I'll take this opportunity to introduce myself to the newcomers by stating my beliefs. Those of you who are curious about my personal life (although I can't understand why) can peruse my website.
Eric Mitchell wrote:
"Individual rights do not trump on the rights of the collective. Government is there to be sure the collective rights are intact."
I want to thank Eric Mitchell for clearly articulating the fundamental difference between libertarian/conservative thought and so-called progressive/leftist thought. Despite all the nonsensical rhetoric I read from people here who've apparently learned political philosophy from the back of their union card or from their pappy's knee about who democrats and republicans are, this statement from Eric boils down our fundamental differences in how we see the Constitution and the role of government in a free society.
Those on the left, as described by Eric, see this nation as a collective, with the role of government as one that decides "who gets what" in managing that collective. The majority rules and the government is king. Period.
Those of us on the right see this nation as a population of individuals, each pursuing happiness as we see fit, protected by the Constitution, whose primary role is to define the LIMITS of government and to protect the minority from the tyranny of the majority. There are no "collective rights" in the Constitution, but rights of individuals. True conservatives consider democracy "mob rule" and that the true measure of a free society is one that includes the right to own private property, free market economics, and the rights of free speech and association. And the biggest obstacles to these freedoms are taxation, regulation and litigation. Regardless of what you've heard from your unionist pappy, that's what a true conservative is. Trust me. All of our political positions flow from those beliefs.
This difference in philosophy goes a long way in explaining why we can't see eye to eye on something as simple as a smoking ban.
So I offer these definitions in hopes that future debates can be conducted with intellectual honesty, with a mutual understanding that we have honest philosophical differences on all topics of public policy that can be traced to our fundamental beliefs in the role of government in a free society and not for any other reason.
Dennis Tester Mac-Groveland
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