Scaredy: So we’re perfectly clear, the US has always been about the money. The first draft of the Constitution included the phrase, “Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of PROPERTY”. This was subsequently amended, but you get the point.
The signers of the Constitution were all members of the landed gentry. Not a single shop keeper, blacksmith or mechanic amongst them.
The policies of the early Republic included buying land from France (Louisiana Purchase), exploration of waterways and overland routes to improve commerce (Louis and Clark Expedition) and, later, Manifest Destiny.
Every once in a while, however, we are in it for the right reasons, like WWII and the Cold War. That was about freedom and it was a noble cause. Guys like you and Rus can bemoan the US and all our attendant ills, but here you are. You don’t choose to get involved and change the system and you don’t leave for Canada (or Mexico). Which means you aren’t true to your espoused or purported values and complain merely to complain.
The only thing worse than physical cowardice is moral cowardice.
If you haven’t read any Howard Zinn (“The People’s History of the United States”), I strongly recommend him. It’ll give you a stronger basis for your arguments than DailyKos or HuffPost.
