IT'S A FREE COUNTRY - Or Is It?

[What Would Jesus Do?]

When I was a kid, you would sometimes hear a phrase that I don't think I've heard in decades.

"It's a free country."

"What makes you think you can do that?"​

​

"It's a free country."​

Sure, sometimes your Dad would step in and say "yes, it's a free country; but she's your mother and you're going to do what she tells you to do."

But often enough, "it's a free country" was a winning argument.

I wonder why we never hear that phrase any more?

Is that not a value that gets taught in today's America?

 

[hwk23]

It's a free country as long as you're willing to pay the penalty, interest or jail time.

 

[Colonoscopy]

I think you would say that about any action that was legal but received some sort of pushback.

 

[NDallasRuss]

It's not a free country at all. Your freedoms often end when the government can make more money.

You can "own" land a) as long as you pay the taxes on it, and b) until the government finds a better use for it - then they'll take it from you.

You can "own" a car, but you also have to pay the annual personal property taxes (at least here this is a thing) on that thing you already bought and paid taxes on once, if you want to keep driving it.

You can make money, but if you try to take some with you when you go somewhere, the police can take it from you without much of a reason, and you'll have to fight like hell to prove you deserve to get it back.

 

[Moral]

Highest prison population of any nation
Free country

Pick one

 

[Titanhawk2]

Freedom always comes with responsibility. You have the "freedom" to say what you want. It could come with the consequence that someone doesn't like what you said and punches you in the mouth, but you had the right to speak (and their action has it's own consequences). Too often today it seems many are more comfortable saying you don't have the freedom because it's not what they want you to be saying.

 

[B1GDeal]

It’s all subjective really. There’s a level of freedom, but at the end of the day corporations/special interests own our politicians so they make rules/laws that favor them and might benefit you too. But, if it doesn’t benefit you they don’t care so long as it benefits them. You can bitch about your politician, but even if you get a new one it’s not long before they are bought and paid for too. This is the system we have developed and I don’t see it ever changing. Corporations want to make as much as possible and politicians want to stay in office as long as possible so they make more money. They scratch each other’s backs while we the people argue with each other over mostly trivial stuff.

 

[SSG T]

If we're talking 2A, it's the freest country on earth. If we're talking about everything else, well, we used to be ranked, but getting upset by Denmark in the OOC bounced us out of the Top 25.

 

[markfromj]

the end of the day corporations/special interests own our politicians….

Bullshit. You voted them there.

 

[Warrior Poet31]

As the county has moved left our freedoms have been eroded.

 

[artradley]

It's not a free country at all. Your freedoms often end when the government can make more money.

You can "own" land a) as long as you pay the taxes on it, and b) until the government finds a better use for it - then they'll take it from you.

You can "own" a car, but you also have to pay the annual personal property taxes (at least here this is a thing) on that thing you already bought and paid taxes on once, if you want to keep driving it.

You can make money, but if you try to take some with you when you go somewhere, the police can take it from you without much of a reason, and you'll have to fight like hell to prove you deserve to get it back.

None of you are addressing his question,

Those things were all true when we were all growing up. But he is right, “It’s a free country!” Isn’t something you hear people say the way they used to. Why is that?

 

[hawksurprize]

When I was a kid, you would sometimes hear a phrase that I don't think I've heard in decades.

"It's a free country."

"What makes you think you can do that?"​

​

"It's a free country."​

Sure, sometimes your Dad would step in and say "yes, it's a free country; but she's your mother and you're going to do what she tells you to do."

But often enough, "it's a free country" was a winning argument.

I wonder why we never hear that phrase any more?

Is that not a value that gets taught in today's America?

I think it was more of slogan than anything,probably a nod to non conformity,which was a bit more prevalent.

 

[mnole03]

 

[CarolinaHawkeye]

As the county has moved left our freedoms have been eroded.

At least we can call our leader out if we want. You can't.

 

[The Tradition]

None of you are addressing his question,

Those things were all true when we were all growing up. But he is right, “It’s a free country!” Isn’t something you hear people say the way they used to. Why is that?

Americans aren't as patriotic as they used to be.

 

[NDallasRuss]

Americans aren't as patriotic as they used to be.

I think I would amend that to "blindly patriotic". I think there's an increased access to information compared to 30, 40, or more years ago that's allowed people to see that we're not really as free as we thought we were. We know more now about things our government does things like domestic surveillance, asset seizures, stop and frisk, etc. that go against the idea of a "free country". I've still got plenty of reasons to be patriotic and love my country, but I can also be realistic about the problems.

 

[NDallasRuss]

I'd also say it's the number of regulations now versus, say, in the 70s, that make us feel less free.

When I was a little kid we drove from TX to CA and my sister and I spent the trip in the back of a station wagon like it was a big playpen.

I used to ride in the back of a flat bed pickup truck as we drive down the road. Now there's a string of rules mandating where kids can/can't sit and how they have to be restrained at every age interval.

Trad used to be able to smoke anywhere, then just in a separate part of a building, then outside the building, then not within 50 feet of a building.

Building a shed out back used to mean grabbing a couple of buddies and building a shed. Now you have to pay to get a permit, build it to code, pay to schedule an inspection, and get the government's sign off.

These may make things better and safer, but they also mean fewer freedoms.

 

[Hondo_11]

When I was a kid, you would sometimes hear a phrase that I don't think I've heard in decades.

"It's a free country."

"What makes you think you can do that?"​

​

"It's a free country."​

Sure, sometimes your Dad would step in and say "yes, it's a free country; but she's your mother and you're going to do what she tells you to do."

But often enough, "it's a free country" was a winning argument.

I wonder why we never hear that phrase any more?

Is that not a value that gets taught in today's America?

It's not free if you come to HROT and speak against the party line!

 

[Warrior Poet31]

It's not free if you come to HROT and speak against the party line!

This place is a weird little leftist fishbowl.

 

[24 so far]

Highest prison population of any nation
Free country

Pick one

And not anywhere close to high enough.

 

[CarolinaHawkeye]

And not anywhere close to high enough.

All the 1\6 traitors should be in for life.

 

[CarolinaHawkeye]

This place is a weird little leftist fishbowl.

You can get your fascist ass out of here any time you want, mr/s russian bot.

 

[Warrior Poet31]

You can get your fascist ass out of here any time you want, mr/s russian bot.

Why? I'm fascinated by this place. The level of mental inconsistency here is astounding.

 

[CarolinaHawkeye]

Why? I'm fascinated by this place. The level of mental inconsistency here is astounding.

You should know a lot about that.