TAXES

On 11/22/05, Lucio de Souza Coelho wrote:
>
> On 11/22/05, terrierkeeper wrote:
> (...)
> > The American People are voting for politicians who believe in a
> > person's right to acquire and own property, for strong application of
> > the Death penalty and retributive standards of justice, and for a
> > return to the traditional moral values intelectuals so despise.
> (...)
>
> Interestingly, then, the American People is voting for politicians
> that will make them ever more similar to some of the enemies that you
> have been fighting over the last years.
>
> The main problem with saying The American People do this, that and the
other simply is that there is no such animal.
In fact Americans are as divided as they have been in many years, perhaps
going back to the Civil War (about 1860 - 1865, for those of you who don't
bother with history).
Traditional Moral Values are another area that is defined differently. As I
remember my history, Traditional Moral Values once included segregation,
lynching those shortsighted enough to be born with darker skin, and "No
Irish need apply."
Intellectuals (those whose read without moving their lips and can count
past ten without taking their shoes off) have a nasty habit of saying things
like, "Those who do not remember the mistakes of the past, are condemned to
repeat them."
What I find disturbing is that, like before the Civil War, extremists seem
to have captured both main sides of the argument.