Originally Posted by Republic
By whose determination is the element of infringement decided? And, are you willing to apply the same criteria to every aspect of life? At what point does the right to "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" begin? Where does it end?
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Same as with all of your other traffic laws. The Officer in question writes the ticket, and if the offender chooses to fight it, the Judge (or Jury depending on the type of offense) makes the final ruling.
And yes, if any aspect of my life it going to get someone else killed sure, I'll apply it.
As for where your rights begin and end, they begin... well at the beginning, and end when they start to infringe on others rights.
Originally Posted by Republic
The point isn't about your ability to work your radio. It's more about some other guy's inability. All it takes is a split second to lose control of an automobile. If we're going to let this go because it's only a distraction to "some", how is it that we aren't applying the same standard to texting? I mean, some people might be really adept at it. Ya know?  |
No, not that adept. At least not the average population. Some stunt drivers may be talented enough to drive their car with a brick on the throttle and themselves sitting on the hood. That doesn't mean we should let them do it during rush hour.
Originally Posted by Republic
Yes. Check the very definitions you linked. Read the first line. Removing freedom is removing liberty.
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The definition you reference (with my original comment):
1 : the quality or state of being free (vague to the point of useless... what is free?)
Your definition of freedom seems to imply that any law takes away my liberty. Thus the law against me coming to your house at night and stealing your television impinges on my liberty. Darn fascist!
Originally Posted by Republic
Are you really comparing criminal activity to texting? If it's legal to carry firearms into a bank where you live, that's a personal liberty you have that should be defended as any other rights you may have anywhere else. I'm guessing it's not though. Oppression really has nothing to do with giving up personal liberty. People voluntarily give it up all the time, sometimes not even knowing it.
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What makes it a criminal activity? The fact that there is a law against it. There is a law against my packing the gun into the bank (and even wearing the ski-mask into the bank), even if I'm just there to deposit my paycheck. If we outlaw texting while driving, it too becomes criminal activity, and distracted driving, unlike my masked attempts at personal finance, kills people. So why are you defending peoples right to risk others lives while driving, but not up in arms about the loss of my ability to manage my finances while hiding my horrible nose job?