Kiss the Constitution goodbye

If American citizens do shed their state of political apathy and vote those people out of office, who will replace them? More politicians! They're all the same, more or less. Gun control. Restriction of free speech. The next time I hear someone say I should be censored for hate speech I'm going to shove a copy of the Bill of Rights down his throat. For the sake of it, I will pretend to rob the next hippie that says all guns should be banned and see if he changes his views.

And why is America about to kiss the Constitution goodbye? Probably because people these days are too fickle and respect their personal sensitivities more than the principles upon which the nation was built on. The false belief that violence is on the rise, propogated by the liberal media, makes people go for gun control. Hate speech, possibly the most ridiculous, and most successful, infraction of the First Amendment ever. In any case, I have one piece of advice for all those people out there who believe that the Constitution allows too much freedom.

There is no such thing as too much freedom. Too little freedom, on the other hand, is very real in many countries. Be glad you have the Constitution.

Go ahead. Throw away your rights. I'm keeping mine. And I'll be damned if anyone tries to take them away from me.

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What the hell am I rambling about? I'm not even American!

I'm another who isn't American, but I'm just as entitled to share my views as any other--Free speech anyone?

As an extremely interested observer from outside, I have seen the change that has occurred in the United States, at least in the course of my lifetime--and I have read history.

What I've watched with distress has been the commandering of what was originally envisioned for individuals being arrogated and asserted by corporations.

Free Speech? If you don't have the money, or the media, to promulgate your views, who will ever hear them? And the internet? Think about AOL-TimeWarner-EMI.

I won't revisit gun control and the right to carry and bear arms after the firestorm last time.

As a concerned Canadian, I see the exporting of the American Model, not by individuals, certainly not by any everythingian--are any of us members of the power elite? Why would they be here, anyway?

It is discouraging, trying to effect positive change. I'm not sure what the first step is, except try to see things clearly One of the things I am doing here, as some others, too, just that.

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An After Reflection:

mcSey's freedom spolight is the notion I was struggling for. This is exactly the way consciousness works.

WHO DIRECTS THE SPOTLIGHT?

In The Electric Kool-Aid Acid Test Tom Wolfe describes the not so good experience of someone on acid for the first, or later, time: she couldn't control her senses, they directed her--they flashed spotlights of wild lights, sounds, tactile sensations, all beyond her control!

Media and culture, America's greatest export products--the greatest threat to Americans and everyone else.

Unfortunately I think the only people the care enough to revolt at this point are fascists, dictators, and zealots. I worry a lot about this and do my thing to keep us near the top of the slippery slope, but that's the problem with the path we've chosen -- there's no way back to the top.

That said, are we really throwing away our freedom? The myth of a Jeffersonian United States was like chivalry, a myth when it was created. In the 19th century the government wouldn't dream of telling you what to put in your body. Twain said, "The one thing I do certainly own is my body." Drug laws didn't exist. Sex laws sure as hell did though. Everything from sodomy to anti-miscegenation (sic?) laws were commonplace since our founding. We don't have many of those anymore (note sodomy laws preventing heterosexual oral intercourse are still on the books in Georgia).

It's like a freedom spotlight. Whichever of our freedoms we hold dear at the moment, we can have, but the rest remain hidden in the darkness surrounding our light. Can we get some nice even flourescent freedom lights?

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To coffy the bears became alligators, the natives became home invading crooks, and the Redcoats became jackbooted thugs. Also remember Dman is in Australia (right D?) -- he's got much recent experience with the government taking away his civil liberties. He's had his guns taken away. He's had his Internet state censored.

BTW -- What the fuck are they doing down there D?

The Constitution was phenomenally well-written. It has served us for over 200 years, even though it was explicitly designed to be rewritten several times between its inception and now.

I mean, who has a problem with the Constitution? The problems we have are all with people trying to get around the Constitution. Because we haven't rewritten it, like we were supposed to, a lot of those people can now use the excuse that parts of it are outdated. You'll hear this a lot in gun control debates; in fact you can read it right up above me. The truth is, the right to bear arms was written for the express reason that an armed population is harder for a government--ours or somebody else's--to subdue. Think about it; would you invade the U.S.A.? Imagine running around Alabama, trying to dodge buckshot from every enraged hillbilly in the state, .12 gauges pointed at you from every angle....

I agree that our society is becoming way, way too restrictive. It's not a big step, between telling a citizen they can't smoke and telling them they can't leave. Or vote. Or live. I would much prefer it if we just stayed the hell away from that shit. The U.S. was founded on a really good principle: You don't tell me what to do, and I don't tell you what to do. We should stick with that.

--Outpost Mir--: Legislators already are passing laws that violate the Bill of Rights. Such laws include the DMCA and UCITA. Because the courts do not understand technology, they might not throw the law out if challenged because they do not fully understand it and might be led to believe that it is, in fact, constitutional. You seem to disregard the fact that the people who want to take away liberty are the people with the money. A person with money is much more likely to win any case over a person without money. Consequently, saying that they wouldn't be able to nullify the Bill of Rights doesn't matter, because they are already passing laws that violate it.

The Bill of Rights is just some words on a piece of paper. If it is not enforced, it means nothing. It does not prevent Congress from doing the things they're doing because it is not being duly enforced.

"Oh, and by the way, they couldn't sick the military or such plots on us without attracting attention from every other democratic nation on EarthThey would take notice.They would do something."

This is incorrect. These same democratic governments you talk about model their governments after the United States government. These same democratic governments you speak of are also taking away the rights of their citizens. You say they would all be up in arms, but they're doing the same thing.