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When was America most free as a nation?

When was America most free as a nation?


  • Total voters
    56
Are they? I'm not seeing it when the federal government can control what kind of lightbulb or toilet I am allowed to manufacture or buy, what the gas mileage on my automobile must be, refuse me the right to use my own property as I choose, confiscate any portion of my personal property they choose to take, dictate the kind of healthcare I am required to buy, and can launch a federal investigation of my activities just because I am accused of being politically incorrect.

And that's just the tip of the iceberg.

That's true. In the early 1800's the government wasn't big enough to pull off any of that. They could have made the laws but they would have been unable to enforce it.
 
And when the government steps in and lessens the rate of poverty?

Which is better - an "unfettered" life where more are living in poverty, or a life where the government takes action to do that which lessens the rate of poverty among the people?

The freedom to starve isn't a pleasant thing but the topic is freedom not the well-being of citizens.
 
And when the government steps in and lessens the rate of poverty?

Which is better - an "unfettered" life where more are living in poverty, or a life where the government takes action to do that which lessens the rate of poverty among the people?
The poll asks specifically about freedom. It doesn't ask when the US was better.
 
And as I've pointed out so often before, you pay anyway. You'll either pay to help the poor and indigent through your taxes...or you'll pay for what happens when they have zero support in the form of higher taxes for more police, more court cases, more prisons, and in the form of higher prices because the more homeless there are near a business, the fewer people will go to that business, the higher the insurance rates for businesses will be, and the higher the crime rates will be.

Like I said, you pay anyway. You'll either pay to help them and maybe even give them the opportunity to rise above their station...or you'll pay for what happens when they become homeless.

Personally I think the first option makes a lot more sense.

Safety and freedom are polar opposites. A free society has no safety. A safe society has no freedom. The trick is finding the right balance. We are more balanced today than we were in the 1800's. People running rampant and committing crimes represents a high level of freedom. Freedom is the topic of discussion.

Whether freedom is a good thing or a bad thing would be a different discussion altogether. That's a discussion I would enjoy being involved. Freedom isn't as great as we make it out to be.
 
Safety and freedom are polar opposites. A free society has no safety. A safe society has no freedom. The trick is finding the right balance. We are more balanced today than we were in the 1800's. People running rampant and committing crimes represents a high level of freedom. Freedom is the topic of discussion.

Whether freedom is a good thing or a bad thing would be a different discussion altogether. That's a discussion I would enjoy being involved. Freedom isn't as great as we make it out to be.

I strongly disagree that safety and freedom are polar opposites. Perhaps you'd be better off defining what freedom means to you...because to me, being able to send my child to school without worrying about whether he'll be shot is a freedom that's a heck of a lot more important than the freedom to carry a pistol into a Wal-Mart.
 
I strongly disagree that safety and freedom are polar opposites. Perhaps you'd be better off defining what freedom means to you...because to me, being able to send my child to school without worrying about whether he'll be shot is a freedom that's a heck of a lot more important than the freedom to carry a pistol into a Wal-Mart.

Pure freedom is anarachy.
 
The poll asks specifically about freedom. It doesn't ask when the US was better.

Read my signature:

We have come to a clear realization of the fact that true individual freedom cannot exist without economic security and independence. "Necessitous men are not free men." People who are hungry and out of a job are the stuff of which dictatorships are made.
Franklin Delano Roosevelt, January 11, 1944

People who are trapped in poverty are NOT free. If more people are in poverty, then the nation as a whole is less free.
 
Nope. That has absolutely nothing at all to do with freedom. Do you need a dictionary?

Maybe that doesn't meet your definition...but freedom for one's children to live a longer, healthier life is part of my own definition of freedom.

Which is a major reason why most people in the free world look at America's gun fetish and shake their heads. Having guns ain't freedom - having the opportunity to LIVE a LONGER, HEALTHIER certainly is. Being able to go where one wants, when one wants, to do what one wants is part of freedom, too - but one first must be ALIVE in order to do so.
 
Given that there are many ways to measure freedom, I opted for the current era because we have the economic and technological advantages that allow for great freedom of the exchange of ideas and freedom of movement with modern transportation. I do fear our personal privacy and freedom to produce freely are under great pressure. We have never been so free and so close to tyranny all at the same time!
 
I consider economic well being a part of being a free person. Freedom isn't much to someone that's broke and in poor health. Some might argue with this opinion though.
 
It sure isn't today. After 9/11 we have lost many freedoms our parents and grandparents had. Granted that times have changed and we are living in a very technical oriented age of communications but that on its own should not take away our freedoms of privacy. When the Government spies on its own people and records what we say to each other we have become a government controlled society instead of a citizen (voter) controlled society. When free people can not walk down the street w/o being "stopped and frisked" we as voters have turned an eye against the Constitution. I for one still believe in the Constitution. People from all over the world want to come to America for one reason and one reason only...FREEDOM. We as citizens cannot afford to let go of the Constitution. Once the Freedoms afforded us by the Constitution are gone and the only laws are those from a tyrant or a government out of control all is lost, we will NEVER see those freedoms on the face of the Earth again. It will be the beginning of a hard cold world if we lose any part of the Constitution. Rant over. Peace.
 
Having guns ain't freedom - having the opportunity to LIVE a LONGER, HEALTHIER certainly is.
They both are, but as far as the latter is concerned, I hope you aren't confusing the pursuit of happiness with happiness.
 
Was it before the Civil War, or before WWI, or before the Civil Rights Act, or today?

And why do you think so?

I'm very impressed with the results of this thread. I am in the minority. If you ran another thread that ask this question:

When did America have the best balance of Freedom and Safety?

I would have answered with the majority. I did see some good points though. I guess the economic freedom is the part that has changed for the worse but that isn't as big a priority according to the results of this poll. Either that or my view of the world is a little skewed. I can also see why women or blacks would have a different perspective. Their economic freedom is better today than during other parts of U.S. History.

This is a very good poll and a very good thread. Good job Glen Contrarian.
 
I'm very impressed with the results of this thread. I am in the minority. If you ran another thread that ask this question:

When did America have the best balance of Freedom and Safety?

I would have answered with the majority. I did see some good points though. I guess the economic freedom is the part that has changed for the worse but that isn't as big a priority according to the results of this poll. Either that or my view of the world is a little skewed. I can also see why women or blacks would have a different perspective. Their economic freedom is better today than during other parts of U.S. History.

This is a very good poll and a very good thread. Good job Glen Contrarian.

I didn't expect that - thanks!
 
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