Separation of Life and State

How important is "politics"? In some ways, it is the most important thing; in others, it has absolutely no relevence to daily life whatsoever. Anyone who bases their entire life on politics is missing out on a lot. Read my previous post about what "politics" is. The personal scale is where politics matters most. On the national or international scale, it rarely matters to us individually. Let governments bluster and threaten each other all they want. Unless they begin threatening the real people, what does it really matter? What does it matter which authoritarian is president? Democrat or Republican; they are just two sides of the same cow-pie. In most cases, the best method of dealing with government predations is just to ignore the idiots' ravings and live your life. On the other hand, if you can make a difference, and won't cheapen your own life in the process, then by all means jump right in. Obey the laws that you can without betraying your principles. Ignore the counterfeit laws that you feel you need to. Don't violate the ZAP. If it will make you happy, monkeywrench government efforts to number, control, and track you. Don't believe anything government tells you without first confirming it from a reliable source. Even if it turns out to be true, does it matter? Government needs to keep you in panic in order to gain more power for itself. The state will never ackowledge a separation of life and state; that is for you to do for yourself. Don't let government intrude where it is not welcome and has no business snooping. Live your life free.

What "Politics" Means to Me

I think that politics is a system for getting along with people who you do not like. No one needs politics for dealing with those we like. Getting along with them comes automatically. Therefore, I believe that the best political system is the one which allows those who really don't like one another to still live their lives peaceably in the same space. Authoritarianism doesn't work because it usually forces those people together in a way that makes both sides more unhappy than they were before. Only in a libertarian society can people be free to associate in any way they choose, as long as no one initiates force. This is not a huge revelation, but I see it work on a small scale every day. If you truly dislike someone, minimize your dealings with them, and do not cause situations which escalate the dislike on either side. When you must deal with them, do so with the same respect that you would want, and then move along. Don't dwell on the fact that you don't like them. If you can ever grow past the need for your dislike, you might just find that they are not so bad after all. It has happened before for me.