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"Most people do not really want freedom, because freedom involves responsibility, and most people are frightened of responsibility."

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cowboy0108cowboy0108 (PRO)

This is a quote from psychoanalyst Sigmund Freud. 

First I would like to say that, for the most part, most people would immediately disagree with what this is claiming.  I did too.  However, when I thought about it, I realized that Sigmund Freud is correct.

1. people want to be free.  However, they do not want all of what freedom entails.  They only want the positives of it.

2. people do not want the responsibility of being free. 
3.  If a person does not want the responsibility of being free, we can assume that people do not want freedom. 

 

To elaborate:

1.  I am not sure that I do not know any one who wants to have every aspect of his or her life dictated by the government.  Most people want to choose where they work, they want to choose the way they run their lives, they want to choose in general.  I am sure that both I and my opponent will agree with this.

2.  In order to describe how people do not want the responsibility of being free, I must first define the responsibilities of being free.  The responsibilities of being free in America(I do not know about other countries)include, but are not limited to, paying taxes, serving in the military, serving jury duty, staying informed, and attempting to avoid being an economic liability to the nation.  Do people want the responsibility of paying taxes?  No.  Granted, this is true for free and not free people but it should still be brought up.  People do not want to support their nation and pay taxes.  Do people want to serve in the military?  For the most part, No.  Most people do not want to serve and have not served in the military, yet a military is needed to preserve freedom.  Do people want to serve in jury duty?  Hell no.  Do people want to stay informed?  Most people do not.  Do people who are on government assistance do everything possible to get off of it?  No.  I have just described the responsibilities of freedom and how people do not want them.  If people do not want the responsibilities of freedom, they do not REALLY want freedom. 

3.  If people do not want the responsibilities of freedom, people do not truly want freedom.  Can you have a dog if you are unwilling to feed it?  No.  Can you drive a car if you are unwilling to put gas in it?  No.  People want the companionship of a dog, but not the responsibility.  People want the convenience of driving a car but are unwilling to maintain it.  The same principle applies to freedom.  People want the freedom of choice but are unwilling to do what it takes to maintain that freedom.  Yes, a person could argue that though people do not want the responsibility, they are still willing to take the responsibility.  However, a person who really WANTS freedom will WANT to do what it takes to maintain it.  If you follow the "willing to" mentality, like I am sure most do, freedom will appear as a chore as opposed to the wonderful thing it is. 

 Remember, "a free society is always one generation away from extinction."


Return To Top | Posted:
2013-11-11 14:51:57
| Speak Round
xXCryptoXxxXCryptoXx (CON)
"Thank you for your response.

My opponent starts this debate off poorly by contradicting himself multiple times through his opening arguments. He concedes that humans want freedom multiple times, therefore contradicting what he is supposed to be arguing. I will now argue against his opening three premises.

Arguments Against My Opponents Premises and Conclusion

"People want to be free. However, they do not want all of what freedom entails. They only want the positives of it."

Responsibility, freedom, and the positives of freedom are all directly tied to one another. In order to enjoy the positives of freedom, one must take on the responsibility freedom entails. For example, taking a vacation to your chosen destination is a positive of freedom. However, one must take on the responsibility of properly preparing for the vacation. Although the individual may not like taking on the responsibility to prepare for the trip, they are willing to do it so they may enjoy the vacation. Humans achieve the positives of freedom, through their own personal responsibility. Each human has different positives and must therefore retain their own responsibility to fulfill in order to achieve their personal desires. One cannot only have the positives of freedom without the responsibility, for that takes away the individual's right to choose, in addition to creating a rather lazy, almost parasitic being who wishes to have all their desires taken care of. Humans like to dictate their own lives, and are willing to take on the responsibility of doing so if it means they can choose to fulfill their personal desires by any means they see fit.

"People do not want the responsibility of being free."
As argued in your last premise, humans will take on the responsibility of freedom because it entails them to choose to fulfill their personal desires through their own personal responsibility. In addition, responsibility is something enjoyed by many humans. Responsibility entails the individual to a certain importance while allowing the ability to know that they dictate their own lives.

"If a person does not want the responsibility of being free, we can assume that people do not want freedom."
Now that you have seen my response to both your premises, we can understand just how flawed your conclusion is. This is because humans do want the responsibility of being free, and because of this this we know humans want freedom. This is a logically supported statement that directly rebuts your conclusion that humans do not want freedom.

Arguments Against My Opponents Elaborations
"being free in America(I do not know about other countries)include, but
are not limited to, paying taxes, serving in the military, serving jury
duty, staying informed, and attempting to avoid being an economic
liability to the nation...."

My opponent has this all completely mixed up. These are not freedoms at all. In fact, these are responsibilities created by the society in order to entail an efficient society. A society that wanted the freedom of the individual would not force any of these among the citizen. Being truly free would mean the individual has the decision as to whether or not to do any of these things.

"People want the convenience of driving a car but are unwilling to
maintain it. The same principle applies to freedom. People want the
freedom of choice but are unwilling to do what it takes to maintain that
freedom. Yes, a person could argue that though people do not want the
responsibility, they are still willing to take the responsibility."

This is false. How do we know this? We know this because humans of all generations have been a people who have enjoyed their freedoms and been willing to take on responsibility for their own personal desires. The people unwilling to take on this responsibility are the lazy, parasitic, and worthless individuals in every society. By not taking on the responsibility of freedom, you are ultimately not taking on all that life itself entails. To response to my opponent's analogy about the car repairs, you know that to be absolutely untrue. In fact, people will maintain their car so they can enjoy the positive of being able to drive the car. The basis very basis of the human life is to work in order to fulfill one's desires. I do my homework right, I get a good grade. I work my job, I get money. This responsibility is fulfilling to the individual. The problem with your arguments is that if the human does not want freedom but only wants the positives, then the human would rather have their lives totally controlled so as not to have to take on responsibility. But by doing this you take away the freedom to choose to work towards ones personal desires. Humans live to fulfill their personal desires, and to take away this choice is ultimately detrimental to the individual.


I await your response.




Return To Top | Posted:
2013-11-14 09:24:23
| Speak Round
cowboy0108cowboy0108 (PRO)

I am going to keep this short because most of your argument is based on your misunderstanding of my points. 

Firstly, my opponent stated that I conceded.  I did not.  I said that people want the positives of freedom but not the responsibility of it.  Therefore, they do not want freedom. 

Secondly, my opponent provided an anecdote about a vacation.  Let me ask, if you could go on your dream vacation without having to plan it whatsoever, would you like it better?  I do not know one person who would not like it better.  Freedom follows this same principle.  People do not want the responsibility of maintaining freedom just like they do not want the responsibility of planning a vacation.   If a person does not WANT the responsibility, they do not WANT freedom.  Yes, they may be willing to take the responsibility, but that is mostly because they usually have no choice in the matter.  If most people really got the choice, they would not choose freedom. 

Thrirdly, my opponent took my quote completely out of context when he describes his "Arguments Against My Opponents Elaborations"  section.  I specifically stated that those were not freedoms, but responsibilities of freedom that people DO NOT WANT.  Again, if they do not want these responsibilities, they do not really want freedom. 

Fourthly, time and time again my opponent brings up how people are "willing" to take on the responsibility of freedom, however, they do not WANT this responsibility.  This means that they do not want freedom. 

I will stop for now.


Return To Top | Posted:
2013-11-18 03:17:51
| Speak Round


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adminadmin
Cowboy0108, I've reset the round. You may post again as soon as you get a chance :)
Posted 2013-11-17 12:01:31
cowboy0108cowboy0108
This quote is by Sigmund Freud.
Posted 2013-11-08 03:59:23
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Note the word "most" hence, this is not true for all, but for "most". For the purpose of this debate, "most" will be described by over half.