PERSONAL
FREEDOM OR MAJORITY RULES?
By Bob
“Sully” Sullivan, Host of
“THE COALITION” on FM NEWS & TALK – 95.7/AM600
KOGO.
SO
WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE MAJORITY RULES OR PERSONAL FREEDOM?
and
HOW
MUCH SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT MANDATE – IN TERMS OF OUR PERSONAL FREEDOMS AND
BEHAVIOR?
Eggs
used to be considered bad for you. Then they were considered good for you. And
now they're back to being bad for you. A new study found egg yolks clog your
arteries and can cause coronary artery disease almost as rapidly as SMOKING
CIGARETTES. More research needs to be done . . . but the doctor behind the
survey says people at risk for heart disease should scale back on eggs
NOW.
Why
do we like things that are bad for us?
This
is just something I think about from time to time, but why do you think we like
things that are bad for us? I'm sure we each have something we like that isn't
good for us, but that we do anyway.
Here
are a few examples:
Fatty
foods
Candy
Caffeine
Bad
relationships/friendships (frienemies)
Why
do we like these things if they're so bad for us?...
One
thing that annoys me is smokers, especially the ones who light up when there are
other people around them. (non-smokers).
And
for kids it’s worse…if your parents both smoke, you are probably unable to say
anything about it to them without them getting pissed!
If
people want to cause harm to themselves, then that's entirely their problem in
my opinion.
But
given that smoking is harmful, in fact you SO harmful that all other vices are
measured by “worse than smoking” or “as bad as smoking,” you have to ask the
question as to why it's still legal.
I
hear comments like "smoking will never be banned because the government make too
much money in tax, but I’m not sure…
I
personally think that smoking should be banned altogether. But that would take
away smoker’s FREEDOM of CHOICE…even though the majority of us DO NOT
SMOKE.
Majority?
YEAH!! MAJORITY RULES RIGHT?!?!?
Or
does it…
Just
like the majority of us practice Christian beliefs.
Just
like the majority of us are straight.
Just
like the majority of us [fill in the blank…]
SO
WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE MAJORITY RULES OR PERSONAL FREEDOM?
The
essence of democracy is unlimited majority rule.
It
is the philosophy that the government should not be constrained, as long
as its behavior is sanctioned by majority vote.
It’s
the notion that the very function of government is to implement the
"will of the people."
And
it is this idea that was categorically repudiated by the founding of the United
States.
But
OUR [America's] defining characteristic is freedom.
Freedom
exists when there are limitations on government, imposed by the principle
of individual rights. America was established as a republic, under which the
state is restricted to protecting our rights.
This
is not a system of "democracy." Thus, you are free to criticize your
neighbors, your society, and your government--no matter how many people wish to
pass a law censoring you.
You
are free to own your property--no matter how large a mob wants to take it from
you. The rights of the individual are inalienable.
But
if "popular will" were the standard, the individual would have no rights--only
temporary privileges, granted or withdrawn according to the mass mood of the
moment. The tyranny of the majority, as the Founders understood, is just as evil
as the tyranny of an absolute monarch.
Yes,
we have the ability to vote, but that is not the yardstick by which freedom is
measured.
After
all, even dictatorships hold official elections. It is only the existence of
liberty that justifies, and gives meaning to, the ballot box.
In
a genuinely free country, voting pertains only to the means of safeguarding
individual rights. There can be no moral "right" to vote to destroy
rights.
SO
WOULD YOU RATHER HAVE MAJORITY RULES OR PERSONAL FREEDOM?
brings up the concept of PERSONAL ACCOUNTABILITY.
is normally viewed as being responsible—giving an explanation of your actions—to
somebody for something.
my point is not about someone holding you accountable. It’s about you holding
yourself accountable.
take 100 percent responsibility for holding yourself accountable, your
performance will improve, your relationships will flourish, your sense of
self-worth will soar, people’s respect for you will skyrocket, you will be a
great example for others to follow. So again, I ask you –
HOW
MUCH SHOULD THE GOVERNMENT MANDATE – IN TERMS OF OUR PERSONAL FREEDOMS AND
BEHAVIOR?
WOULD
YOU RATHER HAVE MAJORITY RULES OR PERSONAL FREEDOM?
How
about what we eat? How about what we drink? How about what we do in our
homes…our bedrooms? And now, on the road…
where I am sitting, the government should not be in the business of mandating
what we can or cannot do. If we want to kill our fellow Americans because of our
dumb addiction to speaking on the phone while driving, we should have this
right.
those whose close ones are killed because of our dumb addiction to cell phones
should consider it a manifestation of the First Amendment and the guaranty of
their individual liberties under the Constitution.
government should butt out of the private lives of Americans and let us do the
dumb things we want to do. This is America!"
stay the hell out of our lives. Once we start letting them control the little
things, they will control everything.
DO
WE REALLY HAVE “LUNCH INSPECTORS”IN PRE-SCHOOL NOW? WHAT IS THIS…RED-CHINA? THE
U.S.S.R.?!?
You
have to ask yourself…”What happened to using common sense for your own safety
and for the safety of others?”
I’ll
take personal choice and accountability EVERY TIME. Giddy up.
