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Freedom and the Left (Thomas Sowell)
Jewish World Review ^ | December 2, 2008 | Thomas Sowell

Posted on 12/01/2008 7:55:58 PM PST by jazusamo

Most people on the left are not opposed to freedom. They are just in favor of all sorts of things that are incompatible with freedom.

Freedom ultimately means the right of other people to do things that you do not approve of. Nazis were free to be Nazis under Hitler. It is only when you are able to do things that other people don't approve that you are free.

One of the most innocent-sounding examples of the left's many impositions of its vision on others is the widespread requirement by schools and by college admissions committees that students do "community service."

There are high schools across the country from which you cannot graduate, and colleges where your application for admission will not be accepted, unless you have engaged in activities arbitrarily defined as "community service."

The arrogance of commandeering young people's time, instead of leaving them and their parents free to decide for themselves how to use that time, is exceeded only by the arrogance of imposing your own notions as to what is or is not a service to the community.

Working in a homeless shelter is widely regarded as "community service"— as if aiding and abetting vagrancy is necessarily a service, rather than a disservice, to the community.

(Excerpt) Read more at jewishworldreview.com ...


TOPICS: Culture/Society; Editorial
KEYWORDS: communityservice; education; sowell; thomassowell
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1 posted on 12/01/2008 7:55:59 PM PST by jazusamo
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To: AbeKrieger; abigail2; Alia; Amalie; American Quilter; arthurus; awelliott; Bahbah; bamahead; ...
*PING*
Thomas Sowell

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Please FReepmail me if you would like to be added to, or removed from, the Thomas Sowell ping list…

2 posted on 12/01/2008 7:57:25 PM PST by jazusamo (But there really is no free lunch, except in the world of political rhetoric,.: Thomas Sowell)
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To: jazusamo
Common sense, and well written as usual, Mr. Sowell!

The most expensive commodity in our nation is ignorance. Ignorant people do not understand the meaning of Freedom.

3 posted on 12/01/2008 8:09:50 PM PST by gidget7 (Duncan Hunter-Valley Forge Republican!)
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To: jazusamo
Here's my pick for the money-line:

In other words, people on the left want the right to impose their idea of what is good for society on others— a right that they vehemently deny to those whose idea of what is good for society differs from their own.

If the solution to this well stated problem is the antithesis of its description, then the GOP might find Libertarian ideology a better weapon for battle. For the concern of protecting the Christian way and life in America, I wonder if the current approach for preserving Christian American traditions is the right one.
4 posted on 12/01/2008 8:15:40 PM PST by Gene Eric
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To: jazusamo

Thanks for the ping jaz. Always appreciated.


5 posted on 12/01/2008 8:19:52 PM PST by rockinqsranch (Dems, Libs, Socialists, Call 'em what you will, they ALL have Fairies livin' in their Trees.)
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To: jazusamo
Thanks as well, Jaz.

Why, oh why, couldn't someone like Dr Sowell be the first black President?(instead of the Marxist POS we're stuck with).

6 posted on 12/01/2008 8:22:33 PM PST by Marathoner (Obama = CHAINS we can believe in)
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To: jazusamo

Community service, what a crock. My son was denied membership in the national honor society because the community service he performed - far in excess of the required hours - wasn’t “of the right type.”


7 posted on 12/01/2008 8:39:08 PM PST by CodeMasterPhilzar
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To: Gene Eric
I wonder if the current approach for preserving Christian American traditions is the right one.

I do see your point but for me it is. Using Europe as an example I believe we have to to preserve our freedom.

8 posted on 12/01/2008 8:40:08 PM PST by jazusamo (But there really is no free lunch, except in the world of political rhetoric,.: Thomas Sowell)
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To: CodeMasterPhilzar
Indeed, many of those who promote compulsory "community service" activities are bitterly opposed to even voluntary military training in high schools or colleges, though many other people regard military training as more of a contribution to society than feeding people who refuse to work.

I believe that is an outstanding point by Dr. Sowell and says it all on the subject.

9 posted on 12/01/2008 8:43:51 PM PST by jazusamo (But there really is no free lunch, except in the world of political rhetoric,.: Thomas Sowell)
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To: CodeMasterPhilzar

Hmmm...maybe I was doing community service when I was in high school... I worked (perhaps more hours than would be legally permitted now) at jobs (doing factory-type things that would not be permitted for <18 year olds now) and I paid taxes. This was the only way I was going to afford college even with scholarships - which, thankfully, didn’t require “community service” then.

So, with my taxes spent by the government, hopefully doing good things “for the community”, I suppose that I was doing quite a bit of “community service”.

Does that count?

Would that count now?

This REALLY pisses me off. It’s back-door conscription.


10 posted on 12/01/2008 8:47:44 PM PST by The Antiyuppie ("When small men cast long shadows, then it is very late in the day.")
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To: jazusamo

Outstanding article from one of my favorites.


11 posted on 12/01/2008 8:56:02 PM PST by freekitty (Give me back my conservative vote.)
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To: CodeMasterPhilzar

Well, I suppose that if you do in-person “community service” at least some of those in need of help will thank you. No one on any kind of aid ever thanked me for working hard and paying taxes when I was in high school. I’m still waiting today...I think all I ever got was dirty looks from people using food stamps in line in front of me...for being more fortunate.


12 posted on 12/01/2008 8:56:39 PM PST by The Antiyuppie ("When small men cast long shadows, then it is very late in the day.")
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To: jazusamo
The arrogance of commandeering young people's time, instead of leaving them and their parents free to decide for themselves how to use that time, is exceeded only by the arrogance of imposing your own notions as to what is or is not a service to the community.

Sowell just nails the fascist nature of this type of conscription.

13 posted on 12/01/2008 9:10:47 PM PST by TheThinker (It is the natural tendency of government to gravitate towards tyranny.)
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To: jazusamo

>> ... I believe we have to to preserve our freedom.

Yes, Europe is abandoning Christianity, and that’s not working.

The Left wishes to impose behavior upon the citizens, the Right wishes to remove those Liberal impositions. But the Left argues that the Right is attempting to impose Christian values whereas they are merely coincidental. For example, I think abortion is inhumane, others will state it is in violation of the tenets of their Faith. Some folks argue that Christianity is being eliminated from the public school system, but it should be argued that it is Socialism/Liberalism that is burning the pages of history through the elimination of America’s Christian heritage.

In the battle to prevent the Liberals from controlling our lives, we should avoid designations that confine us to the dogma: “It’s the Judeo-Christian way or the highway”. They crucified Bush in this way, and they will do the same to others because they know it works — the Right becomes paralyzed, and the Left spins an increasing web of shackles. The media and political templates that are used against the Right to discredit good people and silence new ideas need to be rendered ineffective and useless.

The foundation of truth may lie within our Faith, but it’s the Constitution that will provide us the freedom to exercise our Faith freely. Of course, I’m stating the obvious, but it’s rare that I get the impression the GOP is concerned about the Constitution. Instead, the GOP is too often acquiescing to the interests of Liberalism and Socialism. The declaration, Life, Liberty, and the Pursuit of Happiness, is lost — we need to find it and talk about it.


14 posted on 12/01/2008 10:01:01 PM PST by Gene Eric
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To: Marathoner

“Why, oh why, couldn’t someone like Dr Sowell be the first black President?(instead of the Marxist POS we’re stuck with).”

Maybe God is angry about 50 million babies killed.


15 posted on 12/02/2008 1:59:40 AM PST by dsc (A man with an experience is never at the mercy of a man with an argument.)
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To: jazusamo
Thank you for the ping, jazusamo.

From article: The essence of bigotry is refusing to others the rights that you demand for yourself.

Is this not what the hostile and perpetually annoyed gay movement is asserting about those nasties who voted for CA's Prop 8? Is this also not why their fury is most specifically directed at the Mormons?

The truth is, this hostile angry gay/les mob is demanding that a group relinquish it's own "club" in order to kow-tow to the special demands of a group demanding it.

So, in essence, the angry g/l mob demanded, first, that black, as an identity movement, be coopted in order to make it appear that being gay was *just* like being black.

Now, the g/l movement demands that a specific identity group, heterosexuals who marry, give up ITs own identity in order to be coopted by a group demanding such.

G/L demands to be respected as an "identity" group; but yet gives no such respect to any other demographic "identity" group.

16 posted on 12/02/2008 3:06:02 AM PST by Alia
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To: Gene Eric

IMO that battle is lost or won long before any formal votes are taken... just because to see formal politics as the end-all/be-all is reductionist.


17 posted on 12/02/2008 4:35:43 AM PST by Mmmike
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To: jazusamo

Excellent. Sowell is very bold, not afraid to be “politically incorrect.”

The hypocrisy of the Left is a fertile subject.


18 posted on 12/02/2008 5:05:15 AM PST by Rocky
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To: Alia

Looks like a new tag line


19 posted on 12/02/2008 6:50:49 AM PST by doubled (The essence of bigotry is refusing to others the rights that you demand for yourself - Thomas Sowell)
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To: Gene Eric
"The Left wishes to impose behavior upon the citizens, the Right wishes to remove those Liberal impositions and impose its own behavioral norms upon the citizens.."

Since the Left controls the MSM, how that played was the exact reason Republicans lost the election. You can make the Left look like the tyrants they are, but only if several of your Big Tent factions aren't waiting in the wings with their own set of impositions.

Neither major party has any interest in liberty at this time - they don't perceive that there's any money in it.

20 posted on 12/02/2008 6:58:14 AM PST by Mr. Jeeves ("One man's 'magic' is another man's engineering. 'Supernatural' is a null word." -- Robert Heinlein)
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