From: Michael Lorrey (retroman@together.net)
Date: Thu Dec 18 1997 - 21:21:38 MST
Wayne Hayes wrote:
>
> Brian D Williams <talon57@well.com> writes:
>
> > "A country that wants to
> > be unarmed and free
> > wants what never has
> > been, and never will be."
>
> > Thomas Jefferson
>
> Obviously neither you nor Jefferson have heard of, say, Canada, or most
> of the countries in Western Europe of late. Jefferson has the excuse
> that Western Europe had a substantially different face when he was alive.
> What's yours?
>
> You may be right in the long term, but it's too soon to say.
I would not say that Canada, nor Western Europe, are explicitly free,
i.e. that they do not have Bills of Rights written that are part of the
Constitution of the nation. That so much speech, arms bearing, etc is
limited in many of these nations "for the common good" indicates that
the governments of these nations do not beleive that authority is
delegated to governments by the people, or that while they may beleive
this, they are able to use staged or exaggerated events (its not what
happens, but what the news say happens) to aid in propaganda efforts
that convince the people that they need to give up this or that
increment of freedom.
Considering the extremes of repression, holocaust, governmental
instability, and outright warfare throughout history in this region, and
even in this century alone, I think that Western Europe is a completely
pathetic example of unarmed countries where freedom and peaceful
coexistence is concerned.
-- TANSTAAFL!!! Michael Lorrey ------------------------------------------------------------ mailto:retroman@together.net Inventor of the Lorrey Drive MikeySoft: Graphic Design/Animation/Publishing/Engineering ------------------------------------------------------------ How many fnords did you see before breakfast today?
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