Anti-American/Public Freedom? What am I thinking?

[Red Eye Racer]

With all the thinking I've done over the past 7 months,... along with the opinions I've read here (the first true opinions I've heared outside of this god-forsaken city),... I've started to look at society in a different way.

I'm not sure why,... but for some reason I feel like we have too much and not enough freedom, both at the same time.

I dont believe that I'm evolving into an anti-american,.. yet I can stop noticing more and more everyday, the hypocrisy in the system. We can get anihalated at the bar, then drive home, but I can't enjoy some marijuana in the privacy of my own home. We have 'freedom of religion', but 'seperation of church and state', yet, everyday I'm subjected to religious propeganda via our government in one way or another. We have cemented affirmitive action into our political structure so securely that from now on, I'll have to be waited on by some fat sow when I eat at HOOTERS.

Is it right for the government to tell me I have to wear a seatbelt? No, IMO it's not,... BUT, isn't it better for society as a whole if such a standard is set,.. I believe it is?

Am I just spoiled so rotten by my freedoms that I actually take them for granted,... or would the world function as a more secure place if we put some leashes on society?

I'm beginning to think that all the things we REALLY want (freedom to do as we please in public) are all the things that will bring us further into the depths of this sort of depression. For some reason, I feel that the public needs a bigger strangle-hold from an impartial government, and we need more freedoms for our personal lives,... but our personal lives cant co-exist with the perfect public society,... so, I sit here, torn,... wondering,... are my thought's faciest? Am I slowly, sub-conciously becoming anti-american?

I'd appreciate it if someone (if it's even possible) would analyze my above comments and inform me on the path my brain is heading,.... and even give some insight of your own on what the hell the problem might be.

 

[1X83Z]

I'll analyse one:

The church continues to inject their crap into our government. Note my use of the word crap. Don't break down into tears, please, religious nuts. I think the government should start running churches. For every inch of my space the church takes, I want the government to take from the church. Want to post the ten commandments in school? Cool! We'll start taxing your pews.

There.

 

[Duke]

Hrm. I may be able to, and I'll definitely try, but not now... I've got to get some work done or my boss will excercise his freedom to fire me.

 

[Danoff]

Red Eye, I’ll try to lend a hand:

What I think you’re coping with here (and I might be wrong) is that freedom is good in principle, but in reality it comes with the burden of responsibility. Soooo many people are not responsible enough to handle the freedoms they are given now (let alone even more). I think what you are putting your finger on is that you correctly perceive that mistakes people make can be prevented with a few more government controls, but that those government controls do not coincide with the principles that our government was founded upon – the ideals of personal responsibility and freedom to mold your own life and enterprise.

So there is an apparent trade-off. It looks as though you have to trade personal freedoms for the health of society at large. This is actually not true, and you have already seen the reasons. What happens when we restrict the rights of others? It’s easy to see that we end up teaching everyone that they can depend on the government to tell them how to live their lives, and even less personal accountability and responsibility ensues. When we further regulate society we piss off the people that make this country great (the people who can handle freedom) in order to create an even more dependent sect of people who contribute very little (the people who can’t handle freedom). It actually doesn’t anyone any good. I’ll give you an example.

The seatbelt law is an easy target. It probably does save a few lives every year. But it is against the principles of personal freedom and accountability that makes America great. Does it really hurt us much to be forced to wear our seatbelts? Does it really hurt us much to lose a few morons who don’t want to wear theirs? The answer is that it is worth a few American lives (especially the ones that we would lose) if it means having freedom. Even a small amount of regulation creates the wrong mentality in people and injects hypocrisy into the system - but a few people dying because they didn’t “buckle up” serves as an example to the rest of us and promotes a voluntary response.

The more we regulate our society, the more it will call out for more regulation. The result is socialism and it is the exact opposite of the America that you love. I’m not saying that all regulation is bad, but the vast majority of it is. We should be a hell of a lot more careful than we are about enacting new regulations on ourselves. Almost every time, more harm is done than good. We should also go back review/repeal many old regulations.


I hope that helps, let me know if I missed the mark.

 

[Red Eye Racer]

Yeah danoff,... that was an excellent interpretation of my feelings; key words being 'personal responsibilities'. Do we keep on living this way, hoping that society with eventually shape-up and figure it out,.... or do we need more laws?

The way I see it, we're doing something wrong with this whole freedom thing. America is the fatest, laziest, and as far as poverty is concerned, probably the poorest country on the entire planet; aside from 3rd world desert ridden sand holes.

What needs to happen,.. or better yet,... is there presently a successful system on this planet that is currently in effect that we can learn from?

 

[rjensen11]

Originally posted by Red Eye Racer
...America is the fatest, laziest, and as far as poverty is concerned, probably the poorest country on the entire planet; aside from 3rd world desert ridden sand holes....

You're talking government-wise, right? If not, America has one of the highest economies in the world. Look at how much more secure America is than Russia, or Turkey, or Panama, or Chile, or Cuba! Look at our standard of living compared to that of just about the rest of the world!

 

[Red Eye Racer]

Originally posted by rjensen11
You're talking government-wise, right? If not, America has one of the highest economies in the world. Look at how much more secure America is than Russia, or Turkey, or Panama, or Chile, or Cuba! Look at our standard of living compared to that of just about the rest of the world!

What I'm saying is if you take away everything the Gov. GIVES those types of people,... we would have a crisis of epic proportion. You dont see those kinds of possibilities with most other countries I dont think. I think they have a better grip on their "less-responsible" group.

 

[Danoff]

is there presently a successful system on this planet that is currently in effect that we can learn from?

We are the model. We are the most successful system on the planet and we are because we gave individuals freedom and responsiblity.

To take that away would be to send us toward becoming another sand-ridden third world hell hole.