Religious Voluntary Associations

Last night as I returned from Buffalo Wild Wings in Lakeville, a friend I was riding with spotted a sign that read, "This highway adopted by Minnesota Atheists" (paraphased). He commented on how he viewed that as a good thing, but was surprised that they were "that well organized." I instantly connected this idea with the state of social capital in America today. In this sign is presented a counterforce to the decline in religious affiliation in the United States. Although there have for years been solely religious groups, perhaps the dawn of the not only secular, but unreligious group is on the way. It's interesting to think about at least.

The United States isn't Just Being Nice

There's one thing that just absolutely confounded me about the discussion in class on Monday. I tried to ignore it but I just can't seem to get over it. It doesn't make sense. I don't even think it was true. But people didn't even seem to bat and eye when it was said. The notion that the United States intervenes throughout the world and 1) is well liked for it and 2) is doing so out of some sense of moral duty or to be nice just kept coming up. Maybe I'm just being cynical here, but I really don't think that's the case here.
FIrst of all the idea that, as one of my fellow AmConners said, if there was a situation where things were going wrong and we didn't step in the world would be angry with us. For me, the case of Somalia comes to mind as a counter argument that can be used. Have things been awful there for several years? Yes. Has the US intervened to stop the problem militarily? Far from it. Would it be a "nice" thing to do? Of course. The United States doesn't intervene based on some moral code; it serves it's interests. That's all. That's the end of it.
Next point: The US intervening throughout the globe has somehow made us popular with the rest of the world. I would like some stats to back this figure up, mostly because I don't think they actually exist. In fact, a quick search provided some stats that during the Bush Administration's increased intervention in foreign affairs global views of the United States decreased dramatically.

Source: http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/americas/6286755.stm

I just had to get that out into the open, because the views expressed during Monday's class on the world's view seems terribly misguided.

Abstract Nouns

This post has little to do with deTocqueville. However, it was in reading Democracy in America that I was reminded of my disdain for the in-concision of abstract nouns. The two main culprits here: religion and democracy. There are a plethora of definitions of both, so before any real discussion relating to them must begin by determining the meaning intended by the author. Maybe my real qualm here is not with Alexis, but the English language itself. Maybe in deToucqueville's French his intentions are much more clear. Maybe it was just lost in translation...