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Pastimes : Clown-Free Zone... sorry, no clowns allowed
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To: Oblomov who wrote (18607)9/15/2000 2:13:50 AM
From: Ken98  Read Replies (1) of 436258
 
Oblomov, a couple of observations for whatever they may be worth.

First, I agree most American's have lost any notion of the basic civil liberties/freedoms - either the tangible ones such as basic property rights or the intangible ones such as the right to be free of governmental intrusion in our personal lives. And that trend shows no sign of abating. Freedom of speech has become freedom of politically correct speech. Property rights have been subjugated to politics - many environmental laws and drug forfeiture laws being prime examples. "Due process" allows courts to ignore DNA evidence and leave innocent persons in jail. Just imagine adding "uniform" health care to that mix.

Unless and until there is some sort of political outcry, the erosion will continue and will, in fact, accelerate. The old line "liberals" (being civil libertarians) from 40-50 years ago have morphed into the vanguard of the Nanny State. The "conservatives" have become a fading voice in the lost Culture War.

The second, and hopefully shorter, observation is that there is a direct relationship in people's participation in a "political" body with the degree to which they can be heard. I do a fair amount of zoning work and people do participate in those sort of political activities because their voices are more likely to be listened to. Likewise for local school boards, park boards, etc. The further up the political chain you go, the less likely people are to participate - no one will listen to you. The centralization of Federal power has greatly accelerated the degree of political disenfranchisement by ordinary citizens. And again, this shows no sign of abating.

Now I need another drink! Regards, Ken
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