Sadistic Bastard
No Mercy
It has been long documented that one of the tools of the tyrant is fear of an external foe. That fear allows for more and more control over society to be exercised by the government for the sake of “safetyâ€.
Examples of this in the USA include the “Patriot†act, the War on Drugs, Prohibition, even so called local “Blue†laws. All of these things were to protect the populace either directly from an external threat (terrorism), or indirectly from the effects of drugs of various kinds on members of the populace, who would eventually cause trouble or crime under the influence or under the financial burden of procuring their addictive substances.
Eventually this creates a mind-set of doing things for “the greater goodâ€, things such as the recent eminent domain fights in Connecticut where private homes were seized for commercial development (which would generate far more tax revenue…for the good of the town of course).
Now we have immigration “reformâ€, talk of a national ID card (already semi-implemented as a “frequent traveler’s pre-screenâ€), and of course, the boogieman of foreign terrorists that have hit us a few years ago in a meaningful way, but have been ‘contained’ since.
So just how far should a society go to “protect†people? How does one keep a separation from an external threat from an internal one? How much responsibility should the government assume vs. the private citizen (for example, with gun control?)?
Finally, who trusts the current governmental systems, with the checks and balances rather un-balanced as of late, to keep “the greater good†in mind?
My own opinions: I’m becoming more and more Libertarian every day….(sigh).
-SB
Examples of this in the USA include the “Patriot†act, the War on Drugs, Prohibition, even so called local “Blue†laws. All of these things were to protect the populace either directly from an external threat (terrorism), or indirectly from the effects of drugs of various kinds on members of the populace, who would eventually cause trouble or crime under the influence or under the financial burden of procuring their addictive substances.
Eventually this creates a mind-set of doing things for “the greater goodâ€, things such as the recent eminent domain fights in Connecticut where private homes were seized for commercial development (which would generate far more tax revenue…for the good of the town of course).
Now we have immigration “reformâ€, talk of a national ID card (already semi-implemented as a “frequent traveler’s pre-screenâ€), and of course, the boogieman of foreign terrorists that have hit us a few years ago in a meaningful way, but have been ‘contained’ since.
So just how far should a society go to “protect†people? How does one keep a separation from an external threat from an internal one? How much responsibility should the government assume vs. the private citizen (for example, with gun control?)?
Finally, who trusts the current governmental systems, with the checks and balances rather un-balanced as of late, to keep “the greater good†in mind?
My own opinions: I’m becoming more and more Libertarian every day….(sigh).
-SB