America is the Best, Most Free, and Most Prosperous Country on Earth: Change My Mind

[renniks]

Oh, you're delusional.

That's what the second amendment was originally drafted for, to protect us against the possibility of a tyrannical government.

 

[FenderTL5]

That's what the second amendment was originally drafted for, to protect us against the possibility of a tyrannical government.

No it's not.
The Second Amendment was originally drafted to provide for a citizen militia in lieu of a standing US military. The Continental Army had been disbanded and several were against the idea of an established military. If anything, the Second Amendment was for the exact opposite of what you claim, it was established to protect the government, in fact the language of the amendment expressly states as such when is says, "being necessary to the security of a free State."

 

[RDKirk]

English is the best language!

(Mainly because invasions and migrants landing in Britain de-purified it over and over and made it a mongrel tongue)

As far as I can tell, you can pretty much screw up everything in English grammar and still be understood as long as you have the vocabulary and word order correct.

 

[Dare 2 B A Daniel]

That's what the second amendment was originally drafted for, to protect us against the possibility of a tyrannical government.

But it doesn't, now, does it? Who's going to lead the "well-ordered militia" to the White House steps to restore the freedoms that have been smuggled away from us? Sorry, but guns are obsolete for law-abiding citizens. Computers are King in today's arena of governmental tyranny. Guns only help police, the military, hunters/sportsmen, and murderers.

 

[RDKirk]

No it's not.
The Second Amendment was originally drafted to provide for a citizen militia in lieu of a standing US military. The Continental Army had been disbanded and several were against the idea of an established military. If anything, the Second Amendment was for the exact opposite of what you claim, it was established to protect the government, in fact the language of the amendment expressly states as such when is says, "being necessary to the security of a free State."

Remember that at the time, "free State" did not refer to the United States, it referred to each of the several States. The purpose of the state militias was to protect the state (Delaware, Virginia, New York, et cetera) from the federal government.

Any state could have written a gun law similar to Switzerland's, and that would have been just fine.

 

[JackRT]

Okay I stand corrected, you can carry a little girly knife.

Women work in kitchens that use great big knives --- a bit smaller than a claymore.

 

[DaisyDay]

Basic laws on knives
It's illegal to: sell a knife to anyone under 18, unless it has a folding blade 3 inches long (7.62 cm) or less. carry a knife in public without good reason, unless it has a folding blade with a cutting edge 3 inches long or less.

Okay I stand corrected, you can carry a little girly knife.

What kind of knife do you carry in your pocket?

 

[renniks]

No it's not.
The Second Amendment was originally drafted to provide for a citizen militia in lieu of a standing US military. The Continental Army had been disbanded and several were against the idea of an established military. If anything, the Second Amendment was for the exact opposite of what you claim, it was established to protect the government, in fact the language of the amendment expressly states as such when is says, "being necessary to the security of a free State."

Their solution was to make sure that the government drew its military power from the citizens themselves. That is the meaning of the much misinterpreted preamble to the Second Amendment: “A well regulated militia, being necessary to the security of a free state.” The idea was to rely for our defense primarily on an armed citizenry that can be called up as a militia. If the people themselves are the military power of the state, then that power cannot be used against the people. That’s what they meant when they called this system “necessary to the security of a free state.”

 

[NightHawkeye]

Isn't it important to consider the extent to which freedoms are available rather than a meaningless "yes-or-no" status?

I was responding to a very specific question about what freedom Americans have that citizens in other countries do not have.

Americans have free speech. American speech cannot be impeded for political expediency as happens regularly in other countries ... despite what denizens of PC want everyone to believe.

There is a reason the founding fathers gave Americans the right to free speech. They had seen the negatives of politically stifled speech and didn't want to burden their heirs with it.

 

[renniks]

I

What kind of knife do you carry in your pocket?

Actually prefer to carry on my belt. And the answer is whichever one I want. More to the point, I can carry a handgun too if I want.

 

[John P. Alexander]

Well, it's certainly more comfortable to call oneself a Christian in the US than most places, but I suspect the folks who call themselves Christians in China or North Korea more likely are.

Indeed. And the risk they take is why I'm grateful to be where I am. Christians in Africa, the Middle East, China, North Korea and other places are often heroes and people to look at as an example.

 

[Halbhh]

I think your chronology might be a little skewed. If I remember my history right (and I'm an avid WWII student) the Wehrmacht were already pouring (however unsuccessfully) into Leniningrad and Moscow even before the attack on Peral Harbor and the declaration of War had been given.

More like my writing. I tend to go fast and make errors, and not worry about them enough even when I notice them, as I did that one, a feeling it would be taken mean what I typed, lol.

 

[Halbhh]

Vasily Arkhipov (vice admiral) - Wikipedia

Yes, that was interesting. Some of the most friendly people I ever met also btw where Russians in NY City way back in the late 90s and early 2000s.

 

[Halbhh]

Glancing above, I guess I need to stop typing so fast and then not even looking at what happened. lol

Freedom, ya gotta love it!

 

[stevil]

North America and South America are continents. When people say "America" they mean the U.S.

I understand.
It is a bug bear with me though.

I find it supremely arrogant that USA folk refer to America and assume USA is America. America is a whole continent made up of the subcontinents North and South America and made up of many countries. Non USA countries aren't insignificant and people from all those countries are also Americans.

 

[Kaon]

As I was told this was a debatable topic, I figured I'd post here to let the debate ensue.

Definitions:

Best: most productive of good : offering or producing the greatest advantage, utility, or satisfaction

Free: enjoying personal freedom : not subject to the control or domination of another

Prosperous: marked by success or economic well-being

The mind of adults cannot be changed. Freedom, prosperity and superlatives are subjective.

 

[durangodawood]

I understand.
It is a bug bear with me though.

I find it supremely arrogant that USA folk refer to America and assume USA is America. America is a whole continent made up of the subcontinents North and South America and made up of many countries. Non USA countries aren't insignificant and people from all those countries are also Americans.

Many people all over world say "America" to refer to the USA.

 

[Kaon]

I understand.
It is a bug bear with me though.

I find it supremely arrogant that USA folk refer to America and assume USA is America. America is a whole continent made up of the subcontinents North and South America and made up of many countries. Non USA countries aren't insignificant and people from all those countries are also Americans.

America is synonymous with Columbia - from Columbus, the entity that allegedly discovered the Americas. America = Columbia (Feminine).

Technically, because Columbus was on a Spanish royal excursion to seek out resources (including land, and with the "help" of slaves), anywhere Columbus "claimed" was America - which is why "South" America is also America: the Spanish took slaves there as well.

It is actually an insult to use colloquial "America" to me, given the abominable history of Columbus et al; this may be why many outside of the USA refer to the USA as "the States."

 

[ThatRobGuy]

Like with anything, it depends on which particular "freedom" you're referring to.

...and even then, you're going to have different people giving different weighted values to the freedoms they particularly enjoy vs. the ones they're not terribly concerned about (or flat out don't like).

For instance, a marijuana advocate who hates guns is likely going to name a European country as "having the most freedom"...while conservative staunch gun rights advocate who's not too keen on people getting high is likely going to have a polar opposite stance.

You'd likely have better luck getting more people to agree on which nations have the least freedom, as most people from both sides of the US political spectrum would likely agree that nations like Syria or N. Korea have next to no freedom.

The only common thread is that you can predict the overall level of a nation's freedom by how much religious fundamentalism drives their public policy. ...and that's not necessarily exclusive to any one religion. Look at the fundamentalist Islamic societies, or the puritan societies of the days of old.

As to where societies, for which religion still plays a role, but the overwhelming majority of the partakers are religious moderates, tend to have much more freedom.

The more a religion dictates "the rules" (and the strictness of which they're to be adhered to) for everyone to follow, the less personal freedoms they have.

 

[CRAZY_CAT_WOMAN]

If paying taxes is a form of charity then at best
it is the lowest form of charity.

That's the way greedy and un Christian typically think. But taxes also improve streets and the area ,you live in. And service, that help the city or counties run.