Sometimes I'm troubled by what our country has done in the past

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Victoria33

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Sometimes I’m troubled by what our country has done in the past. This is not a thread to bash other countries but for sincere discussion. I mean, how do you see it as an American? And let’s not make any mistake, many, perhaps most countries have done wrongs. This is not a finger-pointing thread.

Case in point, this article in reference to the Spanish-American war from well over 100 years ago (Started in 1898). This is just in the current events news stories.

https://www.oann.com/u-s-returns-bells-looted-after-philippine-wartime-massacre/

U.S. returns bells looted after Philippine wartime massacre​

December 11, 2018

MANILA (Reuters) – Church bells taken as war trophies by U.S. forces more than a century ago arrived in the Philippines on Tuesday, ending Manila’s decades-long quest for the return of some of the most famous symbols of resistance to U.S. colonialism.

The “Bells of Balangiga” landed in a military cargo plane at a Manila air base ahead of their return on Saturday to a church in Samar, the central island where U.S. troops in 1901 massacred hundreds, perhaps thousands, of Filipinos to avenge an ambush that killed 48 of their comrades.
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Okay, this and the rest of the article lays out the history clearly and this is not from some anti-American source but just reports what we know. And we have had other incidences in our history. I’ll just say, it bothers me. I realize, these were different times. Going forward, the US needs to avoid these things.
 
The US is a nation of human beings. As such, it will be guilty of many crimes, just like every other nation of human beings.
 
Countries aren’t infallible or impeccable. We have to work to make them better.
 
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I don’t know about America, but I feel the same about the UK, my country. I think we need to be aware of the actions of our countries, and not try to explain it away but to accept we did it and do better in the future.
 
I teach my students as we go through history, that it’s wrong to deify our nation as infallalable and perfect by ignoring the problematic parts of our history.

But it’s also wrong to ignore all the good and progress that has come about because of our nation.

We have to take it all in balance, and use our history as a platform to grow from. And be better than our ancestors were
 
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I forgot to mention, we have many Filipinos in the USA. A lot are at our church.

We also, likely made great sacrifices during World War II to free their nation from Japanese imperialism which was very awful it seems.

I just wonder a bit how those of Filipino heritage in the USA might see this as well.
 
We also didn’t need to drop the bombs on Hiroshima or Nagasaki. But, that’s apparently an unpopular opinion. Never mind that Church teaching is quite clear on the just war doctrine. Intentionally killing civilians is always wrong. I’m a trail of tears descendant. For a very long time, I was very angry, very conflicted. But, the more I think about it, the more I realise that everyone responsible for that is long dead. You should be troubled by this. Just as we should be troubled by certain Islamist factions in the Middle East destroying churches there. Anyway, with regards to the OP, stealing is wrong, stealing from a church is very wrong.
 
Yes our country has done many sinister and inexcusable things. It is good and healthy to reflect on these things to help us make better decisions in the future. Many social/political movements in recent years have been growing in popularity around the world that prefer to ignore or minimize the sins of the past. These movements are very dangerous to the future.

That is why it so important to invoke Our Lady of Guadalupe, patroness of the Americas, for guidance and protection, and to lead us to her Son. God can heal any wound. He loves us in spite of it all.
 
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Let’s pray we are not lead into anymore conflicts…even though, I am afraid at times when I look at the way things are…I pray that the leaders in this world will turn their hearts to Him…God bless us all
 
It’s always easier to confess and repent the sins of other people than our own sins. Americans who did bad things 100 years ago are not us, they are other people.

The last 50 years have been almost an orgy of vicarious repentance, as we repent the sins of dead people, or the sins of corporations, politicians, or other persons beside ourselves.

At the same time there are few in line for Confession. Vicarious repentance has to be one of the biggest obstacles to conversion. It allows you to indulge, and get back a faux feeling of being moral, with your faux repentance.
 
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It’s critical for us to remember history, good or bad, so we can learn and hopefully never make the same mistakes.
As someone who has served in the military and the intelligence community, I’m comforted to know most of our leaders are motivated to limit harm to innocents as much as possible. And those who do intentional harm outside of the scope of their mission are held accountable. It’s also important to hold our leaders accountable. Sadly, with all the rhetoric these days, it’s hard to know truth anymore.
 
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adamhovey1988 said:
We also didn’t need to drop the bombs on Hiroshima or Nagasaki. But, that’s apparently an unpopular opinion
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actually a lot of people would agree with you, it’s not really an unpopular opinion these days. But there are two sides to the story. According to Louis Zamperini, an American prisoner of war in Japan, he and his fellow prisoners believe that their lives were saved by the dropping of the bombs.
 
The things that are decided behind closed door. I doubt if any American President will escape God’s wrath unpunished. Most of the bad stuff you never hear about. One thing I recently heard but have been unable to confirm is that one of the chief causes of the war with Japan was the US reneging on a secret deal. Supposedly a deal was negotiated by Teddy Roosevelt after his Presidency with Japan that the US and Japan would divide China between themselves.

I can find nothing on this. If anyone has access to secret documents let me know.
 
History, yes it is important. Vicarious repentance, or the revisionist politically correct history served in academia or media, not good.

Do you think media and academia present the Crusades fairly? Do you think pastors who urge their congregation to confess and repent their own sins get applauded as much as those who urge confession and repentance of sins by people other than themselves, such as dead people?
 
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Remarkably disturbed by the tenor of this original post and the direction of the thread.
Without doubt, The United States’ record of performtive interaction with the rest of the free and , more importantly, I’m-free world may be inconsistent at worst. Are there sporadic instances of imperfection and perhaps even severe shortcomings - well sure . The best example is slavery.

HOWEVER, unlike many (all ?) other nations which have necessarily elected to wage battles against others, the U.S. hs never entered into one of those engagements with the sole intent of conquering and/ or kingdom building. For the most part, this nation is formatted the same now as ever. We could have annexed most of Central America, Europe and Asia if we had wished…

This country has offered and lost more of its fine young men and women for the sole purpose of providing freedom for others than any other nation since Creation. There shall NEVER be another example of such remarkable sacrifice for others and for mankind.

I shall not stand for or abide the nit-picking criticism of tactical battlefield decisions or anecdotal offerings that cannot stand the light of logical analysis.

Are we perfect as a country? NO.

We ARE superior to most others with regard to individual freedoms and individual liberty. Any other suggestion is preposterous.

PERIOD.
 
Here, Senator Rubio talks about the war in Yemen. So far, thankfully, during this administration, we haven’t really gotten involved in any conflict. The Yemen war has been on for some years, we supply weapons and intelligence. We need to do the right things and start doing the right thing when we are able. I mean, you have the Crowned Prince MbS, Mohammed bin Salman and we know he’s been in the news.

Anyway, I believe Senator Rubio is likely correct on this. He’s really good on foreign affairs. And even when one has the best intentions, that doesn’t mean it will go the right way.

# On Senate Floor, Rubio Discusses the War in Yemen


I will add on one more thing, does anyone know where we got the high-grade uranium to make our atomic weapons in World War II? We got that uranium from the troubled nation of DR (Democratic Republic) Congo. We might not have been able to be victorious in World War II without that uranium. So, no, the US did not colonize Congo but my heart goes out to those who have had a tough struggle.

The CIA even documents this: https://www.cia.gov/library/center-...s/studies/vol-60-no-4/spies-in-the-congo.html I’m not aware if we could have gotten that uranium elsewhere.

Did we urge Mubarak to step down in Egypt only 6 years ago or so? Look at all of the problems Egypt has had? And that whole Arab spring.
 
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I am from the UK; and am deeply upset about our role with slavery.

I am profoundly disturbed about our involvement in both Afghanistan and especially Iraq. The region is now destabilised and millions have become refugees.
 
Moose said:
HOWEVER, unlike many (all ?) other nations which have necessarily elected to wage battles against others, the U.S. hs never entered into one of those engagements with the sole intent of conquering and/ or kingdom building. For the most part, this nation is formatted the same now as ever
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I have considerable admiration for the United States and the rôle it has traditionally played in the world, but this is a misreading. The United States has annexed other people’s land across the width of a continent, and waged war to seize land to the south (successfully) and to the north (unsuccessfully). It is by no means formatted the same now as ever. Again, I don’t seek to disparage the US; we can all be blinkered about our own neck of the woods.
 
No misreading.
Sure we “stole” land from the original “owners”… describe it as you shall.

The point was that we have never waged a war with the specific intent of colonizing a structured foreign country/government. Most armed conflicts begin with that as specific intent.

It would surely seem that the greatest harm this country has perpetrated is to itself. The rampant greed and narcissism foisted upon us all by the politicians we elect, the actors we worship and the media we mindlessly obey is destroying any claim to the greatness that the Founding Fathers may have had in mind.

This country has little to be ashamed of in comparison to the rest of the world. If we ever regain our
Moral compass we might even become that beacon on the hill once again…
 
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