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Do We Live in a Free Country?

Do we live in a free country?

  • Yes

    Votes: 36 42.4%

  • Nope

    Votes: 32 37.6%

  • Other

    Votes: 17 20.0%
  • Total voters
    85
Human society is inherently the retardation of freedom. Humans have a strong natural desire to control their environment and generally any others found within that environment.
 
OnWisconsin said:
Our own power as individuals over our own bodies, our thoughts, our minds, our ideas, and our feelings are constantly being threatened every day.

We are not free to put in our bodies whatever we like. In some cases with threat of life in prison. When someone who is simply in possession of a drug is receiving the same or worse penalty as someone who has committed murder, then we no longer live in a free country.

The drug war in this country has eroded many of what we use to consider rights or freedoms. All for the purpose of preventing people from altering their minds. Which is another form of control... the opposite of freedom.
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I don't disagree. All true.

However, I dislike encouraging crutches. "Couldn't help myself!"
If I think of those things I lust for as needs, it's easier to excuse myself for indulging them.
And mixing up priorities more likely than not.
Better to be honest with myself.
 
Yes, we do.

There's some issues to work out though. There always have been, same as any other developed nation.
 
Freer than some. Not as free as others. Certainly freer than past centuries. There is still absolutely no excuse for complacency.
 
Jesse Booth said:
Well said, Paschendale. I'm sure we have very different ideas on how to make ourselves freer, but I agree 100% with your post.
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And I think we'll have a better chance of finding the best ideas through dialogue and compromise, rather than talking past one another and refusing to bend. Compromise is something that we're sorely lacking in our discourse in this country.
 
Paschendale said:
And I think we'll have a better chance of finding the best ideas through dialogue and compromise, rather than talking past one another and refusing to bend. Compromise is something that we're sorely lacking in our discourse in this country.
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If only more, or possibly any, of our representatives had your mindset.
 
The U.S. is free in many regards, which I cherish, and unfree in other regards, which I campaign against.
 
TheDemSocialist said:
We are told we live in a free country. "Land of the free" yada yada yada. Simple question:
"Do we live in a free country"?
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It's all a matter of perception.

Do you think that you live in a free country?

If your answer is no then there's a problem somewhere.

After G.W. Bush threw away a lot of money that is still flowing and a lot of U.S. and Iraqi lives, he said that Iraq was free.

Take a look at Iraq. If that's anyone's definition of freedom, I don't want any part of it.

Thank you very much, I'll pass.
 
TheDemSocialist said:
We are told we live in a free country. "Land of the free" yada yada yada. Simple question: "Do we live in a free country"?
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Considering we still live in a country where people are locked in cages for consuming things other people don't like, I would say no.

Paschendale said:
Well, vote for me when the time comes.
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While I do like you and share a lot of the same views, as well as thoroughly enjoying your posts, I don't know if I'll be able to vote for you if you run on a hardline socialist stance. So I guess it just depends on you. :p
 
How much will it cost me to find out?
 
TheDemSocialist said:
We are told we live in a free country. "Land of the free" yada yada yada. Simple question: "Do we live in a free country"?
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It is not really simple. Aside from feeling free or not the question poses a though one. Freedom is a matrix of small and large issue freedoms and each one of these is adjusted differently from society to society. Weighting them yourself is no mean feat and individual preferences can be extremely different even in the same community. Comparability is fraught with question marks and is quite elusive and unreliable.

After that caveat here are some daring ideas:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Freedom_in_the_World

Country Rankings: World & Global Economy Rankings on Economic Freedom

Freedom in the World | Freedom House

Economic Freedom of the World | Cato Institute

Reporters Without Borders
 
Its hard to compare nations in regard to "freedom", in that a small nation with a low population density can have far fewer restrictions than a nation with a high population density. For a large, very diverse nation, that is very densely populated in many areas, we do pretty good in regards to the notion of freedom.

That all said, I think its funny when some people in America claim they are being oppressed. If you have never strapped a pack on and walked into a wilderness for at least a few days, then you have no idea what real freedom is. (By the way, you can do that in this country, in the majority of countries you can't.)
 
TheDemSocialist said:
We are told we live in a free country. "Land of the free" yada yada yada. Simple question: "Do we live in a free country"?
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While we're never 100% free (that would be a form of anarchy, and I don't support anarchy), we're certainly as free as the citizens of any country in this world, so I voted "yes".
 
spud_meister said:
Unless you're black, female or don't own land...
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That is an open question about the intent. But lets say far less freer than what the founders intended for citizens. Now that blacks and female and renters are all equal citizens under the law, citizens are less free now
 
TurtleDude said:
That is an open question about the intent. But lets say far less freer than what the founders intended for citizens. Now that blacks and female and renters are all equal citizens under the law, citizens are less free now
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How would it be that this is true? How did those African-Americans, women, and renters make it less free for white male land owners? Can't one just go sit in the center of one's acreage and not be affected by any of those three groups?
 
d0gbreath said:
How would it be that this is true? How did those African-Americans, women, and renters make it less free for white male land owners? Can't one just go sit in the center of one's acreage and not be affected by any of those three groups?
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The founders intended for white men to have various positive rights. Such as the right to own blacks as property and horsewhip them. They also intended for men to be able to beat their wives if they needed disciplining. They also intended white men to have the right to slaughter Indians when they were in the way of progress. So there are all sorts of positive rights / freedoms that men like the founders don't enjoy today. ;)

I have always thought these appeals to "the founders" were ridiculous. By any measure we are morally superior to them. They had no concept at all of the world we live in today.

If The Founding Fathers Were Alive Today, They
 
Definition of funny: Watching Americans bemoaning what they perceive to be lack of personal freedom.

Definition of ****ing hilarious: Americans bemoaning what they perceive to be governmental oppression.
 
not an easy question

are we free....do we live in a free country?

yes....and no

yes...free to openly debate politics for or against who is in power
yes...free to assemble and to protest those things we feel go against what we want
yes...free to elect new representatives to make sure our voices are heard
yes...free to travel between states, conduct trade, and sell our intellectual or physical labor

no...certain laws rule the land, and we must adhere to them
no...those in power dont always do what we want

i am sure i missed lots of other examples.....

but you get the point.....

i think a better question....would you want to live anywhere else?
 
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