No. Firstly, there are no State Governors where I live and secondly, I trust in people. What the post doesn't cover is that anyone who read a history book, should have read about enlightenment, democracy and the sheer power of many. Politicians in my country are very aware of history and they're just people who want to live their lives in peace and freedom and sometimes they even try to make all of our lives better. Actually all we have left of the measures is wearing a mask in shops, restaurants and public transport (the struggle so real) and not meeting up with too many others(number increased every week)...so yeah. Or actually, no. The measures were necessary, did what they should and are slowly taken back.
I'm going on a bike tour with 9 of my friends today, bank holiday, yay!
Awesome! I can see why you dont have concerns. We have a few states in the US who are, in many opinions, less likely to give their "emergency" powers back.
What defines a right or privilege is our willingness to defend it, and how far we would go to do so. That which we would ultimately allow another to give and take is a privilege, and that we would ultimately die to keep is a right. There are no rights inherent to nature- all rights are a negotiation between parties and ultimately come down to the ability to exert force. If you cannot compel another party to respect what you see as a right... it is no longer a right but is in fact a privilege as it exists at their whim. What we see as inherent rights- even human rights- only exist where some force exists to make them so. The closest nature comes to a right is that the strong may take what they desire so long as no force can stop them.
So if largely agree- with the caveat that it isn’t how easily one can take something that makes it a right or not- but how dear the cost to take it would become, or how well they can hold on to it when the pendulum swings. There can be no complacency when it comes to rights- as said- they are a never ending negotiation. That which becomes right can become privilege and so on as power and wills wax and wane. All rights must be defended constantly or as you say- they cease to be rights.
@xvarnah- you aren’t wrong. As I wrote it I figured that was likely your meaning. That’s why I said the caveat was- just to make clear my meaning, and not as a disagreement or challenge of your statement.
@princessmonstertru- thank you. It’s both a sign of human progress and a sad reality when so many people are so insulated from harsher truths or concerns of the world that we take for granted things like rights or security as though they spring forth by virtue of being. Even in our relatively care free existences we must never forget the physics of the human condition. We phrase demands as requests to be polite- but that we cannot use force to ensure is simply a request, and that which is truly important cannot be just a request.
When the sign on the building says “please do not smoke” they aren’t actually asking you not to smoke. They will kick you out if you do. If you refuse- they will invoke law. If you refuse, they will call law enforcement, who has the numbers and weapons to force you to comply. If you still do not comply, law enforcement will make you. Any “please” that has meaning has teeth behind it, because the world is full of people who don’t care about being considerate of your “please.” This truth is seen in our interactions with service staff and every aspect of society, and social shaming and yelp and upvotes are all a form of that- a way to give some form of consequence to it when people don’t live up to the courtesy we are expecting.
So from the trivial to the most important things like rights and life itself- the principal holds, its just most people don’t bother to think about how the world actually works or themselves. Some do and it makes them uncomfortable so instead they seek simply that version of things that makes them feel better, even if it ignores the realities of human existence.
I'm going on a bike tour with 9 of my friends today, bank holiday, yay!