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February 22, 2006
On Division
It seems like people are looking for more and more ways to make themselves divided from their fellow man. Everyone has to be in one camp or another. The media perpetuates this, I think, because it makes for good TV, and people, thinking that's how they ought to act fall in line.
More and more "for research purposes" I'm being asked about my ancestory. It seems to be an important question to banks and lenders when you're borrowing money for a house or other large purpose. They say it's for research but I can't figure out why it's important at all. If I have a job, some cash in the bank, and pay my bills regularly why does it matter if I'm Hawaiian American, Mexican American, African American, Native American, or other. The very system that's supposed to keep us from being discriminated against is providing us with means to be differant. It seems to me that if race were ignored in such matters all together people would start viewing themselves as one on the planet.
Politics is no better. Everything is a partisian battle. Even the Enloe expansion, with the Democrats siding with peace and quiet in the neighborhood and Republicians backing the expansion to any end. When a council member makes a poorly contrived statement and another calls him on it, it's not because stupidity should be addressed, it's because of partisian politics, or at least so the letters to the Editor seem to think.
We, in this country, need to find reasons to unify. Unfortunately the last time we did it was because a common enemy blew up two of our grandest buildings and killed our citizens. And even then the comradery lasted only a couple of months before it was back to the same old name calling. We are all American's. I am not Scottish American, or European American, or Spanish American, or Republican American. I'm just an American. And so is everyone else.
"There can be no divided allegiance here. Any man who says he is an American, but something else also, isn't an American at all. We have room for but one flag, the American Flag."
Theodore Roosevelt
Posted by at February 22, 2006 09:29 AM
Comments
Many feel, and I tend to agree, that the day will soon come when the political party system in America will come to an end. I can't say how soon this will be but the sooner the better. More and more people are starting to get tired of the political system "as-is" and seem to feel a change is needed. They are tired of good ideas getting caught up in red tape because one party suggested it and therefore the other party must oppose. Either that or that good idea gets so packed with other bills riding on the back of the origial that by the time it hits the voting booth its garbage.
As for the "for informational purposes only" surveys that seem to be attached to everything lately I'm at a loss. I struggle with the idea of filling them out and being a good little lemming or not filling them out and being viewed as a rabble rouser. Considering that most of the time when you see these little gems its attached, as you said, to a loan application or job application. You dont want to be rejected for not following the "rules" but on the other hand you dont feel that its any of their business. Its an awful situation to be in.
Posted by: Cris at February 22, 2006 12:10 PM