The statue of liberty and its symbolic use in movies

[SuAside]

I suppose we should say the same thing about the English 'worship' of the Magna Carta.

Or the French worship of the 'Code Du Napoleon'


As parts of those are no longer relevant, but still used. To criticize the US Constitution and claim European countries do not do the same thing is ludicrous.

french do not "worship" it as you do, dont know about the english

anyhow on another issue here:

i do not believe it is possible to send armed men (basicly every average Joe & Buck) to fix a conflict somewhere without collateral damage, abuse and such. every army has trouble with this, it's normal since you give them so much power.

what i do question is weither the necessary steps were taken to keep these abuses to a minimum...


anyhow, i only see ONE possible solution for the iraqscrewup: US OUT, arab UN-forces IN. (of course UN-forces from somewhat stable countries: Morocco, Egypt,...)

of course this will never happen, this conflict will go on and on and on and on...

 

[Big T]

I suppose we should say the same thing about the English 'worship' of the Magna Carta

Huh?
When was the last time you heard an Englishman mention the Magna Carta? The only time I've heard it mentioned is in history classes.
We worship it so much that I had to look it up to remember exactly what it was (so sue me, we didn't really cover it in high school).
From the British Library (holders of two of the remaining four copies of the original documents).

Magna Carta is often thought of as the corner-stone of liberty and the chief defence against arbitrary and unjust rule in England.

It may form a base for which some of (many of?) our laws spring from, but it is not worshipped (at least not by the common man on the street). It is not taken word for word, and is not used to justify/decry parts of modern life/law.

 

[Murdoch]

Patriot act is temporary, again.

This interests me. Is this "temporary" defined in more concrete terms? "Temporarily" (literally, "dočasně") is, after all, how Soviet troops were stationed in Czechoslovakia after 1968, and in the end it took a revolution to get them out.

AFAIK, the Patriot Act is designed so that it must be voted on again in a few years and passed into permanent law. Otherwise, the provisions in it become null and void. Hence the temporary status. I seem to recall that the law as it stands not (not Patriot II) will come up for renewal in like, five years after passage? So 2006-7ish.

As for the orignal :rolls eyes: that started this debate, I think that everyone who does not have the Statue of Liberty makes lite of it precisely because they do not have one of their own. And the fact that it was a gift from a foreign nation does not in any way detract from its value, rather it makes it all the more cherished. How often in history has one nation felt so brotherly towards another to donate such a grand monument in the name of that bond, and given in the spirit fo freedom (as opposed to tyranny), no less? The fact that the monument was donated by currently perceived 'cheese eating surrender monkeys' makes makes for a delicious irony, to me at least.

 

[Big T]

I think that everyone who does not have the Statue of Liberty makes lite of it precisely because they do not have one of their own.

Not really, I for one don't feel the need to have a monument towards such a basic idea.
Meh, special circumastances behind the gift of it (etc.) do give it some value, but it still seems weird to put so much stock in a statue.

And the fact that it was a gift from a foreign nation does not in any way detract from its value, rather it makes it all the more cherished. How often in history has one nation felt so brotherly towards another to donate such a grand monument in the name of that bond...?

Yeah, it is a hell of a shame that gifts are now more likely to be of the explosive variety.

 

[quietfanatic]

Since i revere all governmental documents from all nations that guarantee the rights of it's citizens, does that mean by your statement above that you do not like documents that guarantee the rights of it's citizens? Please enlighten me.

Personally, I find all things interesting, and also value such documents. I was merely making a general statement that some people do not seem to care about such things, and that challenging viewpoints (or at least providing one) is always positive. If you think that I am careening off on a far away tangent on any issue, please feel free to slap me (if it seems serious enough of course).

Another simple reason for always having the Statue of Liberty in film is because it is one of the most recognisable landmarks in the world. We have the Sydney Harbour Bridge and Opera House and America has the Statue to blow up or whatever in disaster movies.