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<blockquote data-quote="zubenelgenubi" data-source="post: 5116603" data-attributes="member: 63706">I&#039;m glad you brought Declaration of Independence up. That is the founding document of this nation, and that line provides the very key to interpreting the constitution. This was revolutionary thinking at the time. Most people were still trying to grasp these ideals within the context of the systems they grew up in. The man considered most responsible for drafting that document was himself a slave-owner. Did he free his slaves the second the US declared its independence? Nope. Does that make the truth of his words less authoritative? Nope. Is the truth of those words diminished by the failure of everyone to live up to them over and over? Nope. Those words describe an ideal towards which we must align ourselves.We will fail, over and over, as we have for centuries, but we will only ultimately fail if we give up and lose our orientation towards life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for everyone. Those words aren&#039;t a guarantee of any particular set of circumstances. They are a guarantee that we will be free to pursue the life we want regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in. Our rights only being constrained by the rights of others and the obligations we freely accept upon ourselves. Freedom to face the consequences of our choices, good or bad, freedom to learn from our mistakes and enjoy the fruits of our good decisions. Freedom to grow as people and follow the dictates of our own consciences. A nanny state inhibits that personal growth, as it removes the sense of responsibility from the individual. That, to paraphrase CS Lewis, makes the nanny state the most oppressive form of tyranny.</blockquote>

[QUOTE="zubenelgenubi, post: 5116603, member: 63706"] I'm glad you brought Declaration of Independence up. That is the founding document of this nation, and that line provides the very key to interpreting the constitution. This was revolutionary thinking at the time. Most people were still trying to grasp these ideals within the context of the systems they grew up in. The man considered most responsible for drafting that document was himself a slave-owner. Did he free his slaves the second the US declared its independence? Nope. Does that make the truth of his words less authoritative? Nope. Is the truth of those words diminished by the failure of everyone to live up to them over and over? Nope. Those words describe an ideal towards which we must align ourselves. We will fail, over and over, as we have for centuries, but we will only ultimately fail if we give up and lose our orientation towards life, liberty and the pursuit of happiness for everyone. Those words aren't a guarantee of any particular set of circumstances. They are a guarantee that we will be free to [I]pursue[/I] the life we want regardless of the circumstances we find ourselves in. Our rights only being constrained by the rights of others and the obligations we freely accept upon ourselves. Freedom to face the consequences of our choices, good or bad, freedom to learn from our mistakes and enjoy the fruits of our good decisions. Freedom to grow as people and follow the dictates of our own consciences. A nanny state inhibits that personal growth, as it removes the sense of responsibility from the individual. That, to paraphrase CS Lewis, makes the nanny state the most oppressive form of tyranny. [/QUOTE]

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