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Politics : PRESIDENT GEORGE W. BUSH -- Ignore unavailable to you. Want to Upgrade?

To: DMaA who wrote (18044)	5/3/2000 4:13:00 PM
From: Jacques Chitte	Read Replies (2) \| Respond to of 769667

I don't think that freedom would die necessarily. But one of the distinguishing features of our grand experiment in government would be gone. We'd become effectively like Germany or Great Britain ... nice enough places, but a bit stiff in the collar for the rugged individualist type. A government is either a tyranny or an exercise in trust. What I find so endearing about the Second Amendment is that it is essentially a way for the members of Government to reinforce the message that they trust the citizenry for their continued existence. Beyond the mutual contract symbolized by the ballot box. While losing gun rights won't outright kill freedom in the USA in a cause:effect manner, it would remove a layer of protection against tyranny, either frank or insidious. Metaphorically it would be like riding the motorcycle, but without the helmet. Works great until you spill. The most important freedom is imo the freedom of speech and expression. Article One in the Bill of Rights. In a way, this one is so "obvious" that it isn't often perceived to be under threat. But we have areas where we need to be extra vigilant. The right to not pray in school needs to be as vigorously championed as the right to pray in school. The Internet, that brave new world of free speech, should be formally exempt from taxation and other impedimenta. The right to enjoy alcohol, tobacco, cannabis or peyote should be placed under the same umbrella as free speech. Freedom is a weird thing; it exists only when combined with a voluntary assumption of responsibility to be a good neighbor and a good citizen. And these things mean something different to each of us. Some government is absolutely vital to keep the whole country from descending into a libertarian Road Warrior culture ... and yet we need to be very careful what we permit our legislators to consider game for regulation. If I were King of the Forest (not prince, not earl, not duke) - the BATF would be a consumer watchdog only ... make sure that our alcohol, tobacco and firearms are nothing but the best. <g>