Thread: Independence Day

Originally Posted by Elis D.

Think of what you're celebrating...

Freedom from an oppressive monarchy
Freedom to express yourselves as you wish

In 1776 they celebrated freedoms that some had never dreamed of having.

Now, 232 years later those freedoms, and many, many more have been systematically stripped away by none other than an oppressive government.

I don't celebrate Independence Day, and I won't until we are free again, until our freedoms have been restored to this once great country.


:peace:

You are not free to talk about the government like that in this country! Off to jail you go.

Oh boo hoo.

Stupid posting like this prove to me that you take EVERYTHING that has been given to you for granted. You are selfish and naive. You honestly don't know how free you are. I think it's because you have become fixated on the things you can't do rather than the things you can do.

You think your life is restricted? Hold on, I have a video for you.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zFMdQTpPKc4

Go ahead. Tell me Americans aren't free.

Welcome to my life Elis. Every week I have somebody come check my room to see if I am live in a clean environment. If I'm late to work, I am forced to roll around in mud puttles. I have to have my hair cut a certain way. I have to be cleanly shaven each morning. If I disobey orders from my boss, I go to jail. The point is that your life is so fucking easy and you still have to be melodramatic about it. Buck up dude.

Oh boo hoo.

That was your choice.

Originally Posted by Elis D.

Oh boo hoo.

That was your choice.

I'm sorry, did I complain about my life? I love my life. I have enough balls deal with bullshit and not complain. You, on the other hand, have no bullshit to deal with.

What freedoms of yours have been stripped? List them.

Beyond that, was that post all you have to say? Watch the video and tell me Americans are not among the most free people on Earth.

Nevermind. You can't.

This topic is so manly already. One more post by Half/Dreaming and my head will explode with testosterone-goodness. This thread has like... 2 penises. That's how manly it is.

Also, this video must be posted.

Sorry Elis, but I'm kinda on H/D's side. We are pretty free. Although our government is pretty bad right now, we still cut it pretty damn good.

Oh yea, Elis, I just thought of something. You said to me "that was your choice". You're DAMN right that was my choice.

In some countries, like Russia, men AND women are forced to join the military, regardless of the existence of a war or not. Have you ever been forced to take up arms? That's just one more freedom you have taken for granted.

How is "you take things for granted" an argument? First of all it's ad hominem, and secondly it just means that you care more about what is than what could be, i.e. anti-progressivist. Do you by any chance self-identify as a patriot, since you don't seem to like the idea of criticizing the status-quo even if it's not perfect?

Im pretty much on HD's side that the opening statement was a little over dramatic. That said, however, I do think we should always be questioning the status quo. So, while I will be celebrating even having the ability to question the status quo...I wont be giving the government much kudos for it

I have to go with H/D on this one, we have it pretty good here.

yeah i love having to get a license to have a campfire in my backyard, i love the NSA putting taps on my phoneline in the name of fighting terrorism. I fall to my knees in amazement and awe when my loving benevolent government gives me the privelege of having a Free Speech Zone to protest in the middle of a field in the country. I love it when roadside checkpoints stop my car looking for drugs just like they do in Mexico. I love the government, i dont know what i would do without them.

I cant believe some people actually believe in this thing called the "Bill of Rights", they are such kooks and terrorists

I mean, why in the world would i want to be able to keep my 1st, second, fourth, fifth, ninth, and tenth amendments when the Nanny State could just do everything for me?

I am completely free!!!!! *hands in guns*

Originally Posted by Hercuflea

yeah i love having to get a license to have a campfire in my backyard, i love the NSA putting taps on my phoneline in the name of fighting terrorism. I fall to my knees in amazement and awe when my loving benevolent government gives me the privelege of having a Free Speech Zone to protest in the middle of a field in the country. I love it when roadside checkpoints stop my car looking for drugs just like they do in Mexico. I love the government, i dont know what i would do without them.

I cant believe some people actually believe in this thing called the "Bill of Rights", they are such kooks and terrorists

I mean, why in the world would i want to be able to keep my 1st, second, fourth, fifth, ninth, and tenth amendments when the Nanny State could just do everything for me?

I am completely free!!!!! *hands in guns*

The government has not put taps on your phone line if you are not a terrorist, and the police cannot search your car without reasonable suspicion.

Originally Posted by Half/Dreaming

Oh boo hoo.

Stupid posting like this prove to me that you take EVERYTHING that has been given to you for granted. You are selfish and naive. You honestly don't know how free you are. I think it's because you have become fixated on the things you can't do rather than the things you can do.

You think your life is restricted? Hold on, I have a video for you.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zFMdQTpPKc4

Go ahead. Tell me Americans aren't free.

Welcome to my life Elis. Every week I have somebody come check my room to see if I am live in a clean environment. If I'm late to work, I am forced to roll around in mud puttles. I have to have my hair cut a certain way. I have to be cleanly shaven each morning. If I disobey orders from my boss, I go to jail. The point is that your life is so fucking easy and you still have to be melodramatic about it. Buck up dude.

As long as i have at least one eye to see with, i'll be allll right!

Originally Posted by Half/Dreaming

Oh boo hoo.

Stupid posting like this prove to me that you take EVERYTHING that has been given to you for granted. You are selfish and naive. You honestly don't know how free you are. I think it's because you have become fixated on the things you can't do rather than the things you can do.

You think your life is restricted? Hold on, I have a video for you.
http://youtube.com/watch?v=zFMdQTpPKc4

Go ahead. Tell me Americans aren't free.

Welcome to my life Elis. Every week I have somebody come check my room to see if I am live in a clean environment. If I'm late to work, I am forced to roll around in mud puttles. I have to have my hair cut a certain way. I have to be cleanly shaven each morning. If I disobey orders from my boss, I go to jail. The point is that your life is so fucking easy and you still have to be melodramatic about it. Buck up dude.

Crap I smashed my finger! Darnnit! *watches tv* H'mm some guy that lives around the world on CNN just got his hand cut off, that must hurt... Wonder if that has something to do with my smashed finger though...maybe the link between my finger and his hand will make me feel better ...But..it could just be that he simply had it worse... My finger still hurts.

Originally Posted by malac

As long as i have at least one eye to see with, i'll be allll right!

Originally Posted by malac

Crap I smashed my finger! Darnnit! *watches tv* H'mm some guy that lives around the world on CNN just got his hand cut off, that must hurt... Wonder if that has something to do with my smashed finger though...maybe the link between my finger and his hand will make me feel better ...But..it could just be that he simply had it worse... My finger still hurts.

Sorry if I don't get it, but how the HECK does that contribute to the conversation???


Anyway, I'm with HD on this one. Actually, opinions like the one in the OP are one of main reasons I dislike America. People here take things for granted 95% or the time. It's sickening. If you don't like it here, then move to some other country where you're not as free; I'm sure you'll be very happy there. Seriously, MOVE. No one's forcing you to live a life of freedom others would kill and are killing themselves to get.

Originally Posted by Snowy Egypt

Sorry if I don't get it, but how the HECK does that contribute to the conversation???


Anyway, I'm with HD on this one. Actually, opinions like the one in the OP are one of main reasons I dislike America. People here take things for granted 95% or the time. It's sickening. If you don't like it here, then move to some other country where you're not as free; I'm sure you'll be very happy there. Seriously, MOVE. No one's forcing you to live a life of freedom others would kill and are killing themselves to get.

And opinions like this are stupid and regressive. It's sickening. If you can't accept someone criticizing the society he is a member of, then you should be the very first to get kicked out of that society. A free society is a marketplace of ideas and if you can't take somebody not cherishing every aspect of it then you should put poatatoes on your ears and shut your bunghole. If everybody was like you, there'd be no progress at all - ever.

Originally Posted by Snowy Egypt

Sorry if I don't get it, but how the HECK does that contribute to the conversation???

Really? Its put out so.... well, simple.

Originally Posted by Serkat

And opinions like this are stupid and regressive. It's sickening. If you can't accept someone criticizing the society he is a member of, then you should be the very first to get kicked out of that society. A free society is a marketplace of ideas and if you can't take somebody not cherishing every aspect of it then you should put poatatoes on your ears and shut your bunghole. If everybody was like you, there'd be no progress at all - ever.

Heh yea. Your argument towards her could be relative to an ant(unfamiliar with the actual name and can't remember where I seen/heard this atm) that sabotages the enemy ant queen's nest, and tricks the blind ants into breeding its babies until they hatch and take over from inside. Too late for the little ants.

Btw......you guys....so much tension towards each other......

To be honest a lot of my freedoms are being taken away, but that is in Britain.

We have the highest CCTV to people ratio in the world and our government just voted to allow people to be detained without charge for 42 days... it's quite chilling really, how an Orwellian society is slowly looking more and more likely, and how nobody much seems to care.

...my two pennies.

If we follow that attitude that we should not fight and work to make things better until there is no-body in the world who "has it much worse than us" then we can't complain about incompetent and oppressive leaders until they have instituted Sharia law, locked a tenth of the population up in gulags and given over the nation's agricultural resources to the military.

I think we can try to make things better that they are now, and that we have a duty to make our countries great, and to fight for freedom, equality and justice. If that makes me a bloody whiney progressive who should get the hell out of the country, then I guess I misunderstood what exactly democracy is all about.

Here's a list of some of the rights lost recently in the USA. Things are going much the same way over here in the UK. Not that I'm blaming the Labour Party or the Republican Party. We've been going through a pretty rough patch recently.

those freedoms, and many, many more have been systematically stripped away by none other than an oppressive government.

until our freedoms have been restored to this once great country.

Like keeping slaves?

Originally Posted by Serkat

This topic is so manly already. One more post by Half/Dreaming and my head will explode with testosterone-goodness. This thread has like... 2 penises. That's how manly it is.

Also, this video must be posted.

Win.

Although our government is terrible right now, one of the things that makes it great is that it changes at the whim of the people. Hopefully president Obama will put some trust back into the government. If it weren't our health care system I'd rather live here than anywhere else.

someone said The US has freedom. BULLSHIT. Flouride in bottled water that makes people docile. The government can arrest you without a warrant and put you before an international tribunal. Your family won't be told. The congress wants to outlaw natural healthfoods so that genetically modified foods are predominant. It will soon be illegal to put oregano in your food... because it's a herb. You say you're free? just try stating your rights in America.

Originally Posted by ranma187

someone said The US has freedom. BULLSHIT. Flouride in bottled water that makes people docile. The government can arrest you without a warrant and put you before an international tribunal. Your family won't be told. The congress wants to outlaw natural healthfoods so that genetically modified foods are predominant. It will soon be illegal to put oregano in your food... because it's a herb. You say you're free? just try stating your rights in America.

Is that kid in the video for real? All that video proved is that such hypocrisy and ignorance is allowed to exist in this country. Had he been a citizen of a more oppressive country, then he'd have been locked up. Also, freedom comes with responsibility. He was free to keep talking, but the school was equally free to act upon his exercise and use of that freedom.