http://inspirationalstorytellers.com/the-elephant-and-the-rope/
The Elephant and the Rope

There is a story about a man who, as he was passing some elephants, suddenly stopped, confused by the fact that these huge creatures were being held by only a small rope tied to their front leg. No chains, no cages. It was obvious that the elephants could, at anytime, break away from their bonds but for some reason, they did not.



He saw a trainer nearby and asked why these animals just stood there and made no attempt to get away. Well, the trainer said, when they are very young and much smaller we use the same size rope to tie them and, at that age, it's enough to hold them. As they grow up, they are conditioned to believe they cannot break away. They believe the rope can still hold them, so they never try to break free.



The man was amazed. These animals could at any time break free from their bonds but because they believed they couldn't, they were stuck right where they were.

people need to learn to drive, it is incumbent that the licensed driver is held responsible while they are in the car, permits are for six months, not for a lifetime, and MOST Drivers on the roads have licenses and not permits,,


now, whether they USE what they learned well is another question, and YES when they break the laws of the road, even after passing a test, they should have legal consequence,, which they do

unfortunately, I am not permitted to respond to personal insults and attacks, so I will skip my response to those,,,,and the ASSumptions about what I like

I Don't assume that I have the right to do whatever makes me happy though, that's for sure,,,,I Take into account how actions affect others and how actions EN MASSE would affect things as well

I Am doing the things I 'want' to do, I just do them legally

no one prevents me from doing the legally either,


a society of no law would be a chaotic one,, as well as one where everyone just did whatever made them 'happy'


if MAN Created it, man controls it,, that's life,,,,

those things man create usually take funds to do so and require revenue and resources,, also life

and I may want to toss a piece of gum on the road, and it not 'harm' anyone, but if everyone is able to do it in their 'pursuit of happiness', it may lead to the unhappiness of many others who aren't happy looking at it


there are a lot of things in life like that where 'happiness' isn't so simple when it affects the 'happiness' of others,, this is one of those cases


its not intelligent, in my opinion, to hand just anyone a gun or to just allow anyone behind a ton of metal that can move at speeds up to 100mph,, it would impede on my 'happiness' to worry about my safety in a society where that was the accepted norm,,,,


as a citizen, Im sure my 'happiness' should be no more or less an issue than anyone elses ,,,

You want your rights but wish to infringe on or limit those of others

(kind of like those who wish to have the 'right' to happiness by allowing unskilled drivers access to cars, while infringing upon the 'right' to life of those put in danger by such a 'right')




Aren't you glad soldiers will fight and die defending them for you..... so you don't have to.

(what soldiers fight for is personal to the soldier isn't it? many do it because it is a job, many never planned to do it,,,soldiers aren't all the same in their motivations,, and when is the last time a soldier died defending my 'rights'? what war have we been in in the last 50 years that had to do with those?)


So how do you show them thanks? By giving them away or allowing them to be abused or taken in your ignorance


I Show them respect by thanking them, the same way I Thank teachers when I See them, or doctors when I See them, or firefighters, or police officers,,etc,,


,,plenty of people with important jobs that I Respect,, and when I See them, I Tell them thanks PERSONALLY

relevance?

did someone provide statistics in this thread? Anyone?

opinions,, opinions and more opinions,, everyone is entitled,,,

to travel is to move from one place to another, which we have a God given 'right' to do all day long

however, we were never bestowed by God a 'right to drive'



it is not constitutional right, to drive a car , only to TRAVEL,,,,

because there are laws ABOUT an activity doesnt mean there is a law giving a RIGHT to that activity,, so the point is not invalid at all


there are minimum wage laws, but minimum wage is not a RIGHT, it changes,, rights do NOT

an obsession with arguing for the sake of arguing leads to constant distractions,,,


oh good grief, for the sake of avoiding more nitpicking and back and forth, in the context of THIS discussion, I am and have been debating 'natural rights',, as opposed to 'legal rights'



one never changes, the other does,,,

I just realized the 'ammo' provided to those who just revel in arguing and belittling by not being more specific as to the original CONTEXT of my statements,,,

the first quote states rights are inherent in people


for it to be inherent in people it would have to be inherent in the FIRST PEOPLE

therefore, driving a car is not INHERENT IN PEOPLE,, although traveling (moving from place to place) is

and isnt it those 'limits' that people dont agree on?

who gets to decide those?