Re: [ACEsthetics] Larry Ellison on NSA and privacy. I totally agree with his angle.

Steve,

Your point about the War of 1812, that only the U.S. invaded Canada is slightly off - slightly. The British in one invasion burned our White House. In another attack on the U.S., the American national anthem was inspired. Of much less renown is the Battle of New Orleans, when the British invaded Louisiana. This little known episode of the War of 1812 was celebrated in cinema (The Buccaneer) -  http://movieclips.com/bqSfX-the-buccaneer-movie-the-british-are-coming/

and song -  http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=50_iRIcxsz0

(The drip, drip, drip of my sarcasm)

Bruce

From: Steve Hendry <rsh.dds.fagd@gmail.com>
To: Bruce Finnigan <finniganbruce@yahoo.com>
Cc: Jeff Rodgers <drrodgers@drrodgers.com>; Guy Moorman <gmoor@windstream.net>; Bob Perkins <turkeysturkeys@gmail.com>; Dean V. Hutto <dean@drhutto.com>; ACE <ACEsthetics@googlegroups.com>
Sent: Wednesday, August 28, 2013 12:01 PM
Subject: Re: [ACEsthetics] Larry Ellison on NSA and privacy. I totally agree with his angle.

On Wed, Aug 28, 2013 at 11:31 AM, Bruce Finnigan <finniganbruce@yahoo.com> wrote:

Steve,

You're a smart guy.

Thanks - you too!

 

However, in your haste to paint us as being "less", you overlook the context.

I do not paint you as less. I paint you as different.

 

America has a strong religious strain because we are a country founded by people fleeing religious intolerance, including by the empire your country owes allegiance to. As a result, many Americans believe our success was a function of providence.

All true, and I respect your right to that.

 

you neglect to remember we had a war to break away from the empire

??  

I thought I pointed out that you separated by revolution and we by diplomacy.

 

Without our Constitution, we would be no better than a Canadian.

And you guys accuse me of condesension.

 

You don't understand our love of the Constitution and we don't understand your fealty to an obsolete monarchy.

That is true. Although our loyalty to Queen Liz is half-hearted and symbolic while your Constitution obsession is quite literal.

 

We have a love of guns because our guns bought us our freedom. Our guns enabled us to achieve our manifest destiny.

We are aware of all the gun rhetoric beloved in the U.S.; it just doesn't appeal to us (or to anyone else outside America, for that matter.)  As I said, your gun culture only takes if you've been raised in it - it shares that quality with religions.   By and large you need to be born and raised in a religion to embrace it, and you need to be born and raised in your gun culture to accept it.  With rare exceptions of course.

 

Our guns protected us from invasion by your empire in 1812.

You really need to read a book on the War of 1812.

The U.S. was justifiably upset by British conscription of American sailors for the war against Napoleon, and for other abuses, but the Americans invaded Upper Canada, not the other way around.

 

Our capitalism, left unchecked, is evil.

Agreed.

 

Our capitalism, monitored by a government responsible to the people and not Wall Street, has lead to the greatest period of prosperity throughout the world.

The degree to which is is now responsible to the people, and the undesiable side effects, are debatable.

 

After all, your prosperity was contingent to a large degree on the sweat of the American laborer - you know - the bible thumping, gun loving, constitution hugging people of which you have little regard for. 

This, again, is the "I bring home a paycheck so you can't complain when  I smack you around a bit" reasoning of the abusive husband.

 

Has there been a more generous nation in the history of the world willing to share their capitalism generated wealth than the American people? 

NO!  And you have been so generous as to share your capitalism and your notions of democracy even with countries that didn't ask for it.

While most Canadians might not like to be like us, most Americans are very happy not to be like Canadians.

That was my point in the first place.

I didn't regard it as a contest or something to get all one-uppy about.

Please don't take this wrong. I like Canada and most Canadians very much. I just have trouble with the ones who feel their shit doesn't stink.

Yeah, I hate those guys too.  ;-)

 

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