Understanding right and wrong is not hard
How do we tell "right" from "wrong"? When I ask this I am not talking about choosing the "right" color of car, or what to eat for lunch, where one choice was determined to be "right" and the other "wrong" based upon your mood or values. Rather, I am talking about "good" and "evil".
So, how do you discern between the two? Do you need a God or a religion? Do you need other people to tell you? Do you need a government to decide for you with its "laws"? Is "right" and "wrong" subject to a majority opinion, or a "vote"? Or, is it something that is set in your human genes, only to be altered by trauma, serious brainwashing, or abuse?
"Evil" is any act which harms those who do not deserve to be harmed right now, in other words, it is anything which harms "the innocent". It doesn't change its nature because you wish it would. It doesn't change because you "need" it to change. It doesn't change because your God (or a representative thereof) tells you it has changed in order to get you to commit some act you otherwise wouldn't. It doesn't change because some Ruler has passed a "law".
Every human, other than those who have been mentally or emotionally damaged, understands this concept instinctively. Experimentation and observation even show that some non-human animals have more of an understanding of "right" and "wrong" than has usually been suspected. In humans who have had this basic wiring altered, where does the damage which short-circuits this understanding come from? It can be from a physical or chemical problem with the brain, but it is usually the result of manipulation by an authority or "collective" which depends on confusing this natural human understanding. Religions and states are the two biggest offenders, but even individuals can be guilty of this. Sometimes it is decided by an individual who thinks it will "help" him to hurt others for some reason. In the short-term, it can "work". But it is still wrong.
I am quite certain you understand the difference between the two, even if you pretend you don't in order to get away with something without thinking badly of yourself.
Libertarianism, anarchism, or whatever you want to call the philosophy of liberty, flows logically from the acceptance of this simple understanding of the differences between "right" and "wrong". It really isn't that difficult to understand, unless you try really hard to miss the point. If that is the case, you might want to ask yourself "why?"
Thursday, September 24, 2009
Misunderstanding the revolution
Misunderstanding the revolution
Once again a racist has made some rather self-incriminating statements and has illustrated his lack of understanding and lack of principles all at the same time.
From the Twin Cities Daily Planet comes this "gem" from Ralph Remington (he possesses a proud firearm name, at least). He doesn't understand what is happening in the world around him, and is blaming others. So let me educate him.
First of all, Mr. Remington is a racist. His capitalizations in the piece illustrate the importance he places upon "race", as does his mindset. He claims the opposition to Obama's socialist agenda is based upon only the president's "race". If that were the case, freedom advocates such as myself would have been saying nothing during Bush the Second's ill-conceived reign. We were not silent; Mr. Remington was just not listening. Only a racist could decry justified opposition to Obama's agenda because of "sympathy" for, or identification with, Obama's "race".
If the Black Panther incident he mentions from May 2, 1967, happened just as he relates, given the opportunity I would be right there to support the absolute right of those activists to own and to carry their arms wherever they wish, as long as they do not initiate force, and I loudly condemn the rights-violations by the police who responded, and Reagan's self-serving reaction of passing the "laws" against open carry in California. Despicable authoritarian statists of every stripe often react badly to people exercising fundamental human rights.
Also, Mr. Remington, you must be willingly ignoring the race of the most "famous" open-carrier who was made such a big deal of in the mainstream media recently: the video shown by MSNBC was "creatively" edited to hide the race of the man with the AR-15 at Obama's Arizona appearance. But, we should be used to this sort of dishonesty from the mainstream media by now, shouldn't we?
Then he claims the demonstrators are "misquoting Thomas Jefferson to justify a call to arms". Really? Read beyond the one, feared, quote to the whole body of Jefferson's writings. Jefferson believed that tyrants needed to be killed, every time they came to power, and he recognized that freedom-lovers would die in the unpleasantness as well, in order to "water the tree of liberty". There is no "misquoting" going on, and the only misunderstanding comes from those who hate freedom and side with the tyrants. People like Mr. Remington, apparently.
Jefferson and many of the other founders of America were much less polite about saying what needed to happen to those who violated the basic human rights of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" than most modern demonstrators and freedom advocates. Most of us are cowards compared to them. Jefferson and his ilk would have been saying exactly what they were thinking and taking whatever consequences came their way. Of course, there was no ironically misnamed "PATRIOT act" back then to be used to protect tyrants from justice.
If there IS the racial "subtext" that Mr. Remington hungers for, it is not coming from the REAL freedom advocates, but from a few of the disgruntled Republicans who are simply riding on the coat tails of the freedom lovers. They are not the ones tyrants really need to fear, though, since they are fine with tyranny as long as it is "their guy" doing the tyrannizing.
Those of us who matter don't care about a person's race, we care about his or her actions. We care about freedom. We are not "conservative", or "racist". A large number of us are LGBT, "Black", Hispanic, female, Asian, Native, or members of any other "group" that Mr. Remington falsely believes are on his side: you know, the side that believes it is OK to steal and murder as long as you wear the silly hat of "government", and do it for "health care" or some other disgusting collectivist program.
Guess what. It is not OK. We know it, and we will educate you if you lack the principles to figure it out for yourself. All of your favorite government programs, Mr. Remington, including the "Civil Rights Department" you keep mentioning, are based upon your erroneous belief that the government can ethically steal money from its rightful owners (the people who earned it) and then use that money to force people into living as the "majority", using government, desires, through force and threats of force. Your "government" always comes down, at its very foundation, to murder, Mr. Remington.
Like so many, you try to justify Obama by contrasting him to Bush. Bush was evil, was an international and domestic bully, and a traitor to the cause of freedom. He was no friend to gun owners, and was only a "gun-toting cowboy" in the way that certain crooked "lawmen" in the old west were. They could tote the guns, but everyone else was forbidden. Your "rational, and even-tempered president" is of the exact same type. He is another collectivist authoritarian. He is a life-long enemy of gun owners and free people everywhere. Just like Bush. Why, Mr. Remington, do you refuse to see and accept the truth? Why do you lie for Obama?
Guess what. I am fine with people "wearing Islamic attire" carrying, not just weapons, but fully automatic rifles, to town meetings or anywhere else, as long as they don't initiate force. I would happily do the same. It is the only way to keep government honest. Once again your racism is exposed, Mr. Remington.
You might be surprised to find that your "friends and family - White, Black, Asian, Latino, Native and LGBT", are not all as stupid and anti-freedom as you assume they are. Some of them are probably the very people you would fear and hate, if you bothered to get to know them.
Nevertheless, Mr. Remington, if revolution comes and you are there on your porch "with guns in the air and a beret on [your] head" (might I suggest a safer direction in which to point your guns? Perhaps at the actual aggressors?), I will support, and if possible defend, your right to protect your life, liberty, and property- to my death. Where do you get the authority to attempt to deny me the same freedom? I suspect you will be watching the wrong people while the real enemies of your life, liberty, property, and pursuit of happiness get you from behind. It isn't those you rail against who would deny you your freedom, after all.
Tip of the old sombrero to War on Guns for bringing this to my attention.
Once again a racist has made some rather self-incriminating statements and has illustrated his lack of understanding and lack of principles all at the same time.
From the Twin Cities Daily Planet comes this "gem" from Ralph Remington (he possesses a proud firearm name, at least). He doesn't understand what is happening in the world around him, and is blaming others. So let me educate him.
First of all, Mr. Remington is a racist. His capitalizations in the piece illustrate the importance he places upon "race", as does his mindset. He claims the opposition to Obama's socialist agenda is based upon only the president's "race". If that were the case, freedom advocates such as myself would have been saying nothing during Bush the Second's ill-conceived reign. We were not silent; Mr. Remington was just not listening. Only a racist could decry justified opposition to Obama's agenda because of "sympathy" for, or identification with, Obama's "race".
If the Black Panther incident he mentions from May 2, 1967, happened just as he relates, given the opportunity I would be right there to support the absolute right of those activists to own and to carry their arms wherever they wish, as long as they do not initiate force, and I loudly condemn the rights-violations by the police who responded, and Reagan's self-serving reaction of passing the "laws" against open carry in California. Despicable authoritarian statists of every stripe often react badly to people exercising fundamental human rights.
Also, Mr. Remington, you must be willingly ignoring the race of the most "famous" open-carrier who was made such a big deal of in the mainstream media recently: the video shown by MSNBC was "creatively" edited to hide the race of the man with the AR-15 at Obama's Arizona appearance. But, we should be used to this sort of dishonesty from the mainstream media by now, shouldn't we?
Then he claims the demonstrators are "misquoting Thomas Jefferson to justify a call to arms". Really? Read beyond the one, feared, quote to the whole body of Jefferson's writings. Jefferson believed that tyrants needed to be killed, every time they came to power, and he recognized that freedom-lovers would die in the unpleasantness as well, in order to "water the tree of liberty". There is no "misquoting" going on, and the only misunderstanding comes from those who hate freedom and side with the tyrants. People like Mr. Remington, apparently.
Jefferson and many of the other founders of America were much less polite about saying what needed to happen to those who violated the basic human rights of "life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness" than most modern demonstrators and freedom advocates. Most of us are cowards compared to them. Jefferson and his ilk would have been saying exactly what they were thinking and taking whatever consequences came their way. Of course, there was no ironically misnamed "PATRIOT act" back then to be used to protect tyrants from justice.
If there IS the racial "subtext" that Mr. Remington hungers for, it is not coming from the REAL freedom advocates, but from a few of the disgruntled Republicans who are simply riding on the coat tails of the freedom lovers. They are not the ones tyrants really need to fear, though, since they are fine with tyranny as long as it is "their guy" doing the tyrannizing.
Those of us who matter don't care about a person's race, we care about his or her actions. We care about freedom. We are not "conservative", or "racist". A large number of us are LGBT, "Black", Hispanic, female, Asian, Native, or members of any other "group" that Mr. Remington falsely believes are on his side: you know, the side that believes it is OK to steal and murder as long as you wear the silly hat of "government", and do it for "health care" or some other disgusting collectivist program.
Guess what. It is not OK. We know it, and we will educate you if you lack the principles to figure it out for yourself. All of your favorite government programs, Mr. Remington, including the "Civil Rights Department" you keep mentioning, are based upon your erroneous belief that the government can ethically steal money from its rightful owners (the people who earned it) and then use that money to force people into living as the "majority", using government, desires, through force and threats of force. Your "government" always comes down, at its very foundation, to murder, Mr. Remington.
Like so many, you try to justify Obama by contrasting him to Bush. Bush was evil, was an international and domestic bully, and a traitor to the cause of freedom. He was no friend to gun owners, and was only a "gun-toting cowboy" in the way that certain crooked "lawmen" in the old west were. They could tote the guns, but everyone else was forbidden. Your "rational, and even-tempered president" is of the exact same type. He is another collectivist authoritarian. He is a life-long enemy of gun owners and free people everywhere. Just like Bush. Why, Mr. Remington, do you refuse to see and accept the truth? Why do you lie for Obama?
Guess what. I am fine with people "wearing Islamic attire" carrying, not just weapons, but fully automatic rifles, to town meetings or anywhere else, as long as they don't initiate force. I would happily do the same. It is the only way to keep government honest. Once again your racism is exposed, Mr. Remington.
You might be surprised to find that your "friends and family - White, Black, Asian, Latino, Native and LGBT", are not all as stupid and anti-freedom as you assume they are. Some of them are probably the very people you would fear and hate, if you bothered to get to know them.
Nevertheless, Mr. Remington, if revolution comes and you are there on your porch "with guns in the air and a beret on [your] head" (might I suggest a safer direction in which to point your guns? Perhaps at the actual aggressors?), I will support, and if possible defend, your right to protect your life, liberty, and property- to my death. Where do you get the authority to attempt to deny me the same freedom? I suspect you will be watching the wrong people while the real enemies of your life, liberty, property, and pursuit of happiness get you from behind. It isn't those you rail against who would deny you your freedom, after all.
Tip of the old sombrero to War on Guns for bringing this to my attention.
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