How Do We Measure "Freedom"

I decided to continue, this morning, with my commentary on applying Cultural Relativism in our assessment of other nations in comparison to our own, when I saw the usual bevy of idiotic Conservative posts on Facebook, this morning.

"Oregon Sheriff Refuses to Enforce Any 'Overreaching and Unconstitutional Firearms Restrictions."

Really?  I suppose that the same person who posts this agrees, also, that clerks who refuse to marry gays and lesbians because it violates their constitutional right to Freedom of Religion, or pharmacists who use the same argument to justify refusing to supply women with contraceptives?

Likely, no.

How we measure "freedom" is something that irks me on a near-daily basis.

When gun advocates harp on about their rights being trampled upon, I have to wonder what the hell they're talking about.  The 2nd Amendment gives Americans the right to bear arms - what it does not do is define "arms" in terms of weaponry.

It does not say that Americans are free to own and wield (which is one definition of "bear," as is "tolerate") whatever weapons they damn well please, regardless of whether or not it's safe for the general public.

In fact, a favorite argument of any gun enthusiast is "Why not ban knives and cutlery?"  Well, the Switchblade Knife Act of 1958 (amended 1986, codified at 15 U.S.C. §§1241-1245) DOES in fact ban certain knives.

Several states have bans on crossbows, including Texas, the bastion of idiot separatists everywhere.

Try getting a machine gun, lately?  You likely haven't been able to since 1986, and you know what?  The NRA Vice-Dune, Wayne LaPierre, even was in favor of letting it stand if it meant that a larger bill undoing much of Kennedy's Gun Control Act would pass.

So, what, you may ask, is the point of all this random weapon fact-checking?

Why is it that we measure one of our Constitutionally guaranteed freedoms in terms of product ownership?

The Constitution has always come with limits attached.

You can, for example, say anything you want; you cannot, however, make shit up and besmirch someone's credibility (libel/slander).  Luckily, the government cannot punish speech...unless it is "directed to inciting, or is likely to incite, imminent lawless action.

You can't commit perjury, which if anyone has ever seen a large corporation get up on the witness stand and, in the face of overwhelming evidence to the contrary, lie their asses off and get away with it, you know only applies to people without enough money to fight the charge.

Eminent Domain (6th Amendment, for those who don't know their Bill of Rights) is most certainly one that several people who scream about the 2nd Amendment will say is taken advantage of on a regular basis.  How do we define the "Speedy Trial" portion of the 6th Amendment?  By whose measure?

So really, what is the big fuss all about?

It's about a handful of conspiracy theorists who believe that their safety is ensured by owning whatever weapons they damn well please, to hell with the safety of other people.

Banning specific classes of firearms is NOT "shredding the 2nd Amendment" or "shitting on the Constitution."  The Right's "Dear Leader" meme certain is funny, given the far more dictatorial Republican regimes which they wholeheartedly supported and fought to bring to fruition.

If people really want to see "disarming," perhaps they should go live in a nation like Australia, which legislated a mandatory buyback and wholesale destruction of assault weapons in the late 90s...and which hasn't seen a mass shooting, since.

I'm sorry that you believe your 2nd Amendment right to own weapons designed to kill as many people as possible in the least amount of time is being infringed upon, but frankly, my life, the lives of my friends, and the lives of the other people around you take precedence over your right to shoot your gun into the air and scream "AHHHHHHH!!!"

We, as Americans, need to stop measuring our "freedom" by what we can and cannot own, and start measuring it by more important things -

that we are able to vote (unless we're a felon);

that we can choose our leaders;

that we have our children can receive a free education (which is historically a pretty fucking novel development, regardless of the quality of education);

that we can organize and fight for better wages and benefits;

that we can work in a safe environment and be recompensed when our safety is taken for granted;

that we have police and firefighters who, for the large part, actually protect us instead of arrest us for being dissidents;

that we have a press that allows us to basically say whatever the hell we want (regardless of whether or not it's true - Faux News, Rush Limbaugh);

that we can have dozens of different denominations of a single religion in one small town, and they can coexist without killing each other;

that no one has to openly profess their nationality or allegiances;

that we are not forced into military service;

that we can opt out of going to war;

that if injustice exists in our nation, we have a way to redress our grievances.

If you believe that your "freedom" is being taken away just because you can't purchase a Bushmaster .223 Assault Rifle, you're not only a gun nut; you're an idiot.