What does "American" mean to you?

[vraiblonde]

Let's take a break from calling each other pedophiles and morons and have a substantive discussion.

What does "American values" mean to you? And what does it mean to be "unAmerican"?

 

[Smokey1]

"Individual freedom" but that is constantly being threatened these days.

 

[Gilligan]

Let's take a break from calling each other pedophiles and morons"?

Awwww mom!!...:kicksrock:

 

[Bobwhite]

Let's take a break from calling each other pedophiles and morons and have a substantive discussion.

What does "American values" mean to you? And what does it mean to be "unAmerican"?

Helping someone when they are down, even if you don’t like them.
Not wishing someone would “stick their head in an oven and die” because they hold a different viewpoint.
Understanding the difference between a lie and an untruth.
Standing up for what you believe and not apologizing for your opinion because a group of snowflakes got their feelings hurt.
Saying “please” and “thank you”.

 

[transporter]

Let's take a break from calling each other pedophiles and morons and have a substantive discussion.

What does "American values" mean to you? And what does it mean to be "unAmerican"?

Interesting that you are posting the question and offered no answers. I saw this last night...wanted to think on this before answering. The following "values" are in no certain order:

*A strong work ethic leads to opportunity. (Note: not a guarantee of success, only the opportunity)

*Honesty is the best policy.

*Take care of those less fortunate and in a similar vein help your neighbor.

*Stand up for the little guy.

*Humility should be valued above egoism or ostentatious displays of wealth.

*Treat others as you would have them treat you.

*Play to win, but play fair. (Note: "fair" is not defined as you ALWAYS win.)

*Be respectful of your elders

*Listen to and trust people who are smarter or more knowledgeable than you are

*Respect the law and those who enforce it

*Respect those who defend this country

*Speak out when injustices occur

*Vote

*Strive to solve problems...not just b!tch about them. Similar vein: working together to solve problems.

*Accept responsibility for one's actions

*A general freedom to do or say as you please, as long as those actions or word don't negatively impact others around you.

Those are the ones that come to mind as American values. What is "Un-American":

*Putting party over country.

*Adulating wealth and denigrating character

*Adulating the stupid/ignorant and denigrating intelligence/knowledge

*Pushing the little guy around

*Ignoring those less fortunate

*Treating others differently because of their skin color, country of origin, religious beliefs, gender

*Cheating

*Bowing, kneeling, bending, or crawling before other countries

*Lying

*Stifling speech

*Slacking, sloth, "calling it in"

*Blaming others for your actions

*Failing to try

Is that a good enough list for you?

 

[transporter]

Saying “please” and “thank you”.

That is good...also addressing folks you don't know as "Sir" or "M'am"...

Too bad though that you couldn't follow the basic request of the OP...

 

[Gilligan]

That is good...also addressing folks you don't know as "Sir" or "M'am"...

..

 

[Gilligan]

I
*Treat others as you would have them treat you.

 

[black dog]

[video=youtube_share;2HGHdFmu5GU]https://youtu.be/2HGHdFmu5GU[/video]

 

[Midnightrider]

Let's take a break from calling each other pedophiles and morons and have a substantive discussion.

What does "American values" mean to you? And what does it mean to be "unAmerican"?

There are no American values. We have ideals, which were never met even when they were penned, but not common values.
The Declaration of Independence spells out our ideals pretty well.

Values on the other hand are individual. Being founded on religious freedom indicates that were are also founded on the freedom to have your own values.

 

[black dog]

Interesting that you are posting the question and offered no answers. I saw this last night...wanted to think on this before answering. The following "values" are in no certain order:

*A strong work ethic leads to opportunity. (Note: not a guarantee of success, only the opportunity)

*Honesty is the best policy.

*Take care of those less fortunate and in a similar vein help your neighbor.

*Stand up for the little guy.

*Humility should be valued above egoism or ostentatious displays of wealth.

*Treat others as you would have them treat you.

*Play to win, but play fair. (Note: "fair" is not defined as you ALWAYS win.)

*Be respectful of your elders

*Listen to and trust people who are smarter or more knowledgeable than you are

*Respect the law and those who enforce it

*Respect those who defend this country

*Speak out when injustices occur

*Vote

*Strive to solve problems...not just b!tch about them. Similar vein: working together to solve problems.

*Accept responsibility for one's actions

*A general freedom to do or say as you please, as long as those actions or word don't negatively impact others around you.

Those are the ones that come to mind as American values. What is "Un-American":

*Putting party over country.

*Adulating wealth and denigrating character

*Adulating the stupid/ignorant and denigrating intelligence/knowledge

*Pushing the little guy around

*Ignoring those less fortunate

*Treating others differently because of their skin color, country of origin, religious beliefs, gender

*Cheating

*Bowing, kneeling, bending, or crawling before other countries

*Lying

*Stifling speech

*Slacking, sloth, "calling it in"

*Blaming others for your actions

*Failing to try

Is that a good enough list for you?

That is good...also addressing folks you don't know as "Sir" or "M'am"...

Too bad though that you couldn't follow the basic request of the OP...

Just like you not following your post.. you lasted two minutes, Faster than a speeding bullet or KooKoo, whichever comes first.

 

[PsyOps]

Interesting that you are posting the question and offered no answers. I saw this last night...wanted to think on this before answering. The following "values" are in no certain order:

*A strong work ethic leads to opportunity. (Note: not a guarantee of success, only the opportunity)

*Honesty is the best policy.

*Take care of those less fortunate and in a similar vein help your neighbor.

*Stand up for the little guy.

*Humility should be valued above egoism or ostentatious displays of wealth.

*Treat others as you would have them treat you.

*Play to win, but play fair. (Note: "fair" is not defined as you ALWAYS win.)

*Be respectful of your elders

*Listen to and trust people who are smarter or more knowledgeable than you are

*Respect the law and those who enforce it

*Respect those who defend this country

*Speak out when injustices occur

*Vote

*Strive to solve problems...not just b!tch about them. Similar vein: working together to solve problems.

*Accept responsibility for one's actions

*A general freedom to do or say as you please, as long as those actions or word don't negatively impact others around you.

Those are the ones that come to mind as American values. What is "Un-American":

*Putting party over country.

*Adulating wealth and denigrating character

*Adulating the stupid/ignorant and denigrating intelligence/knowledge

*Pushing the little guy around

*Ignoring those less fortunate

*Treating others differently because of their skin color, country of origin, religious beliefs, gender

*Cheating

*Bowing, kneeling, bending, or crawling before other countries

*Lying

*Stifling speech

*Slacking, sloth, "calling it in"

*Blaming others for your actions

*Failing to try

Is that a good enough list for you?

My question to you is, why don't you live by what you claim is 'American'.

You are so hateful and contemptuous.
You lack honesty.
There is nothing humble about you.
You are unjust to those you disagree with.
You don't strive to solve anything, you just bitch and complain.

And let me add, you lack courage. Courage to enter in meaningful debate. You post your vile hate then disappear. Your posts lack respect and understanding that people actually have views contrary to yours. You show moments of real tangible thought, but it's always led or followed by contempt for the person you are responding to.

And, above all, you are about as childish as it gets. Maybe two people take you seriously. If you want to be taken seriously (and I think you do, because you post incessantly on here) stop with the hate, and engage in meaningful debate.

 

[Gilligan]

If you want to be taken seriously (and I think you do, because you post incessantly on here) stop with the hate, and engage in meaningful debate.

There are not enough professional counseling hours left in her sad little life to get her to that point.

 

[Kyle]

My question to you is, why don't you live by what you claim is 'American'.

His number one rule… "Rules are for thee, not for me!"

 

[This_person]

His number one rule… "Rules are for thee, not for me!"

That's a liberal's number one ideal/value (those words are synonyms).

Definition of "Value", #10
values, Sociology. the ideals, customs, institutions, etc., of a society toward which the people of the group have an affective regard. These values may be positive, as cleanliness, freedom, or education, or negative, as cruelty, crime, or blasphemy.

 

[GWguy]

I find what Trans posted is not uniquely American. Most of that are simply "good values" that most people of different nations subscribe to.

Being American to me means being able to freely travel across our country, thousands of miles, with no borders.
Having a document in place that allows us to speak out against a government without fear of being persecuted.
Having an economy in place that is strong, and benefits the peoples, unlike entire nations that starve to death while a few sit on the nation's wealth.

 

[This_person]

Let's take a break from calling each other pedophiles and morons and have a substantive discussion.

What does "American values" mean to you? And what does it mean to be "unAmerican"?

I will admit a bit of surprise at Tranny's post - it was very good. I will say I absolutely love the post from Black Dog on Red Skelton - one of my favorite videos ever.

But, i would address is slightly differently.

Being American (as in, the United States, not the continents) embodies all of those thing mentioned above, but to me it takes it one step further.

Many countries have "rights", but those rights are given by the government. We, as US citizens, are founded on a completely different notion. We are founded on the concept that we already have all of these rights; government does not provide them. I know of no other nation that does that, or certainly that did that at the time of our founding. We have a government whose job consists of handling the day-to-day mundane of necessary government services, but whose main function is to protect the rights we, the people, already have. We believe(d, at our founding) that the people are the ultimate authority, not the government.

To assimilate into that mindset, and all of the positives and negatives that go with it, is the core of being an American. To oppose (not just not think about, but actively oppose) that mindset is the core of being un-American.

 

[vraiblonde]

I think the framers of our Constitution got it pretty much right, considering they wrote that thing over 200 years ago and a lot has changed in our society. They even left room for it to be amended as circumstances change, which was brilliant. A lot of thought went into it, and they knew not only their current events but their history as well.

Being an American, to me, means freedom. We are free to do as we please, so long as we're not infringing on anyone else's freedom or rights. We don't have to agree or like each other, but we do have to allow others to take part in our social and governmental structure.

It also means a cooperative effort. We are a macroculture made up of many microcultures, but by and large we respect each other and incorporate our differences into the national fabric. The People of the United States are made up of almost every ethnic, racial, and religious background there is, and for the most part we get along just fine. Americans look like the world. We look Asian, and Hispanic, and Black, and White, and Native American, and Middle Eastern, and we mix it up with impunity.

Being an American also means we have room to evolve. Even if it takes awhile, we right our wrongs. We look at our norms and if we see a subset of Americans being treated unfairly, we say, "Hey, you can't do that," and we force change.

Being unAmerican means not recognizing just how unique and special this country is. If you think the US sucks, it's because you have no idea how good you've got it here. If you think our brilliant system of government is unfair, I invite you to take a look at how other countries get their leadership. Even when the politicians and money men hose it up for their own personal greed and lust for power, all Americans are still represented and taken into consideration. Granted, majority still rules, but it doesn't mean that minorities don't still have rights and representation in our government.

 

[vraiblonde]

Many countries have "rights", but those rights are given by the government. We, as US citizens, are founded on a completely different notion. We are founded on the concept that we already have all of these rights; government does not provide them. I know of no other nation that does that, or certainly that did that at the time of our founding. We have a government whose job consists of handling the day-to-day mundane of necessary government services, but whose main function is to protect the rights we, the people, already have. We believe(d, at our founding) that the people are the ultimate authority, not the government.

To assimilate into that mindset, and all of the positives and negatives that go with it, is the core of being an American. To oppose (not just not think about, but actively oppose) that mindset is the core of being un-American.

I love this!

 

[Smokey1]

I love this!

Yes, John Locke's political philosophy of natural rights which our Constitution recognizes.