This is an honest question. Can you believe anything you want and still be a real American? I say no. There are certain tenants one must hold, tenants based on the founding of this nation. If we stray from those tenants, we cannot have the sort of nation our founders envisioned. As Benjamin Franklin was leaving the Continental Congress, a woman approached him and asked, "What have you given us?" He replied:
What does this mean? It means that there are certain ideas which support our republic, and certain ideas with undermine/destroy it.
For example, you must believe in the right to own and defend private property in order to be a real American. It's one of the basic ideas that our founders embraced because they knew it was essential to liberty. There are many other examples that I will address as time goes on, but I want to leave you with this thought:
To be an American is to hold a very specific set of ideas. When we hold and defend those ideas, we can keep our liberties. When we stray from them, our liberty erodes which means government power over our lives gets stronger.
So tell me your view. As Americans, can we believe anything we want and be of service to our fellow countrymen? What does it mean to be an American? Is there an objective (unchanging principles) way of being an American or is it subjective (the principles can change)? Tell me what you think. I really want to know.
"A republic, if you can keep it."
What does this mean? It means that there are certain ideas which support our republic, and certain ideas with undermine/destroy it.
For example, you must believe in the right to own and defend private property in order to be a real American. It's one of the basic ideas that our founders embraced because they knew it was essential to liberty. There are many other examples that I will address as time goes on, but I want to leave you with this thought:
To be an American is to hold a very specific set of ideas. When we hold and defend those ideas, we can keep our liberties. When we stray from them, our liberty erodes which means government power over our lives gets stronger.
So tell me your view. As Americans, can we believe anything we want and be of service to our fellow countrymen? What does it mean to be an American? Is there an objective (unchanging principles) way of being an American or is it subjective (the principles can change)? Tell me what you think. I really want to know.
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