Freedom, rights, the Second Amendment and slippery slopes.

  I'm a big fan of rights and freedoms. I think that I'm pretty lucky to live in a country where, for the most part, you're free to live your life the way you see fit. There are some restrictions, mostly in the name of "the public interest," and by and large I'm OK with those. My neighbour can't dump toxic waste in my garden, I can't drink a pitcher of margaritas and drive home. You can't cry "FIRE!" in a crowded theatre if your only goal is to incite panic. Restrictions like that help bolster us as a society and enable us to move forward without having to worry about needing to protect ourselves from quite so many dangers.

  I believe that the most effective government is not the one that is (metaphorically) positioned over the citizenry, pressing down on it - but rather the one that is structured beneath the citizens, boosting and bolstering everyone, giving them basic structure and support to freely seek their own goals and agendas. My perfect government is part cheerleader and part wire boundary fence; there to cheer you on and help inspire you to greater success, but also lurking at the edges of acceptable. It protects us from the most dire of circumstances - even if we've brought them on ourselves.