Dear Scout,

THe flailing on the highwire is called "re-invention", a
continuing adventure that most outsiders fail to understand. And
it's that very dynamic balancing attempt that really makes the US
"the last, best hope for mankind". And it's no use asking for a
helping hand--almost no-one outside the US understands the
concept of re-invention, and the "hope" side of it they view as
revolting!

Now watch the piranhas boil in my WC bowl...

Flying Tadpole

Scout wrote:

"Capt. Mooron" wrote
It's pathetic you have even one state like that let alone a bible belt....
isn't the separation of church & state part of your basic governmental
basis?

Yes it is. The problem is that line is not always easy for some to see. The
roots of that separation clause are based not so much on the concept that
god and government are mutually exclusive components of a successful
society, but on the history of religious persecution that many
newbie-Americans had endured before coming here. The same world laughing at
us, in large part, is responsible for many of our citizens being here. God
I love irony.
Our founding fathers (your Uncles) believed in the importance of spiritual
responsibility. And why wouldn't they?; if the ostensible benefit of
religion is the promotion of moral behavior, a government would have to be
suicidal to denounce God. It would be counter-productive on just about every
level. But try balancing that with the equally important concept that no one
has the right to say who God is, what s/he/it wants of us (specifically),
what rules it should impose on society at large, how it should influence
national issues, spending, etc. etc. etc., and it's no wonder that we, as a
nation, appear to be constantly imbalanced and unstable, always ready to
fall from the high wire. I'm sure it looks funny from the spectator's
perspective, but that's only because they haven't reached the correct
conclusions about what will happen if that flailing guy falls. I believe the
majority of the world understands our predicament. Though they laugh, they
realize that our fall would start a mosh-pit on a global scale. The laughers
will run, of course, but **** would be flying everywhere (remember when they
blew up that whale on the beach?).
I don't consider us to be a melting pot as much as I do a high-pressure
boiler. We are a smaller version of the whole planet, with no oceans between
us to keep us from fighting. We have it all, people from just about every
culture, religion, ethnicity, tribe, neighborhood, and on and on, with all
that that entails, and we are trying to live together in peace and harmony.
It's gonna take a while to work out the bugs. I'm optimistic, but I think it
will take more than a few hundred years to get it together. If we can't do
it, it won't be any prettier for the rest of the world. How about giving us
a hand?
--
Scout
"Knowing the storm is coming only makes me more nervous."

--
Flying Tadpole

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