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YouDebateIt.com -- Is It Better To Be A Divided Nation?
Topic: Is It Better To Be A Divided Nation?

Which do you prefer #1 or #2?
Vote below for the better argument.
Opinion #1
Debater: The Wild Goose
Do I have rights as a human being, or only as an American?
The distinction between colony and part of a nation rests on the vague, indistinct idea that colonies are a different "people" from those who rule them. This standard, however, is purely arbitrary. Are the Cornish a different "people" from the English, entitled to independence, or are they just Englishmen, who have no right to ever secede under any circumstances? What defines a different "people"? Is it language? No, because Americans speak English. Is it race? Then why aren't blacks in America ruled by African governments? What about dual nationals? Are the Alsatians French or German? I was under the impression that humanity is one "people", undivided and possessing inherent human rights, yet the distinction between different "peoples" means that this is not the case- we do not possess human rights, this view holds, but rather group rights. I have no rights as a human being, this view holds, I have only my rights as an "American".
Supporting URL[s]:
http://www.lewrockwell.com
http://www.mises.org
http://www.mises.org
Opinion #2
Debater: interested
Human Rights
Check the Helsinki Accords for what constitutes a people as agreed in modern times.

The Cornish were a different people two thousand years ago. Conquest and intermingling have made them one with the English. Today, such conquests are illegal.

Blacks in America do not constitute a people for similar reasons; they came from a number of different peoples. Today, they are just one of many immigrant groups who melded to form a people. Whether Alsatians are French and German has been decided by those involved.

Humanity may be "one" people but it is only undivided in its common humanity. There are a myriad divisions through the operation of the will that is an aspect of that humanity.

Do we possess inherent Rights? Ask a dozen philosophers for a dozen answers. If we do, then how are they to be maintained but through national coherence?

Your rights as an American are greater than most because you are an American. They could be better - America lags because of its archaic Constutution.
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