At 12:22 PM 5/29/01 -0500 Reggie Bautista wrote:
>How about we pause in this debate for just a moment to clarify a couple of
>things.
>
>John says that the U.S. has quite a bit to be proud of. I think we can all
>agree about that.
>
>Kat says that the U.S. has quite a bit to be ashamed of. I don't think
>anyone on the list will try to say that the U.S. has been perfect (Senator
>McCarthy, anyone?).
>
>Before the debate continues, can we all agree that there is some stuff to be
>proud of, and some stuff to be ashamed of? With that being agreed, what
>exactly is this debate about?
My guess is that it is about Kat and Jeroen et al trying to convince me
that I am really not cognizant of America's flaws (even though I have
brought them up and acknowledged them repeatedly), all the while trying to
diminish as many of America's accomplishments as possible. Additionally,
it is about several people arguing that arrogance is *never* justified,
even though nobody has once claimed a justification for arrogance.
JDG - Who admits that the above sounds rather biting, but is posting it
anyways because after reflection, that's about the best summary of the
argument that I can come up with.
__________________________________________________________
John D. Giorgis - [EMAIL PROTECTED] - ICQ #3527685
"Compassionate conservatism is the way to reconcile the two most vital
conservative intellectual traditions: libertarianism and Catholic social
thought."
-Michael Gerson, advisor to George W. Bush
