Reptillian
Hamburgler Extraordinaire
My mom and I were having a discussion about this over the phone. Apparently, to paraphrase, she's of the opinion that freedom must be purchased with the blood of patriots. Do you agree or disagree?
-
Welcome to Religious Forums, a friendly forum to discuss all religions in a friendly surrounding.
Your voice is missing! You will need to register to get access to the following site features:- Reply to discussions and create your own threads.
- Our modern chat room. No add-ons or extensions required, just login and start chatting!
- Access to private conversations with other members.
We hope to see you as a part of our community soon!
Is freedom free?
- Thread starter Reptillian
- Start date
Disagree. Why would people even want such a form of freedom anyway?
Reptillian
Hamburgler Extraordinaire
I think it stems from a paranoid worldview in which America is thought of as a beacon of freedom, democracy, and opportunity that's constantly under siege by the oppressive dictators and tyrants of the world.
dust1n
Zindīq
Did you ask where she got the blood of patriots from? How much patriot blood does one need to buy our freedom. From who are buying it from again, foreigners separated by thousands of miles of land, not to mention the ocean?
Reptillian
Hamburgler Extraordinaire
That's why good freedom loving citizens need to pump out more babies! Go get em' future soldiers!
Near as I can tell, there's only so much freedom available in the world, so we buy it from other countries...for example, we get fancy iPads and Nike sneakers by encouraging slave labor in less developed nations.
Call me naive, but what I understand as political freedom is supposed to be sustained by efforts in areas very different from warfare.
dust1n
Zindīq
It seems to me like warfare brings on exactly the opposite of political freedom.
Reptillian
Hamburgler Extraordinaire
I think people have the American or French revolution in mind when they think of gaining freedom through war. They think of things like slaves gaining freedom after the civil war. (which was really more of a war over states rights with slavery tacked on as an issue to rally people behind)
If anything, military-based freedom is a self-sabotaging endeavor.
"No ******* ever won a war by dying for his country. He won it by making the other poor dumb ******* die for his country." - George S. Patton
I think that if you're going to purchase freedom with blood, it makes more sense to purchase it with the blood of tyrants than with the blood of patriots.
I agree to a point, but I wouldn't phrase it that way. I'd agree that it is naive to expect a free nation to exist without both civil and military peacekeeping forces. I'd agree, especially today, that we should honor those who have fought and died to preserve the integrity of our nations.
I disagree with the extremeness of the statement, however. "Must" is far too strong of a word, and patriotism is not, strictly speaking, necessary.
I disagree with the extremeness of the statement, however. "Must" is far too strong of a word, and patriotism is not, strictly speaking, necessary.
Bear in mind that slogans/sayings like this speak to very general things in a pithy but imprecise way.
Countries must defend themselves at times. This much is certainly true. My problem is that "blood"
is one of those histrionic & poetic words, while "patriot" makes me (a rabble rousing malcontent)
feel excluded. I see the point, but I sure wouldn't say it that way.
The Sum of Awe
Brought to you by the moment that spacetime began.
Freedom does require sacrifice - sacrifice fear
Freedom is negative and positive. It involves minimizing harm to life and maximizing well-being. The transfer of energy flow needs to be voluntarily directed however. Imposing artificial barriers based on creating more harm and causing ill-being will quickly become maladjusted. It seems that citizenship would need to fully come into its own.