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A comment on Like modern democracies, ancient Greek democracy had an anger problem. Parent comment

Re:Like modern democracies, ancient Greek democracy had an a... by RcouF1uZ4gsC on Saturday September 23, 2017 @07:34PM (#15322360)
That is because America is not bound together by ethnicity or origin. We are not Americans because our ancestors have always lived in this place. What binds us together as Americans is the flag and patriotism. The flag and patriotism are supposed to transcend political boundaries. I for one think we as Americans need to emphasize what unites us and the flag and national anthem are two such things.
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Re:Like modern democracies, ancient Greek democracy had an a... by nine_k on Saturday September 23, 2017 @10:08PM (#15322865)
I'd say Constitution and the ideals behind it.

A big part of the "American Dream" is that you don't have to be of particular ethnicity; you have to play by some rules, and you have a chance to make it big.

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Re:Like modern democracies, ancient Greek democracy had an a... by KGIII on Saturday September 23, 2017 @10:54PM (#15323036)
For better or worse, the flag and anthem are representatives of the ideals and the Constitution. We are pretty nationalistic. That's not necessarily a bad thing, in and of itself.
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Re:Like modern democracies, ancient Greek democracy had an a... by JamesLeonis on Sunday September 24, 2017 @02:35AM (#15323589)
You are correct. We are heavily inspired my Enlightenment philosophy, especially Hobbesian Social Contract theory. The Constitution is our Social Contract.
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Re:Like modern democracies, ancient Greek democracy had an a... by throwamilesaway on Saturday September 23, 2017 @09:28PM (#15322754)
What you're describing as patriotism sounds like faith. Your flag is analogous to a cross or a star. Your national anthem sounds like prayers. Countries come across as religions.

I digress. It seems that democracy has been hacked many times over history (thanks OPs for all the links). Honestly, what would be a feasible alternative?

PS: Please do not bring up transparency; more of it won't solve it, we're being socially engineered at large scale.

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Re:Like modern democracies, ancient Greek democracy had an a... by alansammarone on Saturday September 23, 2017 @08:20PM (#15322533)
Maybe uniting with humans in general is also a reasonable option.
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