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Marco Rubio quote


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usually politicians, when making such wide-sweeping comments, are referring to the people and their indomitable spirit. we're very generous and have lots of ingenuity.

 

a lot of comments in this thread seem to see the US gov't - past and present - as one gigantic evil body. i'm surprised to see such a fatalistic view by so many.

Tank, these years of Obama I don't think there ever has been a more fatalistic view by so many.  Heck, Hillary is already a Muslim.  Rubio was a (D) you don't think he would be a commie for having Cuban parents?  Life is good and America is good.  

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It's hard to read people's minds but I think you are probably right in thinking he was referring to exceptionalism. American exceptionalism is probably the biggest terror threat for the world as a whole.

 

And you wonder why you can't have a civil political discourse with your family members. They think you're insane.

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You don't think that refers to American Exceptionalism? After how much the Republicans have harped on that, and suggested Obama doesn't love America...or has a "different" view of America. I can't imagine that didn't refer to the concept of Exceptionalism and not individual generosity/ingenuity, etc. I imagine a large part of the Republican primary is going to be who "loves" America, and Ronald Reagan, the most.

 

to me, american exceptionalism, as i understood it, was more about the creativity, ingenuity, and problem solving skills that has been a hallmark of what our country has produced over the centuries. examples would be things like landing on the moon, developing the cell phone, converting oil into gasoline, and other things that generally advance society.

 

i had to go look it up to see what you were referring to. 

 

i don't see american exceptionalism as "our country is better than yours". that might be the definition others use, but it is not the one i use. i have no doubt that republicans will throw that phrase around liberally in the next 18 months, and reagan will be referenced many times over as the ideal president. i've never bought into that kind of hyperbole or using that as a campaign strategy. i think there are plenty of other things repubs can cite as reasons to defeat hillary in the next election.

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It's hard to read people's minds but I think you are probably right in thinking he was referring to exceptionalism. American exceptionalism is probably the biggest terror threat for the world as a whole.

 

you and i are seeing american exceptionalism in decidedly different ways.

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This might be an overly cynical view, but regardless of what the power structure in this country executes domestically and globally, I feel like we're witnessing a terrifyingly large number of people disinterested in being the best employee they can be, being the best father or mother they can be to their children, best spouse they can be or being a generally positive influence in the lives of others. 

 

Thankfully the other extreme still does plenty at home and abroad to make the world a better place. 

 

I don't give two ****s what anyone's political interest is if they aren't making a difference in someone else's life. 

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This might be an overly cynical view, but regardless of what the power structure in this country executes domestically and globally, I feel like we're witnessing a terrifyingly large number of people disinterested in being the best employee they can be, being the best father or mother they can be to their children, best spouse they can be or being a generally positive influence in the lives of others. 

 

Thankfully the other extreme still does plenty at home and abroad to make the world a better place. 

 

I don't give two ****s what anyone's political interest is if they aren't making a difference in someone else's life.

That's an exceptional point of view.

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This might be an overly cynical view, but regardless of what the power structure in this country executes domestically and globally, I feel like we're witnessing a terrifyingly large number of people disinterested in being the best employee they can be, being the best father or mother they can be to their children, best spouse they can be or being a generally positive influence in the lives of others. 

 

Thankfully the other extreme still does plenty at home and abroad to make the world a better place. 

 

I don't give two ****s what anyone's political interest is if they aren't making a difference in someone else's life. 

 

 

Hmm...I don't know if that's the case. I find it hard to imagine more people don't love their kids, their family, etc. etc. than in the past. Wife and I were talking about this the other day, you read these stories about bad copies, or something awful that happened. Is it happening more, or with the advent of the internet and 24 hours news cycle are we just hearing about it more?

 

I do think there is a change in mentality about work. I know my view has changed, why should I work 60 hours a week to scratch out a few more dollars in my pocket...and a few million more for the stockholders? I can better use that time doing things like living my life, spending time with my wife...my family. Maybe the younger generation might understand that better than you or I did...or our parents. If I was starting over now, I would probably choose a different career path, set expectations on lifestyle/living conditions different, etc...or maybe it's just entitlement on their part.

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Granted the number of stories brought to our attention is staggering. I'm trying to limit my perspective to what I witness and observe in everyday life.

I hope I'm off base. I don't think though that loving someone is necessarily the equivalent of treating the responsibility of parenthood and/or marriage with the respect it demands.

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Hmm...I don't know if that's the case. I find it hard to imagine more people don't love their kids, their family, etc. etc. than in the past. Wife and I were talking about this the other day, you read these stories about bad copies, or something awful that happened. Is it happening more, or with the advent of the internet and 24 hours news cycle are we just hearing about it more?

I do think there is a change in mentality about work. I know my view has changed, why should I work 60 hours a week to scratch out a few more dollars in my pocket...and a few million more for the stockholders? I can better use that time doing things like living my life, spending time with my wife...my family. Maybe the younger generation might understand that better than you or I did...or our parents. If I was starting over now, I would probably choose a different career path, set expectations on lifestyle/living conditions different, etc...or maybe it's just entitlement on their part.

I agree with you about work. I'm not willing unless absolutely necessary for survival to work more than 40 hours in an average week. My employer understands that and I got a really good deal there. Time is much more valuable to me than money as well. Kudos!

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Yep. By all accounts, interned individuals were treated humanely. Doesn't make it less of a black eye in our history, but does serve to demonstrate that Americans are generally humane people.

How did the Japanese treat POW? How did the Germans treat the Jews? How are non-Muslims (and Muslims, for that matter) treated today in Muslim nations? How are women treated today in many parts of the world?

The U.S. has made and will continue to make its mistakes, but is still far superior to most places in earth in terms of how it treats its people and other peoples.

Hahahaha. You left out slavery. Nice.

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Also "dropping atomic bombs on civilian cities" is too vague when describing everything that led up to it.

 

The Japanese were determined to fight to the last man even though the war was lost. President Truman was told by his advisors that it would cost the lives of a million American soldiers to invade the mainland of Japan. Given that statistic, he said that he would make the same decision again "without batting an eye."

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The Japanese were determined to fight to the last man even though the war was lost. President Truman was told by his advisors that it would cost the lives of a million American soldiers to invade the mainland of Japan. Given that statistic, he said that he would make the same decision again "without batting an eye."

And there really shouldn't be any dispute that it was the right decision.

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Interesting chart.  I do pretty well in helping others and donating $.  Not so much in donating time anymore but think since getting older I am losing the energy. 

 

yeah, YEAH!  i only donate and volunteer when i can take public credit for it. i am a great philanthropist, actually.

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Nice edit:  Typical AJ, condescending and humorless.

 

Condescending? Sure, I can see that - if only because I'm actually honest. Humorless? Malarkey, I say.

 

yes but the whole good/bad debate to me is silly.

 

The U.S. has done a lot of good and a lot of bad.  You have countries like Switzerland or the Nordic countries but they don't do much good outside of their own arenas.

 

Not to mention that Europe is so racist it makes the south look tame.

 

Bottom line is that good/bad is pointless but Rubio's quote was nothing more than what most all candidates for president have said in some form or another.

 

Yes, I agree. I just find that sort of pandering to the lowest common nationalistic denominator, which Republican so often do, to be irritating and naive.

 

I know this is semantics on my part but internment camps are not concentration camps. At least not in the definition of WWII terminology. Doesn't make it right but they aren't even in the same realm. Also "dropping atomic bombs on civilian cities" is too vague when describing everything that led up to it.

 

Yep. By all accounts, interned individuals were treated humanely. Doesn't make it less of a black eye in our history, but does serve to demonstrate that Americans are generally humane people.

How did the Japanese treat POW? How did the Germans treat the Jews? How are non-Muslims (and Muslims, for that matter) treated today in Muslim nations? How are women treated today in many parts of the world?

The U.S. has made and will continue to make its mistakes, but is still far superior to most places in earth in terms of how it treats its people and other peoples.

 

Define "humane." Is not having running water "humane"? Is taking away someone's possessions and forcibly imprisoning them because of their ethnicity "humane?" Sure, they weren't Auschwitz - but that doesn't make them "humane."

 

Also, "far superior to most places" is a different than "greatest force for good the world has ever known." The first is hard to disagree with - I certainly would rather live in the US than "most places" on earth.

 

My point was that other people across the world have terrible histories as well. Doesn't make them bad now.

 

Yes, agreed - and I said as much up-thread.

 

The Japanese were determined to fight to the last man even though the war was lost. President Truman was told by his advisors that it would cost the lives of a million American soldiers to invade the mainland of Japan. Given that statistic, he said that he would make the same decision again "without batting an eye."

 

This is the textbook version which has been pretty much been disproven in Oliver Stone's Untold History of the US and other places. The atomic bombs were not necessary to end the war - actually, according to Stone at least and corroborated with quotes from key military leaders of the time - the bombs weren't about ending the war, they were a display for the Soviet Union.

 

Japan was toast before Hiroshima and Nagasaki. The US had already "terror bombed" their cities to the ground. The only reason Japan hadn't surrendered is they wanted their culture preserved in the form of the emperor.

 

 

And there really shouldn't be any dispute that it was the right decision.

 

Please watch Stone's documentary and then come back and tell me if you still think this is true.

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Yes, I agree. I just find that sort of pandering to the lowest common nationalistic denominator, which Republican so often do, to be irritating and naive.

 

Both do during campaign seasons, which is what this is. 

 

Would have been simpler to just say that rather than go down the "America is bad" rathole.

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