Sunday, April 17, 2011

My pledge to the people of Farwell

Supposedly someone here in town went to the police about me over something they didn't like. It was nothing wrong- no aggression; no theft or fraud; not even any trespassing. The report passed on to me may or may not have been true.

Yet, someone else, upon hearing of my experience, expressed the hope that the cops will go after all the other people in town who could be punished for the exact same thing.

Absolutely, positively NOT!!! If what I did deserves no punishment, and it doesn't, why would I want punishment applied to others for the same thing?

That's the difference that makes a libertarian better- more ethical- than "conservatives" or "progressives".

So, in the spirit of doing the right thing, here is my pledge to the people of Farwell:

  • I will never, NEVER, report you to the police for doing things that initiate no force or theft; even things I find personally distasteful. I will never cooperate in any way with any investigation of you by any government agent, "authority", or official for those things either.

I consider this to be a logical extension of living by the ZAP.

The coin has another side, though. If you do initiate force or commit theft against any innocent person, you had better hope that in doing so you don't make me mad enough to lose my mind, even temporarily, because if I do, and that condition is severe enough that it causes me to violate my principles, going to the police could be one of the things I might do in my distraught and irrational condition.

You know... it would be nice to see more people willing to make this pledge to the people around them.

2 comments:

  1. For pity sake, DON'T call the police for anything. Did you see this? http://freedominourtime.blogspot.com/2011/04/when-will-it-be-enough.html All too true.

    You and your neighbors are in FAR more danger from the police than from any ordinary criminal alive.

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  2. That's why I said it would only happen if I lost my mind. And, yes, I saw Griggs' piece. Scary stuff, but even scarier is why do people put up with it??

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