The following are excerpts from Miriam Webster and Wikipedia. Please feel free to read the entire text on their respective sites.
Freedom: 1. The quality or state of being free as a: the absence of necessity, or coercion, or constraint in choice or action b: liberation from a slavery or restraint or from the power of another: Independence c: the quality or state of being exempt or released usually from something onerous... 2. A political right
Political Freedom: absence of interference with the sovereignty of an individual by the use of coercion or aggression. The members of a free society would have full dominion over their public and private lives. ...refers solely to the relation of humans to other humans...
As an individual, I feel that Liberty is both a blessing and a right. It is not a burden as the Left would have us believe, although it does require a great deal of personal responsibility. In the event that people have a lapse in their judgment and acceptance of personal responsibility, it is the government's job to step in and prosecute justice upon the aggressor as defined by the law. It is not, however, the job of the government to be our nanny or our conscience in matters that affect no one but ourselves. Even the slightest infringement upon Liberty opens the door to abuse of power and suppression of individual rights. Governments tend to work in matters of degrees. If the populace is not attentive and diligent, the little things begin to add up into larger issues, or the multitude of trivialities obscure the larger infringements on personal freedom.
I will go into depth in future articles on the subjects of fighting back and making the concepts of freedom and individuality more mainstream. To close out this article, I will leave you with some links to recent events and articles that have inspired me to pick this hill to stand on, rather than to succumb to the oppression of my government.
Compulsory Volunteerism, The evil of Democracy, The Fed, The Left
This article is cross-posted at ModernConservative.com
9 comments:
So... I read your post and I must say that you, as usual, write extremely well and see to know exactly where you're going with your articles. To be fair I haven't read all the links you provided because that was way more reading than I could handle on my blackberry...
But here's a question, and it might seem a little retarded but bear in mind that I'm Canadian and I'm not always privy to what goes on in the good old US of A, also I'm not asking this in a snarky way, it's a big wide open question and I'm hoping you can school me on this.
What exactly is it that is so bad about what's going on in the US right now?
Seriously... I mean besides the whole "we want to see what you're doing online" and compulsory "volunteering"... You guys still get to vote for district court judge and city alderman, there isn't a country where anyone has more right to choose. No government is perfect, just look at ours, and while I don't agree with the all the bailouts in the States because it's no good for my stock portfolio and stuff, but surely the bailouts are better than millions of people loosing their jobs and become a burden to the system...
Either way, I really want to understand your point of view on this. If for no other reason than to enlighten me :D
Thanks for your patience and for answering my retarded questions!
No problem. I think the best answer I can give you is that to me, freedom is always better than government regulation. Also, saying that our country is currently better than the rest of the world, does not excuse taking it down a path of destruction at a slower pace. America was founded on the principle of limited government and we are currently on the doorstep of the kind of tyranny wrought by the English monarchy that inspired our Revolution.
Many people consider my points to be extreme, and I respect that. However, I expect to be extended that same respect or at least the preservation of my rights as an individual. I know it seems cruel to allow people to loose their jobs by someone else's malfeasance, but that is an issue for the courts to repair through enforcing the law and making the guilty parties compensate their victims. Allowing the market to repair itself through the restructuring of a broken system and adapting to changes economically sound rather than socially benevolent is a better solution.
We may disagree on the fine points, but I think we can both say that the government seldom does anything well or honestly. I prefer to take my chances with the private sector. The majority of the people who would loose their jobs would find new ones. A huge problem Americans have is the idea that they are entitled to a certain kind of job at a certain wage. I have held down 2 jobs many times, and would do it again. I would not want to work at McDonalds, but am not above doing so. If you're hungry, you work where you can until you can work where you want. The taxpayer doesn't owe anyone a paycheck. Propping up a failing industry, then crippling it with more regulation, and passing the burden of payment on to the taxpayer is the worst solution possible.
One of the biggest problems I have with Obama, is he is repeating the actions of FDR, who, contrary to popular fiction, prolonged the Depression with these kinds of actions. The markets and the American people will recover much faster on their own terms. Fear mongering to push an agenda that people would otherwise reject and taking advantage of that fear at the expense of the people is inexcusable.
As always, thank you for your feedback. Your questions are neither moronic, nor unwelcome. I appreciate feedback and encourage disagreement. Who knows, you may spark an idea for a painting if you keep at it. I also appreciate the complements. As an artist, I find it hard to think of my self as intellectual as a writer, but I find that people enjoy both of those things from me. I will endeavor to keep it up.
Really good post, & really good reply to Muchacho Enfermo's question. You're right on point, & I'm very pleased to see a young person out there who doesn't blindly buy into the mainstream mantra & hype. Your views are not extreme. Anything these days that contradicts the left or anyone who speaks out against wrongdoing is considered an "extremist". Yet, you never hear the term applied to the left. Funny how that works!
Dirk
THE FIRST AMENDMENT, NOT POLITICALLY CORRECT II
http://tsalagiman2.blogspot.com/
Thanks for your support Dirk. I know in my heart that Freedom, and all the responsibility it requires, is a far better way to live than the alternative.
As for the labels, I've been called just about everything, extreme being the least offensive.
I have a son to think of, and I refuse to stand by and accept the way our government is burdening his generation with dept. When you add all the restrictions and meddling to that, it makes me furious.
As far as government regulation is concerned... I can leave that for a whole other thread of comments, because to a certain degree I believe that the US could have used a lot more prior to this crisis in order to help minimize its effect and a lot less after the crisis to help speed up recovery.
I think that the current administration understands that the only way to make money is to spend money. I just don't think they're spending it in the right places or on the right people.
Again, I consider myself to be to the left... although I think that the definition of a left leaning thinker changes when I cross into the US. I don't think your points are extreme or controversial, I think that your opinion is a very valid one especially in the face of your political climate and in the face of everything that's going on down south.
I totally 100% agree with you when you say: "Fear mongering to push an agenda that people would otherwise reject and taking advantage of that fear at the expense of the people is inexcusable."
Thanks Muchacho. As you know, I enjoy and appreciate your views, although we often disagree. Your best point is that the brand of Liberalism I face, is not the traditional definition of the movement.
We can squabble all day about who's to blame or what was the cause, but it won't solve the problem. It's time to move forward and present some solutions. I just don't think our government is interested in 'fixing things' as much as they are in taking advantage and laying blame.
We can definitely agree on your final point. Where your government is trying to take advantage of the situation to prop themselves up, mine is trying to minimize it in order to stay in power. Harper has come very close to "losing the confidence of the house" (which basically means to have his government toppled) a few times in recent months. He keeps preaching about a rosy economy and how it's all thanks to him.
So on one side of the border we have the US government trying to spend its way into even more popularity and on my side of the border we have a government ignoring a problem and hoping it'll go away.
great.
Just dropping by to let you know you have an award at my blog Amanecer en la Habana, http://cubaherida.blogspot.com
Congratulations!! :)
Thank you! I'll check it out.
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