Since yesterday’s test pattern post featuring USN Veteran and renown science fiction author, Robert Heinlein struck a nerve for some, I felt that this quote is an excellent follow up for all of us. Especially those who think that everything is about them. I can assure you, for once, this one is really about you.
I think we all follow the second part, that we don’t follow rules we find obnoxious. It’s human nature. But I don’t know that we all accept moral responsibility for all of our actions. It’s something to strive for, always.
That is by far the best thing I have read in awhile. It sums up true freedom. People can opress you only if you let them. You can be imprisoned in the middle of a field, and you can be free in the middle of a cell.
“O God, I could be bounded in a nutshell and count myself a king of infinite space, were it not that I have bad dreams.”
I love you man. You are free. Liberty begins between the ears folks. Awesome messgage. Tell us who’s messing with you and we’ll ban them fom Texas! We don’t take kindly to internet tough guys here. Don’t mess with the union. Don’t mess wit SolSys. We believe in armed citizenry here too. Move to Mexico if you don’t. Soldier Systems, the Fighter Nation is behind you. Keep up the good journalism! The truth rings like a bell.
Well said SSD – well said.
Spot on
“Secrecy is the keystone to all tyranny. Not force, but secrecy and censorship. When any government or church for that matter, undertakes to say to its subjects, “This you may not read, this you must not know,” the end result is tyranny and oppression, no matter how holy the motives. Mighty little force is needed to control a man who has been hoodwinked in this fashion; contrariwise, no amount of force can control a free man, whose mind is free. No, not the rack nor the atomic bomb, not anything. You can’t conquer a free man; the most you can do is kill him.”
I’m not sure why the discussion of the previous Heinlein quote turned into something that was perceived as anti-LE.
Heinlein was talking about the larger concept of maintaining the appropriate balance of power (force) between the state and the citizen in a free society. He was not being derogatory toward LE.
He always preached personal responsibility but was also a strong believer in the citizen having an obligation to the larger society. See “Starship Troopers” and any of his political writings.
Heinlein is always worth revisiting every few years. Definitely one of the small handful of writers who most challenged my adolescent assumptions, provoked self-growth and values definition, and inspired my military service. Probably left me a little too idealistic, but I absorbed enough of RAH’s wry curmudgeon outlook to keep the world in perspective. I love putting Heinlein books into kid’s hands – it’s PSYOP’ing the next generation!
Heinlein was a wonderful author and if you have not read any of his works I would advise picking up starship troopers. The movie was an abomination of the original message. Troopers and The Moon is a Harsh Mistress are two of my favorites and worth reading.
I’ve always liked
‘Bread and Circuses’ is the cancer of democracy, the fatal disease for which there is no cure. Democracy often works beautifully at first. But once a state extends the franchise to every warm body, be he producer or parasite, that day marks the beginning of the end of the state. For when the plebs discover that they can vote themselves bread and circuses without limit and that the productive members of the body politic cannot stop them, they will do so, until the state bleeds to death, or in its weakened condition the state succumbs to an invader—the barbarians enter Rome.”
I didn’t see comments to previous posts but if law enforcement to exception, good!
If there was ever profession that needed to critically examine what they do and how it relates to a free people it’s LE.
An uncomfortable government employee so my favorite government employee.