: : D: No, there is nothing I would like to retract. I stand by my belief that capitalism is what has made the U.S. a propserous country. I also stand by my belief in the rights guaranteed in the Declaration of Independence.: : Jim Hightower says "A person's opinion of a cattle-feed lot has a lot to do with where your standing and which way the wind is blowing." To that I'd add that cows would have a different point of view, too. In short, if you're materially comfortable and sufficiently shielded from other peoples' conditions and points of view--not to mention not worried about the future of the planet--then America would seem great. If, on the other hand, you don't have these advantages, or you were unlikely enough to be born Mexican in a border town like Brownsville or Nogales, then the benefits of capitalism might not seem so obvious.
: Similarly I am sure that Stalin thought the USSR was just fine and dandy. The boys back in the gulag had some other stuff to say about it, I am sure.
Are you objecting to what I said, or nodding in agreement? If it's the former then this is a cheap argument, Dave. I don't even think the writers for "The Simpsons" use it anymore. Indeed, even the once-very-funny line "go back to Massachussetts, you pinko!" is Homer Simpson circa '95. Come on, Dave. You're better than this.
: The Declaration of Independence grants no rights nor does it have any legal status. The Constitution is the law of the land, and through history its application has been . . .er . . .inconsistent. To say the least
: Yes, but rights are only as good as the people who defend them. As I pointed out before, there are many people who would like to see those rights cleanly done away with for their own benefit.
Oh, I get it. You say the Declaration of Independence grants rights and I say no it doesn't, only the Constitution does. But you quickly turn around and whip out a proverb which sounds like it comes from a Boy Scout manual. There's nothing I can do with that. But your last sentence, "there are many people who would like to see those rights cleanly done away with for their own benefit."
Are you gearing up for a discussion of the Second Amendment?
