Originally Posted by bearandbee
X2 - I had a political science professor in college who was from Bulgaria, spoke 5 languages fluently, and had lived and taught in several different countries. During one of our first lectures he drew a line from one end of a 6' whiteboard to the other and asked us to mark where we thought Democrats and Republicans were on the left/liberal to right/conservative continuum. I think we had them a foot or two apart when he erased both of them and drew them about an inch apart in roughly the middle of the board (and then proceeded to add communists, socialists, religious fundamentalists, etc further apart). He then proceeded to explain to us how the rest of the world (and Europe in particular) is amused at what a big deal we make out of our (relatively) minor disagreements.Tell that to the Russians, or the Chinese, or the Syrians, or the Iranians, or the...(Fill in the blank.)
I understand the slippery slope argument but sometimes I wonder if growing up in such a free and open country hasn't made us hyper-sensitive to even the most minor incursions. After all, the Declaration of Independence lists "life" and "the pursuit of happiness" alongside liberty as unalienable rights. If we uphold liberty at the expense of the other two are we not missing the point?
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