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Obama: 'We Don't Believe Anybody Is Entitled to Success in This Country' [W:108]

Yes... people aren't entitled to any success. However, they are allowed to the opportunity to achieve it. It's been the axiom preached to every immigrant group coming to American for the last 150 years. You should pick up a history book on the matter.

”The German emigrant comes into a country free from the despotism, privileged orders and monopolies, intolerable taxes, and constraints in matters of belief and conscience. Everyone can travel and settle wherever he pleases. No passport is demanded, no police mingles in his affairs or hinders his movements....Fidelity and merit are the only sources of honor here. The rich stand on the same footing as the poor; the scholar is not a mug above the most humble mechanics; no German ought to be ashamed to pursue any occupation....[In America] wealth and possession of real estate confer not the least political right on its owner above what the poorest citizen has. Nor are there nobility, privileged orders, or standing armies to weaken the physical and moral power of the people, nor are there swarms of public functionaries to devour in idleness credit for. Above all, there are no princes and corrupt courts representing the so-called divine 'right of birth.' In such a country the talents, energy and perseverance of a person...have far greater opportunity to display than in monarchies."[SUP][5][/SUP]

US outlook: America remains land of opportunity - FT.com

No longer the land of opportunity - The Washington Post

U.S. Is 'Land Of Opportunity' No More? : NPR

Of course, it's part of our national identity that the U.S. is the land of opportunity. A place one can rise by one's own efforts, where children are not limited by the circumstances of their birth or their parents' birth but there are disturbing reports suggesting that this is no longer the case in the U.S. and that the U.S. now lags behind its northern neighbor Canada and a number of developed Western European nations like Britain when it comes to economic mobility.

It is really a shame that you have no clue what it is Obama is actually talking about.
 
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For a President to say that nobody is is entitled to success in the USA? :roll:

That's plain wrong.
 
For a President to say that nobody is is entitled to success in the USA? :roll:

That's plain wrong.

Yes, you're not entitled to it. You're allowed the opportunity to have it. Thus why we've been called the LAND OF OPPORTUNITY and not the LAND OF BEING ENTITLED TO SUCCESS.
 
Liberal Affirmative Action policies, redistribution of wealth policies, winners and losers chosen by the political correctness classifications, etc., etc., all guarantee aspects of success and entitlement to chosen groups or individuals.

For Obama to state otherwise is nonsense.

The most strident believers in that absolute nonsense are the beneficiaries of the entitlement and success guarantees.
 
Liberal Affirmative Action policies, redistribution of wealth policies, winners and losers chosen by the political correctness classifications, etc., etc., all guarantee aspects of success and entitlement to chosen groups or individuals.

For Obama to state otherwise is nonsense.

You forgot Hitler Youth. Don't ever forget Hitler Youth.
 
Yes, you're not entitled to it. You're allowed the opportunity to have it. Thus why we've been called the LAND OF OPPORTUNITY and not the LAND OF BEING ENTITLED TO SUCCESS.


Since I am not in argument of semantics here.... I will pass the opportunity to answer you.
 
"We don’t believe that anybody is entitled to success in this country," said Obama. "But we do believe in opportunity." I was not guaranteed or entitled success or failure. I worked for everything that I ever achieved like most people. What I did was essentially quit school in the 4th grade and studied at the NY public library, museums and when a little older I used to sneak into college classes. I opened up my first taxation and bookkeeping business at age 14 getting my clients in mom and pop stores and the bars in the Bronx. I got my GED and went on to College then was a offered a free ride at Colombia University School of International and Public relations, but , I passed on that to get a my degree from another university in Law, again a free ride. I worked my ass off and retired at 41 years old.

I do not believe that if I were in another country I would have been afforded that opportunity or been considered a candidate for any advanced education.


The only thing I was guaranteed/ entitled to was if I sit on my ass I will become a failure. No one is entitled to success it takes a set of balls, determination, commitment a lot of luck and the right people in your corner. I tell you what, that is why I do so much pro bono work because I was blessed with talent and the grace to live a great live filled with achievement and purpose.
 
Well, the President should pick up his words more carefully then
 
For a President to say that nobody is is entitled to success in the USA? :roll:

That's plain wrong.

The meaning IMO is that a person has to show up for life and apply for a job and work hard to achieve. The opportunities are there we just have to find them.
 
The meaning IMO is that a person has to show up for life and apply for a job and work hard to achieve. The opportunities are there we just have to find them.

ummm.... I don't know .... why can't he talk clearer? we should not be having trouble here interpreting his meaning.
 
Since I am not in argument of semantics here.... I will pass the opportunity to answer you.

Either you don't know what semantics are or you're hoping that I don't. There aren't any semantics here. You aren't entitled to success because there is no right capable of granting you success to begin with. Thus why stating that you are ENTITLED to success is flawed. Having an opportunity to achieve success doesn't make it an entitlement anymore than having the opportunity to drive means you are ENTITLED to driving.

But, I don't ever expect you to ever own up to your flawed arguments. You've demonstrated that there is a serious fuse between the part of your brain responsible for reading statement and your partisanship. So continue posting on this forum, people will attack the weak nonsense you call "arguments".
 
ummm.... I don't know .... why can't he talk clearer? we should not be having trouble here interpreting his meaning.

Who .... the..... ****.... is we? It's you who doesn't know how to properly read a statement. You focused on the part you liked and ignored the rest. Typical really.
 
ummm.... I don't know .... why can't he talk clearer? we should not be having trouble here interpreting his meaning.

Good point. If he is not getting his point across then he should. The president is to be a communicator.

Obama should take his cue from Ronald Reagan deemed the Great Communicator whose reputation as "The Great Communicator boils down to three basic traits: he was simple; he was clear; he was sincere."
 
Either you don't know what semantics are or you're hoping that I don't. There aren't any semantics here. You aren't entitled to success because there is no right capable of granting you success to begin with. Thus why stating that you are ENTITLED to success is flawed. Having an opportunity to achieve success doesn't make it an entitlement anymore than having the opportunity to drive means you are ENTITLED to driving.

But, I don't ever expect you to ever own up to your flawed arguments. You've demonstrated that there is a serious fuse between the part of your brain responsible for reading statement and your partisanship. So continue posting on this forum, people will attack the weak nonsense you call "arguments".



Again... you and I see things in a different light.... therefore.... i prefer not to answer you.
 
And I don't believe Obama is entitled to another 4 years. da' bum
 
And I don't believe Obama is entitled to another 4 years. da' bum

But if he is he should communicate his points with more clarity.
 
Again... you and I see things in a different light.... therefore.... i prefer not to answer you.

Uh no, you can't read a statement and jumped to a flawed conclusion. Actually, that would be giving you too much credit. You deliberately misrepresented a statement to validate your flawed conclusion.
 
For a President to say that nobody is is entitled to success in the USA? :roll:

That's plain wrong.

It makes sense for him to say that. If you don't believe anyone is ever successful on their own (and we know Obama believes this) then no one is really entitled to their success - since it's not really theirs.
 
But if he is he should communicate his points with more clarity.

I don't really think Obama has been clear about all that much lately - it really is hard to unravel what he is trying to say.

What he said was this: "We don’t believe that anybody is entitled to success in this country," said Obama. "But we do believe in opportunity. We believe in a country where hard work pays off and responsibility is rewarded, and everybody is getting a fair shot and everybody is doing their fair share and everybody is playing by the same rules."

I've heard a lot of "I believe this, but" or "We don't believe this, but" come out of his mouth lately.... Equal opportunity? Sure - but NOT a guarantee of equality of outcome.
 
He is a total fraud, I agree.

From day...one..

And it really urks me that the Obamabots in America don't see thru this guy. or maybe they do and dont' want to come off their arrongant perch of ignorance.
 
Uh no, you can't read a statement and jumped to a flawed conclusion. Actually, that would be giving you too much credit. You deliberately misrepresented a statement to validate your flawed conclusion.


Who made the claim that anyone was entitled to success? Who is he debating against?

Poor Obama is now trying to continue the debate after the game is over and everyone has gone home.
 
From day...one..

And it really urks me that the Obamabots in America don't see thru this guy. or maybe they do and dont' want to come off their arrongant perch of ignorance.

It seems they are putting their political party ahead of their country.
 
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