What Are "American Values"?

[Placebo]

I hear this phrase tossed around so much that perhaps it's lost its meaning to me, or perhaps I never really knew what it meant.

Can anyone tell me what "American Values" are?

Aren't there just universally "good" and "bad" values? I don't get it.

Like, rule of law, GOOD.

Equality for women, GOOD.

Personal responsibility, GOOD.

But are they inherently "American"? :shrug:

[chicagojoe]

1. Life, Liberty and The Pursuit of Hapiness.

Why do so many want to destroy these values with their arrogant, power-mad ways ?

[TahitiNut]

12. The Repukes say "Life, Liberty, and Property"

I'm not kidding. :puke:

[leftyandproud]

14. Those actually were the original words in the delcaration of independance.

modified later by Jefferson I believe


seriously though, without the right to property, you would be a slave...so what is so bad about it?

[TahitiNut]

21. The question of 'property' centers on "how much?" and "what kind?"

There's a huge difference between possessions and property, just as there's a difference between tangible property and entitlements.

Once upon a time, the "free man" dream was to own the land he worked - so he could fairly benefit from the products of his own labors.

Let's remember Locke's Labor Theory of Property ...

P1: God gave the world to people in common "to make use of it to the best advantages of life, and convenience"

P2: Every person has a property in his own person (the labor of his body, and the work of his hands are properly his)

P3: When someone mixes his labor with a part of the common property in order
to produce something, he comes to own it provided:
(1) there is enough and as good left in common for others
(2) it is not wasted or allowed to spoil
(3) (as regards land) it is improved

C1: Thus, it is the private property of the one who produced it

C2: Therefore, people have limited natural rights to property

P4: Whatever we own we may freely trade with others for what they own

P5: In particular, we may trade perishable goods for money

P6: Since money does not perish, we cannot waste it

P7: Money can be hoarded without hurting anyone

C3: Therefore, the right of property in money is unlimited

Thus, the questions of "how much?" and "what kind?" have become very relevant today. The limitations of one's natural rights to property have as much, or more, to do with what's left in common for others as with what we mean by 'waste,' 'spoil,' and 'improved.'

When the system of justice (and we're talking about economic justice, not criminal justice) no longer affords 'ownership' to those who labor, instead treating labor as a perishable good, we accelerate the distillation of ownership of tangible property into the hands of fewer and fewer.

This is the very essence of economic tyranny.


Locke's provisos that property not be wasted and excesse (beyond one's own needs) be left in common can be aptly translated into "Don't waste or hoard!" Both are now being violated systemically. Under Locke's theory, then, the violation of those precepts along with 'ownership' accruing not to the one who labors but to the one who benefits from enforced entitlements, calls into serious question our system of entitlements.

The moral aim of governance is justice, without which governance is fundamentally immoral and unsustainable. It is solely through the mechanisms of governance that entitlements are formed. (Note the core word 'title' - like "Duke," "Baron," or a Title to a Real Estate.)

When the (economic) system of entitlements does not serve Justice, the system is corrupt. (Justice, in this sense, is the degree to which 'entitlements' honor 'rights.')

[leftyandproud]

15. dennis prager says...

just look at any coin.

Liberty
In God We Trust
E Pluribus Unim

[TrustingDog]

17. so how long exactly has all this special liberty been going on down there?

[zmdem]

2. I suppose it depends on which American you ask

A good beginning point is the beginning, so try:

Declaration of Independence
Virginia Declaration of Rights
Federalist Papers
Constitution of the USA
Washington's Farewell Address to the Nation
Jefferson's First Inaugural Address

Good source: google on "avalon project" (w/o quotes).

[MirrorAshes]

3. Keeping a level head. Thats what its all about.

Our entire government (in theory) is based on checks and balances, everyone making sure the others are making the right moves.

So simple, and yet so seemingly irrelevant to this administration.

[DemWitch]

4. What I was taught...

that every person has the right to live their lives as they see fit, as long as it doesn't injure or degrade another. That the person coming from the poorest of backgrounds can become a multimillionaire as long as they work hard. That the person from the richest background has an obligation since America afforded them the opportunity for wealth, to insure that the less fortunate peoples basic needs are met. That all people deserve respect, if for nothing else than being one of God's children. (I changed since then, one of God's and Goddess' children now)

Those are the values my parents taught me, and they're ain't no one more 'Murkin then them... ask them, they'll tell you...

[Nordic]

5. right now it seems to mean FAT FAT FAT

Fat bodies, greedy guzzling cars, toss-away toilet cleaners, disposable houses, fuck-the-rest-of-the-world-because-God-Blesses-America.

I'm getting cynical.

[zmdem]

6. Confused on one point ....

What is a disposable house ?

[DemWitch]

8. it's a tray-ler Buford...

:)

[zmdem]

9. OK, got it

Thanks, and that's Mr. Pusser, if you please ;)

[sandnsea]

10. You are so right

I used to shop garage sales because with 4 kids, you do what you have to do. But I just went to a huge fundraiser sale and it was sad, everybody's throw-aways basically. What really struck me is how much crap there was and that it was all the same broken junk I have at home. Broken phones, radios, old clothes, Christmas stuff, all that junk. I decided on the spot that I'm going to shop garage sales to help save the planet. I don't need to be buying more new stuff just to add to the garbage heap. If I can find something in good shape at a garage sale and keep it out of the garbage heap for a few more years, then that's a little something anyway. Americans really are pigs, and the stupid shit people buy. It's really mind-boggling. 80 yard sales in a gated community on one Saturday will really get you thinking.

[sandnsea]

7. self-determination

That's American. That we control our destiny, that one individual is created with the same value as the next, that we can govern ourselves. That is why Republicans don't like government economic interference, it removes the natural state of the individual to strive and control his own destiny and without that, America sort of ceases to exist. However, this country also has a tradition of generosity and has assisted the poor since before there was a United States. So I think they carry the whole self-reliance and self-determination thing further than it needs to go. But that's what I see as uniquely American, something we originally claimed 200 years ago. Our individual destiny isn't dependent on royal connections, it's dependent on our own talents and work and sense of service and community.

[LosinIt]

11. 99 cent Double Cheeseburgers

Now THAT'S an American value.

[Nightowl_2004]

13. The Constitution and...

Things that others have mentioned (Declaration of Independence, Federalist Papers, etc) I fell in love with the Constitution thanks to a truly outstanding 8th Grade Social Studies Teacher. She filled every student in that class with a intimate knowledge of the document and an abiding love and respect for the rights it grants us!

It's amazing what an effect that a good teacher can have on your life!

[MadProphetMargin]

16. Freedom. Only this, and nothing more.

[Disturbed]

18. Why Liberal values are American values

Proud To Be Liberal
Why Liberal values are American values
By Brian Elroy McKinley

"You are a contentious person....and probably a Liberal," started a recent response to an article I published on abortion rights.
Contentious? Possibly.

Liberal? Absolutely.

Seems these days Conservatives have convinced themselves, and some of the American public, that being a Liberal is akin to being a card-carrying member of the Communist Party. While this may be a great smear tactic for an election year, to believe such a notion proves that the believer is uneducated in the fundamentals of the American political system. Our nation was founded on Liberalism. Embodied in the Declaration of Independence are its three tenets: "Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness." The very term, itself, is taken from the same root as the second of these precepts. To be a Liberal is to defend the freedom - the Liberty - of all people who make up our great nation. To be a Liberal is to trust individuals and families to run their own lives as they see fit. To be a Liberal is to create a nation where anyone can excel if they are willing to do the work.

In order to understand the true nature of Liberalism, and to dispel the misconceptions fomented by those whose agenda is counter to our freedom, I will detail the tenets of Liberal thought and dispel the misconceptions so often put forth by Conservative rhetoric.

Liberalism is "Life." It is freedom from physical dangers that can kill or disable us. The Liberal believes it is a nation's job to protect its citizens from physical harm, whether from external sources, such as hostile nations, or internal ones, like crime, disease, or hunger. Without the solid ground of physical wellbeing, our nation and its citizens cannot enjoy the benefits of being free. Liberals believe in a strong military, well suited to defend the nation. Liberals believe in good laws, hard-working police, and a just legal system to protect its citizens from crime. Liberals believe in affordable health care for everyone, to keep our people strong. And Liberals believe in the availability of food and shelter for its needy, not as a hand out but as a reasonable step in moving all Americans toward self-reliance and the freedom that comes with it.

Continued here:

http://www.elroy.net/politics/liberal.html

[Swamp Rat]

19. When a wingnut sez it, I see in my mind: "phamlee valyooz"

To me, politics in America is a black comedy.

[JSJ]

20. short answer? i got mine n/t