Grizzly
New Member
Alright, let's see how this post comes out. It is sure to be jumbled, but I'm sure we can make something good out of the vomit I now shall spew...
What is the purpose of a government? Perhaps I don't mean to ask the purpose, as I understand the purpose, but what is the job, duty, role, responsibility of government and what is that which should be beyond its scope?
I have said many times that the government should have two roles. One is to protect me from you and you from me and the other role is to protect us from "them". Meaning the government's job is to protect my life and my property from those who wish to deprive me of it and also to protect our nation as a whole from invasion by other nations.
This, I believe, is the core of government responsibility. I also pretty much believe that it should be the entirety of government responsibility. However, there are a few things the gov't does which may also be beneficial. I think its role in providing education is good. I also like student loans. I think infrastructure is also a relatively important function. I mean, how else are roads going to be built?
I do however and in no uncertain terms think that our government, and that of every other nation ever to exist, has SEVERLY overstepped its bounds. I am not of the opinion that it is the government's job to regulate morality. Included in this are drug laws, sex laws and what the fuck I can watch on TV laws (lol).
Drug laws is how I originally came up with the idea for this post. Let's say that the gov't's job is to protect me from you and us from them. I'm sure we can all agree on this.
As such, thou shalt not kill and thou shalt not steal. Did I miss anything important?(seriously, it's an actual question) So, and here's where the drug laws come into play, we have a law against murder and a law against theft. As such, we also have designated penalties for both. That being imprisonment and/or death(of which I'm a HUGE fan, by the way).
I can understand the imetus for some drug laws. Drugs "cause" some people to commit murder and theft in order to support their habits. Thus, by criminalizing drugs we stop their use which stops the comission of drug induced murder and theft. LMMFAO! hah, yeah right!
Anyway, I don't understand why we need to criminalize drugs. If we already have laws dictating punishment for the byproduct of SOME people's drug use, then why create another law? The laws restricting their use not only don't stop but INCREASE their usage(that's another discussion), so why not just use the laws on the books to punish the acts that drugs "caused"?
Similarly, I fell the same regarding DUI. It's already illegal to kill someone by running them over with your car. Do we really need to make it illegal to drive drunk? Has it or will it ever stop people from driving drunk? Or does it only serve to increase the amount of "criminals" and people who are serving time for relatively harmless offenses?
This, however, brings up the question of whether the gov't should criminalize behaviors that may lead to the comission of the formerly mention murder and theft in an effort to stop the murder and theft from occuring. I say most certainly not! Unequivocably NO!
So, then, what is the purpose of a government?
Like I said, this post would be a huge bunch of shit that needs to be sorted out. I would really like to come up with a working theory of government. What is its job and what should be left to the invidual? Is education and infrastructure really a necessary role of the gov't? Is the restriction of my civil liberties its job? If my right to do that which I chose with my body may cause me to harm another, is it then the gov't's job/ability to restrict my rights as an individual?
What do you think?
What is the purpose of a government? Perhaps I don't mean to ask the purpose, as I understand the purpose, but what is the job, duty, role, responsibility of government and what is that which should be beyond its scope?
I have said many times that the government should have two roles. One is to protect me from you and you from me and the other role is to protect us from "them". Meaning the government's job is to protect my life and my property from those who wish to deprive me of it and also to protect our nation as a whole from invasion by other nations.
This, I believe, is the core of government responsibility. I also pretty much believe that it should be the entirety of government responsibility. However, there are a few things the gov't does which may also be beneficial. I think its role in providing education is good. I also like student loans. I think infrastructure is also a relatively important function. I mean, how else are roads going to be built?
I do however and in no uncertain terms think that our government, and that of every other nation ever to exist, has SEVERLY overstepped its bounds. I am not of the opinion that it is the government's job to regulate morality. Included in this are drug laws, sex laws and what the fuck I can watch on TV laws (lol).
Drug laws is how I originally came up with the idea for this post. Let's say that the gov't's job is to protect me from you and us from them. I'm sure we can all agree on this.
As such, thou shalt not kill and thou shalt not steal. Did I miss anything important?(seriously, it's an actual question) So, and here's where the drug laws come into play, we have a law against murder and a law against theft. As such, we also have designated penalties for both. That being imprisonment and/or death(of which I'm a HUGE fan, by the way).
I can understand the imetus for some drug laws. Drugs "cause" some people to commit murder and theft in order to support their habits. Thus, by criminalizing drugs we stop their use which stops the comission of drug induced murder and theft. LMMFAO! hah, yeah right!
Anyway, I don't understand why we need to criminalize drugs. If we already have laws dictating punishment for the byproduct of SOME people's drug use, then why create another law? The laws restricting their use not only don't stop but INCREASE their usage(that's another discussion), so why not just use the laws on the books to punish the acts that drugs "caused"?
Similarly, I fell the same regarding DUI. It's already illegal to kill someone by running them over with your car. Do we really need to make it illegal to drive drunk? Has it or will it ever stop people from driving drunk? Or does it only serve to increase the amount of "criminals" and people who are serving time for relatively harmless offenses?
This, however, brings up the question of whether the gov't should criminalize behaviors that may lead to the comission of the formerly mention murder and theft in an effort to stop the murder and theft from occuring. I say most certainly not! Unequivocably NO!
So, then, what is the purpose of a government?
Like I said, this post would be a huge bunch of shit that needs to be sorted out. I would really like to come up with a working theory of government. What is its job and what should be left to the invidual? Is education and infrastructure really a necessary role of the gov't? Is the restriction of my civil liberties its job? If my right to do that which I chose with my body may cause me to harm another, is it then the gov't's job/ability to restrict my rights as an individual?
What do you think?
)
