Page 16 of 33 FirstFirst ... 612131415161718192026 ... LastLast
Results 151 to 160 of 328
  1. #151
    The original Skolor and Gentileman. gugi's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2007
    Posts
    17,412
    Thanked: 3908
    Blog Entries
    1

    Default

    So you're saying in some respects they had no idea what they were doing? Because they certainly didn't mean to abolish slavery, or to treat women on equal footing with men.
    That would be contrary to your insistence that after much deliberation they came up with the perfect system which has been deteriorating ever since.

  2. #152
    Senior Member blabbermouth
    Join Date
    May 2006
    Posts
    2,516
    Thanked: 369

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by gugi View Post
    So you're saying in some respects they had no idea what they were doing? Because they certainly didn't mean to abolish slavery, or to treat women on equal footing with men.
    That would be contrary to your insistence that after much deliberation they came up with the perfect system which has been deteriorating ever since.
    Deteriorating due to repeated mishandling by subsequent generations, especially during the 20th century, and continuing into the 21st.

  3. #153
    Senior Member khaos's Avatar
    Join Date
    Mar 2009
    Location
    Ithaca NY
    Posts
    1,752
    Thanked: 160

    Default

    Honed right- I noticed you corrected Gugi's quote from inalienable to unalienable. This pedanticism surely means you have noticed the fact that the framers clearly wrote "all MEN are created equal"- leaving women completely out of it.

    As to slavery- there is a clause in the constitution stating that there shall be a period of 20 years, then it would come to a vote in Congress. To me that seems like they didn't really care one way or another- if they had been so for the rights of blacks, why didn't they just outright ban it?

    Finally, you claim that these unalienable rights were ordained by a higher power, yet the US government was one of the first SECULAR states in the world. The clause about "life liberty and the pursuit of happiness" and all that nonsense is a combination of the two philosophers, Locke and Rousseau, with a touch of social contract- no religion involved.

    For the upteenth time- lets just amend the damn thing! If we refuse to consider the Constitution as possibly being wrong, then we are discounting amendments in general! Amendments correct the wrongs of the constitution! And in some case, the wrongs of previous amendments (notably, prohibition, anti-prohibition)

  4. The Following User Says Thank You to khaos For This Useful Post:

    Bruno (09-23-2009)

  5. #154
    50 year str. shaver mrsell63's Avatar
    Join Date
    Aug 2008
    Location
    Pothole County, PA
    Posts
    2,258
    Thanked: 522
    Blog Entries
    2

    Default Constitutionality

    Anyone who is in anyway comfortatable with the government running his/her life in anyway, shape or form is a fool. Fools abound which explains the predicament we are presently confounded by. OOPS, I just ended a sentence with a preposition.

    The bottom line is that a fairly large group of fools elected a celebrity to the White House. Again, fools abound.............

    Here's an experiment for you. Compare your net income for 2009 to your net income for 2010. Let me know how you make out........ JERRY
    Last edited by mrsell63; 09-23-2009 at 08:11 AM.
    JERRY
    OOOPS! Pass the styptic please.

  6. #155
    JMS
    JMS is offline
    Usagi Yojimbo JMS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Ramona California
    Posts
    6,858
    Thanked: 792

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by khaos View Post
    Honed right- I noticed you corrected Gugi's quote from inalienable to unalienable. This pedanticism surely means you have noticed the fact that the framers clearly wrote "all MEN are created equal"- leaving women completely out of it.
    You are kidding right? the use of the word Men up until very recently always referred to men and women alike.
    As to slavery- there is a clause in the constitution stating that there shall be a period of 20 years, then it would come to a vote in Congress. To me that seems like they didn't really care one way or another- if they had been so for the rights of blacks, why didn't they just outright ban it?
    The men who framed our constitution knew that there would be no country if they out right outlawed slavery. they put aside this difference so that we may have a country and the freedoms we enjoy today. They also knew that sometime in the future there would have to be a reckoning. Hopefully at a time when our country could handle it.
    A very large portion of our country died fighting for the rights of slaves in this country. practically no family went untouched in our civil war. White and black alike died for the cause of freedom. Have we all forgotten this?
    This conversation about our forefathers wanting to keep the black man a slave makes me sick. Who do you think instilled the ideals in the generation that fought for the rights of slaves.

  7. #156
    Heat it and beat it Bruno's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Belgium
    Posts
    15,132
    Thanked: 5230
    Blog Entries
    10

    Default

    The founding fathers put off abolishing slavery. The civil war was fought after the war for independance. And apparently, Lincoln even regretted having to abolish slavery. The soldiers in the civil war died because the North and South fought for dominance. Rights for slaves were not the cause, nor the main goal of that war.

    The men of that time were not all upstanding gentleman who had nothing but the best interest of their fellow men at heart. They were just men, at heart no different from the men of today. The majority of white men at that time either supported slavery, or didn't care either way.
    Last edited by Bruno; 09-23-2009 at 09:08 AM.
    Til shade is gone, til water is gone, Into the shadow with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath.
    To spit in Sightblinder’s eye on the Last Day

  8. #157
    JMS
    JMS is offline
    Usagi Yojimbo JMS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Ramona California
    Posts
    6,858
    Thanked: 792

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by Bruno View Post
    The founding fathers put off abolishing slavery. The civil war was fought after the war for independance. And apparently, Lincoln even regretted having to abolish slavery.

    So don't act as if the men of that time were all upstanding gentleman who had nothing but the best interest of their fellow men at heart. They were just men. The majority of white men at that time either supported slavery, or didn't care either way.
    Is that why so many died in that bloody war Bruno?

    You'll have to give me something on your Lincoln statement.

    By the way Bruno, are all Europeans so jaded and cynical? Is their any love or hope for whats right or is it a given among Europeans that all is for selfish and self serving purposes?

  9. #158
    Heat it and beat it Bruno's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Belgium
    Posts
    15,132
    Thanked: 5230
    Blog Entries
    10

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by JMS View Post
    Is that why so many died in that bloody war Bruno?
    They sure as heel did not die TO abolish slavery.

    Quote Originally Posted by JMS View Post
    You'll have to give me something on your Lincoln statement.
    I should have done my research myself when I first hear the quote. It is more nuanced than that. However:

    Lincoln's Changing Views on Slavery
    During the Lincoln-Douglas debate at Charleston on September 18, 1858, Lincoln stated:
    I will say then that I am not, nor have I ever been in the favor of bringing about in any way the social and political equality of the white and black races . . . There must be a position of superior and inferior, and I... am in favor of having the superior position assigned to the white race ...

    "My paramount objective in this struggle is to save the Union, and it is not either to save or destroy slavery. If I could save the Union without freeing any slaves, I would do it, if I could save it by freeing all the slaves I would do it."

    Quote Originally Posted by JMS View Post
    By the way Bruno, are all Europeans so jaded and cynical? Is their any love or hope for whats right or is it a given among Europeans that all is for selfish and self serving purposes?
    Lincoln fought to preserve the union. He admitted himself that he did not care about slavery as a main argument. His main concern was the union that was threatening to fall apart.

    WW1 did NOT start because of the assassination of Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria .

    By the same token, operation 'Iraqi freedom' did not start because of freedom for the Iraqis, and we did not colonize congo to bring civilization there.

    Yes, I am a realist. Unfortunately this also has me labeled as a cynic.
    Wars don't start for good reasons (revolutions do, sometimes). The morality gets tacked on for justification.
    Til shade is gone, til water is gone, Into the shadow with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath.
    To spit in Sightblinder’s eye on the Last Day

  10. #159
    JMS
    JMS is offline
    Usagi Yojimbo JMS's Avatar
    Join Date
    Jan 2007
    Location
    Ramona California
    Posts
    6,858
    Thanked: 792

    Default

    "Realist" is just a nice sounding word that apparently means that one has no hope or belief that another can move out of the spirit of goodness.

  11. #160
    Heat it and beat it Bruno's Avatar
    Join Date
    Nov 2006
    Location
    Belgium
    Posts
    15,132
    Thanked: 5230
    Blog Entries
    10

    Default

    Quote Originally Posted by JMS View Post
    "Realist" is just a nice sounding word that apparently means that one has no hope or belief that another can move out of the spirit of goodness.
    Sorry, that is not true.
    I believe that people sometimes do things out of the spirit of goodness. I have hope and belief.

    Goodness, however, is not something that wars start over.
    Til shade is gone, til water is gone, Into the shadow with teeth bared, screaming defiance with the last breath.
    To spit in Sightblinder’s eye on the Last Day

Posting Permissions

  • You may not post new threads
  • You may not post replies
  • You may not post attachments
  • You may not edit your posts
  •