My rant du jour- Totalitarian Government

[NightWatcher]

Pardon me but I have a simple question for you.

Can you live one day without government consent?

I say no, and I have already needed government consent today. I used my state (soon to be national i.d. card) license to drive to the store for a chicken biscuit this morning. How many times do you need the consent of the government to live each day?

The reason for the rant du jour is because I am tired of bloodying my head against the wall as I try to finese a license from the state in order to conduct a business. I am a private investigator and I have been trying to open/start my own business. I have been jumping through dozens of flaming hoops set up by the state for more than a year now. A former boss and soon-to-be competitor had complained to the state that I was working before I had a license. Instead of investigating this, the state has put the burden on me to prove that I have not done so. It is impossible to prove a negative action. So I sit and jump through hoops in a hope to get a little blue piece of paper that will allow me to enter the FREE MARKET and compete with others in this capitalist system. I have yet to have the opportunity to enter the market to allow my product and service to speak for itself. Even my barber must have this little blue paper in order to buzz my hair every month or so.

Please give me your glorious blessing so that I might go to the bathroom and wipe my butt with 'government approved' paper. Please let.

"Land of the free, whoever told you that was your enemy".

[TwilightZone]

1. Are you suggesting that drivers' licenses should not be a requirement for driving?

I'd have to disagree. I'd prefer that there be at least some token attempt to keep the people who absolutely shouldn't be driving off the roads.

[NightWatcher]

2. no driver's licenses are a good idea, but what is the line between some protection

and too much control?

[TwilightZone]

3. I'm not sure that licenses to drive would qualify as too much control.

In some states, once you pass the initial test, another is never required (assuming that you don't let it expire or commit an offense that results in its termination), so you can obtain a license at age 14-18 and renew it indefinitely.

In that instance, it could be argued that a person is only required to obtain governmental permission once in his/her entire lifetime for that particular activity.

[NightWatcher]

4. is that the only time you need government consent to live?

We all need the government to look out for us in some aspects, but do we need Big Brother over our shoulder ALL THE TIME?

Do we need cameras on every street corner? Do you want the government in every facet of your life? I am just not a fan of the government acting as a 'Daddy State".

Some protection is good, but extreme control is overwhelming.

[TwilightZone]

5. Not at all.

Your OP, however, is quite clear on the point that you consider needing a driver's license to be a sign of totalitarianism. On that, I'd have to disagree. You need permission to obtain the license initially. Once obtained, you do not (outside of extreme circumstances) ever again require the government's permission to drive.

[LanternWaste]

6. I don't think it's one, absolute line...

I don't think it's one, absolute line-- rather, an ever changing matter of degrees, much like almost everything in our culture. And that ever-changing matter of degrees is dictated by generalized perception of the common good codified into both law and the social contract.

One person may see the licensing procedure as a pain-in-the-ass hoop to jump through for no good reason, while another person may see it as a necessary protection against corrupt business practices.

Just my $0.02 is all...