Liberty

I found some quotes from JS Mills that I thought were just fascinating. They are from his work On Liberty published in 1859.

Liberty he defined as "to set limits to the power which the ruler
should be suffered (allowed) to exercise over the community."

Imagine if FOX news (or others) used the word Liberty in that context!

The rules people are governed by "appear to them self-evident and
self-justifying...because they are their customs" "The effect of
custom" on rules of conduct "is all the more complete because the
subject is one on which it is not generally considered necessary that
reasons should be given, either by one person to others or by each to
himself. People are accustomed to believe, and have been encouraged in
the belief...that their feelings on subjects...are better than reasons
and render reasons unnecessary."

Every time we even try to discuss something that upsets a persons internally balanced, self-willed ignorance, (not to convince them that we are right just to open up a conversation to just the glimmer that there could be another way of looking at it) they almost take it as an attack. To most people there need be no other reason necessary. "You just gotta support the GOP!"