WE ARE OPPRESSED.
Todays oppression of me included:
Mandated wearing of seat belt while driving.
Mandated not to use my cell phone while driving.
Mandatory drivers license to exercise my Constitutional right to pursuit of happiness and freedom of travel
Mandatory state permit to carry my Constitutionall guaranteed firearm.
Mandatory registration fees on my vehicle, trailer, and boat in order to exercise my right to pursuit of happiness.
Mandatory "certified" thow cushion, mandatory life vests, mandatory placard limiting my boats HP, number of persons, and total weight, again infringing upon my right to pursue happiness.
Mandatory (and worthless) "boater safety" certificate in order to operate my boat "safely".
Mandated limit of 5 fish
Mandatory insurance on my truck, government making me buy a product from a private business in order to exercise my RIGHTS to pursuit of happiness and freedom of travel.
I have no idea how much I paid today in taxes fbut let's consider a few of the things I did or used today that are taxed.: My home, my electricity, my phone, my internet, my truck, my boat, the tires they use, their fuel, my cigarettes, earned some interest on my investments (probably, I haven't checked today), my pistol, my ammunition, fishing license, boaters safety card (it's "fee").
Every damn moment of my life today the US and State government were taking a little piece of the action. THAT IS OPPRESSION.
No it's not. Not even close. You want to see oppression? Visit one of half a dozen countries around the world where genocide is currently a work in progress.
In the meantime:
Mandated wearing of seat belt while driving - keeps mine and others' uninsured and underinsured motorists portions of our insurance rates down because about one fifth of the public do not carry insurance or carry less than adequate levels, and medical payouts to idiots who refuse to buckle up are far greater than medical payouts to those who do buckle up.
Mandated not to use my cell phone while driving - keeps mine and others' uninsured and underinsured motorists portions of our insurance rates down because about one fifth of the public do not carry insurance or carry less than adequate levels, and it's a proven statistic that cell phone use, whether texting or even just talking, increases the risk of accident. It also keeps me safer, as fewer people using their cell phone means more people paying attention while driving.
Mandatory drivers license to exercise my Constitutional right to pursuit of happiness and freedom of travel - helps keep those who repeatedly violate that right by crashing into others or pursing their happiness and freedom of drinking and driving remain off the road and if they don't it helps keep them behind bars. But if you'd like to exercise your right without a license, by all means, buy a good pair of walking shoes or a bicycle and have at it. A vehicle is a deadly weapon. Sneakers are not.
Mandatory state permit to carry my Constitutionall guaranteed firearm. I agree with you here. If it's a Constitutional right, the Constitution and something showing your status as a U.S. citizen should be your permit.
Mandatory registration fees on my vehicle, trailer, and boat in order to exercise my right to pursuit of happiness - keeps mine and others' uninsured and underinsured motorists portions of our insurance rates down because about one fifth of the public do not carry insurance or carry less than adequate levels, and registration helps ensure your vehicle, trailer, and boat are both in proper working order (at least in some states), while also curbing black market sales.
Mandatory "certified" thow cushion, mandatory life vests, mandatory placard limiting my boats HP, number of persons, and total weight, again infringing upon my right to pursue happiness - helps to ensure your passengers' right to pursue happiness, particularly as they trust you, their boat captain, to keep them safe, and you, their boat captain, bear a civic responsibility to do so, the same as you do by ensuring your brakes and tires are in good working order before you accept the responsibilty of safely transporting someone in your car.
Mandatory (and worthless) "boater safety" certificate in order to operate my boat "safely" - helps ensure those who fall more towards the clueless end are brought up a notch or two so they pose less of a threat to myself and my family while we're out boating. I would propose people be allowed to take a test without having to go through the class, but those who fail the test would claim it's not fair, so I just chalk it up to one of those civic pains, like stopping at a red light even though there's no traffic within half a mile of the intersection.
Mandated limit of 5 fish - and this somehow qualifies as "oppression"
how?
Mandatory insurance on my truck, government making me buy a product from a private business in order to exercise my RIGHTS to pursuit of happiness and freedom of travel - helps keep my underinsured/uninsured rates down. Why in the world should I be forced to pay higher premiums because you choose not to carry an appropriate level of insurance?
My point in writing the above is to remind you, and all of us, that rights do not exist in a vacuum. They come tied at the neck with responsibilities. If everyone were appropriately and equally responsible, or if we all lived on tiny, separate islands, we would have not have laws on the books which require us to accomplish certain tasks of minimal civic responsibility.
Our laws exist because all too often, someone wants to enjoy their rights while shirking their responsibilities, or abuses their rights (as in drinking and driving) after having shirked their responsibilities. Thus, if you refuse to register your vehicle, it's a fine, possible confiscation, and even jail time if you persist. Plus, some of those registration fees are use fees - the roads don't pay for themselves. Neither does snow removal equipment, etc.
Other such responsibilities closer to our hearts on this forum include properly holstering and securing your firearm to prevent unauthorized grabs, thefts, and access in general.
If you refuse to shoulder the responsibilities of living among other humans, I welcome you to work hard so you can afford to buy that tiny island and live somewhere the only laws to which you must answer are those you make yourself.
If you do, however, I'll not be visiting such a lawless island.
