Originally posted by Holden McGroin
You almost have it... These men paid for our freedom with lives. And now we sell what they passed to us for a few dollars. Even is we are talking of the freedom of choice of whether or not to wear a seat belts or not, (and I know it is just a small piece of freedom) we are still selling at least a portion of their sacrifice.
WWII was fought for the right to not wear seat belts, even in part? I think you belittle their sacrifices by twisting it to serve such a trivial notion. As easy as saying:
"I want to run down Main Street naked, twisting my nipples... because WWII was fought for such freedoms, and the denial of such a right is a selling out of their sacrifice." What would be the difference?
So, while that sounds all noble and patriotic and whatever, it doesn't amount to much. Go ahead and try to pervert the vet's sacrifice so that all it really ever amounted to was just some fight to protect everyone's right to be an idiot. It just doesn't wash with me.
And believe me, I've taken my share of liberties with the law. I'm no saint and never will be. But one thing I have always understood,
fundamentally, is that in this world I am free to do just whatever the hell I want. But that's only so long as my wants don't infringe on other people's doing whatever
they want. And visa versa and back again.
So here we are. You want to be free to drive without a seatbelt. And I want to be free of paying for your CAT scan. You want to be free to drive your gas guzzling polluting wreck/monster of a vehicle, and I want to be free of paying at the pump and sucking in your pollution. Because Christ, maybe I'd rather use that money to take a vacation instead. Know what I mean?
Tell me the vets didn't sacrifice for THOSE rights. And that they only had yours in mind. You can't.
"Nanny"..... What a bunch of baloney. It's pure self centeredness talkin'.
But sleep well knowing that you'll be long gone cold dead, while your "nanny" cries evaporate into small embarrassed echoes of a time that spawned a dizzied generation that put their selfish wants and child-like impulses well above everyone else's; using the sacrifices of great men in the past as justification, and giving no thought to the generations that follow who they will never meet but will nonetheless wind up paying for it.
Whoohoo! Freedom! I'm gettin' my cake, I'm gonna eat it. This is my gawdamned
right, so damn the torpedoes and piss off.
It is nothing less than a cruel joke that we must endure at your mercy.