Tuesday, December 08, 2015

Nature of government no shocker

(My Clovis News Journal column for November 6, 2015)

I’m not a political libertarian. I don’t believe it’s possible to change government in any helpful way with political action, including voting. Political libertarians believe they can change government by becoming government. If this works, let’s all rush to join the Islamic State and the KKK so we can change them from the inside, too.

Swim in a cesspool and see if you change it more than it changes you. I don’t believe you can clean a cesspool by adding a bucket of fresh water, either. Especially if you have to pollute that water to make it “fit in better” before you add it.

Government is corruption, theft, and aggression. Whether it is a city council, state legislators, or a national government. Being shocked when a government acts true to its nature seems as odd as being shocked when red ants sting.

Constitutions can't prevent governments from being true to their nature any more than posting a note beside an anthill can change the nature of the ants. The ants might notice the shadow it casts, and may change course to avoid the note. But they will still be red ants, behaving like red ants. They will still sting.

Maybe the situation would have been different had the Constitution, especially the Bill of Rights, come with a penalty clause to discourage violations, with swift, sure punishment for government employees. If you allow government employees to interpret the Constitution and hand out the punishment for breaking it, you are handing the fox keys to the hen house. You're back to where you didn't want to be. Any punishment would have to be immediate; beyond the control or reach of any government employee. Government calls this "insurrection" or "revolution".

This isn't to say government never changes. Nothing could be further from the truth. There are always small shifts toward something less horrible in limited areas, while the general direction is toward more control and snooping. It's the nature of government, and can't be altered.

Is it "defeatism" to accept reality? No. It is a call to change how you view government, and how you respond when its nature is exposed. Don't be shocked or saddened. It's expected. Remember this when anyone suggests raising "taxes" (money government is permitted to steal), or says "there oughta be a law". How do you really believe that will work out? It's not defeatist to live with reality; it's self-defeating to ignore it.
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5 comments:

  1. Needing a constitution to protect individuals from their government makes as much sense as a woman first getting a restraining order against the man she is about to marry.
    If there is that much risk, why get involved in the relationship in the first place?

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    1. It makes about as much sense as digging into other people's business because you have nothing better to do with your life.

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  2. have you seen this:

    Timeless, Kafkaesque Guide to Subverting Any Organization with “Purposeful Stupidity” (1944), describes how to undermine a country through deliberate sabotage of its bureacracy by reinforcing govt natural inclinations.

    http://www.openculture.com/2015/12/simple-sabotage-field-manual.html

    fantastic. inciteful.

    -sofa

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    1. Very interesting. I recognize so much of that advice as normal procedure in places I have worked.

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