(no subject)
On Radio 4 just now they had this quote from Benjamin Franklin:
"Those who give up liberty to gain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety"
It was used in connection with UK proposals for new govt powers in the fight against terrorism - ones that make one very uneasy about one's civil liberties.
My thoughts flew to the recent ruling in a US court that the president had the right to imprison any US citizen, arrested on US soil, and to keep them imprisoned without charge under the anti-terrorism measures currently in force.
God Help America!
But then again, expecting god to help you is another worrisome thing I watched lately on TV over here in the UK. It was a documentary about the growing numbers of people in America who are home-schooling their children so that they are brought up "God-fearing" and "walking the straight and narrow". How unnatural can you get? There's NOTHING straight in nature, and natural choices are as wide as the universe.
When a father proudly says he's "trained" his daughters to always praise their husbands, because they will be the future leaders of this country you know there's something badly wrong somewhere. I mean, quite apart from the sheer wrongness of all of that shit, I always thought that it was animals that you trained... people you educate.
"Those who give up liberty to gain a little temporary safety, deserve neither liberty nor safety"
It was used in connection with UK proposals for new govt powers in the fight against terrorism - ones that make one very uneasy about one's civil liberties.
My thoughts flew to the recent ruling in a US court that the president had the right to imprison any US citizen, arrested on US soil, and to keep them imprisoned without charge under the anti-terrorism measures currently in force.
God Help America!
But then again, expecting god to help you is another worrisome thing I watched lately on TV over here in the UK. It was a documentary about the growing numbers of people in America who are home-schooling their children so that they are brought up "God-fearing" and "walking the straight and narrow". How unnatural can you get? There's NOTHING straight in nature, and natural choices are as wide as the universe.
When a father proudly says he's "trained" his daughters to always praise their husbands, because they will be the future leaders of this country you know there's something badly wrong somewhere. I mean, quite apart from the sheer wrongness of all of that shit, I always thought that it was animals that you trained... people you educate.