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Anyone seen this, and what to make of it?

Free and Unashamed

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Useless laws weaken necessary laws.

My initial thought is that it's the biggest load of bo11ox I've read in a long time!

"We, the legion of life's disenfranchised and generally shat-upon, hereby reject the authority of all you governmenty-types. From now on we're going to govern ourselves the we way WE want. In fact, what we'll do is we'll all get together and agree some rules that we like. We'll do it by voting, 'cause that's fair, and we'll all agree with the rules and abide by them because we're all decent people..."

All I can see is a bit of a rant about authority. Which, don't get me worng, I have a LOT of sympathy for! I agree with a great many of the criticisms levelled at the ruling classes. Unfortunately, what I DON'T see are any solutions.

And, because we can't be sure that every one will agree to the same rules we will appoint a caucus to gov^H^H^H oversee us and decide on the exact rules: and just in case anyone doesn't abide by the rules they will appoint guardians who will have authority to use force to enforce them.

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

Yes, followed to its logical conclusion, we'll just get right back to where we are now. It failst to take account of the fact that we're all different. We all WANT those things that are mentioned in the "charter" (or whatever they want to call it) but we just KNOW that we'll end up treading on each others' toes to get it!

I suppose what we really need is a system whereby everyone's RESPONSIBILITIES are set out and then whatever's left can be completely free as long as those basic responsibilities are met. We could then get away with, say, 10 laws - that should cover it!

...oh, hang on, I think that's already been done...

Didn't the big yin's lad reduce it to one (do unto others ...)?

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

Two, I believe! That one and the one about his dad!

I think that's a lot of the problem though. Up until (say) our generation, the "evil and controlling church" has, according to its detractors, imposed its rules on us and (the clever bit!) is that unlike temporal laws (where everyone understands that you might not get caught) spiritual law works on the principle that those who follow it, do so under the eye of an all-seeing, all-knowing God who knows our innermost thoughts and motives and from whom nothing can be hidden. As fewer an fewer people believe this, its authority is diminished. These days it seems increasingly unfashionable to follow any kind of organised religion (at least in the Western world) and as people start to enjoy the "freedom" of being liberated from the oppression of the church, they just find that actually, they can never be truly free to do what they like, so we just need more and more temporal laws in an attempt to force people of a more secular society to (more or less) do most of what the church woud have forced them to do in the first place. That (I believe) is why the original "charter" under discussion can't ever end up with anything other than what we have today. If we want to live in peace with our fellow man, we won't ever be able to do exactly as we please.

Or "one man's freedom is another man's prison".



I think you have got a slight grasp on the wrong end of the stick. I call my self a "Christian Athiest" in that I don't accept all the spiritual mumbo-jumbo but I do try to live my life according to JC's teaching (and I do mean JC's own teaching not St Paul's reinterpretation of them). And, except for the adopting an oxymoronic name, I don't think that i am unusual in my generation (maternity ward of '48). His teachings merely codify the obvious rules needed for people to live together in society.

But I think that rather than the rejection of religion it is the rejection of society introduced by a certain politician 30 years ago which is root of present day ills.

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

A bit of a long read, but he basis of THIS seems to fit just about every piece of government legislation for the past 25 years...

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

Sums it up. To a legislator, ie a politician, public perception is more important than statistical evidence. And so it would to you if your job depended on pandering to the prejudices of the great unwashed. Thhis is the great danger inherent in democracy

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown

We all know out rights, but not our responsibilities

It's my responsibility to pay my taxes.
My right to avoid paying them whenever !

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The world runs on oil, period. No other substance can compete when it comes to energy density, flexibility, ease of handling, ease of transportation. If oil didn’t exist we would have to invent it.”

56 years after it was decided it was needed, the Bedford Bypass is nearing completion. The last single carriageway length of it.We have the most photogenic mayor though, always being photographed doing nothing

Tax evasion is illegal, immoral and unacceptable; tax avoidance is everyman's duty (according to a House of Lords ruling circa 1922!)

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The only thing that should be prohibited is prohibition.

Whenever I hear a commentator or politician railing against tax avoidance I always wonder "does he really pay more tax than he needs to?". After all filling in a tax return is a form of tax avoidance 'cos f you don't you end up with a basic rate code

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When I see an adult on a bicycle, I do not despair for the future of the human race. H.G. Wells
When I see a youth in a motor car I do d.c.brown