08-07-2002, 01:32 PM
Ok I completely ripped this off of another message board but I still think it's a good topic.
Lately Spain is trying ban the political wing of the ETA while france is trying to ban some far-right groups. In the US we are certainly more tolerant of fringe groups politically, I certainly doubt neo-nazis would be allowed to operate in France and Germany. In Spain they are now using an act of brutal violence to quash the Basques. Obviously in the 2nd example I think the us would have acted but they would not have outright banned the group. They would of course create trumped up charges and keep them in prison for an indefinite period of time.
Europeans tend to value personal freedoms more and it's no wonder things such as drug use are legal. In America people tend to value political freedoms more so you see a harder stand on personal freedoms.
I think the European approach and the American approach are both wrong. Look at the European approach. Germany and France are very strong in their anti-nazism policies yet they have rates of fascist tendencies in their population in all of Europe. In America where we have the hardest stance on drugs we obviously have the worst drug problem.
Discuss.
Lately Spain is trying ban the political wing of the ETA while france is trying to ban some far-right groups. In the US we are certainly more tolerant of fringe groups politically, I certainly doubt neo-nazis would be allowed to operate in France and Germany. In Spain they are now using an act of brutal violence to quash the Basques. Obviously in the 2nd example I think the us would have acted but they would not have outright banned the group. They would of course create trumped up charges and keep them in prison for an indefinite period of time.
Europeans tend to value personal freedoms more and it's no wonder things such as drug use are legal. In America people tend to value political freedoms more so you see a harder stand on personal freedoms.
I think the European approach and the American approach are both wrong. Look at the European approach. Germany and France are very strong in their anti-nazism policies yet they have rates of fascist tendencies in their population in all of Europe. In America where we have the hardest stance on drugs we obviously have the worst drug problem.
Discuss.
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