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larkinor is all about fighting
larkinor is all about fighting
larkinor is all about fighting
fighting is so fun! don't fight in real life or you will die! fight in larkinor!
The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of patriots and tyrants.

Subprime Jefferson
Those who would sacrifice Liberty for Freedom deserve neither.

Tyler Jefferson
Up late composing again Tyler?  The phrase I am familiar with is, "Those who would sacrifice liberty for security deserve neither".

Subprime Editor
That makes a little more sense...

Sandy
Wait a minute... doesn't everyone living in a society give up liberty for security?  If we want to live with other people, our liberties can only extend so far.  To be humourously extreme, I am free to eat what I want... until I want to stir fry someone's liver.

Does anyone truly want pure liberty with no security?  Given the current level of human consciousness, anarchy would soon result.

Turns out Ben Franklin's actual quote is a little more careful with it's language: "They that can give up 
essential
 liberty to obtain a 
little temporary
 safety deserve neither liberty nor safety."  I count three different qualifiers!

Sandy

Ummmmmm - stir fried liver.... I'll bring the fava beans and a nice chianti!! lol
Sandy:

You are absolutely correct.  Taking the shortened version of the quote to the extreme would not serve anyone well, however, the spirit of it is highly applicable to the present economic situation.

The world is presently in the midst of an economic slowdown in which not a small number of individuals find themselves without employment, and a significant number of the rest are worried that they could be next.  Boom and bust cycles are inseparable from any market or activity that bears the imprint of human psychology (i.e. all of them), and there is nothing new under the sun.  From Old Testament cyclical troubles, to Tulipmania in Holland, to the modern economic business cycle, such downturns are necessary, predictable, and 
temporary
.

Unsurprisingly, many fearful individuals are turning to governments to provide shelter from worry.  The question to be answered is, are the freedoms that must be surrendered "essential"?  Given that the sacrifice of liberty is almost always a one-way street (how often do governments voluntarily give up power they have grasped?), I would venture that any additional vesting of power in other than individual hands should be considered very carefully indeed.

Unfortunately, the Old Testament teaches us that wisdom often does not survive the generation that possesses it ("you are worshiping a golden what?"), and that subsequent generations must frequently learn things the hard way, as did their elders.

We may feast on goose liver today, but I am fearful for the future supply of golden eggs.

Subprime Friedman von Hayek
You can thank a Capitalistic society infected by strong disgusting flavors of Socialism for that.

TylerPolitics