Klarinet Archive - Posting 001138.txt from 2002/06

From: Jeremy A Schiffer <schiffer@-----.edu>
Subj: Re: [kl] constitution (was Music vs. drug testing)
Date: Sun, 30 Jun 2002 18:08:30 -0400

On Sun, 30 Jun 2002, Kevin Callahan wrote:

> <snip>
>
> > i'm not too thrilled about the current world in which we live, but if our
> > leaders held the same views as bill, there would be federal agents on
> > every corner inspecting our national id cards to make sure we weren't
> > violating our conscripted movement patterns.
>
> I hardly think Bill is going that far. This is a degree thing we're arguing.
> I don't think Bill wants to give up any of his rights, and certainly doesn't
> support a national identity check on every corner.

no, bill was not directly going that far, but it's not just an issue of
degree. if you subscribe to the logic of "if you don't have anything to
hide, you should always agree to being searched" which is clearly bill's
argument, then you can't argue against any type of identity checks without
fundamentally contradicting yourself.

my argument is that you must hold every right sacred, to avoid taking the
first step down that slippery slope. before that point, the argument is
one of _kind_ (these are our rights, we will not relinquish them), but
once you start giving up basic rights, then it becomes just a matter of
_degree_ (well, i guess i can give up this one, as long as you don't
insist that...).

-jeremy

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Jeremy A. Schiffer
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Columbia University
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