Not Yours to Give

[SwissMercenary]

Is it just to harm some to help others?

Yes. It is impossible to have a functioning society, otherwise. The only question is the degree at which you do it.

It is now emerging from communism into socialism

The market is the most important thing for the Chinese. It's hardly soialism by the European, or even local metric, there. Some of the key industries are state-ran, but that's about it.

We are losing our freedoms one law at a time. This is how socialism erodes into communism. You may not see it over a few years, but given time the state will own or control all property.

And if that isn't an 'emotionally charged' argument (Think of the children!), I don't know what is.:rolleyes:

See above - it is impossible to have a functioning society with no restrictions on freedom. If the restrictions are going too far (I consider the restroom law to be ridicilous, while I support workplace safety regulations - smoking - it's a case-by-case issue), maybe you could try voting for someone who shares your opinions more closely then the current government.

To summarise, I believe that no, the 'technical' instructions of the constitution shoud not necessarily be followed to the letter 200 years after the document was drafted (Much like how today, you don't need to bring your ceremonial sword to an Oxford examination), while the spirit of the document should be respected (In the way that you still aren't allowed to copy your test answers from your neighbour).

I also believe that within reason, it's generally a better idea to inflict less relative harm on a smaller group of people, then inflict more relative harm on a larger group of people. (Fewer of us have 100 apples, compared to those of us who have 20).

I also believe that many of the solutions proposed of having people pay only for the state services they use will cause more harm then good. (See: Education, roads)

And lastly, no, the barbarians are not at the gates.

Those are my points, and at this point it's not very likely that I'm going to be changing my mind on any of them. Feel free to respond, but I think I'm about done.