I understand you're for absolute freedom, Arlos. However, most liberals have "freedom" totally convoluted. Your opening paragraph proves that. Even in your own home, there's certain things that shouldn't be legal (use your imagination to understand what I'm talking about). More freedom = less government intervention. Liberalism/socialism is heavily governmental-intervention supportive.
Well, I disagree with you on certain things should be illegal, with the caveat that everyone involved needs to be a) an adult and b) consenting. Children are not adults and cannot give consent. Animals likewise cannot. Non-consentual actions are coercion and likewise extremely wrong. But beyond that, Government has NO right to dictate to you what you may or may not do in your private life. If that seperates me from my liberal brethren, so be it.
Yeah, it's great that in Canada, (let's talk about Canada for a moment) everybody has access to health care. But I pose this question... If I were a Canadian, why should I have to pay for somebody else's health care.
Because someday it might be YOU needing the health care? I used to make really good money and have insurance, then got laid off, and lost it, because paying rent was more important. Then, I got a staph infection in my leg and nearly lost the entire leg because I waited for a long time to come in because I didn't want to pay for the doctor bills. Had we had universal health care, I could've had it taken care of with just some take home pills, rather than a > 1 week hospital stay where they had to give me morphine cause the pain from the infection got so bad.
About taxes in the U.S. The "wealthy" in America are paying the highest amount in taxes. The middle class is not getting screwed here. If you'd like to improve the lifestyle of the middle class, the answer is definitely not to tax them even more
I never said to tax the middle class more. However, I am FIRMLY against tax cuts for the wealthy. What do you think the tax cut for dividend income was for? You think that benefits the poor, or even most of the middle class? How about estate taxes? So far under Bush, the richest 1% has seen its taxes cut MASSIVELY, while other sectors have seen minimal or none at all.
Now, you say that a civilized society has the duty and obligation to take care of those less fortunate?????? OMFG I can't believe you actually said that. Actually, I do believe it. Hey, we are a capitalistic society. Nobody should have to take care of anybody else. God gave you the tools you need to make it in this life, and if you don't use those tools to your advantage, then don't go crying to the government for handouts or expect the rest of us to pay your way through life.
Note that I'm not talking about someone perfectly healthy and able to work being able to sit there and do nothing but watch Spongebob all day on the public's dime. But I DEFINITELY feel that there is a moral and ethical obligation in a civilized society to help those who are unfortunate or disadvantaged.
Say a guy has worked all his life as a janitor, and thus hasn't been able to save much. He's now 70, has to retire. His wife gets cancer, and they have to blow what savings they DO have on her health bills, but she dies anyway. He's now broke and 70. In YOUR version of society, with no help for the poor, what does he do, starve? Freeze to death under a freeway bridge? Sorry, but that's unacceptible.
What about the guy who, as I mentioned elsewhere, is mildly retarded, and has an IQ of 90? He can handle day to day life OK, but he's not going to progress much beyond minimum wage, and thus isn't ever going to get more than a paycheck or so ahead. What if where he works closes down, and he can't find work quickly enough, and can't pay rent?
There's very frequently real very good reasons why people need help, and just saying they should better themelves gets us nowhere. Indeed, it gets us to where we are today: tens of thousands of people, even FAMILIES who live on the streets because they can't afford a place to live. That's unconscionable, and should be unacceptable to anyone who doesn't have flint in place of a heart.
Anyone can get an education. There are tons of government programs that will help you get a higher education, or help you develop new skills that will make you a more productive member of society and have a better income. Many of those programs are free, some are low-interest loans. If you want it... go get it. It's there for you.
Speaking as someone who is DOING exactly that, I can guarantee you that the amount of money you can get for this is functionally a pittance. Every dollar you earn from work study is 1 dollar less they will give you as grant funds. Grant money available has shrunken every year, AS has loan money. Also, college loan interest rates have more than doubled within the last year or two. You may have read about Bush's budget slashing college funding, trust me, it's true, and I am feeling it, big time.
I'm not even going to get into the Prohibition-banning-substances-doesn't-work argument. I highly disagree with you there, and it's moot to argue about it.
Well, I still see no fundamental difference between 1 addictive and harmful intoxicating substance over another. Yes, there are long-term harmful effects to abuse of pot. Guess what, the long term harmful effects of alcohol and tobacco use are MUCH worse. I furthermore see this as part of the personal freedom area. If I want to poison myself in my own home, the government should have no right to tell me no, as long as it's ONLY my own self I'm doing it to.
And finally WAR. War is necessary sometimes, friend.
Oh, I understand that completely. Have you ever once seen me complain about us invading Afghanistan? Sure, I'll complain about HOW we did it, because it was fucking incompetant, but never once have I said one negative word about GOING.
Iraq, however, was NOT necessary. The whole case for going was built on a tissue of lies, and 9/11 merely provided the excuse that Cheney and PNAC had been looking for for years to let them engage in the invasion of Iraq they'd been advocating since what, 96?
So let me repeat: I am not against legitimate wars, as a last resort. Iraq, however, was neither.
-Arlos