The Loss of Freedoms List (Vanity Post)

Cornpone | 25 Jan 2005 | Cornpone

[Cornpone]

Dear Freepers,

I'm getting old and perhaps a little wacky but as I look back over my life I continue to try and understand how my country hasn't quite turned out the way my mother and father brought me up to believe it should be and what it was I was always raised to defend. So I've started making a list of those things that just seem to represent a betrayal of what I always thought America is about...freedom. Its a short list, I'm still working on it and I know many, if not most, will not agree with everything on it. But I'm sure everyone has something to add to it...like the state of medical care in this country which I haven't even begun to think about. Anyway, they are simple things that individually don't amount to much. But, taken together they represent a fundamental change in our culture if you think about it. Please help me add to this list. I don't know what I will do with it. Perhaps I'll just go nail it on the doors of Congress..not likely. I'd rather nail it on the doors of the White House except we can't really go there anymore...another freedom lost.

• Mandatory motorcycle helmet laws

• Mandatory automobile seatbelt laws

• Mandatory boating lifejacket laws

• Increasing erosion of property rights

• Increasing regulation of alcohol consumption, tobacco use and firearms possession

• Virtual elimination of the right to self defense

• Denial of the right to carry a weapon for self defense

• Hate crime laws that ridiculously imply that the murder of one human being is more heinous than the murder of another based on some politically motivated criteria

• Encroachment on the constitutional right to assembly

• Increasing attempts to limit our constitutional right to free speech through hate speech laws that seek to dampen dissident opinions

• Increasing restrictions on demonstrations of personal faith with a bias against Christians

• Increasing restrictions on hunting

• Increasing restrictions on fishing

• Increasing restrictions on the traditional use of fireworks

• Increasing restrictions on traditional methods of outdoor cooking

• Increasing restrictions on water rights and usage

• Increasing government incursion and attempts to regulate the possession of domestic animals which in all cases don’t happen to be ‘pets’

• Unfair taxation to fund social practices abhorrent to most Americans

• Government advocacy of socially deviant lifestyles

• Government attempts to redefine millennia-old family relationships and bonds, i.e., gay marriage

• Affirmative action laws and policies that unjustly punish and deny opportunity to current generations based on the shortcomings of generations long past

• Ridiculous product liability judgments that seek to limit access and deny choice through judicial activism rather than legislative debate

Add your thoughts to the list please.

God Bless our Forefathers and God Bless You

[Cornpone]

"Encroachment on the constitutional right to assembly"

I'm sure I could find numerous examples, especially with the increasing requirements to register or obtain permits to demonstrate publicly, but the most recent example I came across was a post I made yesterday regarding attempts to prevent school children from gathering to worship during recess.

[satchmodog9]

I am sure lawful assembly had nothing to do with paying the city 250 bucks for a permit. I think it had more to do with not rioting.

[Paperdoll]

Here in the State of Washington, where our nonest votes mean notheing, but fraudulent votes ride an armored truck, the legislation is trying to pass the illegality of using rain barrels on privately owned property to collect rain water for irrigation or for livestock! Unbelievable!

[AZ_Cowboy]

"Vehicle emmissions testing."

Second that! I was so thrilled to get away from that mess.

[texasreb]

Most of these things have been started by people like the kennedy's. People that have millions of dollars spending millions of dollars to get a job that pays thousands of dollars. This is past a joke. Look at the things they have done and escaped with no punishment. I do guess ol' teddy probably thinks the presidency belonged to him but we stole it from him for a murder? that happened in his car. If
you notice, they start to steal these things by first talking about a "problem" and the problems we all face because of it and they keep talking until a lot of folks think well it won't hurt to let them do this, if any one pays attention any more, anyway. God Bfless y'all, KennyBob

[Cornpone]

"Here in the State of Washington, where our nonest votes mean notheing, but fraudulent votes ride an armored truck, the legislation is trying to pass the illegality of using rain barrels on privately owned property to collect rain water for irrigation or for livestock! Unbelievable!"

That is unbelievable. In all my travels to Washington State I've never been there when it wasn't raining. I guess the proposed legislation is intended to protect the 'common good' of wasted groundwater runoff.

[mrfixit514]

How can we live in such a Draconian nation. I think we should all go to a place where we have more freedoms. Like...uh let's see... uh.../sarcasm

You bunch of whiners need to grow up. WE HAVE MORE FREEDOM THAN ANY OTHER PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!

[El Gran Salseron]

Although it was a good and necessary thing it was nonetheless communist inspired as a means to "divide and conquer" which to this point has been overwhelmingly successful.....civil rights of blacks, ( it was just the catalyst ).....which extended to Asians, American Indians, every other minority in creation, etc.....including children, handicapped, the women's movement.....the hyphenated-American with the overall intent to keep us squabbling amongst ourselves and actually creating division isntead of bringing us together. They are knowingly and intentionally tearing us and the country apart. All of these things brought about this "diversity" stuff.

Another point:

Baby carseats and making the baby be buckled in the back seat.....separating the core family.

There are others. I'll get back to you.

[Cornpone]

"WE HAVE MORE FREEDOM THAN ANY OTHER PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!

You are absolutely right about that. I have traveled and lived in many places around the world and there is no place more free than America. But in my eyes that is changing. Perhaps that change is good. My children don't seem to be concerned. But I am.

[dancusa]

You bunch of whiners need to grow up. WE HAVE MORE FREEDOM THAN ANY OTHER PEOPLE IN THE WORLD!

If you live in a red conservative state you have a lot more freedom than living in a liberal blue state. The democrat state legislature's want us to become like Europe.

[secretagent]

...attempts to prevent school children from gathering to worship during recess.

Did the opponents of the gathering cite federal law? If not, then they didn't violate the first amendment of the federal constitution.

[secretagent]

Does the first amendment of the federal constitution prohibit cities from requiring permits for rallies?

[satchmodog9]

Surely it doesn't, but it is not a freedom or a right if you have to pay for it. I can see parade permits being necessary, but it is so easy to stop protests from spontaniously forming by passing permit laws. Sounds more like government making you buy your rights.

[Da Bilge Troll]

It started with mandatory auto license and registration laws

LOL! I think it started before that! At least back as far as the War Between the States. That's where the concept of unlimited national government was set in motion once and for all.

[Cornpone]

"Did the opponents of the gathering cite federal law? If not, then they didn't violate the first amendment of the federal constitution."

No they did not. They cited the popular pseudo-law of 'social stigmatization.' Because 85 percent of the parents in the school district allowed their children to participate in free time religious activities the other parents felt their children were being 'stigmatized' because they didn't allow them to participate. I'm not sure I understand your argument. If the constitution gives us a right I don't believe it is necessary to site a non-existent federal law to justify its contradiction. The constitution supersedes federal law as it is the foundation of our law. There can be no federal law that contradicts the constitution in my simple understanding of how we are to be governed unless a lawyer can explain it to me. Are you a lawyer?

[satchmodog9]

You just stand on the tracks and you don't hear the train coming do you.

[secretagent]

Not a lawyer here. Just trying to understand.

As I currently understand, the first amendment only refers to the federal government. It doesn't protect the civil liberties of Americans from the encroachments of individual states.

For example, several states had established state religions (Christian). That didn't contradict the first amendment, which only prohibited the federal government from establishing a religion.

[Boiling point]

A man invents a widget. He decides to manufacture and sell it from his home. Codes and zoning says no. He moves his process to a rental building across town, and has to install tens of thousands of dollars worth of environmental, OSHA, ADA, Fire, and safety equipment to be in compliance. His teen age children have special knowledge and skills particular to the manufacturing process, but he is unable to hire his family and pay them sub-minimum wage. He must pay a diverse group of people without those skills and pay them twelve dollars an hour plus benefits. His widget is safety related and must pass several levels of government testing at great expense before it is allowed to be marketed to the public. He shortly runs out of capitol and goes belly up. He reports to the unemployment office to apply for benifits and is promptly told he does not qualify. The lady at the counter tells him " How do you expect to get unemployment benefits after miss managing your own business?"

[secretagent]

I mostly agree with your post, perhaps entirely.

Control the riots when they materialize, and leave it at that.

[Vicki]

I just heard from my friend that a guy she knows had 20 acres here in Washington near a rural town called Roy. The guy chopped quite a few large fir trees down and some county official came out and told him that he was not allowed to cut the trees on his property.

Then he ordered him to replace them all. Also in King County which is north of where I live, land owners can only use 1/3 of their land. They cannot cut trees, clear blackberries, etc. Honestly I think we are becoming a communist society.