“It’s the kind of turn that happened to the great country of Germany, when Nazis came over and created tragic things, and they had to be told off. And if we continue this kind of violence and accept it in our country, the rest of the world’s going to really take care of us, in a very bad way. We should learn that we’re the greatest country, because we’re all different nationalities and all different religions. And we should show the rest of the world how to behave.” – Tony Bennet – Entertainer
Wow! What a statement! Which immediately raises one key question. Is this a case of abject stupidity or sad senility?
And another question. How can a human being be that ignorant of history and that devoid of common sense?
The Nazi Party (the socialist democrats) in Germany was indeed a horrible tyrannical force in that nation and the world. And like all tyrants, one of the FIRST things these bastards did to solidify their power was disarm the populace. This act enabled them to “create tragic things” that eventually required us to “tell them off” and at very great costs.
AND YOU MR. BENNETT would have us repeat horrible travesty… not in Germany but here in the U.S. all in the name of safety and civility. YOU SIR, are an idiot and a fool!
Mr. Bennet, do you want to know of other trouble makers who agree with You AND the old Nazi Party on gun control? Joseph Stalin, Mao Tse Tung, Pol Pot, Kim Jong Il, Muammar Qaddafi, Fidel Castro, Idi Amin… The list of tyrants and troublemakers is endless. And you would have us throw away the one tool we have to keep scum like this at bay.
You say “we should show the rest of the world how to behave.” On this we agree. And I’ll do everything in my power to expose moronic entertainers as the dangerous (if we listen to them) fools they are. I’ll do everything I can to protect our inalienable right to self-defense. And finally I’ll try to address the real problem in this nation (ignored by you and your buddies on the left so as not to “waste” this crisis); which is mental health, and moral decline.
I would hope that the world would take notice and emulate us… but they haven’t for hundreds of years and I have no reason to believe they will do so any time soon. While you would have us be like them; I will strive to remain that shining city on a hill; that beacon of hope (real hope) and freedom.
It is better to be quiet and thought a fool, than to open ones mouth and remove all doubt. — (old axiom)
Proverbs 17:28 – Even a fool, when he holdeth his peace, is counted wise, and he that shutteth his lips is esteemed a man of understanding.
>Nazi Party (the socialist democrats)
Sigh. No. Nazi is a contraction of “national socialist,” in German. Full name: National Socialist German Workers’ Party. Nothing democratic or liberal about it. I know you and Goldberg and Beck loooove to draw parallels, but they don’t fit the context of 21st century America.
>We should learn that we’re the greatest country (Tony)… I would hope that the world would take notice and emulate us (you)
We’re not the greatest country. We’re not even close, and we need to quit repeating that tired old PR campaign and face facts — both liberals and conservatives need to do this, and both ardently refuse, which is why I get pissed off when you lump me in with liberals just because I agree we should treat gays fairly and that Social Security and Medicare are important programs.
First, we’re no more free than the other 200 sovereign nations on Earth. I’ve visited seven of them, I think. There was nothing I do in America that I couldn’t do in Japan, Canada, Italy, or the Philippines.
Second, we suck at education (literacy and science) compared to our peers. We have the highest incarceration rate on Earth, and spend more on national defense than all our allies combined.
Third, we used to do great things, and we used to fight for moral reasons. We haven’t done anything great since the 1970s Moon landings, and our last few wars had nothing to do with right and wrong. (The UN is no better.)
You blame liberals and wimpy RINOs for this. I blame everyone. That’s the core difference between us.
First, you have a very shallow understanding of freedom. The U.S. is the only nation in history founded on the idea that that human beings have inherent rights. This is the birthplace of real human freedom. That alone proves our unique greatness. No more free than any other nation? Bullshit! Try living in Cuba, North Korea, Somalia, et al before mouthing stupid platitudes. Highest incarceration rate? Because unlike China or other nations of that ilk we don’t enact mass executions.
>This is the birthplace of real human freedom.
I’m going to assume from that response that you’re not black or a woman.
>Try living in Cuba, North Korea, Somalia, et al before mouthing stupid platitudes.
No, I’ll just point out that other than the hellish nations you use as examples, our peers (Japan, UK, etc) are just as free as us in all meaningful ways.
>Highest incarceration rate? Because unlike China or other nations of that ilk we don’t enact mass executions.
No, it’s because unlike most other nations, we incarcerate drug addicts and the mentally ill, whom we would rather imprison than treat. China doesn’t execute prisoners often; they mostly use them as slave labor, which we benefit from at Wal-Mart every week.
Haven’t done anything great since the 70′s? Defeating the Soviet Union in the undeclared WW111 was pretty great. And if we are so bad off here why do people still risk their lives to get here, to paraphrase Paul Johnson. Your dismissiveness toward our great nation is cynicism born of the very privilege you ignore.
>Defeating the Soviet Union in the undeclared WW111 was pretty great
You think the former Soviet Union nations and Communism are no longer threats? You have a primitive idea of victory. We beat Germany and Japan, and they’re now democratic allies. Russia is still Russia. We temporarily bankrupted them. Now they’re a mostly criminal nation with nuclear weapons. Yay. China’s still communist, and we borrow money from them daily, and buy all the crap they sell through Wal-Mart.
>And if we are so bad off here why do people still risk their lives to get here, to paraphrase Paul Johnson.
Because some other places are indeed worse — Cuba, as you mentioned. However, Mexicans are going home as often as they come over. Fewer than 1/3 of greencard holders apply for citizenship. They’d rather go home when they retire. That doesn’t mean we’re the greatest. Lots of people risk their lives to get into the EU, Japan, and Australia, too.
>Your dismissiveness toward our great nation is cynicism born of the very privilege you ignore.
I believe America is great. Many other nations are great, too. That’s what I said, and I stand by it.
What I do not believe is bumper-sticker sloganism, said with chest thumping and little critical evaluation, that we are “the greatest,” as if it’s always true just because we’re America. I’ve noticed it’s most loudly said by people who know very little about the world, and have traveled little.
p.s. On re-reading my original comment, I realize my tone was harsh. I would say America is in the Top 10. If we’re going to claim the #1 spot, we should back that up with facts, and define what we mean by “great.”
What makes a country great? Freedom, certainly — but most first-world nations are free today (in fact, most outlawed slavery and gave women the vote before we did). A married woman in Texas couldn’t own real estate without her husband’s signature until 1980.
So, how do we measure greatness, beyond patriotism? Is it business opportunity? Some people are starting businesses in China because it’s easier there than in the US, and the market is bigger. Education? Well, we both know we’re not #1 there. Health care? We’re quite good, but Japan and Sweden are better. Human rights? We’re great there. Taxation? We’re in the middle, neither highest nor lowest. Lifespan? We’re not as good as most of the EU or Asia. Infant mortality? Most of our allies fare better.
>You blame liberals and wimpy RINOs for this. I blame everyone. That’s the core difference between us.
I want to amend that.
Blaming everyone is the same thing as blaming no one — pointless. What I think is that the nation we have, in the state it’s in, is the natural result of a process that is bigger than any person, party, or state. Our government is asked to many things, many of which are contradictory: Preserving the free market system by reducing business freedoms, for example, or keeping the nation safe by outspending all our allies combined on defense, and fighting most of their wars for them.
Where I find libertarianism appealing is it simplifies this very complex system into a matter of free exchange between free men by keeping the government very, very weak. Neither major party really believes in that, as we’ve discussed ad nauseam. The GOP still sees the world as an empire it wants to run; the Dems still see the world as a collection of poor people it wants to help. I can see nobility and sense in both, but often wonder if either approach is worse than inaction, in the big scheme of things?
We talk of righting wrongs and, for example, the Nazi genocide of six million Jews and others in WWII. Yet nothing has changed. Seven million were killed in the Congo between 1996-2003. In 2013, it seems likely that Syria’s Alawites, who aligned themselves with Bashar al-Assad, will be massacred in revenge.
The world is a deeply sad place, and sometimes I wonder if it’s worth saving.
I’m probably just tired.
Wait wait wait… had an even simpler thought.
What if I cared more about my own money than social justice, the environment, or anything else?
Well, looking at my W2s this time of year, I do. I really do. It’s a great wake up call.
So, I can make it easier on myself: “Which party is more likely to win, reduce my taxes, and keep gun rights the way they are?” Vote for them.
MAN, there’s your rebranding! Just roll with that. I swear, it’ll work. Dump Rove and Trump and every other mouth-breather out there who hasn’t won jack-squat in a decade, and hire me to bring in the centrists.
I can even provide my own health insurance!
>> I know you like to draw parallels
I do. And they (the Nazis) were socialists in that they firmly believed in government control of industry and beyond… which exactly matches the view of today’s Democratic Party. I don’t carry the comparison any further but that comparison is valid. The parallel being that the right is more always associated with fascist; but the last great fascist empire was more ideologically akin to the U.S. Democratic Party than the right.
>> Nothing democratic or liberal about it (the Nazis).
Democratic? Agreed. Most definitely not.
Liberal? Too a tee.
>> We’re not the greatest country.
I disagree with almost everything you said except “We’re not the greatest country.”
I tend to take what Churchill said about democracy and apply it to us as a nation. I think we are the worst country in the world; except for ALL the others. That concept generally gets back to my whole whose pig is cleanest analogy. I think the U.S. (in terms of a pig) is filthy; but we’re the least filthy in the whole pin.
>> You blame liberals and wimpy RINOs for this.
Yep
>> I blame everyone. (Later somebody else… ranting… whatever…) That’s the core difference between us.
Agreed.
You know how you got feedback on your book? And some of it was negative but useful. I got some of that type of feedback on my blog the other day.
It went something to the effect of “Your original postings are insightful, brilliant even.” I may be paraphrasing…
“But the comments that follow go off on tangents that are completely unrelated and make no sense. I just give up on even reading them.”
I think WE took this one to a remote tangent.
Fair enough. I do ramble.
>> Fair enough. I do ramble.
No No No! WE do ramble! Over hill and dale and mountain…
HAHAHA! Well, as long as it’s fun… for us.