tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4837360059222884363.post3112029915064126786..comments2023-10-25T00:36:09.773-07:00Comments on Flatulent Fuzz: Empire...Flatulent Fuzzhttp://www.blogger.com/profile/03272343680018026725noreply@blogger.comBlogger1125tag:blogger.com,1999:blog-4837360059222884363.post-3056131540986156982008-06-15T03:03:00.000-07:002008-06-15T03:03:00.000-07:00Ah, a subject near and dear to my heart!You know m...Ah, a subject near and dear to my heart!<BR/><BR/>You know me; it used to be that I wouldn't buy or wear a ball cap (among other products) that wasn't made in America; I'd search far and wide if necessary for that most satisfying of all labels: Made in the USA. My how things have quickly changed in this country, and how I've been forced to adjust to those changes. Now if I want to own and wear a ball cap (to cover my increasingly balding head), I just have to ignore the label. Interestingly enough, I own fewer ball caps today than ever in my lifetime.<BR/><BR/>And yet, these things are not completely outside our control, though they seem to be at times. I agree with you re the complacency of the Everybody Loves Raymond crowd, what with their big-screen plasma tvs, surround sound entertainment systems and whatnot; all made where?<BR/><BR/>Is America a "great" nation? That probably depends on what we mean by the term "great." But in the normal sense, and the sense that I think you're using it, I think America ceased to be a great nation when the nation ceased to hold itself to a standard of greatness. Everything else was just an after effect. As has been said before, "the whole is exactly equal to the sum of its parts."<BR/><BR/>But I commend you for making an excellent point. A great nation, in order to maintain its greatness, must be at least somewhat self-sufficient and independent. In order to do that, it must be inhabited by people (a majority) that are self-sufficient and independent. That's one of the main reasons I have long opposed large scale immigration to this country, and its corollary which I've termed "easy citizenism". As Noah Webster once said:<BR/><BR/><I>"I consider it a matter of infinite consequence, the cautious admission of foreigners to the rights of citizenship ... they [immigrants] come here with violent prejudices against arbitrary government, and they seem to make no great distinction between arbitrary government and a government of laws founded on free elections. ..."</I><BR/><BR/>Anyway, I could go on and on and on, but I'll exercise a little self-discipline here and spare you for the time being.<BR/><BR/>Nice post!Terry Morrishttps://www.blogger.com/profile/00166609562028309038noreply@blogger.com