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ORIGINAL: sambamanslilgirl

in my neighborhood, there are many self-haters who have this mentality.  this guy in particular was boosting how he and a few friends taunted the cops with "you can't touch us ...Obama has our back" - like that's going to to stop the police from arresting them.

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ORIGINAL: bestbabync

Philo
sorry hard for me to leave religion out of my thoughts and beliefs.  i was raised to believe in God.  i ask that you respect me for that.  just as i respect your choice to leave religion out.

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All i was trying to point out is that the rhetoric of religion is divisive

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If the Christian cannot speak of Jesus, if the Muslim cannot speak of Allah, if the Jew cannot speak of Yahweh, then conversation and rhetoric are severely diminished.

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ORIGINAL: celticlord2112

There is nothing divisive about "I believe"--it is a simple statement of reality for the speaker.

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The problem comes in when people say "You must/must not believe...."  That is a statement of oppression, regardless of whom is speaking.

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If the Christian cannot speak of Jesus, if the Muslim cannot speak of Allah, if the Jew cannot speak of Yahweh, then conversation and rhetoric are severely diminished.

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"I believe that...people must die as was told by God."
Still ok to say?

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It's a question of scale.

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ORIGINAL: celticlord2112

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It's a question of scale.

Hence my selection of the first person singular.  When rhetorical flourish is laid aside, there is no statement of belief that goes beyond the personal.  Belief itself is a phenomenon of the individual man.  To impart scale to belief is the mistake.

As an aside, this is why the separation of church and state becomes moral imperative, because to do otherwise invariably slips into the realm of "You must/must not believe....."

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ORIGINAL: MissSCD

First of all, I apolgize for that little punk kid who needed to have his mouth washed with soap.  
Now, I will answer you question.
Obama's victory means so much more to me than most would imagine.   I am thrilled and proud again for the first time in eight years.
I have always been patriotic, but I felt ashamed to be an American the last two years of GWD's presidency. 
Bush robbed and cheated the American people by trying to use a military government to rule the world.  It back fired on him big time.
Best wishes to you.
 
Regards, MissSCD
 

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ORIGINAL: theobserver

I wanted to share this with you guys. I wrote it to a friend and just felt compelled, in light of all the post election commentary, to share it.

I have been so elated the past few days. I sat in Seattle so overwhelmed with emotion. I don't know if you could understand.

I recall a time when I was very young ...  maybe 7 or 8. I was in this children's restaurant called showbiz pizza place (now Chuck E Cheeses). They had this animatronics show that was state of the art (for the time) and an expansive arcade and ride area.

I was trying to see the animatronics show, so I move closer to the stage in the dining area. It was my birthday and I was so excited ... then a young caucasian boy, about the say age as me, approached. He wanted to get in front of me ... instead of asking me politely he said "move out of the way nigger."

I was so devastated. I remember running to my parents, crying. My whole birthday seemed ruined. I was never able to forget the moment. I kept thinking "what did I do to make him hate me so?"

That has been a vivid memory that has stayed with me until this very moment. Obama's victory is more than just about him. It's about me and what I've felt and endured, what my mother and her mother ... and my great grand mother has endured. It's the feeling that when we are at our lowest moment there is always a shining light ready to lead us out of the darkness.

My mother is the sad result of slavery. I've never bought into the idea of reparations in this era ... at least in the form of forty acres and a mule. I feel that reparations, today, should be distributed in the form of mental health access. What I feel so many people miss is that the psychological effects of slavery and Jim Crow has been passed down from generation to generation and it's caused more than damaging effects on black Americans. The way children are reared and the jaded approach to life can be all attributed to how the older generation views the world.

My mother was raised in households of dysfunction, from an abusive mother who disciplined her children by holding their ears to a stove range (for taking candy out of store), to having a foster parent that was never "there".

These things must be addressed honestly and I feel Obama's ascension to the Presidency is the first step.

I must break the cycle, but I feel so does the rest of America

Ask yourself ... who do you want to be in four years and who do you want your children to be?

It 's not about blame, it's about solution. I really want to address those and move forward. We are much more than our past.

edited for misspellings

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ORIGINAL: UmbraDomina


I reside in fear of having my personal property being ruled as against the law for me to own.