Public schools are important…
On second thought, government public schools teach an inaccurate view of world history. If it is unacceptable for FOX news to air inaccurate information, it is even more unacceptable for schools to do so with their captive audience of youthful minds. No one gets a free pass when it comes to propagandizing children. That leads to xenophobia, false patriotism, and war. Students need to have access to accurate information about US war crimes. Have you ever seen a text book that gave an honest view of USA and World History? In a very small percentage of classrooms, ‘A People’s History of the United States’ by Howard Zinn is used.
Maybe education is too important to be left to the government. Maybe it would be better to have publicly funded private education that gives all families, rich and poor, a fair choice. The important question is: "Should government have the final say, or should families have the final say in the type of education for their children?"
A Single Payer Health care system will put the government in charge of everyone’s health care and deprive patients of choice…
Not necessarily so. A Single Payer System can be designed any way that citizens want. The government’s role should be limited to funding. The patient/doctor relationship should be unaffected.
OWS is all about money and banks…
Not where I live. OWS is a broad based horizontal movement that empowers all citizens to be heard on all issues.
A college education is important…
Think about that. Why is that idea so widely accepted…
The ‘higher’ educational system has led to a number of negative affects. It fosters an elitist class system. It is the justification for institutionalized prejudice against those who are not ‘papered’. The denial of employment based on degrees, which often do not reflect talent, is an issue. Student loans are an issue. Why should those who have been denied access to degrees, then be taxed to provide college loans for others? And then there is the culture of the university – and the system of administrative compensation. It is no more acceptable to pay excessive salaries to college presidents than it is to pay excessive salaries to corporate CEOs.
The value of apprenticeships and self-education should not be trivialized.
You say you are for Peace, but you support the troops…
How can that be? That is like saying that you oppose Capital Punishment, but then you have parades for the Executioner.
The terrorists are coming. They hate us for our freedom…
Maybe they hate us because we have been bombing them since 1991 – not to mention the 500,000 Iraqi children who died as a result of USA policy. And to make matters worse, Secretary of State Madeleine Albright said that the 500,000 deaths were ‘worth it’ (May 12, 1996, CBS, Sixty Minutes). They will probably continue to hate us until we change our foreign policy. It is called "Blowback".
All Religion is harmful – better to be an atheist…
Religion has sometimes inspired great acts of compassion. Think about the Berrigan Brothers, the Maryknoll Sisters in Central America, Archbishop Oscar Romero, Rev. Martin Luther King, and many other religious leaders. Also remember the other side, such as the Crusades. Tolerance for varying religious views would decrease world conflict.
The United States is the best country in the world…
Really? How about infant mortality, longevity, education, health care, worker rights, unfair distribution of wealth, threats to freedom of political speech, assassination, violence, gun deaths, homelessness, and hunger. On the other hand, the US does have the most powerful military in the world.
The world of high technology is good for mankind…
There are some things that should be uninvented, such as nuclear power. Video games have had an adverse affect on young minds. Cell phones and computers contain toxic chemicals, such as coltan, which are mined in ways that violate human rights.
The current tech industry is a perfect example of ‘planned obsolescence’ as described in the 1950s by Vance Packard. Will mankind really benefit from a smaller and better cell phone? Is the Smart Grid really smart, or is this just a way of increasing the bottom line? Is Fracking good for the environment? Should human genes be patented? Are Frankenfoods good for people? Are drones good for humanity?
The United States should prevent Iran and other countries from having the ‘bomb’…
Why should the only nation that has ever used nuclear weapons to kill civilians have any say in this nuclear question? The only nation to have used the ‘bomb’ should be disarmed and forever prohibited from having any weapons. This is the Hiroshima Rule. No nation should be permitted to have nuclear weapons. All countries are at increased risk as long as any nation has the ‘bomb’.
There is no such thing as global warming…
Tell that to the penguins. They are now getting sunburns in Antarctica.
Immigration is a big national problem…
Are all men created equal? If that is to be a cherished national value, then the location of a person’s mother at the time of his birth is irrelevant. Prejudice based on geography is no more acceptable than prejudice based on gender, race, creed, or economic status. Children, who are US citizens, should never be separated from their parents because of immigration status.
Columbus Day is a day to be celebrated…
On second thought, Columbus did not discover America. Maybe the people who were here first, discovered America.
