Someone more eloquent than me can probly say this better, but...

[harena]

So, it's Independence Day in the USA. And what am i supposed to be celebrating? My freedom? Ohsure, we aren't under some European regime anymore but us reg'lar folks are most certainly being oppressed by a regime known as our own Government. And Ohsure, i know we are more free than most countries out there, but it feels a bit hypocritical of us to

Comments

[roolet]

You can post this. I can read it.
You were able to have four children.
You are able to work from home at tasks of your choosing.
You are able to go out in public with your face uncovered, and even wearing shorts if you want to.
You are allowed to drive.
You are allowed to vote.
You are allowed to choose any religion (or none).
Nobody can be put under superinjunction.
You were able to leave your first husband.
You are permitted to live with Woozle without marrying.
You are able to do all of these things not because you took a test or served in the military but simply because you were born here.

Happy July 4.

[harena]

Indeed, i figured someone like yourself would come & point out to me what i am taking for granted, but it still doesn't seem like a good idea to take the attitude of "Well, I still have all this, so it's okay for them to take away all that." Which is a thing i think way too many Americans are doing and will do until one day:

I won't be able to post it. You won't be able to read it.
(I am not responding to the children one because having them was not a freedom but an enslavement)
I won't be able to work from home at tasks of my choosing.
(I'm not responding to this one either 'cause i already did in my post)
I won't be allowed to drive
I won't be allowed to vote (although one could argue that has already been taken away when the vote is pretty much meaningless)
I won't be able to choose any religion (or none)(and also could argue that right has already been taken away; I do not think I could publicly announce my atheism and not suffer for it)
I am not convinced that this is true; See the Patriot Act, Section VI won't be allowed to

[woozle]

It sounds like you are arguing from a presumption that we should tolerate something because there are other things that are worse. Is that correct?

[roolet]

Not tolerate. Enjoy. Embrace. Love it and cherish it and use it with joy and spirit, in public, and frequently. A tool that is not used is a tool that should be discarded

[woozle]

I think I agree with everything you said except for this bit:The hand-wringing and anguish over where the country is headed is memetic and dangerous - it has a chilling effect on positive action and a deleterious effect on the ability to make a plan & follow through.
I would agree that some of the fretting is counter-productive by dint of being couched in rhetorical and/or emotional framing, but I do not see that such worrying is counter-productive in general; it seems to me that it is, by your own argument, done for productive ends -- and that it can (at least potentially) succeed at those ends, where failure to adequately fret will certainly not succeed at improving the situation

[roolet]

I do not know if actions taken out of fear and anger are ever productive. This is me saying so. There is a difference between worrying - fire/air reaction - and acknowledging and moving inexorably towards a goal - earth/water reaction. I suppose it is a matter of personal choice - I consider worrying to be a useless expenditure of energy. I may know what's wrong and act upon it but I do not worry on it

[woozle]

I'm not sure we're using the word "worrying" in the same sense that I was using it. You used the phrase "hand-wringing and anguish"; I used the words "fretting" and "worrying" as a shorthand to refer to... whatever it was you were talking about there.

I'm not entirely sure exactly what you were talking about. My song? Harena's comments? Glenn Beck on Fox News? In any case, I see the first two as productive and entirely in the spirit of cherishing independence. If we are always cheerful, that sends a signal that the situation is tolerable -- even if our words state that it is not

[roolet]

One of the peculiar side effects of browsing LJ on a Blackberry is that Flash does not even exist on pages that I load - not even placeholders show up. Therefore, it wasn't until your most recent comment that I opened the ENTIRE post on a desktop and saw that there was a video. I haven't viewed it yet. I am enjoying a silent day today. I have never seen Glenn Beck either.

Needless to say, I've been addressing only Harena's text and your replies. I see Harena's self-described rant as being a bit too heavy on the air/light on earth for my tastes. Depression to me is like alcohol to a recovered alcoholic - I cannot go anywhere near it ever again. Given the past 10 years of my own life, it is mandatory that I be cheerful 99.999% of the time. I've learned how to do so even when reading Al-Jazeera and Wikinews, so it's pretty well-entrenched at this point.

I have no problem discussing politics but do not enjoy arguing about politics. I do not possess any capacity for forgiveness whatsoever. Arguing bad

[harena]

My initial comments were made to try and cheer Harena up as I do not like to see my friends being unhappy & ranty on any day, let alone national holidays involving explosions, beer and hot dogs.

And contrary to what it may have looked like, i do appreciate that effort on your part! It's a sad day when i'm the one being cynical and snarky! *ferret huggles*

[soaringdragon42]

Thank you, Roolet, for being much more eloquent than I.

Actions speak louder than words. I would say inaction probably does as well.

[roolet]

You're welcome! I am flattered. ^_^