DoomYoshi wrote:Here's the rub - we as Western nations have a military to protect our way of life, which includes right to bear rocket launchers, freedom of speech, etc.
If we take these liberties away from ourselves willingly, then the very thing we have a military for is gone. Therefore, we don't need a military, therefore, we don't need to be a nation. Therefore, we should just accept Sharia law.
Every breach of freedom by our own government is a type of logical fallacy (I can't think of the name).
It's like when Aristotle wrote that the planets have to move in perfect circles because that is the perfect shape. Then, Claudius Ptolomy used that reason to construct his Almagest, but it was continually modified by adding epicircles to make it more accurate.
So the formal argument is:
a)the planets must move in perfect circles
b)our calculations require imperfect circles
c)(during Galileo's time) they must be correct because of Aristotle
It's definitely non sequitor.
Our freedoms use the same logical fallacy.
a)our way of life is defined by our freedoms. We are willing to go to war to defend our freedoms.
b) we will take away our own freedoms and not go to war to defend them
c) our freedoms must be essential because we are willing to go to war for them.
I agree with your train of thought, but have we really abandoned that many liberties? For instance during the Paris attacks last year, there were soldiers on the streets, near the Bataclan, but they weren't allowed to enter the building because that was police jurisdiction. Not so long ago 2 police officers in Belgium were stabbed by a guy who was going to get evicted from the country on the grounds of terrorism. The reason he wasn't evicted yet was that the judicial system allowed him to appeal the sentence. Etc.
It would seem to me like the west, even France and Belgium who are in a state of high alert, still hold high values towards freedom, especially when compared to many other nations. Things really haven't gotten THAT BAD yet. Regardless of what bullshit mrswdk has been telling, France and Belgium are not police states (yet).