the people" are a bunch of idiots. Am I happy to be an idiot? Not particularly.

A system of government that is allowed to fester in which the only form of regulation of the structures of power is by means of lawsuits... which then leads to all aspects of nominal freedom being curtailed because of considerations of the fine print of insurance policies meant to indemnify all aspects of life against possible post facto litigious regulation... is a soul crushing land of fear. One in which those without the finances to hire legal representation become perpetual victims of those who can afford representation (including the government)... as these self-same insurance induced regulations cause the schools that might educate the populace as to other possibilities become afraid to teach any new ideas, for fear of themselves being post facto regulated by a lawsuit that their insurance policy holders might find grounds for weaseling out of covering.

So now I look around and I see a country full of people that have, for the most part, never been abroad, and who likely never will... because they have been taught to fear the outside world... to believe that the US is the "free-est" country in the world... and who seem to be happy to think so.

No, I'm not particularly happy about what the US seems to have become... nor am I particularly happy to be a part of it.

[harmonicon]

65. "no", because it's a pain in the ass

I live in an EU country and do most of my traveling in the EU. It sucks always having to go into the non-EU passport line at airports..... more seriously, it hampers where I can realistically apply for jobs. If I don't have something lined up when my current visa runs out, I feel like I'm screwed. No way do I want to move back to a country that won't provide me with the simple human right of needed healthcare - it's just creepy and wrong. I'm not in any way ashamed of being an American, but I'm definitely not happy about it.

[nolabels]

70. I am proud our country has such clout that it can screw you no matter where you go !

Just kiddin :evilgrin:

I just look at US as a whole for place you can get anything you imagine including grand laziness or gut wrenching inhumanity, we have it all :patriot:

[Fuzz]

66. Had no choice in the matter. It's where my parents chose to fuck.

How can I have any feelings about that?

[TexasObserver]

67. I'll defer to that Greatest of Americans, the Godfather of Soul, James Brown.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=oHqUipinDyw

Livin' in America!!

[proteus_lives]

116. I love that song!

:yourock:

[Morning Dew]

68. Where's the "Hell, Yes!" option?

Cuz------------------------Hell, Yes !


There's a lot wrong with The US, but a lot right as well.

[Cid_B]

69. Proud to be an American...

Always have been, always will be...

Doesn't mean I don't know what happens around me or what part I play in it but it doesn't change what I care for.

[pipoman]

71. Yep,

Great neighbors, great community, decent mean standard of living. Virtually every economy on the planet has ups and downs over say 50 years, we've had more ups than downs. I wonder what percentage of the world's population live under a government which would tolerate a public message board which allows people to say the types of things said here on DU about their country...

[saltpoint]

72. I like Duke Ellington and the Great Bear Dunes and lots of other

people & places in the U.S. but like also our neighbors north and south. I like the idea of an American hemisphere.

I like Nobel-winning Columbian novelists. I like Gordon Lightfoot singing "All the Lovely Ladies."

[tavalon]

73. I'll admit I didn't answer the poll

I've been pretty mortified by my country's behavior since 2001 and I was damn near packed and ready to move to Canada these last few years. The thing that has surprised me is that since Obama took office, I haven't lost my urge to emigrate to Canada. So, while I am unsure how I feel about being an American, I know I want to be Canadian. Really badly, in fact.

[pipoman]

75. ...

[tavalon]

77. A picture is worth a thousand words, eh?

There isn't actually much difference between Seattle and Vancouver except they have healthcare and they haven't been the badasses of the world.

[pipoman]

78. Not meant to be

disrespectful of your position or feelings. I do hear your sentiments pretty regularly around here in regard to EU, Canada, South America, etc. and always wonder if it isn't, in reality, grass is greener syndrome. Good luck to you.

[tavalon]

79. I wonder that too sometimes

I'm just surprised that my own desire didn't diminish when Obama took office. I really thought it would.

[cali]

80. Happy to be a Vermonter and I couldn't be a Vermonter without being an American.

[depakid]

94. That is the conundrum

Oregon is also a fine place, except for the fact that it's in America....

[WVRICK13]

81. Not Really

Maybe I am oversensitive but I find it hard to be happy in a country that supports laws to deny me equal rights and access to legal protection (my partner of 20 years and I deserve better than this). I also find it hard to be happy with a government that willingly allows religion to direct it's actions. I find it hard to be happy when we have citizens starving, living in tents and cardboard boxes, yet we claim we are the worlds strongest nation while we spend vast fortunes on military activities. I am not happy with Pro-lifers who stop caring about life after you are delivered into the world. I am not happy with the vast ignorance in this country , where people vote against their own best interest (WV went Red in 2008 and I have to tell you, we are way to poor to be doing that).

Before anyone jumps me for being unpatriotic forget it. Being unhappy, discriminated against and still fighting for what is right is proof of my patriotism. I want America to be what it claims to be, a free democratic country with equality for all.

[krabigirl]

102. *claps* I totally agree.

And I don't give two hoots if someone calls me "unpatriotic." Who cares? When we stop funding wars of aggression, when people of the same sex can marry, when we stop the march toward a theocracy, and when we treat health care as a right, not a privilege, then I will be much prouder. I will fight for these things and I do believe I am patriotic because of that.

[graywarrior]

82. I'm more grateful than anything else

[Jennicut]

83. I am now.

:patriot:

[ipaint]

84. No

It wasn't my decision. As a life long member of the working class this country threw me away along time ago. I do the best I can with no health care, no dental care, no bank account, no pension and now, as a result of the tops latest transfer of wealth, no full time job.
I may die young but I won't die under the illusion this country's treatment of it's citizens is something to be proud of.

[H2O Man]

85. Sure.

It's an interesting country, with a lot of good and bad qualities. My extended family has tended to participate in the good ..... many in the "very good." And that is the context I view my being an American citizen from.

[Ohio Joe]

86. Yes, very much so

I can think of a few places I might rather live but for the most part I think my life would be much worse off elsewhere.

[OneBlueSky]

87. I'm proud of the American ideals, the American dream . . .

the whole idea of creating a nation from diverse peoples from around the globe and structuring a society in which all are equal before the law, have equal opportunity to better themselves and their families, and respect and honor each other in all our diversity . . .

not so crazy about how those ideals are being implemented -- or more precisely, not being implemented . . . at this point in time, it's all still mostly a dream . . . but the fact that the ideals exist makes me hopeful that, someday, reality will catch up to the ideals, and we'll become the nation that our best and brightest have envisioned over the past couple of centuries . . .

we still have a long way to go, and a lot of work to do . . . but the goal is a good one, and worth working toward . . .

[realisticphish]

88. Overall, yes

there are many, many things that need to be changed, but I like it here for the most part :shrug:

[GeorgeGist]

89. 'Happy not to be' should be an option.

[yy4me]

90. Happy to live here but not proud of us at this time. We have

sunk so low in the eyes of the world, we are an embarrassment.

There are other countries that are as free as we pretend to be. If I could, sometimes I think I would move. Anywhere is western Europe would work.

Tomorrow I may have different thoughts but right now, there is so much wrong here it makes it hard to be happy about being an American.

[krabigirl]

95. I love what this country ws founded upon, but no, the Reich Wing has destroyed that.

I only became a bit more optimistic when Obama was elected, but the M$M news machine just wants to take him down. And I hate how everything is so fundie here.

[cboy4]

97. Thrilled about how lucky I am

[Brooklyns_Finest]

101. Happier to be from Brooklyn

[Iggo]

104. Yep.

[madville]

105. Very happy to be an American

As bad as things seem it's much better here than a large portion of the world. Many worse places or nationalities that one could be born into, I'm thankful for being an American everyday.

[conturnedpro09]

111. Couldn't have said it better myself!

:patriot:

[ContinentalOp]

107. Culturally? YES! Geographically? YES! Economically? HELL NO!

Wish I lived in some European social democracy instead.

[conturnedpro09]

110. Super Happy. Super Proud.

Just like every single Democrat I know. :patriot:

(Oh, and even having polls like this I think just plays into the rightwingers' hands.)

[union_maid]

119. Sure, NOW I do.

Most of my life I felt lucky to be an American. I wasn't always happy with America, but it sure seemed like a stroke of luck to be born in this country when you consider some of the other possibilities. I guess that never stopped being true, but it sure didn't feel the same during the whole Bush presidency. Since last November 4th it's been back to feeling pretty lucky to be here for me, despite our mountain of problems.

[proteus_lives]

120. I'll up that to "You're damn right I'm happy to be an American."

I'm happy because I'm doing what members of my family have been doing since the 1760s. Working and fighting for my piece of the American Dream. I learned a long time ago that there is no such thing as perfection. Not in a person, idea or nation and I don't think for a second that America is perfect. But I believe that America is not done changing and I don't think we've even close to tapping this nation's potential yet.


There are things about America and our past and present that we aren't proud of but those people/events/actions do not make up the totality of America. I think back to what my father told me when I was a kid. "When you take a shot to the chops that knocks on your ass, you don't stay there." I think the responses to the op would be a lot different if we were in the Clinton years.

This country has sheltered me, loved me, disappointed me, screwed me, rewarded me, given me opportunity, slammed the door in my face, taken my hand and lifted me up, kicked me when I was down. But it has never stopped being my country. I voted for Kerry in '04 and Obama in '08. I pay my taxes and I filled out my service card. I work and I play in a American town and I continue to to try and make myself, my town, my state, my country and my world a better place with right thought and right action. (right isn't always a bad word, ;-))

If you voted no because you're angry or forlorn because of the direction this country has gone or is going, fight! With your voice, your vote and your efforts. We all have the responsibility to do our damnedest to leave this place better then when we got here-That is the American Way.

:patriot:

(Sorry if I rambled, it's late. :-))

[raccoon]

122. If I had my druthers, I'druther be Norwegian or Swedish, because of their

democratic socialist form of government.

But I'd rather be American than citizen of some Third World country.