Was the American Revolution justified?

[TULIPed]

I actually don’t believe that the government should be able to force you to sell your property.

Agreed. I’m still mad about the power line easement in my back yard. In fact - you’ve inspired me. I’m going to reclaim it. I’ll figure out the whole electricity thing out later. Lights, AC and refrigeration are over-rated anyway.

 

[ltwin]

Eminent domain is a hard concept to make fair. As someone who is very pro property rights I acknowledge that.

Especially in recent years where the courts have allowed eminent domain for private development. There are plenty of horror stories of city governments using eminent domain to build non-government commercial centers. They use the argument that the city’s economy will benefit, so its a public necessity.

Now, many states fave fixed this by passing laws prohibiting such abuses. Hopefully, the courts will realize they’ve gone too far and claw eminent domain back to its original purpose.

 

[TULIPed]

Especially in recent years where the courts have allowed eminent domain for private development.

Deregulation, i.e. putting things like electricity and natural gas supply in the private competitive marketplace in order to drive down prices to the consumer, goes hand in hand with allowing private companies to use eminent domain to spur and support development.

Abuse is always possible, but ultimately adjudicated by the courts - as it would be if the government was still handing out monopolies. In other words - pick your poison.

 

[twf]

Even in the 18th century, Britain was far from an absolute monarch. King George had power to be sure…but he was one of many powerful voices in the government. Parliament was already effectively supreme by that point. Monarchy does not equate absolute monarchy…the Church historically supported monarchy as the idea of an anointed monarch symbolically best reflects the Kingdom of Heaven itself.

 

[twf]

What you’re describing sounds more like the president of a totalitarian republic… kings are traditionally fettered by tradition and precedent, and as I said earlier, are not necessarily absolute in their power at all. The King of France often had little real power outside of Paris for much of medieval history.

 

[twf]

Haha what amazes me as a Canadian is how little Canadian geography Americans know…and I mean really really basic stuff. I remember several years ago I was sitting in the office of a corporate Vice President (so educated professional woman) in Minnesota. She asked me “So Vancouver…is that just outside Toronto?” Well…if a FIVE HOUR FLIGHT is just outside then sure. I get the impression that for many Americans all of Canada is one tiny snowy dot somewhere “up north” .

 

[TULIPed]

Haha what amazes me as a Canadian is how little Canadian geography Americans know…and I mean really really basic stuff.

Which part beyond 100 miles or so north of the border is important anyway? I’M KIDDING.

You guys invented hockey, lacrosse, and - most importantly - Letterkenny, so I love you all.

#letthatmarinateforawhile

 

[VonDerTann]

2 words:

Canadian whiskey!

 

[twf]

Deacon,
As long as you accept that the honour “greatest nation in the world” is your opinion and not Church teaching .

 

[twf]

There is a greatnesses to America. No doubt. I very much enjoy visiting… but I would never live there. With greatness comes great problems as well.

 

[twf]

Well to be fair most major cities would be with a 100 miles of the border…

 

[HomeschoolDad]

Haha what amazes me as a Canadian is how little Canadian geography Americans know…and I mean really really basic stuff. I remember several years ago I was sitting in the office of a corporate Vice President (so educated professional woman) in Minnesota. She asked me “So Vancouver…is that just outside Toronto?” Well…if a FIVE HOUR FLIGHT is just outside then sure. I get the impression that for many Americans all of Canada is one tiny snowy dot somewhere “up north” .

Unless they live fairly near the border, Americans haven’t a clue. Every time I talk to a Canadian, I feel the need to apologize for Americans’ ignorance of their country.

As of late, I am also trying to educate myself more about Mexico. Never been, but I would like to go. Much more diverse, complicated, and sophisticated country than people give it credit for. I’ve already learned the states along the border and am trying to get a feel for the rest of the country as well.

 

[VonDerTann]

You castigate Americans for being so (allegedly) ignorant of Canada.

Be fair minded here: do you have any hard evidence, other than your feelings, that lead you to conclude that other nations’ populations - who are often much less well educated than Americans - are so much more knowledgeable about America, than we are about them? And I mean really knowledgeable about us as a country, rather than just what they see on American TV we export to them?

Maybe it’s them you need to apologize for.

 

[StudentMI]

I remember watching one of those YouTube videos on how dumb Americans are, asking them questions about geography and politics etc. In response some people made videos showing how dumb Germans, Brits, and the French can be. No country is without ignorance.

 

[VonDerTann]

Another point: American higher education is the best in the world.
Where do the world’s rich send their young achievers to learn? To American colleges, of course. If you’re a Saudi prince your son comes here to learn, rather than our rich sons going there to learn.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

You castigate Americans for being so (allegedly) ignorant of Canada.

Be fair minded here: do you have any hard evidence, other than your feelings, that lead you to conclude that other nations’ populations - who are often much less well educated than Americans - are so much more knowledgeable about America, than we are about them? And I mean really knowledgeable about us as a country, rather than just what they see on American TV we export to them?

Maybe it’s them you need to apologize for.

I really don’t think so. I have dealt with more non-Americans, both here and abroad, than I can possibly recall. I married one and spent 14 years with her. My son’s other grandparents speak hardly a single word of English. I can assure you that, generally speaking, foreigners’ knowledge of America, while not necessarily comprehensive, is far greater than Americans’ knowledge of any other country.

As for Canada (a country I have visited twice, and can name every province — there aren’t that many — in correct order from east to west with their capitals):

Go to Walmart in — let’s pull a fairly large American city out of the blue here, let’s say Nashville — and ask the first twenty adults you see:

• What is the capital of Canada?
• What is the name of their prime minister? (I am feeling generous here, I’d let last name only count.)
• Name four provinces.
• Which is furthest east, Montreal, Toronto, or Vancouver?
• Which is furthest west?

Then go to Walmart in, let’s say, Saskatoon, and ask the first twenty adults you see:

• What is the capital of the United States?
• What is the name of their president? (I’d really want to see both first and last name.)
• Name four states.
• Which is furthest east, New York, Chicago, or San Francisco?
• Which is furthest west?

My point should be clear. And I feel safe in saying you could go to any random country in Europe, ask the same questions about America, and the only ones that might — might — be a little dodgy, for your lesser-educated person here or there, would be the easternmost and westernmost cities.

For what it’s worth, you could go from one end of Canada to the other, and without exception, every home that has cable or satellite TV, receives at least one affiliate of every major American TV network. In the United States, unless you live within 50-100 miles of the border, you wouldn’t get a single one of theirs.

I could go on all day proving my point, but I’ll leave it at that. And as far as Americans’ lack of knowledge about the rest of the world… well, I could go on all day about that, too.

 

[PilgrimMichelangelo]

Oh, and BTW - cathedrals are utterly inconsequential achievements compared to a manned moon landing.

Cathedrals are temples dedicated to the Living God, where the Holy Sacrifice of the Body and Blood of Christ is offered for the life of the world and the sanctification of the faithful, transporting the immortal soul into Heaven.

Spaceships are temples dedicated to man’s technical mastery over the physical elements, and even though they lift him up to the exploration of the physical heavens, they cannot transport him into the one Heaven that matters.

Methinks we are comparing apples and oranges.

 

[VonDerTann]

You seem to labor under the mistaken and false belief that Americans’ supposed “ignorance” is tied to their knowledge of provincial capitals.

If you study educational systems in various countries, what you’ll see is other countries teaching things like the names of rivers; capital cities, etc.

If you look at what Americans are taught, it’ll be things like, “the causes and effects of the civil war,” or why things happen.

I remember a book from the 1980s called IIRC “The Book of Tests.” It had portions of many different tests including the bar exam for lawyers and the test to become a New York taxi driver. It had, IIRC, part of a Japanese (high school) exam that was nothing but the names of rivers, geographical features, etc., i.e. essentially mindless minutae.

This from a nation that won’t tell its students about Pearl Harbor or the rape of Nanking.

I remember showing this test to my Dad, an Ivy-educated PhD. I said “Gee, I guess Americans are dumb, look at what Japanese kids learn that we don’t!”

He smiled and said, “son, they study rivers and capitals, we study causes and effects; they memorize; in our system we draw analogies and have to understand things.”

That same year, my HS history exams were basically 3-4 sentences of questions, where I had to write 20 pages, i.e., why the American Revolution happened.

–So go ahead, HomeSchoolDad, school your kids at home and make sure they learn every capital city; every river; and every mountain range in America; Canada; or Paraguay for that matter, and keep insulting Americans for not knowing those things. Continue to apologize for ignorant Americans who aren’t as smart as you.

We probably don’t know Canada’s capitals like you do. Some of us just believe we learn more important things as it is.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

I remember showing this test to my Dad, an Ivy-educated PhD. I said “Gee, I guess Americans are dumb, look at what Japanese kids learn that we don’t!”

He smiled and said, “son, they study rivers and capitals, we study causes and effects; they memorize; in our system we draw analogies and have to understand things.”

That same year, my HS history exams were basically 3-4 sentences of questions, where I had to write 20 pages, i.e., why the American Revolution happened.

–So go ahead, HomeSchoolDad, school your kids at home and make sure they learn every capital city; every river; and every mountain range in America; Canada; or Paraguay for that matter, and keep insulting Americans for not knowing those things. Continue to apologize for ignorant Americans who aren’t as smart as you.

We probably don’t know Canada’s capitals like you do. Some of us just believe we learn more important things as it is.

Facts are important. Reasoning is important. I don’t deny either one. Rote memorization is stultifying, I will grant that — and if you stop and think about it, English spelling and pronunciation (unlike some languages) is basically one long exercise in memorization, “bough” and “rough” do not rhyme, the pronunciation of “Heathrow” isn’t at all evident, and I had to be told how to pronounce Julianne Hough’s last name (“huff”). You do more or less have to memorize the multiplication tables, but it also helps to “get inside them” and be able to do the simple math in your head, to know how to get from 5x9=45, 6x9=54, 7x9=63, and so on.

Your father made a very wise observation, but I am still not convinced that the vast majority of American students have those good, critical thinking skills. They may be taught these skills, but whether they absorb them, that’s another thing entirely. Much of what passes for education in this country is basically parroting back political correctness, and clear-headed, objective thinking gets shouted down if it doesn’t come to those same politically correct conclusions.

I do not teach my son (I only have the one child) vast bodies of rote information, and I certainly want him to develop the rock-solid reasoning skills — which he does have — that you cite. Just last night, out of the clear blue sky, we were discussing creationism, and he began lecturing me on how you really need to go back to the original scriptural texts, and don’t just assume that later translations are correct. I didn’t tell him this, he came up with it on his own, and he is not a child prodigy, he is an average student at best, with a somewhat above-average IQ, far from genius level. I then explained to him that the Bible was originally written in Hebrew, Aramaic, and Greek, and how St Jerome translated it into Latin, from whence we get the Douay-Rheims Bible. Not too shabby for a 13-year-old. In the public schools, they are taught more along the lines of the lives of various demographic groups mattering (which, by the way, they most certainly do). Two different educational philosophies.

 

[HomeschoolDad]

But I remain appalled by how Americans, regardless of how intact their reasoning skills may be, know very, very little about the rest of the world, and do not want to know anything about the rest of the world. I would like to see the rest of the world be as important to Americans, as America is to the rest of the world. And I’d like to see it taught in school, along with the reasoning skills, analogies, and cause and effect you so rightly esteem. It’s not an “either-or”, it’s a “both-and”.