Hey, Interesting topic so I thought I'd throw my 2c in for the comments I found intersting...
On Mon, 1 Jul 2002, Chris Dooley wrote: > He goes on further to tell me that the many of the "reasons" we ended up > having the revolutionary war back then are not only in effect and law > now but are worse in the present time (brought on by the us govt and big > business). Reasons being things such as percentage of income to taxes, > privacy, owning a gun, and basic freedoms, etc etc.... > > He says that we had many problems including that back then the british > wanted 5% of everything we earned to go to them, yet now we pay close to > at least 25% or more of everything we earn in sales taxes, income taxes > (which are stolen from us before we even see it), property taxes, estate > taxes, etc taxes..... > Your points are right on, but you also have to realize USA in an entirely different type of place than it was some 200 years ago. You're main beef seems to be taxes. No doubt because that's where you can easily see the effects of having a big government. 200 years ago when the govt was small, the government didn't bear the burden of any sorts of public services: think transportation, hospitals, parks, military, police, fire, etc. All of these services come at a price, and the price we pay is taxes. If you think our taxes are bad, you should see the taxes in some european countries where they are much worse. Certain things like gasoline there are taxed MUCH higher there (which is why gas there costs upwards of $5/gallon). If you want to get rid of these public benefits, then vote appropriately (you did vote in your last local election, didn't you?) > So my question and wonder is this.... is the us govt more oppressive > now than the british govt was back in the time of the revolutionary war > (and thus the birth of the holiday of July 4th) and is the holiday just > a spoof of celebrated so called independence and freedom? What are your > thoughts? Without knowing much about the british govt back then, I can't comment. In America if you don't like the way things are, you have the ability to change those things. Do something about it! > Now i know we do have it better than some countries believe me, (of > course there are many that are "more free" with different social system > structures that do just as well economically) but i am wondering if all > those years i have celebrated "freedom" (as i was taught and learned) > has really been just a waste brought on by the propaganda of the > traditional american holiday in general? And is all this money i and > many others spent over the years on fireworks and barbecues etc etc, > though put to good use and fun and i do not regret it (hee-hee), been > just a waste of our resources to celebrate something that doesnt hold as > much truth as it used to? In my mind the USA is still one of the best places to live in the world. Our basic freedom rights are still the same as they were 200 years ago when the Constitution was written. > And though i question the logic of the holiday (less than my friend) i > will be out in force with the grill and the new mix cd....just bc i like > to party..... That's what it's all about. Don't forget to pay respect to all those who have died before us fighting so that we could enjoy a wonderful holiday this Thursday. -Dave ___________________________________________________________________ The D mailing list http://www.djdenise.com/ Check out the new forum! http://www.djdenise.com/forum/
