What have senior Germans and Russians to tell us about Liberty?

Question

Those of you who have watched liberty slip away in the name of security, as warned by Benjamin Franklin, will you please tell us about your experiences under a "secure" regime with less and less personal liberty?

Wow! Mistaken again! I'm a Libertarian, not a Democrat. My point was that the Nazis and the Soviets had more in common than most suspect. Totalitarianism is the issue. Giving up liberty to gain security simply does not work. I was asking elderly Germans and Russians to tell us about that.

Answer 1

Relax pal. I come from the X-Soviet Union. You are not loosing any liberties. When it does become too "secure" people usually vote it out in this country. And that is why I prefer to live here, and not there.

Answer 2

You've got this the wrong way, friend. First of all, what liberty? When East Germany turned communist, the only predence most of us had been used to was two world wars, preceded by a pretty sunny monarchy, and followed by awful crisis nonstop in every way. So, any order was a good order, whoever brought it was welcome, we didn't care what flag they were waving. If anything, we saw liberties increasing. It's on a different sheet that the western world ended up doing better materially as the decades unfolded, and we did long for that wealth. The lack of liberties arrived after the fact, and the political events which you say made liberties slip away actually created the awareness for that. Please don't tell me you are also one of those people who think if America adopts socialized healthcare, next thing will be mandatory incarceration in siberian gulags for all 3-year-olds because friend, that's just nuts.

Answer 3

What liberty did I supposedly lose?

If you want to talk about lost liberty and freedom and rights in the name of Security, let's start with Social Security. My money is being taken away and redistributed to other people, in an act contrary to the Constitution and every belief this country was founded upon. Same with all welfare.

We could add items in the war on Poverty, the war on Drugs, the government control of education, campaign finance 'reform', 'sensible' gun laws, etc that have stolen my rights, my freedoms, my birthright. Invasion of privacy was codified with the introduction of income tax and complete government access to your private financial affairs.

Not being able to chitchat with foreign terrorists is not a right or a liberty in wartime, and never has been. Illegal combatants have never had any rights - except the right to summary execution - even per Geneva.

So, before you go spouting off about some nebulous belief that somehow we've lost our liberty, you better prove you know what you're talking about, rather than just being some Demo-parrot.

Answer 4

Old Germans and Old Russians, who live in Germany and Russia respectively, are living a lot better now than compared to Hitler and Stalin respectively.

Answer 5

So you don't care to hear from those of us who think you are full of crappola?

Typical.

Answer 6

nothing at all.