Well, it's not surprising that Fred The Socialist who believes in communism hasn't made the acquaintance of a happy individual who exhibits both freedom and courage.  Perhaps you aren't travelling in the right circles? ;-)

For myself, I am free and truly happy.  There, you've met at least ONE!  Cheers!

It is however much harder to forgive unrepentant, intentional evil.

Why are we here?  What is the purpose of life?  If we did not live at all, we wouldn't have any of these problems — we would not exist.  Perhaps our hardships and memories are what it is all about?  I, too, often think more fondly on the hardship than while it was occurring!

What a beautiful thought.  Simply don't step on people's tender fruits and flowers, rather than uprooting all you don't like and planting your own crops in fields you haven't cultivated.

Thanks for your honesty, Fred.  It puts all your confusing posts in perspective because they have nothing to do with respecting the rights of others or preserving their liberty.  At least you can admit that to be 'The Socialist' is to believe in communism.

Sadly, to wish for communism is to wish for the bloodshed of the common man who asks nothing from you but from whom you claim everything.  You are but a wolf in sheep's clothing.  Should the day ever come that Americans will be forced to face communism head on, be prepared to face 100 million armed patriots that are willing to defend their liberty with their lives against you. 

You are the worst sort of American, even the worst sort of human being, who is ungrateful for this Life and would rather see everyone inferior to you that will not follow your communistic ways either dead or bound.  We see you, even if you do not.  You have been deceived, and as you sow, so shall you reap.

Such is the justification of many a despotism. 

It is not intelligence alone that lifts up others, but a charitable heart and a mutual respect for those in need.  Such help may be welcome, but when imposed upon those that either don't want the 'help' or disagree with its assumptions, then the 'intelligent' thing to do is to leave them be. 

We may be more 'intelligent' than the Amish or Amazonian Indians, but what works for us may not work for them.

*Sigh*  Fred, that 35 trillion can never really be paid back unless the world returns to an honest money system.  All that debt currently IS the money supply — every dollar in your pocket is an interest-bearing IOU that someone somewhere is paying interest on in order for it to exist.  Once the 'loan' is paid back, the money disappears — the money was created by adding a credit to a balance sheet, and disappears when a debit is added, simple as that, stroke of a pen.

Where does our currency come from?  Primarily government debt, then follow commercial loans, mortgages, car loans, student loans, credit card debt, medical debts — all the big ticket items that we have become accustomed to 'servicing' all our lives.  Without that there would be no money.  Banks need bailouts because people stop borrowing and pay off their 'loans' which were simply created out of nothing and backed by the borrower's promise to pay with their labor.  This is socialism, by the way.  True capitalism trades in real goods with a currency backed by real capital — labor is converted into capital not in service to perpetual debt, i.e., servitude.

If you wish to lead us out of this perpetual debt scam, you will have to understand how the system works, how we got here, and how to switch back to a non-interest bearing currency that cannot be so easily 'minted' without the voluntary backing of those upon whose labors it is attached.  Before this communist system was put in place all around the world, America was one of the most prosperous countries on Earth — which is why it was targeted by deceitful bankers who understood this trick that the common man did not.

This is what made the new America unique in all the 'modern' world — that the common man was free, could own his land free from liens and taxation, his labors untaxable,  his money backed by gold and silver, his rights inalienable, and his government chartered upon these principles.  If that is where you wish to lead us, I will happily walk with you.

Right, Mike.  Just as I can forgive a wild animal for trying to bite me (without feeling the need to kill it to prevent future attempts), I will remain ever vigilant, knowing it is simply acting according to its natural instincts.  Same thing for social democrats and communists...

Sorry, I do not understand what you are talking about.  Bradford himself used the word 'communistic' — nothing about Marx or markets or Mises.  The point was more along the lines of Adam Smith:

"It is not the benevolence of the butcher, or the baker that we expect our dinner, but from their regard to their own interest. We address ourselves, not to their humanity but to their self-love, and never talk to them of our own necessities but of their advantages."

I think what Fred means to say is "We are legion."  Where is a herd of pigs when you need them? ;-)

If you call yourself 'people'' then I believe the word 'groupthink' applies.  Those that sing "We are the world" do not actually believe they alone are the world, Fred, but apparently you do. 

Whatever you want to call your socio-political philosophy it is by your very admission AUTHORITARIAN and we should be truly blessed if we would just follow it. 

We are in fact truly blessed that you do NOT have such power, for such delusion attached to absolute power would be a heaven for you but a hell for the rest of us.  Narcissism and hubris at its worst.  This is what we get for humoring you... an atheist who thinks he is a god.

This is a prime example of the logic of 'groupthink.'  Here are a few corrections:

— We the People are the PEOPLE.
— The 'government' is chartered by the people via their elected representatives.
— Individuals (i.e. the people) will determine what is in their best interests, not 'the government' which has absolutely no authority to do so because they have never been given the power to do so.
— Nowhere in the government's charter have they been given the power to guide the path of growth or development of a functional people (sorry just trying to paraphrase your poorly worded statement.)

Your groupthink and collectivist newspeak is anathema to a free people who without principled manners and a mutual respect for the common good would not remain free for long — and their rulers would embody the worst traits of them all.

Every post you make seems to come from the perspective that the common people are children needing guidance from a paternal government — and you make it pretty clear which group you belong to...

Me thinks thou protesteth too much, Fred.  Your lack of sound reasoning is a poor argument for 'science' of which apparently you know little. 

For we truth-seekers, details matter, and in particular WORDS matter and have specific meaning.  If you keep changing the meaning of words and exaggerate things all to defend your true lack of knowledge, your 'argument' becomes fallacious, that is to say lacking any standing in fact.

You're going to have to do much better.  In fact, it is better to admit you don't know than to bank on mere opinion.

Seeking the existence of God is difficult if you can't agree on what the word God means.  Better to seek truth, to seek understanding, to uncover the deceptions and expose lies.  If God indeed does exist, you'll find him once the false 'facts' are discarded.

You do seem to however acknowledge the existence of the devil by your descriptions of man, and I half-agree with you in some respects. 

Those of us who have seen the devil unmasked can recognize him gleefully pulling the strings of his puppets. Sadly, there is nothing more heartbreaking than watching those under his sway mock us as 'fools.'

I'm glad Jefferson did more than that because the Declaration of Independence stands as one of the greatest masterpieces of political expression ever crafted!

This is essentially what I do; however, watching the powers-that-should-not-be take over the world grants me no peace.  Lord help us!

I like it.  Some things can only be forgiven else there is perpetual war.  Even the Christians believe that there is a perpetual war between good and evil, and yet the solution posed by Christ is to forgive one's enemies.  That's a tough one, but worth pondering the depths of it.  But returning evil for evil guarantees evil, so logically maybe there's something to forgiving evil....  That's still a tough one for me.

Science is never settled, Fred.  And while we may not know the whole truth, it ever stands in front of us to be discerned rightly.

Whatever the origin of life and the universe, we know it was not man.  The theory of evolution is just that, a theory.  And if you do the math, it is mathematically impossible that everything in this world evolved from nothing in 15 billion years — the human genome has hardly changed in 100,000 years, certainly not enough time to randomly evolve in 15 billion.

The artist is known through his art — each stroke and color has been consciously chosen.  So too with the Creator of this world.  There is obvious intelligence behind the design of the human body, the plants and animals, not to mention the symmetry of the microcosm to the macrocosm.  It may be incomprehensible for man — that is why it is attributed to powers beyond our understanding.  I do not confuse religion with Truth, but I cannot rule out a creative intelligence behind the creation, in fact it seems self-evident to me.

And on this Thanksgiving Day I am truly thankful for the gift of Life and all that comes with it!   

Indeed.  Because we can err, we cannot be too rigid in our demands of others and even ourselves.  Sometimes I have to sit back and review my sacred cows and make sure they are indeed sacred.  Even though I am more 'conservative' in my older age, I am also more 'liberal' — forgiveness goes a long way and sometimes is the only option other than perpetual conflict.

Let's make 'liberal' liberal again!  MLLA, or something like that... ;-)

In America, no one is compelled to act against their will. I am free to do nothing if I choose, but I am equally responsible for the outcomes of my inaction. Liberty, as envisioned in the Declaration of Independence, guarantees the right to pursue happiness, not its attainment. True freedom means allowing individuals to make their own choices and bear the consequences, even when those choices seem misguided. While I may personally intervene to stop someone from harm, such as jumping off a bridge, I would accept the responsibility for overriding their free will. What I reject is legislation that compels action or inaction in matters of personal agency. Freedom carries risks, but it is the cornerstone of a society built on self-determination and personal responsibility.

Once again, Fred, that is YOUR opinion and you are entitled to it.

But I am of the same mind as Benjamin Franklin:

“It is a working man who is a happy man. It is the idle man who is a miserable man.”

And:

“Idle hands are the devil’s playthings.”

Fred, As long as you do not try to compel me to obey a false authority, I believe we could be good and loyal friends even though we hold different ideological views.  I wish you nothing but happiness and fulfilment — and that should be at no else's expense but your own.

And if we can come to an agreement on how to uplift others, I would be happy to do so with you.  That IMHO is the American way.

"Fear is the path to the dark side.
Fear leads to anger.
Anger leads to hate.
Hate leads to suffering." 
   ~ Master Yoda

A republican form of government is the best form for coming to an agreement.  After all, the USA was formed by 100% agreement of the colonies to a declaration of independence.  Without agreement, there is no authority. A government that assumes power without consent is a despotism whether it calls itself 'democratic' or not.  Our natural born rights are not up for vote — it is out of our natural right of self-defense and self-reliance that we AGREED on our compact.  That compact becomes null and void if the parties to it break their word.

Because we will not all agree, we must be left free and respectful of each other's rights.  If a group of us want to form a community that follows agreed upon rules, they may do so voluntarily and as long as as they respect the rights of those that do not wish to join, even if in a minority.

Fred, your version of socialism is based on many virtuous ideals, some of which I share with you, but I prefer to live my life in my own way.  We can play games from time to time, but ultimately we put our tokens back in the box and return to our respective homes.  Don't confuse 'socialism' with 'socializing.'  The former is by compulsion and the latter by consent.

Just pointing out "it's unfair" is not a solution (if there really should be a solution).  I mean, HOW are you going to make fair what is unfair?  How do you make the call as to what is fair or not?  What is too little?  What is too much?  Who is to take on the God-like role of authority?  This is not a new idea, and everywhere it has been implemented, the civilization burned to the ground.

But I'll bite, "HOW?"