Another invented holiday. How I hate them. Don't get me wrong I like the free day for some of us.
What I hate is the name, the idea or the whateverness behind them.
They survived a year and ate pies and turkey. But the Indians thought they were just visiting and would soon leave. But instead more came. So they started fighting. Of course after thanking god. Why is God always the start of all wars and problems? and then on the next day they all went shopping like crazy. It sounds like a story straight from the bible. Ok, then. Let's celebrate this holyday and the next two ones and be over with. But can we call them Halloween?
...Russian dashboard cams.
When I view these videos I see a society still largely unfettered by the litany of modern laws, regulations and social engineering beset our "Free society".
We joke about the many photos of Russian President Putin sans shirt. Can you imagine the uproar from photos of 'our' President daring too play basketball "shirtless" on a hot August afternoon?
If you want to focus on negatives that is your choice.
After visiting more than 30 countries, I walk around L.A. and see a place where more people live together in relative harmony (compared to any other country). Perfect harmony? No. They are people
When people shop, they are often looking for presents for friends and family. Yes, it is commercial, but what is wrong with looking for something to make a friend happy, at the same time giving work to someone who needs it.
500 years ago, every nation engaged in conquest. The Aztec temples have Totlec features because the Toltecs were conquered by the Aztecs.
Yes, we "invaded." That was the world. Did we produce a decent society?
You be the judge
holidays are what you make of them. the jobs where i've worked most times do not even allow you to take holidays, sure they pay you time and a half, whatever, i'd still prefer to chill at my apt having a coup of coffee and watching a parade or something. Nowadays politicians have found a way to politicize from holidays, to our president not wearing a jacket in the oval office. luckily I came from a country where holidays were all about relaxing and have a good time. I personally do not mind the days off now, because i know that there's a huge amount of people right now that are working their asses off, and that my friend, is reason enough to be grateful about 
.
After visiting more than 30 countries, I walk around L.A. and see a place where more people live together in relative harmony (compared to any other country). Perfect harmony? No. They are people
When people shop, they are often looking for presents for friends and family. Yes, it is commercial, but what is wrong with looking for something to make a friend happy, at the same time giving work to someone who needs it.
500 years ago, every nation engaged in conquest. The Aztec temples have Totlec features because the Toltecs were conquered by the Aztecs.
Yes, we "invaded." That was the world. Did we produce a decent society?
You be the judge
Did we produce a decent society?
The only honest answer is No.
Comfortable, convenient, better than most? Yes.
500 years ago, every nation engaged in conquest. We still do, along with other nations?
I know if we don't, some one else will. Lets not pretend we are a great nation, just because we are great.
Aztec and Toltec, what geographical location did they occupy
We seem too have created a society that ‘remembers’ the joy of giving by corporate retailers browbeating the concept into us while lengthening the ‘season’ in which to do it with each passing year. We are taught to repulse at the word “imperialism” while having standing armies in near every nation of the world. We are the undisputed richest nation on earth and the top 1% controls over 50% of the wealth of 350,000,000 citizens. Our democracy has effectively been sold to the highest bidder in the form of the ironically named “Citizens United” decision, our 4th Amendment Rights have all been expunged except for the print in our original doctrine, private ‘ownership’ is GONE (try living in the home you own without paying taxes, utilities, insurance, etc etc) You can’t even ‘store’ a vehicle you “own” without paying $18/year or more for “non-operational status”. Big Pharma trumps and makes illegal every form of homeopathic medicine it wishes too while keeping 50% of the population on provably dangerous anti-depressants. And a frightening percentage of graduating high school students would have trouble reading their diplomas.
Out of control capitalism will collapse.
There are lot of countries where people live hell of lot harmoniously than LA or the entire US.
After visiting more than 30 countries, I walk around L.A. and see a place where more people live together in relative harmony (compared to any other country). Perfect harmony? No. They are people
When people shop, they are often looking for presents for friends and family. Yes, it is commercial, but what is wrong with looking for something to make a friend happy, at the same time giving work to someone who needs it.
500 years ago, every nation engaged in conquest. The Aztec temples have Totlec features because the Toltecs were conquered by the Aztecs.
Yes, we "invaded." That was the world. Did we produce a decent society?
You be the judge
We will quickly see populations that are very homogeneous when compared to LA or many parts of the U.S.
Other "harmonious" living occurs in places where "harmony" is often enforced by the government.
Other countries have forced harmony. There are no armed guards on the bus that goes down Hollywood Blvd.
In Italy and France, they have to have armed guards outside of synagogues. There are no armed guards outside the Islamic Center on Vermont, the Jewish temple and Catholic churd 10 blocks away.
There are no police enforcing order in the cafe I go to with at least 6 minorities at any one time.
In a city of 100 languages, the "hate crimes" are statistically minor.
I don't think stationary armed guards are necessary. When the police force is highly mobilized.
I know you are trying to bring some balance and reason to AF's argument. I don't think we should compare America to Israel.
China is the perfect example of forced harmony. My point is that in areas that arguably have better harmony it is either easy due to a homogeneous culture or it is forced.
For examples of great harmonious cultures, people like to point to places like Norway, Sweden, Finland, Luxembourg, etc., where the populations are both small (by comparison) and almost everyone looks alike and thinks alike.
No I don't specialize in war torn countries, although I have been to Syria before the war, Lebanon, and Egypt, all before the current mess.
Of the 30 plus countries I have visited, my most common are Italy, France, England, with at least 7 times each. Also, Russia, Sweden Finland, Norway, Mexico, Guatemala.
Norway and Sweden have virtually no minorities. It is easy to live together when you are all Swedish or Finn. Japan is the same. Nice place to live if you want to avoid any non-Japanese.
LA's school district has over 100 languages.
The fact that people from so many nations and cultures live together with so little violence is astounding.
I live within walking distance of a Catholic church, Chabad, a sihk Temple, and I don't know what else. The area is Hispanic, Sihk, Armenian Thai, Black, White, gay, and that is just the start.
I don't know where you have been but can you name a country with a tenth the diversity where people get along so well?
No you can'
I want to add that L.A. is not the only city in the U.S. like that. NY has over 100 languages. Don't know the number in Chicago, but my guess is it is up there. Even smaller cities like SF are a mix.
Can you name one other country in the world that has just ONE city with people who speak 100 languages and everyone lives within walking distance of at least 10 other nationalities.
Hey, even in France, with a lot of cultures, the schools are only French. Germany the same. Try moving to Rome and asking for a elementry school class in English or Thai. (And there are a few Thai people in Rome.)
Finally, I would point out that the fast majority of our crime is not directed against other groups. It is Black on Black, Hispanic on Hispanic, etc. It is not groups fighting "outsiders" (The next most common, sadly, are Black v. Hispanic.)
In the few hours since I posted, I saw two new ethnic groups that I hadn't even been aware of.
It seems that L.A. now has a decent size population from Tonga who are overjoyed to be here, even tough they are having a hard time. See Friday's L.A. Times.
Also, I just noticed that a new Buddhist Temple opened about six blocks from where I live. And they haven't been bombed. In fact, not only did I not know about it, but the ethnic mixing is so blah that no one in the neighborhood has even seen it as worthy of local news.
Just one more in the mix
1) Most if not, all of us want to be here.
2) Religious freedom makes for a more harmonious and hegemonic society
Yes, people have freedom to believe or not believe, and yes, most people want to be here.
There is a big divide in the black community between those who are multi generational and those who came by choice. Nigerians, Hatians, Etheopians, and Blacks from 100 other countries have a very divergent view and I have heard rather nasty things about the people who preceded them.
Ironically, today there are more Blacks in the U.S. descended from voluntary immigrants than slaves, but you rarely hear their stories and they are not part of the "Black" community. Kind of like Cubans who escaped Castro and are not often not considered when people talk about "Hispanics."
thankfulness regarding the good things that come into my life, both big and small, and not dwelling on the negatives, has enriched my life greatly! It's amazing how it can change the way you see and experience the world around you, and how those around you may respond, in kind, to you! 
I find it also helps to take an additional step. That is to find ways and take advantage of opportunities to take action to help people that come into my life. And from time to time to seek out others that have not.
Happy Thanksgiving.
One way I help out, consistently, is being generous in my tipping, especially to whom are considered the working poor. And, since I do practically all my transactions with local businesses, I get to see the face of those who are benefiting. But, you're right! Often, opportunities to help others can occur unexpectedly, and other times they need to be sought out. Happy Belated Thanksgiving!
They went to Amsterdam first, not sure if they were tolerate.
The Pilgrims wanted to worship God in their own way, not as King James wanted them to. The penalty for worshipping God in a non-King James approved manner was death.
The Pilgrims moved to Amsterdam for a brief respite from the persecution suffered in their native England. After a time, they found even this arrangement to be to onerous to bear. They sought permission from King James to set sail for the New World, and settle there, so that they could worship God in their own way.
When they arrived in the New World, they ended up much further north than they expected. Nearly half of the Pilgrims died, either on the trip, or in the brutal winter that set in upon reaching land in the New World (including the wife of William Bradford, the leader of the expedition to the New World).
However: A large part of the reason why the casualties amongst the Pilgrims were so great were not just because of the difficult trip or exposure upon landing here. In addition to all that, the edict from King James I was what we would now call a "Socialist" diktat: King James had decreed that all the products of the labors of the Pilgrims were to be shared equally. All houses were to be the same size (never mind that some housed only a husband and wife, while others housed an entire extended family). All food which was harvested was to go into a communal bin, to be shared by all the settlers in common. Needless to say, without incentive to produce more than the next person, the colony all but failed.
Finally, springtime came. The Indians came, and in the spirit of good neighbors, shared their knowledge of how to cultivate corn, how to fashion tools, how to hunt small animals so as to use their pelts for clothing and protection against the elements.
By the time that next November rolled around, Thanksgiving truly was a period of giving thanks. The Pilgrims thanked God, thanked their new friends the Indians for teaching them how to survive in the New World, and were thankful that they could survive and worship God in a manner of their choosing.
God doesn't start wars and problems. Monotheism (the belief that there is but one God, and that He alone is all-knowing, all-seeing, and all-caring, that He knows your name, and actually cares whether you do the right or wrong thing) is one of the most significant steps forward in the ascent of man in recorded history. Without it, there is just the rule of "might makes right".
Now, do people (frequently!) misinterpret this simple message and pervert it their own ends? Of course. But this does nothing to undermine the simple message of the one God who is eternal.
btw, the "French and Indian Wars" were a bunch of bs--that war was nothing but a battle between the British and French for control of North America with the Indians being used as stooges. The real Indian killer in American history (besides the diseases brought to the New World, which could hardly be attributed to malicious action on the part of the settlers) was none other than President Andrew Jackson, who did more to eradicate the Indians from North America than any one single human being--one of the biggest villians in American History--but they sure as heck don't teach that in the "Common Core" curriculum of today.
And the other death knell for the American Indian: Once that spike had been banged in which connected the Transcontinental Railroad, it was pretty much over for the American Indian. It was basically off to the reservation or integrate into the White Man's society.
You implied the scrapping of the communal system. I would reiterate that it was the switch to free enterprise and capitalism that saved the Pilgrims.
Capitalism and religion, either separately or otherwise, have done far more to raise the standard of living of people and save people from dire poverty than anything else.
Even when the negative effects due to individuals and institutions that perverted religion and also unfettered capitalism are taken into balance; the net positive of both is still huge.
-- Modified on 12/1/2013 11:41:24 AM
Capitalism will always favor capital.
I call Capitalism the original trickle down economics.
Capitalism and religion, either separately or otherwise, have done far more to raise the standard of living of people and save people from dire poverty than anything else.
Even when the negative effects due to individuals and institutions that perverted religion and also unfettered capitalism are taken into balance; the net positive of both is still huge.
-- Modified on 12/1/2013 11:41:24 AM
We must ingnore and forget the negative conequences, in order to peogress in a posotive fasion.
-- Modified on 12/1/2013 7:02:10 PM