I had a two hour long 3,000 word post written, which might have been the best post I have ever made and somehow, clicking in the spellcheck caused it disappear, so here we go again.
This debate has been narrowed down to street corner profits and office preachers, but that is not the problem facing the forcing of beliefs on citizens. These people spoken about in this thread lack an enforcement mechanism to truly force their beliefs onto you. The government, and the system in which we live is nothing more than one's forcing their beliefs on you. I would love to say that we are governed by common sense and logic, but that is not the case at all.
All of the posters on this forum come from nations that are based on some sort of social contract. Most social contracts in effect today are the result of John Locke or Jean Jacques Rousseau. The American economic system is based on the economic systems of Adam Smith and Milton Friedman. Say what you will about these theories, but the fact remains this is where we are. Without further analysis, we are already living under the brutal hand of another's beliefs. Social contracts tell you how to find liberty, which is a contradiction in and of itself. I have no problem with the system, but it would be naive of me to think that no one is forcing anyone's beliefs on me. The laws in our nations spring from the puritanical beliefs of the sixteenth and seventeenth centuries. Progress has been made in evolving our legal systems, however laws dealing with censorship, obscenity, and even when and liquor can be sold are based on belief systems hidden under the veil of public safety and concern. Blue laws and drug laws are based on the beliefs of the evils of booze and drugs, with no regard for natural liberty and self-reliance.
Individuals lack an enforcement mechanism to truly force their beliefs on you. The example in the first post is an example of this. She can tell you that smoking is bad, and even limit your breaks, however, she cannot force you to quit smoking. What she is doing is simply espousing a belief. This is not a crime, and is actually a right provided for in the first amendment to our Constitution. It may be an annoyance to have hear her bullshit, but in the end, it is a small price to pay for you to maintain your right to tell her to fuck off, or petition the government for a redress grievances. I am an ardent believer in the first amendment. A lot of the nonsense I hear annoys, even offends me, however, I respect one's right to espouse nonsense in order to have the right to call it that. Someone may annoy you with their preaching of the benefits and Word of Jesus, however, they cannot force you to believe in the resurrection and ascension. The problem lies when a body with the power to enforce their beliefs begins a transformation of the every day life of America.
Both sides of the aisle are guilty of enforcing belief systems. The Patriot Act is enforcement of legislation to limit liberty. The tax code is enforcement of a belief system to limit and redistribute property. It is all done under the guise of protecting society from dangers foreign and domestic. Some of these measures are necessary, but that makes them no less an infringement on our natural rights. Simply, the enforcement of one's beliefs is essential part of government, and always has been. We will never be able to escape the grasp of a belief system that may run contradictory to our own, however, when the balance of order is overstepped or upset, that is where the dangers lie.
The harmful beliefs can be religious, economic, environmental, etc. They truly run the gamut of human thought. Our legal system, as stated, is still based loosely on our puritanical beginnings of a nation. The systems of punishment are still biblical. Laws forcing business to bend to the will of the natural world exist. Not all of our laws cause inherent harms, however some do, and it makes me wonder at what cost we are willing to enforce belief systems. I will provide some examples from the current state of America which I feel cause harms that are more than negligible.
1. Cap and Trade - This is legislation that forces companies to buy carbon credits for an emissions beyond a standard set by the environmental lobby. This is done in the name of global warming. Global warming is a theory. For every piece of evidence claiming it to be true, I can sing from the mountaintops that global warming does not account for the thickening of the ice on Greenland or the reduction of tropical activity in the Atlantic during the last two hurricane seasons. The term global warming has even disappeared in favor of climate change. It is tough to declare that the Earth's heating when there were blizzards on the Atlantic seaboard in April. I, personally, think that it is arrogant of us to assume that man can undo the cycles of climate that have existed for four billion years in only one hundred plus years of industry. When man has battled nature in the past, man has always lost. Whether it be Katrina's refusal to allow man made barriers from keeping the sea from moving inland, tsunamis in the Indian Ocean, tornadoes, earthquakes in San Francisco, etc., nature's path of destruction cannot be limited by man. There is no reason to think that we can aid it as well. Frankly, when there is more water coverage on the Earth's surface, more sun is reflected, cooling the Earth's temperature. This allows for more surface area of land to be exposed, which absorbs heat, and melts the ice caps a bit, releasing more water to reflect sun, and so on. For billions of year, this is how the Earth's climate has changed, and it is pure arrogance to assume we can undo this a century. I am not naive enough to say that there is no harm in releasing chemicals into the air, but the harms presented by Al Gore just don't strike me as being legitimate.
The government's misguided belief is one thing, but enacting legislation in its honor is quite another. This theory is costing businesses billions of real dollars. Where do you think these costs get passed onto? You're right, the consumer. Now, the extra few cents for tires is not a big deal to the individual consumer, however, this is how we get inflation. The same tire costs more than it did a year ago, meaning the dollar has lost purchasing power. Those few cents add up when making purchases of millions of items. Now, the entire economy is set back by this inflation. Furthermore, the dropping value of the dollar affects every other economy in the world, in that large commodity trades are paid for with dollars, and then converted into home currency. The standard currency's retention of value is key to the stability of the global marketplace. Worldwide inflation would cause people to starve, create a new underclass, and cause widespread poverty and death.
This shows how an enforcement mechanism makes forcing one's beliefs a bit more than the annoyance felt in the office setting. Enjoy that cigarette more now, knowing that the bitch in the office doesn't effect global policy when she talks out of her ass.
2. Atheists vs. Christmas - Now, my war on Christmas spectacular will be published soon enough. I have started some research already, so expect 5,000 words on why this Jew loves Christmas. Here is a small preview.
For all of the times in this nation, municipalities, state governments, and even the White House have had holiday displays. This was not an issue until recently. Minority groups found this offensive, and menorahs and, I'm sorry for my ignorance on the subject, Kwanzaa artifacts were added in addition to the Christmas Trees and lights. This was suitable until the recent atheist requests that all of this be removed. It is defined as an endorsement of God (even if these are pagan symbols all relating the Egyptian sun god), and the atheists are offended. Now, the country id awash in legislation resulting from court decisions that forces removal of the symbols. What's next? No fireworks on the 4th of July, because anti-war zealots feel that it is an endorsement of war? Excuse me for hyperbole, but I don't think it's that much of a stretch. At the court's request, cities are now required to endorse atheism, by default, as the national religion. I live in a city called Corpus Christi, named after Jesus by the Hispanic settlers of the area. I wonder what this city will be called in ten years.....
The problem lies in that the court systems decisions to remove these symbols fuels paranoia and isolation. I believe Hillary Clinton was right when she paraphrased, "It takes a village to raise a child." Social values and norms must be instilled in children, and this is just another example of how those norms and values are muddled to a point where children don't get to identify with any culture. No culture is now preferable any sense of belonging a community has been known to foster. The court system has made us all question our neighbors and pigeonhole each other into roles. The government would rather pit us against each other in the season of togetherness, which only fosters a widening of the divisions already present in this nation.
3. Government support of unions - The harmful belief here is that business is out to crush its own employees. This belief fostered Anti-Trust legislation. This legislation was designed to protect worker safety and ensure that business did not collude to keep wages down. Well, the safety part of unions has been null and void since the enacting of OSHA, and the wage situation has gotten out of control. UAW workers get three times as much to build cars as do non UAW workers in Toyota's and Nissan's Texas and Ohio plants. This sounds all well and good, but it is harmful. UAW workers for GM get $45,000+ every year to screw on lug nuts. Seems like a good job. Well, it gets even better. UAW workers get lifetime insurance and full salary for five years after retirement, and then their massive pension kicks in. Awesome!
Well, not exactly that awesome. The negotiating power of the UAW is what has led to the destruction of the American auto industry. All of these costs have been passed on to the consumer, and now comparable Japanese cars cost thousands less than the American version. Unless one is swept by an overbearing sense of Patriotism, they buy the Camry and pass on the Impala. Ten of the top twelve selling cars in America are foreign. The belief that business is inherently evil has led, overtime, to increased union power, and has destroyed the American auto industry. Furthermore, even American companies buy foreign steel for their cars. The steel workers union has raised the prices of steel so high, that the only hopes for GM and Ford to compete are in buying Chinese and Japanese metals.
It is easy for the government to point to million dollar bonuses for executives, and demonize success. The problem is that these bonuses are a tiny percentage of the losses experienced by GM and Ford, and that the bane of these companies is the unions.
4. The Patriot Act - Now, I am going to start this by stating that I am not that offended by the law. I have nothing to hide, and feel that the government has better things to do than listen in on a phone call from me to a friend trying to get an eighth to get through the weekend. That being said, the belief that safety is more important than liberty has fundamentally changed American life. The overarching reach of conspiracy and racketeering laws has forced real changes on American life. Ben Franklin said, and I paraphrase, "One who values safety over liberty deserves neither." How safe are we in a nation where the government can restrict our liberty on a whim? For all I know, the Patriot Act could be step one in a government attempt to exert more control over us. Step one was Bush taking away our freedom. Step two is Obama's attempt to take our money. Step three will likely be the next President's attempts to take away our minds.
We cannot let one's beliefs on about our safety restrict the balance between order and liberty. The Patriot Act definitely restricts liberties. It is harder to travel. We face more government intervention in every aspect of life.
This is all the result of one misguided belief.
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We will never be able to live free from other people's beliefs. Society is empowered by the subjugation of certain individual liberties in order to benefit the electorate. As long as politicians pander for votes, someone's beliefs will be forced upon all of us. The key is elect officials who understand that maintaining a balance between order and liberty. Ordered society requires that some beliefs be enforced as law, however, we need to determine what point the enforcement of these beliefs tramples on the individuals right to progress and mature.
In conclusion, be thankful that the street corner prophets and office preachers do not have an enforcement mechanism to force their beliefs upon you. They have every right to tell you what they believe, but no right to force you to buy in. The government, on the other hand, does have mechanisms in place to force you to fall in line, and that is where the true dangers lie.
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