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Capital of the Free World???

mike17l

mike17l

Self-Admitted Duckoholic
The vice president of the US says that Brussels is the capital of the free world, and not DC? and then refers to congress as "parliament"? What gives with that? Thanks for loving your country buddy.

http://www.foxnews.com/politics/2010/05/25/biden-says-brussels-capital-free-world/?test=latestnews

It's not unheard of for Vice President Biden to get lost in the moment, but during a speech earlier this month to the European Parliament his flattery of the host may have gone a bit overboard, ceding Washington, D.C.'s role as the world's center of liberty.

The U.S. vice president, opening his address in Belgium, argued that Brussels -- considering its rich history and abundance of international institutions -- could well be the "capital of the free world."

He suggested that Washington, D.C., his home, is undeserving of that title -- notwithstanding its wealth of global organizations and the countless international summits that take place there.

"As you probably know, some American politicians and American journalists refer to Washington, D.C. as the 'capital of the free world,'" Biden said. "But it seems to me that in this great city, which boasts 1,000 years of history and which serves as the capital of Belgium, the home of the European Union, and the headquarters for NATO, this city has its own legitimate claim to that title."

Biden's trip to Europe in early May came in the immediate aftermath of the attempted Times Square bombing and his comings and goings were not widely reported. The above comment was made during his May 6 address to the European Parliament.

Biden used the speech to discuss tackling the threats of nuclear proliferation, climate change and international terrorism and stress the importance of the United States' alliance with Europe.

"We need each other more now than we have ever," Biden said.

Biden said he was "particularly honored" to address the body, "as a lawmaker for more than 36 years in our parliament."
 
Kali said:
I'd say he's right... but then again, look where I live :D
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If he was from there, and the vice president of Belgium, then no problem. What would you think if your vice president came to America, and pronounced that Washington DC was the capital of the free world? How would that make you feel? I doubt it would make instill much patriotism for your country.
 
I personally think Biden should have steered clear of calling anywhere the "capitol of the free world". Saying the US was would just annoy the EU politicians in Brussels. Saying what he said insults US citizens.

And he could have phrased the "parliament" thing nicely as "as a lawmaker for more than 36 years in Congress, one of the 2 houses of the US parliamentary branch." That would neatly connect parliaments & Congress in the phrase. Congress is pretty close to a parliament, after all. We don't elect our executive out of our Parliament, as many European nations do, we have a totally separate election system for the executive branch, but our Founders got the idea for Congress from looking at parliamentary systems.
 
wstphal said:
I personally think Biden should have steered clear of calling anywhere the "capitol of the free world". Saying the US was would just annoy the EU politicians in Brussels. Saying what he said insults US citizens.

And he could have phrased the "parliament" thing nicely as "as a lawmaker for more than 36 years in Congress, one of the 2 houses of the US parliamentary branch." That would neatly connect parliaments & Congress in the phrase. Congress is pretty close to a parliament, after all. We don't elect our executive out of our Parliament, as many European nations do, we have a totally separate election system for the executive branch, but our Founders got the idea for Congress from looking at parliamentary systems.
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Well Betsy, Biden is not exactly a poet.... :)
 
mike17l said:
If he was from there, and the vice president of Belgium, then no problem. What would you think if your vice president came to America, and pronounced that Washington DC was the capital of the free world? How would that make you feel? I doubt it would make instill much patriotism for your country.
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Look at the smiley after my sentence. It means that I get it.

And I must say, if it was the other way around, most people here would say something like "oh look at him, trying to impress the Americans" with some disdain.
I'm not going to say how you have to feel. If you are offended by my remark, don't be, it was more a self-mockery than anything else.
I would never call Brussels the capital of the free world. Nor would I call washington that.
And if a politician says it, I call him an idiot, wether it's one of yours or one of mine.
 
*sigh*

He was just playing up to his audience and recognizing all that they have done/are doing towards liberty and a free world. He didn't concede that the are the capital of the free world. And if you read what he's saying, it makes sense. DC is the capital of one country. Whereas Brussels is capital to several different organizations of free countries.

And the our parliament thing seems to be he was referencing to something analogous to what they have: parliaments. So in that sense, our Congress is like a parliament. Though that one sounds more like a Biden gaffe.

But seriously, this is a non issue. Just people trying anything to attack the administration. Believe me, there's plenty to get worked up about - this isn't one of them.
 
Thank the Gods, the Belgian Congo era is over. It was horrible, but it's over, and I don't think current day Belgians are generally to blame for it, as most of them were either not alive or were kids when this was happening.

@BlueAppleHerps -- "...have done/are doing towards liberty & a free world..." Umm, have you been drinking the UN Koolaid or the EU Koolaid or both? 'Nuff said as I don't want to start a flame war.

Edit: @Theo'sKeeper -- I am not saying forget what happened in the Belgian Congo. Just not sure we can blame the current Belgian administration or the EU for it, any more than I think we can really blame anyone alive in the US today for US slavery. It happened. It was wrong. It was horrible. We should NEVER forget, so we don't repeat this mistakes. But I think blaming the descendants of atrocity perpetrators is kind of like racism itself. We are blaming them for their genes or their nationality, rather than judging them for how they themselves behave.
 
I think that you're taking this far too seriously. Whether or not his opinion is valid is out of the question, he's entitled to bestow a title on something/somewhere that's outside of the U.S.

That doesn't mean he's not a patriot. Patriotism is loving your country and doing things to make it better, not following it blindly and giving misplaced accolades.
 
Snake Dave said:
That doesn't mean he's not a patriot. Patriotism is loving your country and doing things to make it better, not following it blindly and giving misplaced accolades.
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Absolutely! I don't expect or want blind faith in our country. We messed up horribly in not banning slavery in the Constitution at the first Constitutional Convention. We aren't perfect, by any means. Probably a darn sight better than mostly anywhere else, IMHO, but NOT PERFECT. "My country, right or wrong," means I support it when it's right and I support it AND work to fix it when it's wrong.

But along with misplaced accolades that shouldn't happen, accidental insults shouldn't happen either. There is NO one "capital of the free world", there are many capitals involved in the free world, and if Biden had two brain cells to rub together, he would have figured that out or let his speechwriters figure it out for him. The parliament remark didn't really bug me much because that made a lot more sense.
 
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