Repub. Freedom, Dem. Freedom, Painful Freedom, and drones
Posted: Fri Apr 24, 2015 9:24 am
Everybody yearns for freedom, right?
But there are two kinds of freedom. Being U.S. centric, I’ll call them Republican freedom and Democrat freedom.
Republican (or Libertarian) freedoms include the freedom to drive your car as fast as you want even though it threatens everyone’s life and safety; the freedom to blow cigarette smoke into everyone’s face even though it threatens everyone’s health; and, most of all, the freedom to engage in any kind of trade game and enrich yourself to unlimited extent even though it damages the economy and creates widespread poverty.
Democrat (or Progressive) freedoms tend to be those that increase human dignity and create prosperity, are guided by pragmatism in the service of having a society with a minimum of injustice and turmoil.
But there are freedoms that both Republicans and Democrats should agree upon. Instead they argue about them incessantly. These are the Painful Freedoms, the freedoms that shouldn’t be necessary but are. They include the freedom to own a gun, and the freedom to have an abortion. The world being what it is, there are some people who need a gun for their personal safety, and there are conceivable situations for anyone in which carrying a weapon might be necessary. That being said, it is perfectly ludicrous to encourage gun ownership. And there are limits. No one needs assault weapons, and for the safety of all they should be banned. The world being what it is, abortion can at times be the only good option. But everything should be done to prevent such situations from occurring. And there are limits. Third trimester abortions, by anyone’s sensibilities, are acts of savagery, and should be banned.
There’s a new freedom issue, and it’s a Republican freedom. It’s the freedom to fly your drone toy anywhere you want, even if it creates the serious offense of violating everyone’s privacy.
Let me tell you that I hate guns. I’ve never owned a gun, I’ve never fired a gun, I’ve never even held a gun. But if a camera drone were to peer in my window, I would avail myself of that Painful Freedom and get a shotgun with the biggest barrel diameter I could find, and blow the drone to smithereens!
But there are two kinds of freedom. Being U.S. centric, I’ll call them Republican freedom and Democrat freedom.
Republican (or Libertarian) freedoms include the freedom to drive your car as fast as you want even though it threatens everyone’s life and safety; the freedom to blow cigarette smoke into everyone’s face even though it threatens everyone’s health; and, most of all, the freedom to engage in any kind of trade game and enrich yourself to unlimited extent even though it damages the economy and creates widespread poverty.
Democrat (or Progressive) freedoms tend to be those that increase human dignity and create prosperity, are guided by pragmatism in the service of having a society with a minimum of injustice and turmoil.
But there are freedoms that both Republicans and Democrats should agree upon. Instead they argue about them incessantly. These are the Painful Freedoms, the freedoms that shouldn’t be necessary but are. They include the freedom to own a gun, and the freedom to have an abortion. The world being what it is, there are some people who need a gun for their personal safety, and there are conceivable situations for anyone in which carrying a weapon might be necessary. That being said, it is perfectly ludicrous to encourage gun ownership. And there are limits. No one needs assault weapons, and for the safety of all they should be banned. The world being what it is, abortion can at times be the only good option. But everything should be done to prevent such situations from occurring. And there are limits. Third trimester abortions, by anyone’s sensibilities, are acts of savagery, and should be banned.
There’s a new freedom issue, and it’s a Republican freedom. It’s the freedom to fly your drone toy anywhere you want, even if it creates the serious offense of violating everyone’s privacy.
Let me tell you that I hate guns. I’ve never owned a gun, I’ve never fired a gun, I’ve never even held a gun. But if a camera drone were to peer in my window, I would avail myself of that Painful Freedom and get a shotgun with the biggest barrel diameter I could find, and blow the drone to smithereens!
