Freedom in America?

[Benny Blanco]

Hi,

I am from England, and as a result do not get the opportunity to speak with many people who know about freedom. Most people have not given the notion of freedom even a passing thought, here in England. We are taxed and taxed and then taxed some more until all that we can do is look out for ourselves. We are hypnotised by the lures of socialsm to the point of numbness to the pain it causes. We have a queen. It is clear that the United Kingdom (read: European Union) is far from being a free.

So, since there is no grey area -- you are either free or you are not (and I am not free); what does that make me? Dependant? Restrained? Subjugated? These are very strong words. However, there is no inbetween. I am either one or the other. I cannot be free but a little bit dependant. Are you classed as restrained if only your pinkie toe is chained to a wall? Are you free if you are only forced into slavery one minute per year? I say this: you would be a very lucky slave, but you damn sure would not be free.

There is no real conclusion to the words I have written here. I will leave you with these questions, in hope that they will ignite an interesting and diverse conversation.

1: Would I be right to assume that Americans feel as though they have lost the freedom their ancestors fought for, and that this explains the support for Ron Paul?

2: If attained, what would the freedom you are fighting for today mean to you, specifically?

3: Do you think that the Ron Paul campaign, grassroots or otherwise, does enough to convey that the bedrock of everything you (as a supporter) stand for, is freedom, liberty -- America?

4: Is it possible for freedom and socialism to co-exist?

5: Total freedom equates to total responsibility. Some people see this as a burden, others as a weight lifted. What does freedom mean to you at a personal level?

6: What is freedom of the mind?

[DamianTV]

#1 Yes. Not specifically just because he is a name but because his beliefs I think are inline with the constitution and the people. I feel that he represents what I believe in, thus why I personally support him.

#2 Freedom from opression and privacy. I feel opressed because I have to be a part of a system that puts the entire value of a person on a piece of paper, and the paper is more important than the person it controls. Privacy: I think that my privacy stands between corporate profits, hence more oppression. Huh? Eventually everything you do and say will be for sale. Which means if you buy too much salt, or bacon or ice cream, someone will try to find a way to make more money off of you. Right now its heavy advertising, but eventually it will end with having bought two tubs of ice cream for your sons birthday party will cause your insurance rates to triple and all your medical claims to be denied.

#3 No I dont, but if we start with a good leader, others will follow suit. He doesnt do enough about privacy but considering the state of this country it should come as secondary. He is doing the right thing by just focusing on the most important thing, making the government obey the constitution, not find ways to get rid of it.

#4 Probably not. The idea of freedom is that every man woman and child has rights that can not be taken away. The idea of socialism is that every man woman and child has nothing to start with and what they do have will be given to them by their government. Something given can be taken away.

#5 Responsibility is the first step from getting away from a nanny state. I consider it freedom. If I feel that my child needs a spanking for misbehaving, it should be my choice, and my responsibility that I dont turn a spanking into bullying or abuse. This particular question could be covered in literally books on every possible aspect of having freedom as opposed to being told what to do. Guns, Free Speech, Smoking, etc. On the smoking thing, Its a resultant effect that everyone wants to outlaw it considering the artificially high prices for medical treatment and the crappy coverage insurance companies and HMO's produce. The government should not pass laws telling me that I can or can not smoke, hence it would be my responisbility to not smoke at a gas station. People wouldnt try as hard to sell their constitutional rights to save 5 cents on their inusrance if our economy was stable to begin with.

#6 Freedom of the mind: I gave up on trying to obey the laws a long time ago because so many are in direct conflict. Eventually I gave up on even trying to know what the laws were because I saw that the laws were being abused by law enforcement as a source of revenue. For example, a federally mandated law require all states to lower the legal blood alcohol balance from .1 to .08. There are the same number of cops pulling over the same number of people, however now they can arrest more people for drinking and driving. My point is that they did this out of greed and that it does not help to save more people. Personal responsiblity: I will drink maybe one or two beers if I intend on driving, and thats it. I have to be responsible for my own actions to not hurt someone as a result of my intoxication, screw the law. The law isnt always going to be there to punish me if I break it, but my personal responibility should always be there. Personal responsibility is more effective.

Since I say screw the laws, I have to act out of my own good conscious. I dont rob people. I dont steal from people. I dont lie. I dont do things to hurt other people. I dont cheat on my girlfriend. I dont shout fire when there is none. I will fight the fire if there is one to fight, not just call 911 and expect someone else to do it. I decide what is right for my kids to do, watch and play. If I feel that they are not getting the education that I am satisfied with, I make sure they understand what is being taught, not critisize our social educational system. I smoke and I smoke where I want, unless someone ASKS me not to, like in their house or car. I drink but dont drive drunk. If I get drunk Im not driving. If I hear something on the tv or radio that I dont agree with I change the channel, not turn around and say they shouldnt have the right to say such things I dont agree with. This also could carry on for hours.

Freedom of the mind for me: I live and act as a free man should. Responsible for who I am and what I do. I know that what is right for me is not what is right for everyone else. I dont try to force someone else to live their entire lives by my standards. When we realize that freedom means we are responsible for our own actions and take personal responsibility for what we do and how we choose to treat everyone we interact with, only then can we all truly be free.

[Benny Blanco]

You make some important points. I will try to address them one by one, based upon my experience in England, since I believe that if Paul is not elected your country will be slowly matching the conditions over here. I mean, there are some people over there talking about having an NHS -- IN AMERICA!

Privacy: The UK has CCTV coming out its arse. George Orwell could not have predicted the amount of CCTV we have here. You literally cannot go anywhere without being watched. As far as data privacy goes, forget about it. Just recently, two data discs containing the ENTIRE child benefits database were "lost in the post" -- people talked about it, were even mildly annoyed -- but nobody lifted a finger in rage. We are drugged into submission over here. http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/business/7105592.stm Somebody has the info on 15.5 million children. Thanks for protecting us, Big Brother government.

Police flouting laws: I have seen this with my own eyes time and time and time again. However, in the national news just recently we have just seen the same chief constable (chair of road policing, no less) who was responsible for putting up many of our network of fixed speed cameras up, has been caught doing 90mph in a 60mph zone. But of course, that makes sense to me, because in my view he put those speed cameras up to generate money for the police, not to make the roads safer. Anyway, he got a driving ban and a letter sent to his home as punishment. http://search.bbc.co.uk/cgi-bin/search/results.pl?scope=all&edition=d&q=Meredydd+Hughes&go=Search

Drink driving: Over here, we are not afforded the luxury you have of being able to drink a small enough amount so as not to impair our driving ability at all. Every time we do it we run the risk of being caught by random checks. You could be driving in a perfectly straight line obeying the speed limit to perfection and you'd still be breathalized. And now guess what, they've proposed lowering the limit to ZERO units!

Smoking: I do not smoke, but I used to for about 5 years before I quit 1 year ago. However, I do not support the indoor smoking ban that has been in effect over here for the last few months. I really do not have to explain to freedom lovers why I would be unhappy with such a thing. What's more is that cigarettes are subject to super super super tax over here. What a place.

Responsibility: As a result of this country being the way it is, I am hard pressed to say I know anybody who would be capable of getting along in life without government 'help' -- is this the same in America? I sincerely hope not.

[DamianTV]

Its nice to hear points of view from people outside our country. I know the US isnt popular with other nations, but havent spent too much time considering their points of view on us. One thing about that is we are both just people and live in the same world.

Privacy: Who is going to protect us from the people we trust to protect us? Privacy is one of my biggest stances and cameras everywhere, with software, not people, to monitor these cameras is even worse.

Police flouting laws: Laws should be there for the good of the people, not to make money.

Drunk Driving: I had no idea that driving intoxicated was as harsh as it is here! I thought it was a little better. So how bout we do a comparison? I weigh about 190 pounds and can have about 3 beers before I am over my legal limit. Considering I am having 3 drinks of usually about 12% alcohol by volume, each drink is equivilant of one shot. Personally I dont like to drive anywhere past two. But saying ZERO units, you know what that is starting to sound like to me? One step closer to PROHIBITION.

Smoking ban: They are now trying to ban all OUTDOOR smoking in public places and every one of our candidates except RP is pressing really hard for this. I dont see why but smoking needs its own thread. Funny that the number of smoking goes down and the number of lung related illnesses continues to go up and up and up? And on a graph (cant find it now) it shows the number of cars being driven annually is exactly equal to the number of lung related illness increases! Maybe its not the smoking! Whats next, try to outlaw body odor, or bad breath? Why dont they stop saying they dont have cures for cancer and start treating people that get sick!

Ok, Im getting off point. They want an OUTDOOR smoking ban here, everywhere, period, permanently. Hell they even have laws in California to prohibit the POSSESSION of tobacco, a legal product in a couple of parks! Not no smoking because its a FIRE risk, or dont smoke around gas pumps, flat out saying you are not allowed to have tobacco on your persons at all. The indoor thing has been pushed. I dont go to bars or restaurants any more period because they are assholes and dont want to respect my right to work it out with the operators of the establishment, and it is really hurting their business because there are a LOT of people like me.

Also in California there is word of legistation to prohibit smoking in your own home, if you live in an apartment (a flat?) because the smoke might seep out and infect your neighbors when you open your door or window. Smokers are easy targets, yeah, lets raise taxes for cigarettes, and where does that money go? Oh yeah, their pension fund. Smokers are easy targets for something else too. Divide and Conquer.

Can you explain this indoor smoking ban that you have?