Monday, October 26, 2009

What freedom is up against

What freedom is up against

I hesitated and almost didn't post the column that I wrote yesterday. It was a little more personal than most. I finally decided the benefits outweighed the drawbacks.

The main reason is that I feel it is necessary to answer those who try to criticize the ideas I present here. If readers do not see the criticisms, they are missing half of the story. You have to see where critics get the facts wrong if you wish to defend your principles effectively.

The other reason is to show what free people are up against. We simply wish to be left alone as long as we are harming no one else. If we cause harm, we understand that there are consequences that we may not like.

That isn't good enough for those who oppose freedom. We could coexist with them in peace if they would let us. Even if they don't want to cooperate, we would leave them to their own path until they attempted to use coercion or deception. Yet this is unthinkable to them.

They will misrepresent what we believe. They will make "mistakes" in quoting us or in interpreting what we are saying. They will call us names if they think it will work. When it doesn't, they will either attack us or, much more likely, send hired thugs to do their dirty work.
The enemies of freedom want to force us to go along with them. They would kill us for simply not wanting to be a part of their "system" of coercion and deception.

In other words, any conflict would be of their choosing. This ethical failing on their part shows that they are wrong, and that they probably know it on an instinctual level. It is why they are so desperate to hide the truth any way they can.