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RE Roadkings post:
I'm sure glad I have the freedom to not put up with smoking so that one is a wash. Actually, it isn't so much a loss of freedom but a correction. Once again, it was us (human beings) who abused that and demanded a fix. Rightly so.
The seatbelt thing should be a no brainer too, so I see it less as a "freedom" and more of an intelligence issue.
Most of the other stuff is hyperbole unless you routinely have the SWAT team swarming you.
Your ignorance is obvious. None of the other stuff is hyperbole. Just do a little research and pray that you aren't one of the unfortunate souls who has their life ruined by a runaway SWAT.
I guess you have no problem with government taking away your freedom as long as it's something you didn't like or do anyway.
I suspect you are a Big Government advocate and enjoy the nanny state. You have no problem with Big Government telling you how to live your life or how to run your business.
By the way....you should have the freedom to hire who you want to hire, and the freedom to NOT hire who you don't want to hire.
If you are the owner of your own company I may agree, but if your working of XYZ corporation and are hiring for the Corp...then you dont have that right. XYZ doesn't want you bringing your personal hang ups to work. If you cant stand women or blacks or old folk or gays or the disabled...XYZ doesn't want to hear about your right to dicriminate.
If that constricts your "freedoms" then you do have the right to start your own business and "choose" whom you wish to work for you...
One might consider emails very similar to a letter and they cant read letters without a warrant, but now claiming they can read emails. (and since the laws havent caught up with technology, legally they will probably be correct)
But that doesnt mean that they arent invading ones privacy, and privacy is very much a freedom which should be recognized and respected.
I am not entirely unsympathetic to him on the seat belt issue. While I agree with mandatory seat belt laws for minors, my experience with bicycle helmet nannies has turned me off a bit to mandating that grown adults take all these safety precautions. I wear my bike helmet the vast majority of the time, but there are times I ride without it. There is a movement across the globe to mandate wearing them. I think as a grown man, I can make that decision myself. While I agree that the intelligent thing to do is wear your seatbelt, I am a bit troubled if we go down this path of mandating things to avoid perceived externalities. I don't see how you avoid mandating particular foods and prohibiting dangerous pastimes once you initiate this. I don't know that this is the type of society I want.
The thread is about FREEDOM. Not about which government regulations are good and which ones are bad.
There is no doubt that seat belt laws take away freedom. The government is taking away my choices. They not only choose that I must wear a seat belt, they also choose what type of seat belt I must wear. That is clearly a loss of freedom.
That same mentality has lead to more and more government control of our lives. Another example is outlawing flavored cigarettes (other than menthol. The government has take away my freedom to choose what flavor cigarettes I smoke (I'm not a smoker, BTW). That clearly is a loss of freedom.
Yes, if you own the pond or lake, at least in the state in which I grew up. However, people do not own rivers so regardless if your property borders the river, you may not fish any time you want.
Guess you didn't know. The federal government owns all water in the nation.
They can and will tell you exactly what you can and can't do with ponds of water on your property.
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