The powers not delegated to the United States by the Constitution, nor prohibited by it to the states, are reserved to the states respectively, or to the people.
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Tenth Amendment, Bill of Rights, U.S. Constitution (1791)
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Serve in Heaven?
So the consensus on Christian views of “Heaven” and “Hell” are that believers go to Heaven and spend eternity worshiping their deity. Non-believers go to Hell and spend eternity being punished for their failure to believe and obey.
Does this not strike anyone else as a bit egotistical and totalitarian? God makes a bunch of these creatures named humans, then demands that either they worship him unconditionally for eternity or they will be punished for disobeying his will for eternity.
Am I the only one that, given these theological concepts, even if true, would rather stand resolutely rebellious and free-willed and be punished for using his free-will than spend an eternity on his knees as a praising slave?
Congress shall make no law respecting an establishment of religion, or prohibiting the free exercise thereof; or abridging the freedom of speech, or of the press; or the right of the people peaceably to assemble, and to petition the government for a redress of grievances.
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First Amendment, Bill of Rights, U.S. Constitution. (1791)
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Freedom is never more than one generation away from extinction. We didn’t pass it to our children in the bloodstream. It must be fought for, protected, and handed on for them to do the same.
It is not the business of government to make men virtuous or religious, or to preserve the fool from the consequences of his own folly. Government should be repressive no further than is necessary to secure liberty by protecting the equal rights of each from aggression on the part of others, and the moment governmental prohibitions extend beyond this line they are in danger of defeating the very ends they are intended to serve.
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Henry George (1839-1897) - American Economist and Author (via phabian)
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What sort of society do you think we’d have if you had people saying that ‘It’s the state’s job to find me a job, it’s the state’s job to house me, it’s the state’s job to look after my family’? … Freedom is inseparable from personal responsibility…
Freedom
This abstract concept that is “Freedom” / “Liberty” is so deeply entrenched in American culture, so pivotally foundational to American government and history, is often taken for granted and not fully reflected upon.
One must remember that “Liberty” is an ideology. It is an idea with actual consensus-built parameters and standards. The failure to keep this in mind results in both improper usage of the freedom and expanding restrictions upon individual and collective freedom.
As was laid out in the Declaration of the Rights of Man August 26, 1789, there are only two restrictions that should ever be placed on freedom. First, that your actions should in no way cause harm, nor threaten to cause harm to any other individuals. Second, that your actions should in no way infringe on the freedom of others, nor attempt to restrict the freedom of others.
A wise and frugal government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government…
A democracy is always temporary in nature; it simply cannot exist as a permanent form of government. A democracy will continue to exist up until the time that voters discover that they can vote themselves generous gifts from the public treasury. From that moment on, the majority always votes for the candidates who promise the most benefits from the public treasury with the result that every democracy will finally collapse due to loose fiscal policy, which is always followed by a dictatorship.
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Alexander Tytler (1747-1813)
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