Tom Vogt writes:
>I guess that's just the government demonstrating the point I'm making,
>namely that it can take away at any time what it has given.
>
>it could also be the big bully showing the wannabe bully who's got more
>muscle.
OK, now I've got your definition of "right". It comes from the barrel of a
gun. There's no fundamental principle here. No "right". Just bald force.
Not much point in discussing it further then.
> > A good deal? You sound like one of those politicians that's always
>telling
> > me that what they want to do to^H^Hfor me is in my own best interests,
>and I
> > really should be glad to help out. (And if I'm not, well, it must be
> > because I'm "selfish", "mean-spirited", "intolerant", "reactionary" or
> > "elitist".)
>
>umpf, actually not. "good deal" here is definitely in the sense that
>it's a the best one you'll get. try running a business NOT along the
>lines the government has defined for you and you'll see what I mean.
"Your rights are exactly what we tell you they are. And you'd better hope
we don't change our minds about it."
(Or as Darth Vader said to Lando Calrissian: "I am altering the deal. Pray I
don't alter it any further.")
>we are now again speaking about the "natural" and "inalienable" rights
>of people, right?
Well, I was. Hard to reconcile that with the definition that says a right
is "whatever the Men With Guns decide to allow".
>oh, and where exactly is the line between protecting - enforcing -
>creating ?
Something that we all should think about. I think my opinion's already
clear.
This discussion has been very illuminating. It has shown that
European-style privacy laws, at their most basic level and despite the
high-minded rhetoric, represent theft of someone else's property (or, if you
prefer, denial of a "natural right"). Not that most of us didn't already
know that, but it's been interesting to observe as we dug through the layers
of justification. There at the bottom is, in your words, the "big bully
showing ... who's got more muscle."
- GH
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