More importantly, what if it were a six-lane or eight-lane highway? And what about those spots between towns where it drops to just a two-lane? Would they bottleneck and cause a traffic jam?
I was going to just sit this out and watch, but I'm bored and obnoxious...
Anyway, I love these discussions. They're a wonderful exercise in futility. As has already been said numerous times, people will feel what they feel and very few are going to change their minds, if any. Many from any side (seems to me there are more than just the two to choose from) tend to argue in such a way as to character assassinate or *cough* bring up unrelated information instead of logically arguing their own side.
I always laugh when I hear all those pointing a finger at the average American, though, claiming things such as votes and such. As can be seen from recent election activity, that whole "every vote counts" ideology only works to a certain degree, and that's assuming you trust those tallying to give true results. Free speech is great and wonderful, as long as you don't disagree too loudly, or too close to those your whole point is to rebut.
And in one of the greatest propoganda moves ever, the recently (albeit for a short time until they figure out how to do it for longer without people noticing) renewed act in the name of national security was beautifully named. Instead of calling it the "We're-taking-away-your-rights-to-protect-your-rights" act (sorta defeats the purpose, doesn't it?), it's the "Patriot" act. This gives great ammunition to all those unthinking followers to argue "But if you're against the Patriot Act, you must obviously be unpatriotic!"
Anyway, the common citizen has very little say in real decisions, save for actions that most of us (myself included, today is
not a good day to die) aren't willing to take, and even if some did most wouldn't and it'd never amount to anything. It's nice to think otherwise, since that was theoretically how it's supposed to be, and it gives us that security blanket feeling, but that's about it really.
What a lot of people forget about the Iraq situation is that in a way it was the U.S.'s mess. If I remember correctly our government had a great deal to do with putting him in power, a point most people here don't mention (or probably even realize) and strangely others don't usually use to say "See what you did last time you meddled there?" Of course two wrongs don't make a right (although three lefts do, sort of), I'm just mentioning an oft-forgotten point.
It's sad too that most Americans have been fooled, in my opinion, to believe things such as prison abuse is isolated to a few low level people. It may have started out that way, but for it to occur as much and as long as it does you can bet the upper ranks either sanctioned it, ordered it, or at the very least, allowed it. Those people aren't that stupid, and if they are there really should be an outcry to get them all demoted to ditch-digger or something. It amazes me how when someone wants to argue for the U.S. doing "right," our leaders are smart, fair, and not fooled by simple things such as international politics. Yet when we want to pretend something isn't bigger than it is, they're obviously just oblivious to the situation. Huh?
Yes, it's still a better place than many, according to what we're told and depending on a person's taste. Are there problems here? Of course. Are there problems in the other countries who have citizens U.S. bashing? Of course. All people anywhere aren't really conceited enough to think differently, just because they were born somewhere. (Let's be real, that's the biggest reason most people are patriotic if a place allows for decent living on an individual level - it's what they're used to and they're comfortable.) Unfortunately for all concerned, the most vocal are usually those who only see black and white issues and take any criticism of their government's actions as personal attacks, or blame individuals for actions they have no control over. It sort of makes it hard for those really interested in change to get anything done.
Oh, and for all you die-hard, the-U.S.-is-never-wrong types out there about to turn on me, good thing George Washington wasn't patriotic without question, huh? Just something to think about...
