I think what he's trying to suggest that freedom is a malleable concept defined first and foremost by those with the privilege to shape society to their own ends.
Because a human being does not owe you the span, blood, and sweat of his life for your personal enrichment. People may work together to their mutual benefit, but one man controlling the lives of others so that he may grow prosperous, to their exclusion, is a form of slavery. I believe we can both agree that slavery is tyrannical? More simply, just that those who define freedom by how much they can gain from the exploitation of others engages in tyranny, though they view it as their path to freedom. The poor man at the bottom, toiling for a pittance would heartily disagree, unless he, too, was convinced he should have the freedom to exploit others.
No it's not. Uncontrolled desire might lead to exploitation but desire is not exploitation. And punishing a desire is tyranny. That too falls under uncontrollable desire.
I suppose you never heard the axiom that God rewards those who help themselves. I could pray all day to win the lotto but I still need to buy the damn ticket. "Thoughts and prayers" was a reasonable response 20 years and thousands of slaughtered people ago with Columbine. When our Congress flat out refused to sign Obama's gun Bill into law for political point scoring, we have a right to demand answers and tell them where to stuff their "compassion"
@K. speaks several languages. Too bad you have a problem with English as a First Language. The next phase is being as incoherent as @Dinner. After that, it's just a tiny step to becoming @KIRK1ADM. Will your employers still let you fly with that kind of onus?
HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Are you smoking crack?!?! Okinawa has been protesting our troops for damn near 8 decades and Japan ain't doing shit! What a maroon!
People who call @K. stupid (for whatever reason) really need to bear in mind that despite being a non native English speaker he's nonetheless one of the most coherent and eloquent posters in here.
Fucksake, history teacher. Since the Mexican War? Even by the most conservative definition: Panama, Cuba, Philippines, Guam, Hawaii -- that's just off the top of my head.
Doesn't the Japanese government have authority over Okinawa? If the Japanese government told us to leave do you really think the U.S. would stay?
The U.S. gave back the Canal Zone to Panama. The U.S. leases Guantanamo Bay. It pays its money every year. Lease has no expiration day. The U.S. gave the Philippines its independence as it always intended to do. And even left Subic Bay and Clark when negotiated agreements to stay there couldn't be made. Guam is U.S. territory. Hawaii is a U.S. state. Prior to that a territory.
So it seized them and lost them, except Guam which it originally seized from the Spanish and Hawaii whose monarchy was overthrown. So, seized. They're still there aren't they?
They're still there aren't they?[/quote] Until the government of Japan tells us to leave. Which is something empires do not do.
Did you leave when the Okinawans asked? Are you leaving now when they're still asking? Do you really think Japan are going to ask and get on your wrong side?
The Constitution used to let you own people, we realized that was wrong and fixed it. It was written by humans centuries ago, not some all-knowing deity. That’s why it was made to be amended when needed. The 2nd Amendment was written when English invading and a bunch of Native Americans attacking was a very real possibility and daily concern. Now we don’t have to worry about that. Keeping it around doesn’t serve its original purpose. I don’t think all guns should be banned. Hunting is fine, collecting is fine. But packing heat in case trouble brews is a fantasy. Especially since unless you’re trained, you’re probably going to fuck up and kill someone.
You're pretty much right. But firearms have too much symbolic meaning to millions of Americans to make any massive changes. No use bothering with gun control beyond what we have now.
Remember when Jesus told the young man that to follow him he would need to sell everything he owned? Remember the passage where it is said you cannot serve both God and money? Do you even Christ, bro?
Wait for @Tracker s' legalistic interpretation that by using the word"sell" it only requires one relinquish property, not cash. @ dayton
That’s a stupid reason to keep it, especially since it’s becoming a threat to our lives. People can change if there is an attempt to change the way it’s viewed. Just look at smoking, it went from being common to an almost shameful act and a sign of weakness. Hell, we could probably just create the public perception that men with guns have micropenises. Hire attractive women to work at gun shops, when someone buys one they giggle.
Okinawans do not have authority over their island. And the Filipinos basically told us to leave Clark and Subic when we couldn't come to a lease agreement (though they later asked us back due to the Chinese). Are you saying that the Filipinos are braver than the Japanese?
