3 ms·
Another victory in the war on consenting adults choosing what to do, with whom to do it, and the terms upon which they do it with each other! What surprises me
by raganwald 16y ago
Another victory in the war on consenting adults choosing what to do, with whom to do it, and the terms upon which they do it with each other!
What surprises me when I read this stuff from my comfortable perch in Canada, is how schizophrenic America can appear to the outside world. On the one hand, there's a fierce independence from government, a belief in making your own choices and not allowing the government to meddle in your private affairs.
And on the other hand, there's stuff like this, stuff that looks to a Canadian like being deeply un-American, deeply opposed to American values.
- kevindication 16y agoIt's puzzling to this American as well. I too see these things as deeply un-American. What's worse is that, as other commenters are mentioning, this makes it more difficult to track human traffickers.
- Symmetry 16y agoIn High School civics class Back In The Day we discussed a study that showed that a significant majority of Americans would agree with the statement "People should be able to advocate any political belief, no matter how wrong" but an equally significant majority would disagree with "People should be able to advocate Nazi beliefs." That is, people hold many abstract beliefs that they don't apply to specific situations.
- tptacek 16y agoI don't agree with this assessment at all. I know myself not to be the only person on HN with this take on the situation. But I would rather bite down on a live, wriggling cockroach than debate it on HN. If you posted this comment because you wanted to hear the contrary take on this, feel free to email me. If you posted for some other reason, feel free to ignore.
- deleted 16y ago[deleted]
- raganwald 16y agoNo need to debate. I'm perfectly aware that real life is far too complex to boil down to simple slogans like "Government should be big/small" or "People should/shouldn't have the right to _____." My observation is that the image or brand presented to the outside world is contradictory, not that there's anything amiss in how you choose to govern yourselves.
- tptacek 16y agoI don't think you've oversimplified. I think you and I completely disagree about the regulation of prostitution. But I'm no more interested in debating than you are; I'm just saying: look at this fine orange-and-grey-tinged echo chamber we've built here.
- raganwald 16y agoThat's a very good point, thanks!
- zephjc 16y agoIf you remember who America's ancestors were (religious zealots) you can guess at a lot of its present behaviors with less surprise.