Did the American Revolution flop in the long run?
 

Here's a provocative op-ed piece asserting that we would have been better off had we not had a revolution and followed more closely Canada's march through history.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/opinio...a01_story.html

As for having a balanced budget, a better health care system, greater happiness for its citizens and more trust in their government's ability to tackle the issues of the day, Canada does indeed look pretty good. Fishing's not bad either.;)

In another twenty years due to rising temps B.C. will be like central California in it's climate. Don't have to worry about wannabe tough guys running around locked and loaded either.:)

There is something to be said for things that are built more slowly and carefully. However, I'm not going anywhere. Whatever it's faults may be, this is my home.

Dave

For a historian, this guy must have a pretty myopic view of history. To equate the Russian revolution with all its following baggage to the American Revolution is the most absurd thing I think I've ever read.

It is a bit of a stretch, but I think he's looking at opposite extremes. I'm guessing his point is that a populace chained will not thrive, but a populace completely free to destroy itself will do just that---destroy itself. Along the lines of Maos assertion that the best way to destroy a capitalist is to encourage his greed, then stand back and watch him destroy himself.

Not sure that I agree with it in sum total, but I can see how the model operates.

Dave

We have 350 million people in a geographically smaller country. Canada is the world's second largest nation geographically speaking but has a much smaller population than we do. I think their nation is easier to manage for one thing.

The point the author made about Jefferson advocating change to keep up with a society always in a dynamic flux is valid. I honestly believe we have people voting that do not really understand what they are voting for.

On the other hand though we are not as bad as people say..otherwise they would not want to come here. The biggest moral stain in our history was slavery and jim crow. And we have made pretty good progress dealing with that. I am sort of with Whell about comparing our Revolution to the Soviet takeover of Russia....plus we did not commit genocide like Stalin did, if you can describe economic and political policies that killed millions of his own countrymen in such terms. Of course Native Americans might disagree with me on that point.

I think the thing that makes us very positive in the eyes of the world is that we our a classless society in that we do not discriminate on the basis of the ACQUISITION of wealth...in other words we offer more or less equality of opportunity for all people regardless of birth. In England you are judged on your accent and it is a sort of rigid society. Here you may be judged by how you speak but it will not be a hindrance to you in most cases. Plus being able to buy a house on credit makes us really nice in the eyes of immigrants from the "third world" who have to pay cash for their homes. That is what someone from Afghanistan told me once.

If I am beginning to sound like the Arkay or Wigwam Jones of political chat just shoot me.

Interesting one from David Horsey of the LA Times.:)

http://www.latimes.com/news/politics...,7712264.story

Lots of truth in this article. My college freshman son had a band in high school where the drummer was the son of an English airline executive living and working here for the past 8 years. The dad retired and they all moved back to England and the son goes to the University of East Anglia. They're back in the states for a month now and have been staying with us off and on. The differences are indeed few and far between.

Dr Who

More Would of Should of Could of ...........

With how we had growing pains, I believe with out our start there would be many different countries instead of one. Something about our birth and expansion West gave a sense of unity.



Barney