(no subject)
It's funny how we mature. I remember in high school, which is as recently as I've seen a couple people who read this, arguing that gay marriage would be the bane of mankind nation-wide. Now I see evangelists on the news holding up signs citing Leviticus and I wonder how they can be so fucking stupid (and on so many levels).
That's not to say I've completely abandoned radical conservatism. For example, I do still believe that gay marriage shouldn't be recognized by the government. The twist is that I think straight marriage shouldn't be either. Someone explain to me, please, how pledging to the state that you love someone should be legal grounds for a change in tax status. Is it somehow better than living with that same person, raising a family, being financially successful and completely lawful, but never pledging your love through a state-endorsed channel? Someone explain to me why government has any place in my love life. And hell, you can write your own marriage vows stating that you promise to cheat on each other with strangers at least twice a week and they'll still be legally acceptable. It's a stupid idea to begin with and it's an example of the government sticking its nose where it has no right to be.
Likewise, I now think we shouldn't have invaded Iraq, though on this one I plead ignorance due to the propaganda the administration was pumping into the media. I also don't particularly care what substances you put into your body; it's your body, and as long as you don't significantly infringe on my rights, I have little reason to infringe on yours. Live and let live, live and let die, what you do to yourself is all the same to me (just don't ask me to pay taxes to fix you). Maybe it should just be "live and let."
In that light, I don't particularly have any problem with people shooting each other either. They should go to prison and/or be destroyed if the shooting was unjustified, of course, but I personally know men, civilians, who have killed multiple people with their private firearms, and I still know them to be good men. I like guns because guns even the odds. I still don't feel any particular drive to own one myself, but I like that people around me do. It makes me feel safer--as far as the ne'er-do-well knows, if all my neighbors have guns, I probably do too.
What it really comes down to is freedom before safety. Maybe the country will suffer shock for a little while if Kansas is forced to recognize gay marriages--but individual rights will increase. Maybe some people will die as a result of legalizing drugs, but what you do with your body is your right alone. Maybe the guy who lives in the next apartment down has a semi-automatic shotgun, but he now has the ability to defend himself if the LA Riots or the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina repeat themselves. I like individual rights, and if I have to give up a little temporary safety to achieve an essential liberty for others, I'm happy to do that.
That's not to say I've completely abandoned radical conservatism. For example, I do still believe that gay marriage shouldn't be recognized by the government. The twist is that I think straight marriage shouldn't be either. Someone explain to me, please, how pledging to the state that you love someone should be legal grounds for a change in tax status. Is it somehow better than living with that same person, raising a family, being financially successful and completely lawful, but never pledging your love through a state-endorsed channel? Someone explain to me why government has any place in my love life. And hell, you can write your own marriage vows stating that you promise to cheat on each other with strangers at least twice a week and they'll still be legally acceptable. It's a stupid idea to begin with and it's an example of the government sticking its nose where it has no right to be.
Likewise, I now think we shouldn't have invaded Iraq, though on this one I plead ignorance due to the propaganda the administration was pumping into the media. I also don't particularly care what substances you put into your body; it's your body, and as long as you don't significantly infringe on my rights, I have little reason to infringe on yours. Live and let live, live and let die, what you do to yourself is all the same to me (just don't ask me to pay taxes to fix you). Maybe it should just be "live and let."
In that light, I don't particularly have any problem with people shooting each other either. They should go to prison and/or be destroyed if the shooting was unjustified, of course, but I personally know men, civilians, who have killed multiple people with their private firearms, and I still know them to be good men. I like guns because guns even the odds. I still don't feel any particular drive to own one myself, but I like that people around me do. It makes me feel safer--as far as the ne'er-do-well knows, if all my neighbors have guns, I probably do too.
What it really comes down to is freedom before safety. Maybe the country will suffer shock for a little while if Kansas is forced to recognize gay marriages--but individual rights will increase. Maybe some people will die as a result of legalizing drugs, but what you do with your body is your right alone. Maybe the guy who lives in the next apartment down has a semi-automatic shotgun, but he now has the ability to defend himself if the LA Riots or the aftermath of Hurricane Katrina repeat themselves. I like individual rights, and if I have to give up a little temporary safety to achieve an essential liberty for others, I'm happy to do that.