If you could change one thing...

[Ambassador4Christ]

I do not know how pratical it would be, but I would make it so that each member of congress, (both house and senate), could only serve one 6 year term. The president also. They would be stagered, so they were not all being changed at the same time. Perhaps this would help get rid of the special interest groups who have so much influence in the policy of our government.

Love in Christ.  Roy.

Now thats some good ideas Amen

[paul]

if i could change one thing about america, it'd have to be it's annoying inhabitants,the world would be a much better place without those lot.

nah,only kidding,what about getting rid of the celebrity status,which seems to originate from over there,i think some people see these people as some sort of Gods.

God bless.
paul

[Whitehorse]

Hear, hear! Get rid of the idol worship. I'm all for it.

[nChrist]

Oklahoma Howdy to Paul,

First, welcome to Christians Unite. I sincerely hope you enjoy the Christian fellowship here. We do have folks from many countries here.

I know part of your post was kidding, but I wanted to comment about how opinions seem to be formed about various countries. I had a rare opportunity in 1992 to spend 16 weeks with people from all over the world, and that was a major topic of discussion. We each had ideas about people from other countries we had never met. We also discussed stereotypes and how they are formed. Many of these discussions ended up with considerable laughter. The conclusion was that regular, plain folks don't match the stereotype. We form our thoughts by what politicians do, things in the news, movies, and many other ways that really don't give you a clue about regular, plain folks.

I many times think we should send the politicians home and let regular, plain folks take charge.  

As an example, some folks think that everyone from Oklahoma are hillbillies almost from the stone age. They are surprised to learn that parts of the State actually have running water, indoor plumbing, and electricity.  

In Christ,
Tom

[paul]

i haven't really got a clue about oklahoma,but straight away had a picture in my head when you said howdy,that makes me think of a cowboy,or a hillbilly with a peice of straw in his mouth,howdy partner,don't know where i got it from,must be of that tele.
anyway thanks for the welcome,do you say 'yee haa' aswell.
oh and i'm from the welsh valleys in the u.k.where the old folks say things like 'alright boyo' and  'go and sit over by there mun' or ' come over by here mun'. we can't say come here or go there we always have to add a few extra words.
anyway.
God bless.
paul.

[nChrist]

i haven't really got a clue about oklahoma,but straight away had a picture in my head when you said howdy,that makes me think of a cowboy,or a hillbilly with a peice of straw in his mouth,howdy partner,don't know where i got it from,must be of that tele.
anyway thanks for the welcome,do you say 'yee haa' aswell.
oh and i'm from the welsh valleys in the u.k.where the old folks say things like 'alright boyo' and  'go and sit over by there mun' or ' come over by here mun'. we can't say come here or go there we always have to add a few extra words.
anyway.
God bless.
paul.

Oklahoma Howdy to Paul,

It is possible to have considerable fun with stereotyping, especially if you are open minded enough to analyze your own thoughts about how we all categorize people we've never met.

I do say "Howdy" on a fairly regular basis, but I use it here for fun and trying to imagine the reaction of the person reading it. I loved the description you gave of your initial thoughts of Okies. Yes, every now and then folks do say "yee haa" here and in several other Southern states. It's also interesting to learn how some words originated. As an example, "Howdy" is short for "how do you do".

Stereotyping is really a fun topic, especially when you understand what a natural and almost automatic process it is. Let me give you one other example that would be true across America. If you saw a large group of characters wearing rags on their heads and leather jackets with colors (sown patches), most folks fear for their safety and think it is a motorcycle gang. It is a motorcycle gang, one of the largest in the US, the Blue Knights (Cops). You wouldn't believe how much fun they have with that.

In Christ,
Tom

[paul]

do you have regular barn dances then,and is there always an old fella playing the harmonica or is it the acordian.

God bless
paul.

[nChrist]

do you have regular barn dances then,and is there always an old fella playing the harmonica or is it the acordian.

God bless
paul.

Oklahoma Howdy to Paul,

My family is huge and many of them are musically inclined. Part of the family did square-dancing, but I'm from the part of the family who don't dance. It's really ironic you should ask this question. We used to have large family gatherings and provide our own music. I must say they were good and many of them had professional careers in music, mainly Gospel or Country and Western.

They had just about every musical instrument you could imagine, but their favorites were usually the types used for Bluegrass Music (Country Folk Music). The minimum lineup was 5 or more types of guitars (including banjo, mandolin, 12 string, steel, etc.), 2 or more types of violins (bass and regular fiddle for country folks),  (yes) several types of harmonicas, (yes) an accordion, a full set of drums, a piano, and everyone sang. We didn't dance on the big family gatherings since many in the family didn't believe in dancing. We just sang and had fun with good "toe-tappin'" music - more fun than a frog-jumpin' contest.  

In Christ,
Tom  

[paul]

did line dancing originate from your parts.
i'm talking to someone from kentucky on another site is that anywhere near you.

God bless.
paul

[nChrist]

Oklahoma Howdy to Paul,

I really don't know much about dancing, so I would have a vague understanding of what line dancing is. I would think this area of the country would be known more for square-dancing.

Oklahoma is far West of the Mississippi, quite some distance from Kentucky. Oklahoma is above Texas on the map, as it should be.    Just a little jab at my friends from Texas. However, most of my family are from Texas. The greatest influence on my family was and is Almighty God.

In Christ,
Tom

[Whitehorse]

Mandolin? My father used to play the mandolin, too!   Not professionally of course, but just for fun.

[paul]

are you a cowboy too,or are you the horse they ride on.

God bless.
paul

[Whitehorse]

Hehe! No, actually I'm a first-generation American, and a freespirited horse that runs free and gallops off into the mist. Well, 'cept I come here to graze regularly so that kind of shoots the mystery element in the foot!  

Blessings to you.

[paul]

what's a first generation american,i thought america was a bit more advanced than over here,but i didn't know that horses could use computers yet.
would you be interested if i started a topic on what is sin?

God bless.
paul

[sincereheart]

Oklahoma is above Texas on the map, as it should be.

I agree - how else would Oklahoma EVER be found?