herjihad said:

"I used to feel this way about America.  But there are some anomalies to think about.  When this wonderful document was created, humans were kidnapped from their homes and brought to be slaves in America, the land of the free and the home of the brave.  Even after they arrived, they had rights, their children had rights.  And the greedy, evil slaveowners passed new American, anti-human laws which said that their children would also be slaves, thus creating an easy, cheap labor source, an underclass of subhumans, in their point of view, for all time.

The Declaration of Independence and the Constitution did not free these people.  They freed themselves with the help of anti-slavery souls, Allah bless them all. Harriet Tubman should be on the dollar bill instead of that other guy. 

Have you read the history that is taught to our kids?  We can see some of the truths on PBS and in the libraries and bookstores, but they are still teaching lies about slavery and the souless people, our revered forefathers, who not only allowed it, but encouraged it for their own economic gain."

I can't believe you are spreading such inaccuracies.  The slaves who first came here were sold to slave traders by AFRICAN AND ARAB slave traders.  They SOLD their own people for the money.

My response:  First of all, do you understand that people might view someone who writes this way as aggressive?

Secondly, you are not correct.  No one in Africa sold their own people.  (If they did, I have never read about it!  Do you have a reference?) Warring tribes, as with warring Indian tribes in America, used to keep their captives as slaves.  That they sold their own slaves was not selling their own people.

In America we fought the Civil War, brother fighting against brother to free the slaves.  More men were lost during the American Civil War than in any other war in history.  That is  how determined and committed we were to freeing the slaves. 

Your tone here when you say "In America" seems to attack the validity of anyone not being in America as a respondent to this issue.  Unfortunately, at least some of my family, if not most of it, were the people supporting slavery.  And I condemn them.  I rejoice that they lost.  Look at the reality, not the propaganda.  Lincoln was committed to unifying the nation, not freeing slaves.  "We" were determined to fight and kill anyone who would take our "property" from us.  And "we" continued to oppress and deny the humanity of blacks until ... wait, until today.  A lot of the folks I know in Appalachia still use the "N" word derogatorily and people like me (and you) are called "N" lovers.

President Lincoln most certainly does deserve to be on the $5.00 bill. 

Do you purposely twist things people say?  I said the $1 dollar bill -- Washington the slave owner. 

I like the list Sister Hanan made:  Now, I propose that all past slave owners be taken off all American money to show our real life support for our African American citizens. (That means Lincoln stays, silly!)

Slavery STILL PERSISTS in many parts of Africa, Asia, and South America....but NOT in the US. 

America encourages slavery all over the world.  And I personally helped free a slave, so I know that it exists.  I gave up employment that my family needed to accomplish it.  America gives billions of dollars and military support to slave owning countries.  America has supported the ghetto wall Israel is building and the slaughter of the Lebanese, Phalasteeni, and soon the Syrian people by its agent, its baby, Israel.  The people there are enslaved to poverty and oppression sponsored by our country.  We should be ashamed, you and I Patty, for not stopping.  You know, it's our duty to stop it.

Slavery was/is never right.  It is a horrible sin, and we have taken great strides to free this country from it. 

As I said, we need to stop exporting tyranny that encourages slavery, and supporting countries with slavery militarily.  And we do have slavery here.  We need to care about our home and clean it up and leave the oil rich, resource rich countries alone.  Our presence overseas encourages tyranny, nepotism, and slavery.

Yes, there are many poor blacks living in ghettos, I've been there and worked with them.  I was also raised in poverty in Appalachia....white children know poverty too, herjihad, it's just not as publicized as it is for black people. 

So you wear your previous poverty as a badge of honor?  What should I do with mine and my children's?  Deny it?

I think it would be a good idea to go back and read a few history books. 

This kind of remark is aggressive and insulting.  You know that I have read and have been reading a lot of history books because of my kids being in school.  Also, because of my interest in it when I had the time, I read books on many topics of history.

As for me, although I am a white Irish-American lady, I have many black friends.  Many of my girlfriends married black men, and live very good lives.  There are MANY Muslims near where I live....we all live together peacefully. 

That's lovely.  I feel bad about living in such peacefullness while my country is invading and destroying so many other places. I had a bagel for breakfast, Al-Hamdulilah, yet millions of Lebanese have no breakfast, no home, no peace, no safety, because of my goverment.

We have no problems...that's one reason this site bothers me.  I look for the good and positive, but everyone else tries to spread only the bad and pessimism. 

It's my strong opinion that you bother this site as well.  You are spreading the bad American aggressive attitude that shames us all over the world.  Your views are pessimistic about the brothers and sisters on this site whom I love for the fact that they are Muslims and the fact that they believe in Peace through self-defense.  There is no dignity or honor in begging your attacker to stop, especially when they just laugh at you.  The oppressed people must defend themselves in order to receive Allah's blessings. (Do NOT go into your 9/11 speech.  We have stated repeatedly that we don't support suicide bombings and we don't support murder of innocents.)  I could have been in that building.  My family and friends live near all of the places that were bombed by those cowards.  We are talking about the fact that Israel receives billions of dollars, weapons and rhetorical support from America, therefore we are responsible for the deaths in Lebanon.

Just this morning at mass, we had a visiting priest from Haiti who runs an orphanage for 420 children (orphans).  He is a white priest, and has devoted his life to giving this poor children a home.  They call him Papa.  He said he is not trying to raise "little Catholics"....they are free to choose whatever religion they like because "we all worship the same God."  I thank God for saints on earth like Father Marc.  If more people spent time trying to actually DO something positive rather than spreading lies and stories of bigotry, we could see very good changes in the world....but to continue to spead false tales, to have a depressed, pessimistic attitude does absolutely no good for anyone. 

If Marc went to Lebanon, he would be appalled and would spread the truth that America needs to stop giving its unconditional military support to Israel.  (Maybe I said that wrong:  Its destruction of Israel by engaging it as an agent to fulfill our evil agenda of greed and destruction in the middle east so that it can be "Reborn" to suit our demographic, economic, and political purposes.

Your attitude is aggressive.  You attack people that I care for ceaselessly.  You accuse them of the very wrongdoing that you are guilty of.  Please stop it.  Aren't there Catholic feel-good sites you'd like to spend your time on since you find us so unworthy?

Salaamu Alaykum (The Islaamic greeting for an Islaamic Website!)

God's Peace!