This is the comment I produced under Sharyn's Blog who titled her blog "Is free rights really free rights?'. Not sure why she did not post a comment under my blog though.
--------------my comment-------------------
Good blog. Not sure what stopped you from commenting under my blog though.
Free rights are free because we did not pay for these rights. It's the public that paid their taxes in order for us to enjoy certain rights. Fighting for rights by the means of marching and protesting and even begging are not earned rights. Politics and public cave into our requests and grant them. My entire point is no matter how much rights we receive from the government or the law makers and even the public, there is no guarantee that our rights are going to remain shall the government collapse. Shall the government face a budget crisis. Shall the public lose respect for our community. The list goes on and on. These rights are not guaranteed and the protection of the law is not a sure thing. History will show how fragile these things are. One should take steps to ensure that our basic rights are not taken away by earning them. I never said that civil rights are not important or unnecessary. I'm only saying that these rights are not guaranteed as many people seem to think or feel. Look at mankind's history and you'll understand.
Having said this, history will always repeat itself. There will always be a point in time where everybody are going to have to take care of themselves. There is a famous saying that goes by "Every man for himself". If it's every man for himself, then people are trying to save themselves from a difficult situation without trying to help anyone else. As soon as a system collapses, people will quickly disperse collectivist efforts and turn to their basic rights. This is where and when you will wish you'd have earned your rights, by preserving your privileges.
Hm... I can relate to the armed forces ~with a nod in honor of Memorial Day~... after all, we hear that the soldiers fight for our rights, so our rights are not really free after all, since they come with a price. When we start taking rights for granted, they become "free" in an essence... hmmm...
ReplyDeleteApril blogged about rights, from the Bills of Rights, which guarentee us American citizens with the rights ~or priviledges that come with being citizens of USA~. Our basic rights include the right to have food on our table, to have roof over our heads, to have relationships with anyone we want, etc., in need for our biological survival. Survival in the light of Darwinism has us fight for the rights to live...
Free rights vs. earned rights... hmmm, an interesting topic and I am thinking more that there's no such thing as free rights after all. It's us who decree what the rights shall be and what we ~in other words, the soldiers~ are willing to die for, after all.
Good point Karen. There are several different definitions on 'free'. I'm sure you know that.
ReplyDeleteSpeaking of soldiers that died for our freedom, that's a completely different thing. And yet, our freedom for tomorrow is still not a sure thing. We can still lose our freedom tomorrow even though many died fighting for our freedom. It's something we have to continue to die fighting for, constantly.
The free rights I am referring to is VRS services. I am not paying anything for VRS services. I went to a deaf school and received interpreter services at the public school and did not pay for it. I received a lot of things that were free in my life time and I can vouch that I didn't pay for them. Somebody else paid for it, as in robbing Peter to pay Paul.
Furthermore Karen, let's talk about Bill of Rights. You say we, American citizens are guaranteed with the rights or privileges such as basic rights to have food on our table, to have roof over our heads, to have relationships with anyone we want, etc., That's true because it's an ideal law. But yet not everybody receive food on their table. Not everybody have roofs over their head. Not everybody have relationship with others. Many things are beyond us. Take Rome as an example. Such thing were ideal back then but all became lost when Rome fell. Where did the rights go? It disappeared into the thin air and there was absolutely nothing people could do about it. They went back to the basics, that of earning their rights.
ReplyDeleteNature has a way of taking command over humanity. Nature has the power to take everything away from us and leave us with nothing. Collapse of a government is not inevitable. Social unrest is not inevitable either. Shortfalls of tax revenues is not inevitable. In fact, shortfalls on tax revenues are already happening all over the map. Many of our rights are funded through tax revenues. What do you do about your so-called civil rights when the tax revenues are no longer available to help and fund many of the resources you use? If you have not already earned your rights / privileges then what are you going to dwell on?
I worked 31 years at a federal department and earned my retirement right like you said "earned rights". It cant be taken away. That's where you are wrong. The retired federal workers were supposed to have cost of living according to a law that was passed some years ago. We have not received any COLA for two years. My question is where is my earned rights??? Any thought. You think you know it all. Sic!
ReplyDeleteHey Sic John. Whatever gave you the notion that having spent thirty-one years at a federal department as an employee translates into earned rights? If you had thought that being in the rat race meant you've earned your way to the world of privileges, think again. Rat race that you were part of means exactly that, rats! You don't beat the cost of living this way.
ReplyDeleteAnd no where in my v/blog did I talk about the cost of living. The reason is simple. Creativity is the name of the game. Has always been and will always be. Evidently you lack such thing and I do feel for you.
And Sic John, the rights I made reference to in my v/blog are fund-based rights. None of these so-called 'free' rights you hold so precious to your heart would survive when the tax revenues are being depleted. It's already happening all over the map. Many departments are facing short-fall cuts simply because the tax revenues are no longer there.
ReplyDeleteMany of the rights that were GIVEN to the deaf people are at risk simply because they are expensive to maintain. It cost money to regulate and enforce laws that protect your rights. It cost money to keep deaf people happy therefore with the depleted tax revenues that's going on you're going to have many unhappy campers except for those who earned their rights.
John is correct. By your definition, he has earned his retirement, and by contract was to receive COLA.
ReplyDeleteSimilarly, others saved a 401k retirement fund and by normal expectations should have received as much as they put into it, plus company contributions. Any growth due to the stock market was to be reinvested. Remember what happened to all the 401ks in the past year and a half? Most were halved or reduced by up to 60%.
Earned rights do disappear or are modified just as free rights are. Hardworking people do lose property, get training outdated, and lose savings just as those on SSI/SSD lose rights.
Your point being that it is better to work for one's rights is valid, however. In the long run, much more is gained that way than passively accepting what is given.
Barry,
ReplyDeleteA very GOOD lawyer is what you are!
Lois
Dianrez,
ReplyDeleteYou're entitled to your opinion just as I am entitled to mine. By my definition, you stated, John is correct. However you've failed to point out where his topic fits into the picture of my topic. Being in the rat race, working for the Federal Government for 31 years, investing away into COLA and such. These are called bad investment decisions, not loss of rights.
Kindly do yourself a favor and quit confusing the two.
I never touched 401ks and such investment programs. Instead of investing into somebody's investment program I built my own investment program. Instead of employing a portfolio manager I managed my own portfolios. Instead of paying brokers their commissions I paid myself. Instead of re-investing the gains into somebody else system, I re-invested them into my own system. Instead of holding onto higher tax brackets I sought lowest tax bracket by learning the tax system rather than dwelling on the advice of others. In short, I earned all these knowledge, experience and wisdom therefore nobody's able to take that away from me.
Compare that with somebody who had to work in the rat race society and pay for advice / consultants and place faith in somebody else investment programs.
Earned rights disappeared on people's part has nothing to do with loss of rights. It's bad investment decisions that are made on daily basis because they did not earn the knowledge, experience and wisdom to know any better.
Get the drift?
theholism,
ReplyDeleteI am here to leave comment on your blog. According to the repeat history, I do agree that people will have to save themselves when the system collapsed. Now we have so many free rights, we should enjoy it while it last but we should able to earn it and own it when they are taken away. I had listen many stories from people that I know about have to preserve things and be prepared when something strike us and collapsed, so we can survive through that time. It is best to be always prepared. I am so sorry for not leaving your comment earlier. I had no idea that the vlog was also on your blog. I did left a comment under your vlog.
LOL! As a Federal employee, I never saw my benefits or pay as 'earned rights'. Like Diana Ross said, 'I work hard for the money...', that's how I look at it. As Federal employees, we are fortunite in many ways. During the recession, is when we're doing well more than the rest. And, during up times, we're not doing that well compared to others.
ReplyDeleteBarry, It took me a while to digest what you said, like many others. ;) So, I think I understand what you mean, considering that I'm leaning towards the Libertarian way of thinking. Like you said, 'every man for himself'. What we want, choose, etc, we do do and earn it as our keep. All the rights can be lost in a snap of a finger, just like that. Even our 'so called' freedom as an American Citizen. That possibility can be a reality. Services have been cut, even tho, many consider that a 'right' it isn't ours to keep. Bring on more thought provoking subjects! ;)
Sharyn, appreciate your stopping over. Like I explained earlier, there is nothing wrong with "free' rights except that it can be taken away from you, eventually. Therefore, one more reason for all of us to think twice and learn how we're able to earn our rights and keep them. There are many ways to do it. Creativity is the name of the game, as in the survival of the fittest, if you get my meaning. Really appreciate your thoughts.
ReplyDeleteRight Candy. I remember how well my deaf relatives lived when they worked for the government. Nearly all of them worked for the government and they did well when the times were hard for the rest of the community. And not so great when the economy flourished. That's the truth.
ReplyDeleteHmmm... you remind me of one person who was and is still fiercely independent and a "survivalist", NOT in the militant way ~quickly waving away the images of Idaho's survivalists~... he educates himself on US Constitution, Bills of Rights, etc.. you name it. He distrusts banks. He works hard to have his way and he regularly sends out the emails to my husband, explaining the loopholes, secrets, etc. of the government ~again, quickly waving away the images of Roswell UFO, X-files, Masonry, etc...~ The problem is, to me, the bureaucracy, it seems, which makes the rights more complicated for people to understand how the politics and finances interwine and work and how they get away with it right in front of our eyes.
ReplyDeleteYeah, about VRS. Again, it has become more complicated for me to follow nowadays.
~chuckling~ wish life is that simple.
The challenge is: rather than criticizing the way things are or criticizing Deaf people for certain aspects of their lives, why not teach?
ReplyDeleteIt's fine to talk about rights and investments, why not write a blog about how to do it, how to choose opportunities, where to find them, and so on? It's one thing to speak of bad investments and another thing to identify good ones. After all, this isn't taught in our schools, deaf or hearing.
So many of us were raised in a liberal society and are taught to be altruistic or productive people such as federal workers, social workers, teachers, counselors, and to consider the welfare of others and teamwork as paramount. Clearly you feel that this is not good investing. Okay.
Show us step by step how you succeeded and teach the rest of us your different way of thinking. We could all benefit from your immense expertise.
Dianrez,
ReplyDeleteTrue but if you followed the thread of this blog you will see that some of you confused the issue, thinking that it was a case of loss of earned right, prompting me to talk about bad investment. However 'bad investment' was not the topic of my v/blog.
But you're right. Such topic is not taught in schools. And it's not something you simply outline on a mere piece of paper and lightly blog about. I mean, look at a perfect example here. I talk about difference of two rights and somebody opened a can of worm... and it exploded into how a retired Federal worker carelessly lost his investment after 31 years of hard work, categorizing the experience as a loss of earned rights. Amazing how people interpret things.
Dianrez,
ReplyDeleteWell said and point.
Karen, I sure am independent and yes, I enjoy survival courses but definitely not a militant material. Must be the Idahoan in me, eh? Ha ha.
ReplyDeleteNo such thing as secrets in this world. It's all based on 'what you don't know won't hurt you' and I am determined not to be fooled by the system because I'm determined to stay away from the rat race, what I'd also call 'simon says society'.
And yes, the system is complicated because they intended for it to be, in order to create the economy base they need to keep this economy going. The more complicated the system is the greater tax revenues they receive. Take IRS as an example. Complicated tax codes for a very good reason. One, we're forced to employ numerous consultants to get our tax issues right. Two, tax mistakes on our part boosts their tax revenues because we either over paid our taxes or we're penalized for not paying enough. Funny but then no so funny. Wish life was much simpler too.
~chuckling~ wish life is that simple.
Oh, that's right, you have spent a couple of years in Idaho....
ReplyDelete;-D
Oh Karen, I grew up there! Spent 25 years there.
ReplyDeleteI spent 5 years in Moscow, Idaho.
ReplyDeleteBarry, I see that you say about Simon Says Society, I know how it felt like. I don't like way people comes around and repeat which I already knew my path and they drag to follow and I couldn't want to follow but my own decision not theirs.
ReplyDeleteAlso the bill rights nor freedom rights, I try my best of reading. I see how far it comes to us everybody, The politician whom whose they trying take from us likely a people worried about their choices. We are not there yet. But I read more about it . If we are there in the lost trial then we don't have our rights but people as lost trial could take from us.
I am not worried about them, All I worries about is my family. Nevertheless if anyone try to cross my line to harm my family then I have my own rights to defend my family for the safe. For the government trying take my willings of the freedom rights or life as choices. They cannot do that to me because how government can think of their mistake. People thinks they make a excellent choice. Not always.
That is why I like to find how interesting if people think I would be nut to stick with my decision and put myself in risk. But thats a bill of rights with the surviving and freedom to keep . If anyone who talks out of freedom rights being taken away. That where they can find their weakness and control them. That is difficult part. If not get my point then please ask me more question if necessary thank you and forward to hear from you again soon.
From a friend,
April