[ta_donk_gt]

This is one thing I still have a hard time understanding about people. I understand that hypocrisy and the like are baked deeply, inextricably into our DNA, but the thing is we've all witnessed this stuff happen time and again and without fail still choose to let it happen again.

People get on board with giving up power because it will work out for their team _this_time_. The thing is, it will absolutely be used against your team in the future. This has been proven time after time after time (just in recent history, not even considering the whole of human history). It will be used against you. It's not like smoking or other unhealthy behavior that will have an effect far into the future but that you can't really grasp fully...you just need to remember all of the other times it has happened in your lifetime to know what it feels like.

[unclenoriega]

I have to believe most people just don't think about issues beyond a surface level.

[joesmo]

I don't think you realize the people gave up power generations ago. It doesn't matter what the people want now or even if they want or do not want to give up power. The power was given up to the government when it was formed and forever it will stay there until the government is destroyed by violence. We've seen this over and over again and know this to be the state of things. I don't understand what pretending the people have any power left gets you. The only power the people still seem to have is the power to vote (not very powerful, IMO) and of referendums and other state initiatives. These are the powers that were given to the people in exchange for people giving up the rest of their powers (except as otherwise legislated). If you want to talk about people regaining or not giving up power, you are necessarily talking about violence and rebellion on the scale of a civil war. I don't think anyone wants either of those and even for people that do, it's likely unwise to talk about it on the Internet.

As far as free speech, the original topic of this post, IMO, it doesn't exist when people are afraid to speak out and right now, many people are terrified to silence.