John Locke (1632-1704) wrote:As soon as men decide all means are permitted to fight evil, then their good becomes indistinguishable from the evil they set out to destroy.
Is this relevant to today's situation? Must liberty be eroded to protect it? And if so, at what point does liberty cease to have meaning?
Discuss.
"If I had all the money that I've spent on drink, I'd spend it on drink!"
"The trouble with internet quotes is that one can never be sure if they are genuine." - Abraham Lincoln
Kindly listen to this, please.
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If liberty is eroded by an action, that action can't be protecting it universally, that smacks of biting the nose to smite the face. It means that one groups liberty is eroded to protect the liberty of others (or perhaps a different liberty for the same group)
Trouble with liberty is that it's often painted as something we all want, but I don't believe that it's what people (in general) really want, which is the illusion of liberty as portrayed in arguments for its protection, which appears to be some sort of adventure holiday. I imagine true liberty gets weary after a while and means a lot of personal responsibility. For example, being tied to an address affects your liberty to move about, you are tied down, but reject the idea of ownership affects the right to own.
It all gets very muddled in my head, but it seems clear to me that after a few minutes of thinking, real liberty isn't the same as the abstracted version I might bandy about in an argument
"I spent all of my money on cars, women and booze, the rest of it I squandered" G. Best
"To avoid criticism: Do nothing, Say nothing, Be nothing" - Fred Shero
"You hear players, media people say it's tough to play in Philly in front of these fans. To those people, I say, you didn't have the guts to succeed here." - John Kruk
"When you choose shame to avoid war, you get both shame and war"
"I never want to go to bed if there are still beers in the fridge, but then I am always hopeful that there are beers left in there when I wake up.". Thirstydrunk.
"We all look for happiness, but without knowing where to find it: like drunkards who look for their house, knowing dimly that they have one." Voltaire
"The prince of darkness is a gentleman." Shakespeare.
Benjamin Franklin wrote:They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety.
This should be made very conspicuous in every office, cubicle, vehicle, etc. at the Department of Homeland Security.
The beauty is in the particulars. There are doubtless many NYC subway riders who deserve to be grateful they weren't mutilated, blinded, deafened, brain-damaged, or killed as a result of giving up a little temporary liberty to obtain an essential safety.
I feel like I;' Typing down hill.
-F. Sott Blitzedgerald
Bur wrote:Life is always a struggle with eternal forces.
Indeed.
Eternal forces always demand struggle, per se.
It's the internal ones that make me reach for the bottle.
Can we drink now? ---peetie44
At rock bottom, there is no down. ---The Oett ^ ^ ^ Yes his entire cutlery set and all utensils are made from assorted broken bottles.--- The Artful Detective
Just remember Hugh: a good cocktail in a shitty glass is better that a shitty cocktail in a pretty glass.---The Badfellow
I'll buy the first round if you promise to stop being a cunt. --- Dear Booze
"If I had all the money that I've spent on drink, I'd spend it on drink!"
"The trouble with internet quotes is that one can never be sure if they are genuine." - Abraham Lincoln
Kindly listen to this, please.
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