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puckstopshere · ‎07-03-2013

By Jeff Foxworthy:
If you can get arrested for hunting or fishing without a license, but not for entering and remaining in the country illegally — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If you have to get your parents’ permission to go on a field trip or to take an aspirin in school, but not to get an abortion — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If you MUST show your identification to board an airplane, cash a check, buy liquor, or check out a library book and rent a video, but not to vote for who runs the government — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If the government wants to prevent stable, law-abiding citizens from owning gun magazines that hold more than ten rounds, but gives twenty F-16 fighter jets to the crazy new leaders in Egypt — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If, in the nation’s largest city, you can buy two 16-ounce sodas, but not one 24-ounce soda, because 24-ounces of a sugary drink might make you fat — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If an 80-year-old woman or a three-year-old girl who is confined to a wheelchair can be strip-searched by the TSA at the airport, but a woman in a burka or a hijab is only subject to having her neck and head searched — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If your government believes that the best way to eradicate trillions of dollars of debt is to spend trillions more — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If a seven-year-old boy can be thrown out of school for saying his teacher is “cute,” but hosting a sexual exploration or diversity class in grade school is perfectly acceptable — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If hard work and success are met with higher taxes and more government regulation and intrusion, while not working is rewarded with Food Stamps, WIC checks, Medicaid benefits, subsidized housing, and free cell phones — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If the government’s plan for getting people back to work is to provide incentives for not working, by granting 99 weeks of unemployment checks, without any requirement to prove that gainful employment was diligently sought, but couldn’t be found — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If you pay your mortgage faithfully, denying yourself the newest big-screen TV, while your neighbor buys iPhones, time shares, a wall-sized do-it-all plasma screen TV and new cars, and the government forgives his debt when he defaults on his mortgage — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

If being stripped of your Constitutional right to defend yourself makes you more “safe” according to the government — you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses but is run by idiots.

What a country!

renomarvinm · ‎07-05-2013

Please quit trying to be logical - it just gets in the way....

monman12 · ‎07-05-2013

"In France and the United Kingdom, the homicide by firearm rate is 0.1 per 100,000 people. That’s one in a million.
But the United States has a much higher rate of homicides by gun — 3.2 homicides by firearm per 100,000 people"

"There are an estimated 88.8 civilian guns per 100 people in the United States, according to the Small Arms Survey, a number unparalleled to the rest of the world. With the right to bear arms written into the Constitution of the United States."

Actually the 2nd.amendment commences "a well regulated militia....." I would hardly consider the majority of gunowners as being eligible to belong to such a group.

So, you whilst you might live in a nation that was founded by geniuses, it is populated by idiots.

nɥºɾ

a_dingo_ate_my_teddy · ‎07-05-2013

It's not run by idiots.

It's run by very clevr people whose agenda is to progressively strip away the rights of the citizens, in the same kind of fashion that one boils a frog without it jumping out of the pot. . .

Oh, I almost forgot . . . and to become disgustingly rich in the process.

1972capri · ‎07-07-2013

It should not be anyones 'right' to own a weapon that can be used to cause the most amount of harm in the shortest amount of time.
Only the military should have access to that kind of fire power. Not the average person.
It is the military's job to protect its citizens.
A country that allows it citizens free reign to own such weaponry under the guise of anoutdated constitutional right really needs to look at and adjust things to suit modern life and conditions.

a_dingo_ate_my_teddy · ‎07-07-2013

I don't think they'll ever willingly give up their guns. Certainly not in my life time. It's a cultural thing which will take decades to change, hastened along here and there by the odd episode of shopping-mall or local school carnage maybe, but it won't happen any time soon.

deja_vu_items · ‎07-07-2013

Here in Australia not all of our politicians are intelligent however our gun laws are strict. My impression of the USA is you can be shot when you're walking along minding your own business. I hope things aren't that bad but i think it's possible.

kentworld · ‎07-07-2013

The gun thing and social medicare are the 2 most often cited differences between Canada and the US. There are Americans who do not subscribe to the "right to bear arms" amendment, but many do and there is the extremely strong and vocal National Rifle Association that lobbies for the right to bear arms. But, you can be shot anywhere, I figure.

dipmicro · ‎07-07-2013

@1972capri wrote:
It should not be anyones 'right' to own a weapon that can be used to cause the most amount of harm in the shortest amount of time.

You are right, I don't feel safe on the streets. Our government gives away drivers licenses to anyone, no matter how challenged they are.

Little different topic: the most versatile plant ever used by mankind, strong enough to make rope, diverse enough to make oil, biodegradable plastic and food. Some believe hemp is the renewable resource that can free nations from fossil fuels. And yet you are not allowed to grow it at home.

Interesting times.

prior-of-verity*shake-hands-with-your-devil · ‎07-07-2013

My impression of the USA is you can be shot when you're walking along minding your own business. I hope things aren't that bad but i think it's possible.

Not only possible but fairly common. Look at someone the wrong way, get into a driving disagreement at a light, speak to the wrong woman at a bar and you're history. Interestingly the States where carrying a gun legally is more lax so that people supposedly can protect themselves, the crime rate is higher. In 2011 - the latest year for which detailed statistics are available - there were 12,664 murders in the US. Of those, 8,583 were caused by firearms. (those figures do not include people who have been wounded and survived)

a_dingo_ate_my_teddy · ‎07-08-2013

This one problem with the seeming casualisation of gun ownership in the USA. Instant response to percieved threat or frustration. Tempers get frayed and fisticuffs are relegated to the wings while gunfire takes center stage.

It;s the easy availability of guns in the US and the propensity to carry them when going out which leads directly to their increased use.

baybizz · ‎07-08-2013

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/world-us-canada-20759139

renomarvinm · ‎07-08-2013

Please do not misunderstand my position (whatever it is) - I have no particular bias about firearms one way or another. I am, however, deeply repulsed by people who walk around distributing religious materials.... And I am not fond of people who wear suits, either! When a person wears a suit, they are making a profoundly deep statement about rigidity, conformity to the "rules" and the desire to conform to a straight-jacket-like gestalt. Over the years, I have become distrustful of people who find the need to wear suits.