| >If your desire is to go live in Libertopia, please do so. Renounce your citizenship. There's no justification in my mind, you have the choice. That's like saying someone unhappy with having Sharia Law imposed on them should renounce their citizenship and live in Infideltopia. And as long as they stay, they are accepting Sharia Law, and should not complain about having their media censored, their private actions controlled, and their religious beliefs mandated. >Then leave behind _everything_ this society has brought you. Let's see how you do. The amount of selfishness behind those comments is astounding. You are perfectly happy with reaping the benefits of said society, while not wanting to contribute back through the rules that have been established. You're assuming that the positive aspects of our society are due to the income tax and the massive government programs that have been put in place. There is a lot of statistical evidence suggesting otherwise. I would be perfectly fine not being covered by welfare and free healthcare guarantees in exchange for not paying taxes on private transactions. The problem is you don't want to give me that option. There's no moral justification to deny people an option. The fact is you call me selfish, but it's you who advocates imprisoning individuals to advance your agenda for society, which is not a mutually agreed one. It's one that is imposed on a significant subset of the population. >Yes, it's tyranny of the majority. Do you know why? Because it is the best system we have, for now. It's not the best system we have.. There is absolutely no proof for your statement and plenty of evidence against it. >In the mean time, we have agreed upon these rules for decades, and since it hasn't changed, it seems like your ideology isn't what people want. We haven't all agreed to it.. >I mean, if you want the punishment to be rubbing your face in the dirt until you understand _why_ things are the way they are and why this is better than your idea now, I'm down for it. Imprisoning someone doesn't help them understand why things are the way they are and why this is better. Like I said, how quickly people rationalize locking up nonviolent individuals, when it helps them advance their agenda, is horrifying to witness. >But since the two things you seem to value are wealth and freedom, and you're not willing to give up your wealth when you have to be punished, we can only act on the latter. No one has to be punished. You want to punish people for not obeying other people. This is a conscious act that diminishes rights, and you have abandoned all moral considerations because it's not convenient to your agenda. |