Edward Snowden's Online Past Revealed
Edward Snowden's Online Past Revealed
First, for Peter:quote:One can be happy and peaceful but not free (one's happiness need not be conditional on freedom).This is no more true than GWT's statements. This is entirely dependant on the individual -- as is the definition of freedom. Freedom isn't a word the can be (pardon) freely defined. This is the case with so many words, and I think your disagreement with Gwt is a testament (giggle) to this.Further, on the topic of your quotation: Haven't you ever heard of an American?The saying goes, "Live free or die," I believe. That seems to intimate a conditional dependence on freedom as a requirement for happiness. Unless you're a part of Heaven's Gate, I guess.And Peter, as an aside: Dear lord (heh)! You have over thirty thousand posts! Take a moment and stretch!For GwT: While I appreciate the Buddhist belief system, and in fact I even marked that as my "religion" on my Army paperwork (agnostic is strangely absent), I feel it is important to point out that it is the restriction of religion, specifically, that is being discussed. Ideally, religion should serve as a resource, a sort of reference or novel approach for examining and finding one's own beliefs. I believe (titter) that your posted "definition" of freedom came under fire because it is simply someone [else's, apparently,] belief being utilized as a -fact-.As you have debated, that definition can be made to fit. However, as your opponents counter, it can also be disproven.It is, as Peter stated, conditional.To summarize, since my writings did not really address my own feelings, I feel that religion, adopted purely, is ultimately representative of blindly making someone else's beliefs your own. So, yes, I feel religion limits humanity insofar that individuality could arguably be taken as necessary (in an emotional sense) to humanity. Religion, taken as a non-negotiable set of beliefs (in this context), would obviously act a limitation of individuality and, thusly, that which makes us human.However, I feel that, as Caesar was quick to point out, individual belief is not something that we can be without. ...I'm not certain I made that post entirely clear...