Ann wrote:
I agree with what you said, Terry, and I agree that I should have used the word "society" instead of "the state".
Thank you, Ann, but I still disagree with you. Substituting "society" for "the state" changes your statement to:
We are, as it were, the "property" of [society].
In America, one's society belongs to the people within that society. The people do not belong to the society. The sentiment you expressed belongs to a socialistic or even Marxist society, not a democratic society. A democratic society cannot "own" its citizens, because the citizens are primary. In a socialist society, however, the people
are the property of the society, because the society (or the state) is primary.
But the initial point of this thread is valid. That Wisconsin couple did wrong in preventing their daughter from receiving treatment which probably would have saved her life. We do agree on that point.
