I was having a discussion with my flatmate this evening, and eventually it turned to politics (as it often does), and she mentioned her disgust at the fact that neither Obama nor Clinton had mentioned Liberty in any of their speeches or debates. She went on to ask if it was a generational thing, and if our generation were retarded and didn't care, or were apathetic and didn't care, but that either way Liberty didn't matter to them.
I was slightly taken aback, but she's a Paultard, so I'm often slightly shocked by her views, but it set me thinking.
Firstly, I was rather bewildered. Sure, the speeches of this run have been rather lacking in content. But that content should be towards things that actually matter. Healthcare, the economy, the war, military funding, gay marriages, education, that sort of stuff. Liberty, as an abstract concept, isn't as important as meals and Doctors, right?
That's a bloody dangerous line of reasoning right there.
Not a year ago I was verbally berating some people I know from Singapore for not caring about voting. Because their Government looks after them. They've given up a large degree of liberty in exchange for a high standard of living in a safe and comfortable place.
What's the balance?
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