This thread is meant to be a discussion of values represented in the Constitution that you think all Americans should share. At the end of the brief opener, you will asked to respond to questions of ‘value’.

Politics is a predominant topic when discussing current news and events, and currently hot topics seem to be revolving around diversity - age, ethnicity, partisan politics, and gender, among others. Much of the disagreement when discussing these topics comes down to ‘personal’ values. But what about the ‘shared’ values of all Americans?

The Constitution of the USA is not just a clarification of how governance will be imposed; it is also a declaration of values. How others (people, groups, nations) view the USA as a whole was meant to be derived from the values woven into the Constitution.

Since the values contained within that Constitution are meant to influence the world’s view of us, it makes sense that all people, who choose to become or remain citizens of the USA, incorporate and support the core values exemplified through that document.

So when an individual citizen of the USA answers the question: “I am?” with the response “an American”, that individual is defining a characteristic that connects the individual, through a shared set of values, to a unique group of people called Americans.

What do Americans consider to be SHARED values AND how does the Constitution represent that value?

ONE ‘PERSONAL’ EXAMPLE: “All men are created equal” To me that statement implies every human is connected at birth by the simple fact that they are born human – in THAT we are all equal.

The VALUE within the statement “All men are created equal” is RESPECT.

I define “Respect” in terms of basic human rights. Basic human rights exemplified = a baby is incapable of procuring the necessities to maintain life or pursue a satisfying existence – it is out of love and “Respect” that we do the best we can to provide those necessities. That kind of respect does not end when a child becomes an adult, they are still human.

Therefore, to be consistent with the constitutional VALUE (respect), I agree, AS AN AMERICAN CITIZEN, to provide, through law, personal effort, charitable donation..etc, whatever is NECESSARY so that others can have access to the basic necessities of life.


HERE ARE MY DISCUSSION QUESTIONS:

What are the SHARED values between Americans and indicate how the Constitution represents that value?

If you are at a loss to begin consider the following issues: government entitlement programs, (legal & non-legal) immigration, affirmative action, name-calling, propaganda, public media, veterans, DADT, DOMA, treatment of and support for those with disabilities…. Think of the recent threads you’ve posted in or reviewed.

I dont think americans truly all share any one value


at best, I think we share ideals such as being created equal, but the ideal falls apart when it meets 'group' mentality

it will be interesting to see the answers of others, but I truly cant think of one value we all share that relates to the constitution

Gee. I could rant for hours about this topic, but I don't have the time.

Firstly, I don not think all men were created equal. I think some are prone to be workaholics and some are downright lazy. I do not think that the constitution gives all of benefits of hard work to those who avoid work at all costs. I think the government should provide "some" degree of support for those who cannot support themselves AND the families of people in need should provide help for family members.

I do not think the government has the right to spend money it does not have.

I do not think politicians who will say anything to get elected should be able to ignore all their campaign promises without any immediate consequences. Perjury should apply to all.

I believe the two party system is broken and neither party represents the average view of the average American. I think the far left is socialist in nature and will destroy and/or bankrupt the US if given the chance with stupid spending and "give away" programs that defy the basic constitutional goal of each "citizen" having the "opportunity" to life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness. Nancy Pelosi may be the world's dumbest human being.

The Constitution is void if it only applies to some and not others but illegals are encouraged to mock the law while citizens are punished for self protection from the same illegals. One of the primary purposes of the Constitution is to give the federal government the DUTY to protect our borders. The complete failure of that charge would give all states and citizens the right to self defense to make up for that failure ... or so it would seem.

The illegals represent potential voters to Democrats and cheap labor to Republicans so the US citizen who has to put up with crime and the cost of illegals gets screwed.

The far right tries to merge religion with policy in ways not intended by God fearing constitution framers. Some of the far right is guided by large corporations who seek only protection for the corporation but can afford enough money to sway minds with rhetoric. Rush Limbaugh knows nothing about global warming, engineering, or a number of other issues but sways minds as if he was an expert.

I, like the framers of the Constitution, believe in fiscal responsibility and personal freedom. The legal system should remove child molesters, rapists, career criminals, and the like from society, not provide never ending income for a bunch of worthless liberal attorneys. Texas leads the nation in executions. I am proud of that fact.

woohoo! go texas... we executed even more when bush was governor..

I agree! That whole line of "Give us your poor, your tired, your huddled masses," was a French Contribution and has affected our immigration standards a lot. The constitution didn't say we had to let just anybody in.

The thing is 'Poor' is a way of thinking. Welfare promotes the idea that people cannot do for themselves. Look at poor neighborhoods. Just because it looks run down does not mean it also has to be a filthy trash ridden dump of human habitation. Want to stop taggers, make them clean up their own mess. Want to deal with crime? Let people defend themselves. otherwise "Poor" people will victimize themselves and each other. The proof is in the crime statistics.

Politicians feed on the chaos they create to justify their existence. It is so bad even Obama openly and Bold Faced lies to us constantly! They need to suffer for their actions and lies like the rest of us. Our two party system is a two way sell out of everyone caught in between. These idiots are over educated sh** heads who make being an American embarrassing!

We would be better off being run by Chimpanzees flinging poo at each other! What we have now is almost the same thing! The problem within the question is that there is what the Constitution says in clear words vs. how people want to bend its interpretation. An Anti- Gun (whackjob) Liberal will say the Second Amendment is dated and times are different yet the founding Fathers clearly wrote that our right to bear arms was unimpeachable and unchallengeable and why, To protect ourselves from all enemies foreign and domestic. Now tell an Alaskan they cannot carry a side arm to protect themselves from Grizzly bears!

The constitution says all men are created equal but we have to have "Minorities" catered too when the very constitution says we are all the same. We are being Smoke Screened, Baffled by BS, lied to openly, ripped of and robbed at every turn by our own leadership and them selling out our protections and regulations to "deregulation and privatization."

I am sick of all the reinterpretation of the constitution. It was pretty simple to understand and yet azzholes try to tear it apart all the time from within. the constitution itself was a shared commonality between ideals but some idealists want more than a fair share, they want their say to rule supreme.

we are equal, but the decision and policy makers didn't TREAT us equal at all


it is not 'catering' to anyone, when such laws and policies are addressed and dealt with

I agree...

I am an american, my grandparents were all immigrants from Ireland and Italy, and come to this country to provide a better life for themselves, their families... and to achieve their dreams...

Americans do not share one value, or system of values - more so they share in the belief that the framwork established by the founders of our country are worth preserving, pursuing - and if need be defending.

It's a belief in the structure of the country - established by the constitution and refined by the bill of rights - that we are free to pursue our own values within...

"all men are created equal" is not a VALUE, it's an "UN-ALIENALBE RIGHT"...

$.02

right on!!!

It is when it is done to placate anyone. It is unfair to deny a QUALIFIED Hispanic, or black person from any job based on color. To deny them becasue they are UNQUALIFIED, ie. do not meet the standards of the job by gratis of education and or training, then there is nothing wrong. Denying Black and Hispanic students from attending college becasue they failed the entrance exam is perfectly legal. To grant under qualified students in the face of qualified students is ludicrous! Letting them in because they qualified by passing the entrance exams is what I would expect. UCLA was flooded with (COUGH)"Minorities" who qualified by a points system, not GPA or entrance exam. They all failed or dropped out! In the mean time students who needed the class time who were qualified were denied and out education dollars failed us miserably.

Instead of really embracing equality some choose to shove their own interpretations of it down people's throats. That is worst than unfair and I am sure if MLK were alive today he would be incensed!
I would love to see him dress down Jessie Jackson face to face. I had a dream where people just got along. I had a dream where I lived in a country that held itself to a higher standard. I had a dream humanity would grow instead of stagnate in selfishness. I had a dream where the ideals I was taught in school meant something. I had a dream where I felt having a work ethic would get me somewhere.

And people shattered my dreams. My own countrymen. Because too many people are so fuqued up over not leaving any man behind. Well, in the course of your quest some of your high and mighty ideals contradicted everything I was taught. Worst is it contradicts what I learned more!

The real heart of equality is looking more past color lines but the raw amount of difference among us. If we can learn to do that we can move on with bigger better things to over come.

Thanks for asking...I'd rather just post a line from the Constitution that if honored would change everything:

This should be respected as an American value...and a RULE.

From Article 6

"The Senators and Representatives before mentioned, and the Members of the several State Legislatures, and all executive and judicial Officers, both of the United States and of the several States, shall be bound by Oath or Affirmation, to support this Constitution; but no religious Test shall ever be required as a Qualification to any Office or public Trust under the United States."

http://www.usconstitution.net/xconst_A6.html

After that maybe we can get some people elected who will deal with real life issues.

We know that the founders being white supremacists for the most part did not consider all humans equal. They considered all white humans equal.

That said we are still fighting, well some of us, to make the inalienable right a fact that all humans are equal and deserve the human respect that each of us wants for ourselves. We started out behind because of the accepted racism that still goes on in this country by the majority here.

Because of religion the fight is even harder because religion is used to discriminate for more than just race and culture.


My thoughts here would be that all humans are created equally. Their differences in life choices and life paths is what makes our world a better and worse place. But they are all still equal at the human level. Consequences for actions should never depend on race, creed, sexual orientation, economic status, etc... It should always be on the individual actions of each human.

Due to taught racism and prejudice in our families, society, media, etc..... and the almost impossibility of being able to see another's view.
We still have a long way to go.


Reading through here I saw Rush Limbaugh disparaged by a person who sounded just like him in thought and attitude, that was interesting.

I missed your question completely.

Shared values in this country are votes and possibly the American dream.

Other than that at this level if you are white your value is the top of the list and then after that your value is due to the amount of money you have. White, straight and Christian with money still holds the top rung.

This comment is evidence of someone who has a position so far left of the mainstream that everyone right of their position would be a "Rush Limbaugh"... or perhaps a person totally unaware of anther's thoughts and positions.

No need to get testy. You almost said word for word Rush's dialogue.

Here let me show you.

"This is a tough thing to say, because a lot of people don't want to hear this, because it goes against everybody's desire that we all be the same, that there be no pain in life and that there be no suffering and that everybody do well and that everybody have what they want and so forth.

But there is no equality. You cannot guarantee that any two people will end up the same. And you can't legislate it, and you can't make it happen. You can try, under the guise of fairness and so forth, but some people are self-starters, and some people are born lazy. Some people are born victims. Some people are just born to be slaves. Some people are born to put up with somebody else making every decision for them."

Rush Limbaugh.

I found it interesting that there were similarities when he is not liked.

No biggie.

so you would also do away with POINTS for children of alumni , or military, or children from certain AFFLUENT communities, or children who went to the 'best' schools(that their parents could afford), or children who have taken the types of AP classes that arent often offered at schools in impoverished communities ?

If we do away with some extra points, wny not all of them and IF we are going to ask the students to compete on school material, lets do more to make sure the same (superior type) material is equally accessible to students from all economic levels

I agree, getting or not getting a job SOLELY because of race would suck and should be litigated when it happens as it is illegal.

I remember being taught that American was the great "melting pot"..that different ethnicities came together to form a great nation..there is a defininte sense of pride and a unique identity that goes with being "an American". Even if you guys cant put your finger on it, the rest of the world understands it..

Seems now a days, the focus is more on the differences rather than the similarities, with an eye on where you come from rather than where you are now..its a pity really..so much divisivness...hope you all are able to over come it and come together as one nation again.

well said,,,or,, well posted,lol

Yeah I heard that too but I also heard my 7th grade school teacher say to the class, "You know, the KKK does some good things".

The "American dream"...that's the problem, we were just dreaming.

America is a young country and it still has a long way to go to grow up.

ur teacher was probably right,, few groups are all good or all bad, although I think the KKK was mostly motivated by bad intentions towards others

Although you didn't say it, I would guess the VALUE that you hold so dear, and the one all Americans share is represented in the Constitution by "FREEDOM OF SPEECH".

So as an American who also values our freedom of speech, I am happy that you have this forum in which to exercise that freedom.

However, I would like to point out that all of the other opinions you have shared with us have nothing to do with this thread beyond the fact that you are Free to share your opinion.

To others as well at the poster, I would like like to point out that these are the kind of responses which create animosity in OTHER threads. They are personal opinion and why they are important to the poster we don't know.

It's wonderful that we have the freedom to post our opinions, but if that is all a poster wants to do - post an opinion, with no explanation and no reasoning to support it then their part of the discussion should be over.

This way we avoid anger, name-calling, and disrespect.

BUT in this thread all opinions are welcome, but the only ones we should be discussing are those opinions about SHARED American values which have been connected to the Constitution.

This responce has nothing whatever to do with this thread, which happens often in this forum but not often enough to assume that such interruptions are a SHARED American value.