I would love to kill off gerrymandering, because it’s anti-freedom and is only a tool for those in power to contradict the vote of the people. District lines should be drawn by neighborhood, without regard for the resulting vote mix.
And if you think me a Republican you are quite incorrect. I’m a registered Democrat, politically I consider myself liberal-libertarian- I think the married gay couple should have guns to defend their adopted children and their pot farm, knowing that single payer health care is there if they get hurt.
However this means I don’t fit squarely into either the red or the blue camp. I align with Republicans on issues like personal freedom and gun ownership, I align with Democrats on issues like reducing corruption (they’re not great but better than GOP at least) and environmental protection. And I’m quite unhappy with both of them as I think both separately and together they do a piss poor job of representing the interests of the American people.
As for nicotine- I don’t defend addiction, I defend freedom and a person’s right to choose what they put in their own body without excess government interference. If people make bad choices, that is their right and I reject the idea that the government should play ‘nanny state’ and save people from themselves. So for the government to say ‘you can have this flavor vape but not that flavor’ is to me no different than saying ‘you can have vanilla ice cream but not chocolate as it’s too tasty and too likely to make you fat’.
If people are making harmful bad choices, then the solution is to improve education so people grow up with the tools and the practice to make better choices, not to restrict the choices available.
I dunno man. You may be some flavour of libertarian, but not me. I am aware of the libertarian philosophy, and it is particularly an American following.
Freedom has many meanings to many people. But a free society also imposes restrictions on people’s freedom. You just can’t kill someone who annoys you. You need a proper licence in order to drive on public thoroughfares. You can’t take something that doesn’t belong to you, just because you want it. Living in a free society also imposes obligations. Other people must be taken into consideration.
In the case of vapes, and other poisons, it’s not good enough to just yell freedom and allow corporations to to sell dangerous products. Kids consume these products and their health can be affected. In a free society public health considerations will probably impact on people’s freedom. After all, seatbelts continue to save thousands and thousands of lives despite some folks feeling salty about wearing them. At least they are breathing and feeling salty.
None of this will convince you, and that’s ok. I don’t have skin in your game anyway because I don’t live in your country and therefore accept normal restrictions. If I want to live in a society and change the rules, I’ll vote for a person who will do that. Gerrymandering is illegal in my country and fair voting is the norm. I’m also glad that I don’t live in a community where individuals get to decide what rules they should follow on the basis of some nebulous concept of personal freedom.
Defending addiction in the name of freedom is a silly hill to die on.
How about killing off gerrymandering in the name of freedom?
I would love to kill off gerrymandering, because it’s anti-freedom and is only a tool for those in power to contradict the vote of the people. District lines should be drawn by neighborhood, without regard for the resulting vote mix.
And if you think me a Republican you are quite incorrect. I’m a registered Democrat, politically I consider myself liberal-libertarian- I think the married gay couple should have guns to defend their adopted children and their pot farm, knowing that single payer health care is there if they get hurt.
However this means I don’t fit squarely into either the red or the blue camp. I align with Republicans on issues like personal freedom and gun ownership, I align with Democrats on issues like reducing corruption (they’re not great but better than GOP at least) and environmental protection. And I’m quite unhappy with both of them as I think both separately and together they do a piss poor job of representing the interests of the American people.
As for nicotine- I don’t defend addiction, I defend freedom and a person’s right to choose what they put in their own body without excess government interference. If people make bad choices, that is their right and I reject the idea that the government should play ‘nanny state’ and save people from themselves. So for the government to say ‘you can have this flavor vape but not that flavor’ is to me no different than saying ‘you can have vanilla ice cream but not chocolate as it’s too tasty and too likely to make you fat’.
If people are making harmful bad choices, then the solution is to improve education so people grow up with the tools and the practice to make better choices, not to restrict the choices available.
I dunno man. You may be some flavour of libertarian, but not me. I am aware of the libertarian philosophy, and it is particularly an American following.
Freedom has many meanings to many people. But a free society also imposes restrictions on people’s freedom. You just can’t kill someone who annoys you. You need a proper licence in order to drive on public thoroughfares. You can’t take something that doesn’t belong to you, just because you want it. Living in a free society also imposes obligations. Other people must be taken into consideration.
In the case of vapes, and other poisons, it’s not good enough to just yell freedom and allow corporations to to sell dangerous products. Kids consume these products and their health can be affected. In a free society public health considerations will probably impact on people’s freedom. After all, seatbelts continue to save thousands and thousands of lives despite some folks feeling salty about wearing them. At least they are breathing and feeling salty.
None of this will convince you, and that’s ok. I don’t have skin in your game anyway because I don’t live in your country and therefore accept normal restrictions. If I want to live in a society and change the rules, I’ll vote for a person who will do that. Gerrymandering is illegal in my country and fair voting is the norm. I’m also glad that I don’t live in a community where individuals get to decide what rules they should follow on the basis of some nebulous concept of personal freedom.
Thanks for the discussion, by the way.