Platitude-Free Zone
Coolest thing a kid said in my class today: "The absence of the towers doesn't just represent the lives that were lost that day. It also represents our loss of trust in our government."
Lamest thing a kid said in my class today: "Freedom isn't free."
Does anyone know what the fuck that even MEANS?
Because I'm pretty sure, judging by the politics of the simpletons who say it, that it doesn't mean what Thomas Jefferson meant when he said, "The price of freedom is eternal vigilance."
10 comments:
It means that Jesus Christ paid for our freedom with his blood, right? So now we owe him or something?
I imagine the conversation going like this.
"I'll take the freedom."
"You got enough? Cause freedom isn't free."
"Well what's it cost?"
"Oh well, the price of freedom is constant vigilance. And only if you want the real thing."
"Cool. Yeah, gimme that."
"Freedom isn't free" makes my blood boil. There's a quote by a labor leader that I like better: "Freedom is something you assume. Then you wait for someone to try and take it away from you. The degree to which you resist is the degree to which you are free."
I'm not sure Jefferson actually said this ("the price of freedom is eternal vigilance"), as it turns out. I had it in my head as Jefferson and I googled it to be sure before I put it in my post. But then I got to wondering about the context in which he said it and I consulted my many Jefferson books, but I can't find it anywhere. Oh well. It's certainly in keeping with his political philosophy.
Andrew Jackson, who I fucking hate only slightly less than Alexander Hamilton and Dubya, said "eternal vigilance by the people is the price of liberty."
Anyway. . .
Brian: That is just that one random billboard in Currituck.
Phil: I don't know, constant vigilance is tough. I barely have the time for sporadic vigilance.
Chris: Mine too. And I like that quote. Who's the labor leader?
"Freedom's just another word for nothing left to do. Nothing ain't worth nothing, but it's free."
Not what what you were looking for?
Wait, are you telling me Jesus didn't die for our "freedom"?
I'm gonna have to re-think everything. And just when religious nationalism was starting to make so much sense.
Here's an idea for the "freedom isn't free" student: make a rule that you are not allowed to merely regurgitate the opinions of your parents and offer them as your own.
It sounds like he heard something he thought was cool and repeated it. You should have called him on it and ask him to explain what he thinks it means. At least he said something. Most kids just shrug these days and mumble.
It's been a hundred-some years since anyone said they "fucking hate" Andrew Jackson. You have to be a real prick to upset someone from the grave.
I think if you are going to quote a bumper sticker, you should at least have the decency to admit that you are quoting a bumper sticker.
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