This will be my fourth post tagged "freedom".
I write this because it's been on my mind a lot lately. I've been increasingly frustrated with people who do not share my values regarding freedom. It seems that there are more than a few people who rather than setting it lower on their list of priorities, out and out disagree with the very concept.
My most recent frustrations with people who disagree with freedom as a fundamental concept began here, and my mood on the subject hasn't improved, instead it's been stewing and steaming and pissing me off more and more. If you take the time to read the post and the comments I left you might wonder what Torturing terrorists has to do with freedom? I'll tell you, it's just an example of how the powers that be are eroding core values of life and liberty and it's people are letting it happen. Seriously, if the American people are allowing such a heinous and barbaric act such as torture to happen right under their noses and not care, what will they take a stand against?
I am a student of history, and one of the things I read more and more about is the founding of America. I understand what bravery it took for America's founding fathers to pen the Declaration of Independence. Back then America was not a superpower. It was a fledgling country desperately trying to prevent being further carved up by the decadent empires that existed at the time. The founding fathers penned their constitution based on the principle I revere so much. Freedom. Every man, woman and child was entitled to Life, Liberty and the Pursuit of Happiness, what more could you really want?
The American bill of rights is in my opinion one of the greatest achievements of modern man, however I think that a lot of those rights aren't properly understood. I will do my best to explain the ones that I think modern American's are losing sight of…
The First Amendment addresses the right to freedom of religion, as well of freedom of expression, the press, assembly, and petition. I've heard some people argue that freedom of religion is to make governments support atheism… not true. The spirit of the amendment is based around the fact that there shall be no state-sponsored religion, and every person is entitled to practise whatever religion they so choose without persecution. This amendment existed because many of the powers in Europe, particularly England had a state-sponsored religion. The King of England was also the leader of the church of England… and throughout the middle ages, most kings were granted their right to rule by the pope. America decided to have none of this, believing that politics should not be beholden to a god, and I applaud them for this.
The Second Amendment addresses the fact that a well regulated militia would be necessary to maintain a FREE state. Modern rednecks call this "the right to bear arms" which comes off as a bit pretentious, and misses the original intent of the article. The second amendment is about enabling the people to protect their freedom with force if needed. If a force were to attempt to take away that freedom, then the people would take up arms against it. This is in stark contrast to the mood today as it seems that the general populace seems helpless and castrated, unwilling to protect it's self as it hands over it's liberties to the state in return for protection from largely fictional entities.
The Fifth Amendment is what most people believe to be the "not talk in court" one. The specific text is this:
"No person shall be held to answer for a capital, or otherwise infamous crime, unless on a presentment or indictment of a Grand Jury, except in cases arising in the land or naval forces, or in the Militia, when in actual service in time of War or public danger; nor shall any person be subject for the same offence to be twice put in jeopardy of life or limb; nor shall be compelled in any criminal case to be a witness against himself, nor be deprived of life, liberty, or property, without due process of law; nor shall private property be taken for public use, without just compensation."
That means no torture assholes! It also means the people are protected from state-sanctioned seizures, or unjust executions or imprisonments without a trial by a fair and impartial jury. The sixth amendment covers more of the details of the public trials.
The eighth amendment regulates bail fines and prohibits cruel and unusual punishment. I don't need to explain what that means, nor how it's being ignored…
And lastly today I come across this article about how nearly half of the country wants Uncle Sam to dictate what's an appropriate video game for their kids to play. Why not just out and out say it? You're shitty parents and you don't know how to say no to your children, so you want the government to say it for you!
How does such a fine independent country fall so far? Where did it change from a governing body providing order to a nation, to a populace demanding that the most trivial decisions must be made for it?
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