Theunicornhunter 2 Posted July 3, 2008 Tomorrow is independence day in the US - for some people it's merely a day off work, hotdogs and fireworks etc. Hopefully, everyone in the US will take a moment and reflect on just what was involved in becoming an independent nation and the price some people paid. Maybe it's a chance to actually think about what freedom is. Yes, it's ironic to live in an age when legislation called the Patriot Act is curtailing some of those very freedoms that are the hallmark of a free nation - but freedom is equally under the attack in the US from activists judges who seek to circumvent the legislative process and make their own law. This basically removes democracy (or representative democracy in our case) from the equation. How can you be free when you have no voice? I just finished a book, 1491, which was an interesting look at the Americas before Columbus - in the postscripts the author talked about the American Indian concept of freedom at the time Europeans arrived; they were an egalitarian society - they didn't have the social and caste systems common in Europe - they didn't serve kings or nobility. This was a unique ideology and apparently still is but is one thing America had the foresight to keep. Nowadays, some people have gotten the idea that freedom (and the US constitution) means the government should bear the consequences of their decisions - that somehow they're owed or entitled to a great number of things. That is not freedom, actually it may prove to be the end of freedom. It's certainly the end of freedom for those who must pay for those entitlements. While I really worry where this country is headed; as we prepare to celebrate Independence Day I'd like to say thank you to all who have served their country and maintained the cause of freedom. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
He Who Shall Not Be Named 2 Posted July 3, 2008 It is also the day that Will Smith and Jeff Goldblom kicked some alien butt. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
Theunicornhunter 2 Posted July 3, 2008 It is also the day that Will Smith and Jeff Goldblom kicked some alien butt. I don't remember - did those aliens have butts? Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
He Who Shall Not Be Named 2 Posted July 3, 2008 Well, it was rated PG-13. The aliens probably had butts. However, they couldn't show them on screen. Share this post Link to post Share on other sites
