What amazes me is that for some reason you believe the USA is the only
"melting pot" on the planet. I beg to differ as Canada is as mixed an ethnic
pool as the USA. We have all the religions and a diverse population. You
don't see the type of heat generated here as you do with our Southern
neighbours. Religious beliefs are tolerated and those who practice it are
free to do so to the degree they see fit... within the context of the law.
It seems to me that there is a battle going on in the USA to maintain
Christian beliefs, English as the language and blind patriotism as the
guiding force to the exclusion of all else.

Your basis for the USA melting pot theory in comparison to the Europeans
just doesn't hold water. The immigration of people into Europe from all over
the globe has been and is continuing to change the entire area. It has been
doing so for a while. Maybe due to the diverse languages and cultures that
lived in close proximity for centuries has provided for easier adaptation
and acceptance of other cultures and religions.

My point was that the superiority complex exhibited by many Americans does
not hold up in the light of day... and much of their supposed generosity has
a steep price tag.

CM



"Flying Tadpole" wrote in message
...
| 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
|
| -------------------------
| Learn what lies below the waves of cyberspace!
| http://www.internetopera.netfirms.com