Quote Of The Week
Freedom isn't obtained through defense. It is obtained through offense. The original 'Affirmative Action', if you like. Freedom requires offensive action and can't be obtained any other way.
-- Alvie at The Cliffs of Insanity
posted by Concerned American | 6:10 PM
5 Comments:
One cannot offensively achieve liberty. Liberty is something one either has, or something that is infringed upon. Your exercise of liberty cannot be preserved by offensive action, any more than anything else you already have can be preserved by offensive action.
Brass:
If you're standing on my throat (thereby infringing on my liberty) and I remove you by offensive action, are you saying I have not achieved liberty?
The ant lion digs its funnel trap and then lies buried at the bottom waiting for something alive to blunder in and drop into its mouth. Repairing its pit is as active as the ant lion gets.
The wolf spider builds no web; it is large and fast and chases things and catches them.
Which is more likely to starve?
Concerned American,
I'm saying it's not an offensive action, it's a defensive action! If someone is violating your liberty and property by taking your car, is it "an offensive action" to shoot him to stop him? Of course not! You're defending your property. An offense is always the prerogative of the aggressor. "Offense" doesn't mean "taking the initiative." It means the action of aggression: the unjust first strike. Defense does not mean "passive" or "standing ground." You can defend yourself by charging, and it's still not an offense.
@Defender:
Regarding the ant lion and the wolf spider, the key to figuring out which is more likely to starve is going to be their metabolic rate.
The ant lion may not get as many meals as the wolf spider, but it doesn't need many, either. Setting a trap may be the better strategy than running around.
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