I hate the phrase: "They hate us for our freedoms." because it is

[JRLeft]

so cliche and requires very little brain activity. It is like having ones brain on auto pilot. When these attacks are so much complex in its meaning. There are usually more than one reason why.

[MurrayDelph]

1. I hate it

because it has been used to take those freedoms away.

[whatchamacallit]

2. They won't be able to say it for long

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We are voluntarily surrendering our freedoms as fast as we can.

[JRLeft]

6. True we are giving it away at a faster rate than we amassed them.

[asjr]

3. And because our "freedoms" are being taken away from us.

[OwnedByCats]

34. All true

and that's being done by our government, not the terrorists. Our foreign policy has got to be one of the biggest reasons why we have had a lot of attempts, with the occasional ones being successful. The reasons these brothers decided to jump on the bandwagon could be varied, but to say it's because of our freedoms, too simplistic and really not the root of the problem IMO.

[LiberalEsto]

4. I think the GOP/1% hate us for what few freedoms we have left nt

[sibelian]

5. It's the explanation that makes those who quote it feel good about themselves.

That's it. It's not for anything else. It's not really an explanation.

"They hate us because we're bombing and torturing people they relate to or care about" doesn't make anybody feel good about themselves.

[raccoon]

22. Amen! nt

[zeemike]

45. Now why would they hate us just because of that?

Torture is just like being jumped in to a fraternity and bombs only last a short while...
But seeing us free really pisses them off.

[Zax2me]

7. Yes, but they do hate gay/women freedoms/rights we assume.

And not in the 'we don't want that gay couple in our church' kind of way.
But in a stone them to death kind of way.
Also, a woman dressing the way they want, you going to an R rated movie -

Things we consider freedom.

The oldest brother bomber referred to it as we have no values anymore.

[JRLeft]

8. You believe this is why they bombed us? That is the only reason?

[whatchamacallit]

9. Such a focused agenda you've got there

Maybe you have a 'final solution' in mind?

[dkf]

10. What if some hate us because we don't allow the type of discipline of women that they see as their

Right and as part of their value system?

What if they think we need to be eradicated for our more permissive society that they see as a dishonor to their God?

[Gregorian]

11. Maybe they're jealous of our freedom. The hating us statement makes freedom sound bad.

And that's what I think they used it for.

Furthermore, I think they engineered the use of 9/11 so that it would be recycled annually. Had they used WTO, and repeated WTO, over and over, it would have died. Not 9/11.

I'm just pointing out who the people are that engineered this crap for themselves.

The world is jealous of our freedom. Or was.

[dballance]

12. But It Sounds So Much Better Than: "They Hate Us for Our Imperial Actions Around the World" /nt

[YoungDemCA]

13. +1000

nt

[truebluegreen]

20. This.

[Progressive dog]

27. That's truth and humor in one sentence nt

[Cleita]

14. It also originally came out of Dumbya's mouth which makes it too stupid to be even

worthy of comment.

[Jamaal510]

15. I just hate the word "freedom" period.

I have come to hate it because of how the other side of the aisle hijacked that word, and they throw it around whenever it is convenient for their agenda. They talk about the "freedom" of law-abiding gun owners, for example, but never about my freedom (as a person who doesn't own guns) to go somewhere safely and not have to worry about getting shot randomly. They never mention the "freedom" of low-income people to have basic necessities like health care, the freedom for women to choose, or for people to vote.

[truebluegreen]

18. I almost always use "freedumb" now.

It seems appropriate.

[Populist_Prole]

24. +1. "Freedom" = Money

Or more to the point, when a conservative says freedom, they are really talking about letting a business do whatever the hell they want to do. You'll see. Just argue with any true believer conservative and as you pare away at their stupid boilerplate about all their abstract visions of what freedom is, you'll finally get to the rotten heart of it all: Money.

All the guns, images of steely eyed bald eagles and old glory are just the last vestiges the plutocrats can still use on the hoi-polloi to drive wedge between those that care about that shit, and those that don't. It keeps the former group barking up the wrong tree of just what's wrong with the US political system.

[truebluegreen]

16. I hate it because it is completely wrong

and was spawned by Dumbya and the reich-wingers trying to avoid any responsibility for blowback from our asinine behavior abroad.

[JRLeft]

33. Yes US imperialism plays a major role in global disdain of this country.

[truebluegreen]

36. I agree.

I've read posts by people insisting that we are not hated overseas, that average people like us just fine.

As an ex-pat, I can say that in my experience average people who don't know much about politics do like us. Those who are more aware, and their governments, not so much, unless they hope to gain from association with us. But that kind of "liking" is not very durable...especially as the US economy continues to struggle.

[rustydog]

17. But it is so effective. That is how the GOP and Fox news operates

a simple phrase that is repeated minutes from the first time it is uttered. (hence Fox issued talking points memos to all the talking faces)

Republican voters, you know, goobers, eat this up.

Shit one of my highly-respected very intelligent co worker argues to this day that Romney and Cain are the "job creators" and really need their atrocious tax cuts.

[Dawson Leery]

19. kick

[raccoon]

21. I mentally finished this sentence, "because it is horse manure," which it is.

I don't know who came up with this crap, but it's simplistic, stupid and not true.

[JRLeft]

23. But it gets regurgitated daily.

[MisterP]

25. and it's from the *same* people (ex-Cold Warriors of both parties) who gave us the mujahedeen

heck, their nearly-helpless impulse to play both sides of the fence made them support *Pol Pot* to "give Vietnam its own Vietnam"

[Dyedinthewoolliberal]

26. I agree

They don't hate you or I for our freedoms. They hate the multi-national corporations, and their freedoms to exploit and ravage their countries, backed by US military. That is what that statement really means............

[smirkymonkey]

48. Yep. This, exactly.

[Posteritatis]

28. I came across a term a few weeks ago that I'm trying to remember...

There's actually a formal term like that: statements whose purpose is to brush away cognitive dissonance or excessively complicated things by overriding them with a simple, just-so statement that lets the speaker go on with their worldview.

Does this sound familiar to anyone? It's driving me up the wall trying to remember it.

[Posteritatis]

29. Annnd just found it: "Thought-terminating cliche." (nt)

[JRLeft]

30. Autopilot thinking.

[Populist_Prole]

31. True. I see it used all the time

Not just in the political sense either. Used so many times by people where critical thinking, or thinking too deeply will steal the thunder from what they thought was a hard fast fact. One of my friends is infernally annoying in this regard.

[JRLeft]

32. Especially on talk shows, but if you engage in a political conversation with a right winger,

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you can see very little brain activity in action.

[progressoid]

47. "Thought-terminating cliche."

That's pretty good.

[Apophis]

35. Yeah, what freedoms?

With stuff like CISPA and the Patriot Act, we're slowly losing our freedom.

[ChoppinBroccoli]

37. It Also Implies We're The Most Free Country Because We're The Most Hated

And survey says................BUZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZZ!!!!

Make a list of the "freest" countries on the planet. You'll notice a few things. First, you'll notice that the United States is WAAAAYYYYYY down the list. The next thing you'll notice is that nearly EVERY country ahead of us on that list has NOT been attacked.............by ANYONE............in a long, long, LONG time, if ever.

Demonstrably and provably wrong. It's nothing more than chest-thumping combined with "ain't-we-great" back-patting, served with a heaping helping of bumper sticker sloganism substituting for actual thought.

[phantom power]

39. My father in law is always in for the matched set

"they hate us for our freedoms" and the matching "we're the freest country in the world" bookend. Every time he visits we have this conversation. He'll even behave like I can reason with him and convince him that's not how things are going here in the real world, but the next time he visits, out comes the matching bookends.

[JRLeft]

41. This thought process is known as autopilot thinking.

[KG]

38. in this country it seems freedom = privilege

[Fumesucker]

40. I'm ambivalent about it myself

The negative part about it is that it's not true, the positive part is that I can completely ignore the opinions of anyone who seriously used it because they are brainwashed morans.

[jambo101]

42. Freedom? is something Americans couldnt handle if they had it.

Imagine a place with no laws and regulations, no police,no military,no government,Imagine living in such a place,youd definitely have all the freedom you'd ever want,until some one else thought their freedom included blowing you and yours away to take your stuff.

[agent46]

43. It's a linguistic trick

There was a time when "Our Freedoms" referred to a specific set of constitutionally protected rights.

Propaganda and product marketing over the last two decades or so have changed the meaning of those words in the minds of many Americans.

I think "our freedoms" now has more to do with a sense of righteous entitlement to unexamined individual prejudices and capitalist greed - which is really what the new Randian version of American identity justifies - from the cynical billionaire princes down to the millennialist right-wing gun-humpers.

[90-percent]

44. The OP

Sounds just like somebody that never put a SUPPORT THE TROOPS ribbon on their car after the 2003 Iraq Invasion!

Not a true patriot without one o' them stickers!

-90% jimmy

[JRLeft]

46. LOL, thinking is unamerican according to people on the right.