Slave to Safety
Quote of the Day
"I would gladly give up my freedom if it meant my kids would be safe." - Overheard at a Starbucks
While I could envision a scenario where this would be true for me (e.g., "come with us now or we will shoot your kids"), I'm pretty sure this wasn't how it was meant by this person. He was talking about his willingness to give up democracy and his unalienable rights if it would guarantee the safety of his children.
Noble. And perhaps morally right. But it struck me as too simplistic, too reactionary...this statement, for me, boiled down so many of the platitudes, certitudes, and questions that the War On Terror seems to elicit.
Platitudes to "keep America safe" ...at any cost? Are there some prices too high to pay for safety? Or is safety the trump card, taking priority over the Bill of Rights and the Constitution? Is the life I want to pass on to my children one in which they are slaves?
Certitudes that everything is black and white; you either love the U.S. or hate the U.S.; you either want to win the War On Terror or you want to cut and run; you're either for us or against us; Good or Evil.
Questions...how to regain the concepts of dialogue and discussion; how to reverse the trend toward fear, illogic, and irrationality; how to get out of either/or and into options a, b, and c; how to get people to think and to solve problems.
As talk of war with Iran starts to bubble into the mainstream, can we perhaps have a public discussion? Can we see Congress debate the myriad of questions (Is the threat real? What other options are available to remove the threat if we determine that it is real? How did going to war in Iraq work out for us? Did it remove the perceived threats? Can our military support even the missions in front of them without breaking, let alone a new front? Does refusing to talk help or hurt the problem?)
I don't have (all) the answers, but I do have legitimate questions. Can they be asked without causing a reactionary pigeonholing? Can we have a discussion?
posted by A Muser @ 8:11 AM
3 comments
3 Comments:
How is it noble to sell your children into slavery because you fear for their safety?
I realize you're trying to be fair and non-combative so I don't intend to direct that at you. But don't people realize that when they give up their freedoms to "save the children" they are actually ruining their children's future?
I don't believe it is. But the person who said it obviously did. That was the point of the post - it's shouldn't be an either/or game. But platitudes and certitudes like that statement are the extent of the dialog about what's right.
Unfortunately.
Sheeple don't ask questions, have discussions, or think of the long term consequences. They simply surrender, follow, and do what they are told because it does not require them to put forth any effort. The rewards for these choices are ignorance, a false sense of security, and self-enslavement; thus, creating the either/or concept.
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