Stop Chipping Away At My Freedom !

Many of us over here on the liberal side of the blogosphere are angry with the right-wingers for trying to take away many of our freedoms. They want to eavesdrop on our conversations, check up on what we are reading, and even intrude into our bedrooms, without just cause or a court order. We are right to resent these things.

But many of us want to ignore it when the left-wing tries to take away our freedoms. And they are trying to do it, just in a different way.

Look at what we used to call "free speech". Back in the early sixties, the left-wing got a jump-start on its resurgence by championing the cause of free speech -- perhaps the most important of our rights. Without free speech, there can be no real freedom.

But modern liberals seem to have forgotten that. The minute they got a little power, they invented the concept of "politically correct speech". Political correctness is not free speech -- it is not even close to free speech.

It is easy to allow speech that we agree with or approve of. The real test of free speech comes when we hear speech that offends or angers us -- even hateful speech. If we cannot allow this kind of speech, then we are not truly free.

Then came the war on cigarettes. They decided that tobacco wasn't good for us [doesn't matter if it's true or not], so they began to attack the tobacco companies and smokers. They have already gotten the cigarette companies to cough up billions of dollars. Now they are starting to ban smokers from workplaces -- even those areas outside where no second-hand smoke can possibly get to their delicate lungs.

Some cities are even trying to ban smoking in a person's own car or home. I can understand people not wanting my second-hand smoke, but when I am alone or only with other smokers, I should have the freedom to do as I wish. The liberal desire to save me from myself should not trump my desire to make my own choices, whether those choices are good for me or not.

Now the misguided liberals are going to tell us what we can eat and what we can't. Once again they are trying to save us from ourselves. It has started in New York, but you can bet it'll spread pretty soon. They want to make us eat healthy whether we want to or not. Today they tell us we can't get resturant food cooked the way we like it, because it's not good for our health.

I could put up with making resturants put up warnings [like the warnings on a pack of cigarettes], but they want to go further. Since I might not make the choice they want me to make, they have decided that I should not be able to choose at all, and a resturant should not be able to choose how it prepares its food.

This is just wrong in a country that is supposed to believe in freedom. The few freedoms that the right-wingers leave me, the left-wingers want to take away. I feel like I'm being attacked from both sides.

The sad thing is that both sides think they're doing something good. The conservatives say they are protecting my safety, and the liberals say they are protecting my health. I think both sides should just BUTT OUT OF MY LIFE!!!!

I still wish to make my own choices, even if you don't approve.