It has become clear to me recently that some people only want their own freedom. More accurately they want to be able to say yes, no or maybe to various potential freedoms based on their own belief system. This is what really confuses me.
Anybody who gets in the way of THEIR freedom is a jack boot Stazi thug that should be killed; however they have the right to tell everybody else what the hell they can and cannot do. It isn't that they only pursue their own freedoms (in terms of practicing or advocating for them) that is the issue. I do not donate money or time to help causes I don't care about or expect other people to. (Though this year when I voted there was one simple question for everything. Will this person/ bill make people more or less free? I voted for freedom including several bills I do not personally agree with. Think about it.) It is that they have such a sense of moral superiority that they think it is their right to not only do what they want, but prevent others from doing the same. The concept that other people have some rights also is simply not in their worldview. It is pretty clear that these folks do not want to live in a free society, they just want to be the one wearing the jack boot.
This brings us to an interesting point. It isn't that you cannot choose to associate, or not associate, with who you want. It isn't that you cannot advocate for or against what you want by promoting education and whatnot. However when people talk about using force of law (or other types) to make people act the way they think is correct in areas that are reasonably within the realm of freedom it becomes an issue.
It is my personal opinion that to expect other people to accept my freedom I have to accept theirs. That is the trade off.
Do you think that everyone should get out of your business but you have the right to tell them what to do? If so what makes your views inherently superior to other peoples? What are your thoughts on this topic?
Saturday, December 1, 2012
Freedom for Me or Freedom for Thee?
One of my regular reads, Total Survivalist Libertarian Rantfest, posts a few thoughts that seem to dovetail quite nicely with what I wrote the other day. Concepts of freedom that are constrained to merely what you may want for yourself....that is tyranny.
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I've been noticing the last few years especially that people who call themselves conservatives want to have way too much control over other people. You probably have many examples come to mind with today's talking heads. Hannity, Rush, many others who claim to be.
ReplyDeleteI just wanted to say, it's damn sad there are so very FEW real conservatives. Life, Liberty, Pursuit of Happiness leaves a whole lot of lawful territory for people to entertain themselves with or spend their time or make decisions about.
Personally, I don't even constrain it to legal activity, as many 'illegal' victimless activities are fine by me.
-sigh
Kid: That is the rub with Conservatism. By nature, a conservative wants to preserve things. Nothing wrong there, no ideology is perfect.
ReplyDeleteWe are set upon by the statists of all parties. Progressives and conservatives both seek to hijack government to impose their own agendas. In many liberal areas, you can be prosecuted for shooting an intruder in your own home. That is an abomination and a gross violation of our natural liberties.
SF, Agreed, Where are those in positions that are able to fight for what America is supposed to be?
DeleteWith the upcoming liberal supreme court, nothing matters anymore anyway. We're screwed. The libs will be bringing every diseased wish list item before that court and they'll be ramming * so far down our throats, N Korea will start looking good.
Kid - I concur. Legislation to regulate only what a citizen can put in their body, yet allowance for many other substances of similar effect, is both hypocritical and injurious to one's freedoms.
ReplyDeleteThe same goes for the prohibition against engaging in a sexual act with another consenting adult, where money is exchanged.....and that same act is permissible absent money, or in exchange for other services rendered. The medium of hard currency alone making this activity illegal is abhorrent to anyone who places a premium on the sovereignty of the individual.
SF - As usual, very appropriate examples of the abuse of power by those who try to convince us that we live in a free society.
People are inherently selfish and arrogant (a sense of moral superiority -- and just love to tell other people how to live their lives. I'm not sure that the nature of human beings can change.
ReplyDeleteBack when my father was a youth, cocaine and other "dangerous" drugs were legal and even easily available. Yes, some addicts died in the streets and sometimes quite publicly. The lessons did not go unlearned by most people.
Conservatism has been hijacked by statists (who call themselves "moderates") and there has been a resurgence of theocrats (who are really just statists who want to turn the Bible into law) lately.
ReplyDeleteWithdrawing support for the Republican Party will go a long way toward removing these types from power as they feed off of the "lesser of two evils" myth.