Old Dog
Member
Byron noted
Frankly, while I consider the myriad of taxes and fees levied upon all of us to be horribly unfair, regressive and to a great extent, unnecessary -- I think we really have more pressing concerns to deal with.
As Byron rightly points out, there are other things going on that don't affect us economically.
Now, chopinbloc finally hinted at it:
This is so very shortsighted. And wrong.
Other members regard their tax burden as the government's chief inroad against their freedom. And this is just whining.
While both these issues, and the multitude of sub-issues within, are critical, I see the increasing acceptance of loss of privacy and government tracking of each of our identities as the biggest threat to our freedoms today.
But to me, the biggest loss of freedom of all is the fact that our society has finally arrived at the point where the majority of the citizenry cares not about ideals and the concept of true freedom, but simply being comfortable and entertained.
No one got this. Our government doesn't oppress us. We oppress ourselves.
And I share these feelings.
No, I have not ignored you; rather, I have pushed to discover what other aspects of government involvement in our lives members consider to be oppression, and what other governmental actions have robbed citizens of vital freedoms.
Frankly, while I consider the myriad of taxes and fees levied upon all of us to be horribly unfair, regressive and to a great extent, unnecessary -- I think we really have more pressing concerns to deal with.
As Byron rightly points out, there are other things going on that don't affect us economically.
And this is precisely where we're being attacked -- with the very definitions of rights, freedoms and privileges. This is what I was originally trying to get at -- in our present culture, most folks are easily satisfied with their lot in life as long as their basic needs are met. Read my very first post in this thread. Most citizens are unthinking -- we all know this. We have relied for too long on our government to define the limits of our freedoms. I attempted to show how, in some ways, people today could believe that we are more free than our forefathers while key freedoms were being chipped away. What I wanted to see was whether anyone else understands, as I believe to be the case, that we who look toward fundamental concepts of freedoms are far outnumbered by those whose only concerns are materialistic and the basic comforts of life -- and this is why I believe our freedoms are most in jeopardy -- not because of what the government has done, is doing or will do.
Now, chopinbloc finally hinted at it:
Some of the members here seem to regard their right to own whatever type firearm they desire, and the fact that the government restricts them from this, as the key infringement or limitation or denial of what they seem to consider their most important freedom.
This is so very shortsighted. And wrong.
Other members regard their tax burden as the government's chief inroad against their freedom. And this is just whining.
While both these issues, and the multitude of sub-issues within, are critical, I see the increasing acceptance of loss of privacy and government tracking of each of our identities as the biggest threat to our freedoms today.
But to me, the biggest loss of freedom of all is the fact that our society has finally arrived at the point where the majority of the citizenry cares not about ideals and the concept of true freedom, but simply being comfortable and entertained.
No one got this. Our government doesn't oppress us. We oppress ourselves.
