What's More Important: Freedom or Safety?
AdriHead
2012/07/20 18:32:35
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With the latest shooting tragedy in Colorado, gun control is undoubtedly on everyone's mind. I know it's not as black and white as "freedom vs. safety" but people in the "pro-gun" camp seem to cite freedom, liberty and the 2nd amendment while talking about their right to carry guns. And as for the "anti-gun" camp, many cite the safety and well-being of the general public, as criminals and people with mental disorders will not have such easy access to weapons that kill. What do you think is more important: freedom or safety?
Top Opinion
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holly go lightly 2012/07/20 18:37:03
"They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety." ~ Benjamin Franklin
Your unalienable rights are established by your Creator and are not subject to be given, removed or altered by any man or government. An entitlement is granted by government and is only an entitlement as long as it is granted.
Mankind has the right to self-government, to bear arms for self defense and to own, develop and dispose of property. We have the right to make personal choices, of free conscience and to choose our profession. We have the right to choose a mate and beget our own kind.
We have the right to assemble, to petition and of free speech. We have the right to, but not always the benefit of, a free press.
We have the right to enjoy the fruits of our labor, to explore and develop the natural resources of the earth, to improve our position through barter and sale, the right to contrive and invent.
We have the right to privacy, to personal security and to provide nature's necessities - air, water, food, clothing and shelter. We have the right to contract, to free association, and to a fair trial.
Along with these rights come some public and private duties to maintain those same rights. Forgetting these is where it all began to go horribly wrong.
First, we have the duty to honor the supremacy of the Creator and his laws. The duty not to take the...
Your unalienable rights are established by your Creator and are not subject to be given, removed or altered by any man or government. An entitlement is granted by government and is only an entitlement as long as it is granted.
Mankind has the right to self-government, to bear arms for self defense and to own, develop and dispose of property. We have the right to make personal choices, of free conscience and to choose our profession. We have the right to choose a mate and beget our own kind.
We have the right to assemble, to petition and of free speech. We have the right to, but not always the benefit of, a free press.
We have the right to enjoy the fruits of our labor, to explore and develop the natural resources of the earth, to improve our position through barter and sale, the right to contrive and invent.
We have the right to privacy, to personal security and to provide nature's necessities - air, water, food, clothing and shelter. We have the right to contract, to free association, and to a fair trial.
Along with these rights come some public and private duties to maintain those same rights. Forgetting these is where it all began to go horribly wrong.
First, we have the duty to honor the supremacy of the Creator and his laws. The duty not to take the life of another except in self-defense, to not steal or destroy the property of another and to be honest in all transactions with others.
Children have the duty to honor and obey their parents and elders while parents have the duty to protect, teach, feed, clothe and provide shelter for children.
We have the duty to support law and order and to keep the peace, not to contrive through a covetous heart to despoil another, to honorably perform contracts and covenants both with God and man and to not trespass on the property or privacy of another.
We have the duty to provide, to the best of our ability, for the needs of the helpless - the sick, the crippled, the injured, the poverty-stricken. The duty to become economically self-sufficient.
We have the duty to maintain the integrity of the family structure, to perpetuate the human race, to be temperate and to not promote or participate in the vices that destroy personal and community life.
We have the duty to support personal and public standards of common decency, to follow the rules of moral rectitude and to not aid or abet those involved in criminal or anti-social activities.
And we have the duty to perform our civic responsibilities - VOTE, assist public officials, serve in official capacities when called upon, stay informed on public issues, volunteer where needed.
Thomas Jefferson
Those who would give up essential liberty to purchase a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759
Just curious, but which parts would you disagree with? For most it's that bit in there about the Creator.....
When you say "We have the duty to support personal and public standards of common decency," my agreement largely depends on what it means. Does it have more to do with how we treat each other, or is it a call for social conservatism? I live a pretty "conservative" lifestyle, but I don't demand it from others, and I wouldn't agree that it's fair or necessary to do so.
Last, I'm not really feeling the moral duty to assist public officials either (and I definitely don't believe in a legal duty of the sort): In what way should they be assisted? What if the public officials are acting to undermine natural rights? It really depends on the specifics to me.
In short, it's more that there are parts that I'm not comfortable with than parts that I necessarily think are "totally wrong."
I think the indoctrination of the American people has got them royally screwed up in the head.
Benjamin Franklin, Historical Review of Pennsylvania, 1759