Posted on 07/11/2011 6:12:31 PM PDT by Kaslin
A recent Superman comic book has the hero saying, "I am renouncing my U.S. citizenship" because "truth, justice, and the American way — it's not enough anymore."
Though not addressing Superman's statement, Stanford University professor and Hoover Institution senior fellow William Damon explains how such a vision could emerge today but not yesteryear.
The explanation is found in his article "American Amnesia," in the July 1 issue of Defining Ideas, based upon his most recent book, "Failing Liberty 101: How We Are Leaving Young Americans Unprepared for Citizenship in a Free Society."
The National Assessment of Educational Progress reports that only one in four high-school seniors scored at least "proficient" in knowledge of U.S. citizenship. Civics and history were American students' worst subjects.
Professor Damon said that for the past 10 years, his Stanford University research team has interviewed broad cross sections of American youths about U.S. citizenship. Here are some typical responses:
"We just had (American citizenship) the other day in history. I forget what it was." Another said, "Being American is not really special. . . . I don't find being an American citizen very important."
Another said, "I don't want to belong to any country. It just feels like you are obligated to this country. I don't like the whole thing of citizen. ... It's like, citizen, no citizen; it doesn't make sense to me. It's, like, to be a good citizen — I don't know, I don't want to be a citizen. ... It's stupid to me."
A law professor, whom Damon leaves unnamed, shares this vision in a recent book:
"Longstanding notions of democratic citizenship are becoming obsolete. ... American identity is unsustainable in the face of globalization."
(Excerpt) Read more at investors.com ...
Without question, with American education of old, and a more neutral media, social conservatism would still rule the land and conservatism would be in the majority.
Another said, “I don’t want to belong to any country. It just feels like you are obligated to this country...... I don’t know, I don’t want to be a citizen. ... It’s stupid to me.”
This reminds me of the missionary in the movie THE SAND PEBBLES ...A lib missionary, whom the US Navy is trying to rescue, rejects their rescue, runs up to some Chinese warlords, shows a document of how they have renounced their US citizenship, while yelling “We are STATELESS PERSONS!”
He is promptly shot dead.
I could hardly blame Superman for becoming disgusted with the “American way” if that has come to mean embracing Democrats, RINOs, and Barack Obama!
I thought the whole idea behind electing Obama in the first place was to pubicly pillory wicked ‘Amerikkka’. A kind of latter day auto-da-fe.
it’s time for the CIA to kidnap Obummer,deposit him in Kenya and refuse him entry back into the US.
He’s not an American.
from..."The Law"...
Now, legal plunder can be committed in an infinite number of ways. Thus we have an infinite number of plans for organizing it: tariffs, protection, benefits, subsidies, encouragements, progressive taxation, PUBLIC SCHOOLS, guaranteed jobs, guaranteed profits, minimum wages, a right to relief, a right to the tools of labor, free credit, and so on, and so on. All these plans as a whole — with their common aim of legal plunder — constitute socialism.
CAPS MINE
Frederic Bastiat 1801-1850
HOORAY Walter Williams!
great graphic and so true
From FReeper jaycee...from another thread today...
Wow, what an inspiration!
I would hope you would all read this short article from a Vietnamese man. There is so much to learn from it that I wish it could be part of the education system. You can make it so by sending it to your friends also.
VIETNAMESE IMMIGRANT
On Saturday, July 24th, 2010 the town of Prescott Valley, AZ, hosted a Freedom Rally. Quang Nguyen was asked to speak on his experience of coming to America and what it means. He spoke the following in dedication to all Vietnam Veterans. Thought you might enjoy hearing what he had to say:
Thirty-five years ago, if you were to tell me that I am going to stand up here speaking to a couple thousand patriots, in English, I’d laugh at you. Man, every morning I wake up thanking God for putting me and my family in the greatest country on earth.
I just want you all to know that the American dream does exist and I am living the American dream. I was asked to speak to you about my experience as a first generation Vietnamese- American, but I’d rather speak to you as an American.
If you hadn’t noticed, I am not white and I feel pretty comfortable with my people.
I am a proud US citizen and here is my proof. It took me 8 years to get it, waiting in endless lines, but I got it and I am very proud of it. I still remember the images of the Tet offensive in 1968, I was six years old. Now you might want to question how a 6-year-old boy could remember anything. Trust me; those images can never be erased. I can’t even imagine what it was like for young American soldiers, 10,000 miles away from home, fighting on my behalf.
35 years ago, I left South Vietnam for political asylum. The war had ended. At the age of 13, I left with the understanding that I may or may not ever get to see my siblings or parents again. I was one of the first lucky 100,000 Vietnamese allowed to come to the US. Somehow, my family and I were reunited 5 months later, amazingly, in California. It was a miracle from God.
If you haven’t heard lately that this is the greatest country on earth, I am telling you that right now. It was the freedom and the opportunities presented to me that put me here with all of you tonight. I also remember the barriers that I had to overcome every step of the way. My high school counselor told me that I cannot make it to college due to my poor communication skills. I proved him wrong. I finished college. You see, all you have to do is to give this little boy an opportunity and encourage him to take and run with it. Well, I took the opportunity and here I am.
This person standing tonight in front of you could not exist under a socialist/communist environment. By the way, if you think socialism is the way to go, I am sure many people here will chip in to get you a one-way ticket out of here. And if you didn’t know, the only difference between socialism and communism is an AK-47 aimed at your head. That was my experience.
In 1982, I stood with a thousand new immigrants, reciting the Pledge of Allegiance and listening to the National Anthem for the first time as an American. To this day, I can’t remember anything sweeter and more patriotic than that moment in my life.
Fast forwarding, somehow I finished high school, finished college, and like any other goofball 21 year old kid, I was having a great time with my life. I had a nice job and a nice apartment in Southern California. In some way and somehow, I had forgotten how I got here and why I was here. One day I was at a gas station, I saw a veteran pumping gas on the other side of the island. I don’t know what made me do it, but I walked over and asked if he had served in Vietnam. He smiled and said yes. I shook and held his hand. The grown man began to well up. I walked away as fast as I could and at that very moment, I was emotionally rocked. This was a profound moment in my life. I knew something had to change in my life. It was time for me to learn how to be a good citizen. It was time for me to give back.
You see, America is not a place on the map, it isn’t a physical location. It is an ideal, a concept. And if you are an American, you must understand the concept, you must buy into this concept, and most importantly, you have to fight and defend this concept. This is about Freedom and not free stuff. And that is why I am standing up here. Brothers and sisters, to be a real American, the very least you must do is to learn English and understand it well. In my humble opinion, you cannot be a faithful patriotic citizen if you can’t speak the language of the country you live in. Take this document of 46 pages - last I looked on the Internet, there wasn’t a Vietnamese translation of the US Constitution. It took me a long time to get to the point of being able to converse and until this day, I still struggle to come up with the right words. It’s not easy, but if it’s too easy, it’s not worth doing. Before I knew this 46-page document, I learned of the 500,000 Americans who fought for this little boy. I learned of the 58,000 names scribed on the black wall at the Vietnam Memorial. You are my heroes. You are my founders.
At this time, I would like to ask all the Vietnam veterans to please stand. I thank you for my life. I thank you for your sacrifices, and I thank you for giving me the freedom and liberty I have today. I now ask all veterans, firefighters, and police officers, to please stand. On behalf of all first generation immigrants, I thank you for your services and may God bless you all.
Quang Nguyen Creative Director/Founder Caddis Advertising, LLC
Notice that he referred to himself as an American, NOT Vietnamese-American. How good it would be here in America if all of the immigrants — no, EVERYONE — felt like Quang Nguyen.
from post #532...here...
http://www.freerepublic.com/focus/f-chat/2742536/posts?q=1&;page=501
Superman’s an illegal alien.
For the past decade (maybe more) we’ve only been given choices between the lesser of two evils to vote for ... or rather - against. So it’s not all the voters’ fault.
Ping to post #10
This is awesome. Thanks for posting
Now that’s a post, Kaslin. Great job. Have to say though, that neither we nor a single one of our candidates utters a word about the take over of our schools. Until that is addressed nothing changes, ever.
What a hothouse Erkel.
Good Americans did their part in 2008. The playing field wasn’t level. But good Americans play by the rules. When the time comes for civil disobedience, good Americans will do that.
Someone inculcated this crap.
Find him.
Whoever taught this kid to think this stuff, needs to be dumped on a foreign beach, minus his testicles.
“Whoever taught this kid to think this stuff, needs to be dumped on a foreign beach, minus his testicles.”
Maybe it was a white kid who was officially made a second-class citizen by a country that despised him; you never know.
Civics was once taught in our nation’s schools. Citizenship and its importance was taught in the Boy Scouts/Girl Scouts.
The book mentioned:
Beyond Citizenship: American Identity After Globalization
Peter J. Spiro
http://www.amazon.com/Beyond-Citizenship-American-Identity-Globalization/dp/0195152182/ref=sr_1_1?ie=UTF8&qid=1310445310&sr=8-1
FYI.
Amazon.com has a bunch of glowing reviews from “law professors” that will make your blood curdle:
“At the heart of Spiro’s argument is an acceptance of dual citizenship in American law and life. “
“In this lucid, engaging, and highly accessible book, Peter Spiro traces the erosion of the legal foundations of American citizenship and shows why the foundations cannot be repaired.”
The book came out in February 2008. Coincidence? I think not.
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