----- Original Message -----
From: "Dean Forster" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>
>
> I'm sure that you're going to say that it was along
> socialist lines, I can't find any proof right now.
> You're evading my point that the people who go to new
> lands, specifically this land, to build a life are
> revolting against oppression of one kind or another.
>
No, I'm making the point that those people didn't think in terms of rugged
individualism. They thought in terms of a God fearing community who needed
to act in the way they knew that God wanted them to.
They Puritians did hold property in community. They were not the rugged
individualists that modern Libertarians thought of. One can both be opposed
to opression, and believe in strong communities with the right to enforce
the mores of the community. Indeed, practically speaking, rugged
individualism doesn't work for most people. There is the occasional
wilderness scout, but most enterprises going west were in organized groups
with strict community rules.
One thing that seems to be repeated in your posts is the idea that accepting
community responsibility is inherently a denial of personal responsibility.
I don't see why that must be true. Indeed, I'd argue that radical
individualism denies the inherent interdependancy we all have.
> "Gun registration is not enough. Waiting periods
> are only a step. Registration is only a step. The
> prohibition of private firearms is the
> goal." - Janet Reno
I'd like the cite on that.
>
> "Our task of creating a socialist America can
> only succeed when those who would resist us have been
> totally disarmed." Sara Brady,
> Chairman, Handgun Control, The National Educator,
> January 1994, Page 3.
>
The wife of Reagans' press secretary is a socialist who wants to disarm
everyone? And she is so dumb as to make a statement like that? Did you get
that quote from a copy of the National Educator that you have in your hand?
If not, what website was it cited from?
I've seen other posters comment on this since I started this email, so I
won't go on. But, I would wager against these people actually making these
statements.
Dan M.
