Originally Posted by Lil-Mac
Not to turn this into a history debate but as a history teacher I have to say that we would not have stood a chance without the aid of the French, Spanish and Dutch.
While it is true that their direct aid here in America was limited their real value as allies came in three forms:
1. Military aid: There was no industry in the colonies to speak of, very few foundries to make muskets and cannon, so where did we get them? Mainly from France. Not only that but at prices so low that the French government nearly went bankrupt supporting us... which was one of the major reasons for the French Revolution, but thats another discussion.
2. Training: Our soldiers, while brave, were largely untrained to fight a proper war and many of those that did have proper military training actually supported the British, this was expecially true of Colonial officers. Without trainers from Europe it is doubtful that Washington would ever have been able to field a large, effective army.
3. Interdiction: While it is true that our allies in the war did little to help us directly on the battlefields of North America they contributed greatly to interdicting and engaging British forces overseas. Britian was forced to fight what amounted to the First World War. The British were fighting in Europe, North America, South America, The Caribbean and in India. For them it was truely a global conflict, we just had to worry about our little patch. Had the British been able to deploy anything even close to their full military might against us the war would have been over within a year.
As an American and a veteran I am proud of what our forefathers were able to accomplish. However I am also fully aware that without the aid we recieved those accomplishments would never have happened.
Now... to the topic of this thread, Ground Zero. I have to admit that when I first heard of this plan to build a mosque (actually it is an interfaith community center with facilities for Muslums, Christians and Jews) at the ground zero site I was appalled. I couldnt believe that any group could be so callous, so unfeeling as to attempt this.
However I have come to think and feel differently about this. Why have I changed my stance? Education. I have educated myself about the issue and there are several important facts about this project that are almost never mentioned, especially by those in the media (FOX NEWS) that wish to forment hate, fear and discord in America.
The project has been dubbed the Ground Zero Mosque. This description is in itself a lie. First of all... IT'S NOT AT GROUND ZERO!! The proposed project is to take place on site two blocks from ground zero. I'll grant you it's close, but it's not ground zero. If two blocks is not far enough away then what is? Two miles? Ten miles? Out of the city altogether??
Second, it's not just a mosque. In fact I'm not even sure it can rightly be called a mosque. What it is, is an interfaith community center. It will have facilities for Christian, Jews as well as Muslims. It will also have non-religious facilities for civic functions and community events.
These are just two of the physical facts that many people ignore. There is also something else to consider. In America we dont tell people where they can or cant live, we dont tell people where they can or cant work, and we dont tell people where they can or cant build a house of worship. And folks, thats what this is. It's not a church, it's not a synagogue, it's not a mosque. It's all of these and none of these.
America is better than this, at least it should be.
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