Quote Originally Posted by gugi View Post
Secondly US's history on slavery doesn't support a superior value system.
I think if you looked as deeply into the issue of slavery as you have on the manga Carta you'd find it far more complex than you might be giving it credit for and might see a perspective of the country's founders that we might not be giving them credit for (if credit is the word you'll choose). Slavery in the early years was a compromise. A compromise, just like I've seen suggested here on this thread as the very basis of our system. The union was less than solid. The chance of the colonies forming a lasting government and fending off the British could only happen IF everyone were on board. The only way to do that was through compromising on the issue of slavery. And to paint the entire country with the same brush is not exactly accurate. In essence some of the founders knew that slavery was in contrast to everything they were saying. But they needed to allow it in order to secure the union. In a way, they punted on the issue and left it to be resolved at a later point in time. Everyone here might find that reprehensible but that's what they were willing to do to preserve or establish the country as we know it. We might consider that as we ponder how righteous we are and what we won't sink to to preserve ourselves in this fight. Others might not agree with me but I see the govt running roughshod all over civil liberties all the time in the name of fighting terrorism. The govt doesn't have a problem doing it. It does it all the time. My complaint is that if you are going to run over civil liberties, put the pain where it belongs. Direct it like the tip of a spear and get it over with. But then again, that assumes that those in charge really want to fight it.