Is it an American trait to give the government "The Benefit of the Doubt"??

[tnitsuj]

IMHO, no.

 

[ViRGE]

Meh, it didn't used to be that way, but these days it is.

 

[freegeeks]

IMO that is not really always a problem

I agree when taken to extremes it sucks (and maybe that is the case in the USA right now)

where I live people b*tch when we have a leftish, rightish or moderate govt.

basically they b*tch about the govt. all the time

 

[Dissipate]

You bet it is. Look at all the trillions of dollars we let Big Brother spend willy nilly. On top of that we let the government borrow hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Plus, Americans don't mind when they are forced by the government to reveal their income and all other private financial aspects of their lives, in fact it is considered "patriotic".

Americans also gave the government the benefit of the doubt back in 1913 when control of the entire U.S. economy was handed over to a private bank.

 

[Czar]

no leadership should EVER enjoy the benifit of the doubt because the point of leadership is trust

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: Czar
no leadership should EVER enjoy the benifit of the doubt because the point of leadership is trust

But yet time after time, it happens, by both partys.

 

[etech]

Innocent until proven guilty is a tenet of American society.

Believing the worst based on only supposition and rumour is a good way to destroy a country.

 

[tnitsuj]

Originally posted by: etech
Innocent until proven guilty is a tenet of American society.

Believing the worst based on only supposition and rumour is a good way to destroy a country.

Kind of like Iraq???

 

[charrison]

Originally posted by: tnitsuj

Originally posted by: etech
Innocent until proven guilty is a tenet of American society.

Believing the worst based on only supposition and rumour is a good way to destroy a country.

Kind of like Iraq???

I dont think anyone has been found guilty yet.

 

[Bowfinger]

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: tnitsuj

Originally posted by: etech
Innocent until proven guilty is a tenet of American society.

Believing the worst based on only supposition and rumour is a good way to destroy a country.

Kind of like Iraq???

I dont think anyone has been found guilty yet.

Methinks you took this too seriously.

Our intelligence essentially comes from "supposition and rumour", especially in a case like Iraq where we didn't have direct human intelligence after 1998. Based on this intelligence, i.e., supposition and rumour, we believed the worst about Iraq. This isn't an indictment, it's a clever observation drawn from etech's comment. It's a mild, funny zinger.

 

[Hayabusa Rider]

Originally posted by: tnitsuj

Originally posted by: etech
Innocent until proven guilty is a tenet of American society.

Believing the worst based on only supposition and rumour is a good way to destroy a country.

Kind of like Iraq???

More like VN. That was a proven clusterfsck. Not that Iraq wasnt, but George didn't fool me because I saw it all before.

 

[buckmasterson]

Originally posted by: Dissipate
You bet it is. Look at all the trillions of dollars we let Big Brother spend willy nilly. On top of that we let the government borrow hundreds of billions of dollars a year. Plus, Americans don't mind when they are forced by the government to reveal their income and all other private financial aspects of their lives, in fact it is considered "patriotic".

Americans also gave the government the benefit of the doubt back in 1913 when control of the entire U.S. economy was handed over to a private bank.

Love many, trust few, and always paddle your own canoe!

 

[Moonbeam]

Give them one term and then shoot them.

 

[etech]

Originally posted by: Bowfinger

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: tnitsuj

Originally posted by: etech
Innocent until proven guilty is a tenet of American society.

Believing the worst based on only supposition and rumour is a good way to destroy a country.

Kind of like Iraq???

I dont think anyone has been found guilty yet.

Methinks you took this too seriously.

Our intelligence essentially comes from "supposition and rumour", especially in a case like Iraq where we didn't have direct human intelligence after 1998. Based on this intelligence, i.e., supposition and rumour, we believed the worst about Iraq. This isn't an indictment, it's a clever observation drawn from etech's comment. It's a mild, funny zinger.

So you are saying that Saddam was innocent of everything, he never had weapons programs, he never defied the UN Security Council resolutions and he is now up for Sainthood.

Got it. There is something funny about your post, but it's not humerous.

 

[alkemyst]

Originally posted by: etech
So you are saying that Saddam was innocent of everything, he never had weapons programs, he never defied the UN Security Council resolutions and he is now up for Sainthood.

Got it. There is something funny about your post, but it's not humerous.

What I think many that look at things with a open mindset acknowledge is now Saddam may have been in the right when he was denying access. I am willing to bet he had cooperated now in the beginning, but they kept insisting on more and more 'invasions'. You have to put your foot down at some point or your people will just laugh at you.

Now assuming that the USA has a right to impose it's government on all countries is the basis for most people's blind faith in it in these situations is understandable.

The answer to the OP's question is I feel the american public will give much 'benefit' to also anyone if they show sadness and sorrow no matter what the crime is....or if they capture the media's good side, they will surely be made heros.

Most citizens I talked to about this (post office lines are a good P&N topic arena it seems) want to ignore it happening...during 9/11 on lady insisted we all stop talking about it as it will make West Palm Beach a target if Bin Laden's spies hear us

They are all still living in Boca Raton you know? heheh

Å

 

[Bowfinger]

Originally posted by: etech

Originally posted by: Bowfinger

Originally posted by: charrison

Originally posted by: tnitsuj

Originally posted by: etech
Innocent until proven guilty is a tenet of American society.

Believing the worst based on only supposition and rumour is a good way to destroy a country.

Kind of like Iraq???

I dont think anyone has been found guilty yet.

Methinks you took this too seriously.

Our intelligence essentially comes from "supposition and rumour", especially in a case like Iraq where we didn't have direct human intelligence after 1998. Based on this intelligence, i.e., supposition and rumour, we believed the worst about Iraq. This isn't an indictment, it's a clever observation drawn from etech's comment. It's a mild, funny zinger.

So you are saying that Saddam was innocent of everything, he never had weapons programs, he never defied the UN Security Council resolutions and he is now up for Sainthood.

Got it. There is something funny about your post, but it's not humerous.

Whatever you say.

Jethro Tull, 1972

 

[dpm]

Many people give the benefit of the doubt to the person they voted for - to do otherwise would be to admit that you may have made a mistake in voting for them. As well as that you have the subset of people who give the benefit of the doubt as they would rather not worry about things.

On the other hand you have the die hard supporters of the losing side in the last election, who will never give the winners the benefit of the doubt in anything. And then there are those who truly see it as their duty to question their government, and who mistrust its every action.

Originally posted by: alkemyst
Now assuming that the USA has a right to impose it's government on all countries is the basis for most people's blind faith in it in these situations is understandable

I now I'm being a bit slow today, but that sentence is making my head hurt

 

[Moonbeam]

As children we were made to conform and never to ask questions. Discipline was under penalty of death and that's what we paid. Now we are dead souls in a cage of the mind wondering about the matrix trying to ignore anomaly. The greatest sin a man can commit is to question his programming. It leads right back to that death we died as children. Who wants that. Go along and get along is so much easier. Better yet- work for the mind police and the keepers of the crypt.

Attribution addenda: One of the phrases above came to me from the poetically inventive mind of LunarRay and tapped my funny bone so hard in the manner he used it that it has surfaced here to tickle me again. Wish I could tell you which and how it was applied. AHAHAHAHA. Such a colorful fellow.

 

[LunarRay]

Originally posted by: etech
Innocent until proven guilty is a tenet of American society.

Believing the worst based on only supposition and rumour is a good way to destroy a country.

In a court room is where that tenet lives. Elsewhere, it is a myth. It is why it had to be codified. Humankind is basically far short of being dispossessed of evil and humankind knows this... It is why they lock up suspects.. and why we suspect evil in others.. we are certain it lives in us so why not them..

 

[smashp]

Money = Power
Power = coruption
Absolute Power = Absolute coruption


The Government is absolutly Big and powerful and rich, Hence it is 100% absolutly corupt.

 

[Moonbeam]

Absolute power corrupts those who can be corrupted. At least one elf refused the Ring.

 

[LunarRay]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Absolute power corrupts those who can be corrupted. At least one elf refused the Ring.

Hehehehe

Evil uses corruption to gather power with the goal being to gather absolute power. Or.. Evil uses absolute power to breed the corrupted use of the power. So, IMO it follows that evil is the motivator and to the extent evil is corruption is...
I know of one elf too.. but, only one..

 

[Moonbeam]

Originally posted by: LunarRay

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Absolute power corrupts those who can be corrupted. At least one elf refused the Ring.

Hehehehe

Evil uses corruption to gather power with the goal being to gather absolute power. Or.. Evil uses absolute power to breed the corrupted use of the power. So, IMO it follows that evil is the motivator and to the extent evil is corruption is...
I know of one elf too.. but, only one..

I think evil is the product of the unconscious, the desire to stay that way. If so, he question then is, can the mind cast light where it's dark. If so, that would be known only to those who know by having done so. Only the awake know who is awake would be my guess.

 

[LunarRay]

Originally posted by: Moonbeam

Originally posted by: LunarRay

Originally posted by: Moonbeam
Absolute power corrupts those who can be corrupted. At least one elf refused the Ring.

Hehehehe

Evil uses corruption to gather power with the goal being to gather absolute power. Or.. Evil uses absolute power to breed the corrupted use of the power. So, IMO it follows that evil is the motivator and to the extent evil is corruption is...
I know of one elf too.. but, only one..

I think evil is the product of the unconscious, the desire to stay that way. If so, he question then is, can the mind cast light where it's dark. If so, that would be known only to those who know by having done so. Only the awake know who is awake would be my guess.

That's why there's a snooze button on the alarm.. to deal with reality later... Step softly lest you awaken the sleepy..