TwinTownBisonFan wrote::cracks knuckles:
time to fisk this
1. Genocide against the native peoples.
clearly not the #1 sin... clearly. I take a contrary view of this - while a lot of sins were committed in our relations with the native peoples... it was in essence the conquering of one people by another... which had happened in history thousands of times before. I think a lot of the judgment of it applies post-modern values to decisions of the past... frequently a fools errand. That said - the trail of tears, smallpox blankets, the Wauchita Valley incident and Wounded Knee are inexcusable.
2. Slavery (blacks and indentured servants from the British Isles)
THIS IS THE #1 SIN - mostly because American slavery was a particularly barbaric institution, and was continued longer than almost anywhere else in the world... but truly the most repugnant because it most directly conflicted the principles of our founding.
3. Jim Crow: Reconstruction to present
I'll quibble only to say that Jim Crow died in de jure in 1964... and petered out in to the 70's and 80's. There are still social repercussions... but in law... it's dead. While it was in effect... yes, a sin.
4. Cold War proxy wars worldwide
The short-sighted "enemy of my enemy" thinking was a mistake... the idea of "containment" made sense when opposed to notion of a third world war, which is how it was viewed.
5. Firebombing of Dresden,Tokyo, Berlin
I just flat disagree here. Total war is total war. the entirety of German and Japanese society were mobilized as a tool of war... those were legitimate targets.
6. Using two atomic bombs
If this wasn't on the list "annihilating 2 million Japanese at the expense of 250,000 Americans" would be. While it was regrettable, it was the right decision.
7. Backing Britain in the Falklands War
Really? Really?
8. Ignoring murder/genocide of Jews/others in 30's 40's
An isolationist non-superpower (but a Great Power) interfering in another nations domestic affairs just wasn't done pre WWII... it's revisionism to suggest that the US was acting improperly... when we upped the number of Jewish immigrants admitted for many years - and looked the other way to their sneaking in to the country because it was the right thing to do...
9. Backing of killer despots and cruel military juntas in the name of liberty.
The "enemy of my enemy" policy was the ultimate in short-sighted policy choices
10. Destruction/death wrought in Vietnam
The problem with Vietnam was we never decided to either shit or get off the pot.
11. First, fighting, then losing The Cold War
zuh?
12. The Spanish-American and Mexican Wars
neither was necessary... nor inevitable... that's for sure.
13. The Conservative (Bowel) Movement
meh... the second Iraq war that grew out of neoconservatism however could be a nominee for this list.
notable omissions:
internment of American citizens due to their nationality in WWII
McCarthyism
Gitmo... i think history would put this on the list.
I'm with you on most of this TTBF...with a few exceptions.
#4...fighting Cold War proxies around the globe.
The "tentacles of communism" policy was real and practiced with zeal under Krushchev and Brezhnev. How were we to respond if not via waging a global cold war with our intelligence/economic assets?
#13...the conservative movement. ?
Cap's just on crack here. Considering a swing of the political pendulum a "sin" is absurd.
#14...Gitmo
There's nothing wrong with Gitmo... Prisoners of war (captives) have been in existence during wars since the beginning of mankind. But for allowing POW's, the alternative is a "take no prisoners" death sentence. So...unless I'm misunderstanding the lefties, we either use "catch and release" or "field executions" to eliminate POW's.
Finally, Cap's remark about "misinterpretation of the 2nd amendment" is it's own misinterpretation of constitutional law. Repeatedly since Dist of Columbia-v-Heller (the case which bitch slapped gun grabbers out into the ocean), with only a few exceptions, appellates and SCOTUS have unanimously ruled in favor of "pro-gun" interpretations.
This is one of those, "needs to get a clue" issues for Cap.
