(03-28-2012, 07:30 PM)Mavfin Wrote: However, while the Democrats are socially liberal, there's also a streak in their party who think that 'freedom' only means 'free within our politically correct boundaries' or 'free if we approve of it' which is not freedom at all. It's just that gay people are approved, but a man owning a gun is not approved by the Democrats. To me, that's the same thing the Republicans are doing, just turned the other way; guns are OK, gays are not. Also, personal freedom requires personal responsibility, and politicians suck at that, always.
Your poltical opinion is radiating from this comparison you make. try looking at what you wrote from a neutral persons perspective.
Saying a person is not OK because he is sexually atracted by the same sex (something that he has no influence whatsoever over) is NOT the same as saying that owning a gun or not is OK.
(this must be one of the most ridiculous comparisons I have ever read here on the lounge).*
You could have just made a comparison between guns and drugs or so.
*and this includes the comparisons I have used msyelf
(03-28-2012, 08:00 PM)Gnollguy Wrote: It will also be used to teach how you try and change it, civilly. Since I grew up with a law that said you can drink as long as you are with your legal guardian and saw how this could foster responsible drinking (as well as all the examples of foreign countries that didn't and/or don't have legal drinking ages or ages that were/are much much lower than 21) I personally think that laws that are strict 21 years old before you can drink are not good laws and since I live in one of those states I try to get it changed and I would teach my children the responsible ways of trying to change that law, even while I would allow them to break it in my presence.
That means you follow it in public, because it is a law, but you don't just blindly accept it. If it doesn't make sense you should challenge it and since I also feel that what goes on in ones home, as long as it does not harm anyone else, is generally not the business of anyone who doesn't live there (there are exceptions, there always are). I would allow my children to drink in my home if I were with them but they would not leave the house while under the influence of alcohol because societal law has jurisdiction then. I would also make it clear that my purchasing of and allowing them to drink the alcohol was illegal. That if they, say, disturbed the peace by being overly loud and the police showed up at my door, that I would accept and suffer the consequences of breaking the law by allowing minors to have alcohol since there would be more than one law being broken.
Of course health is an issue here as well. It is known that getting drunk is pretty damaging to young brains. (of course just drinking 1 or 2 beers on an evening is indeed no really harmful.