Need for government crazy idea

(My Clovis News Journal column for August 26, 2016)

 Government is an unnecessary evil (my chosen headline)

Of all the crazy ideas humans have come up with over the centuries, one of the most destructive is the idea that government-- or more accurately, the State-- is necessary.

What gives people this idea? What makes them believe that without the State society would collapse?

The twelve-plus years of indoctrination by employees of this organization, beginning in early childhood, to view it as something other than a criminal gang plays a part. Due to this schooling most can no longer see the truth behind the curtain, and will defend government's existence at every opportunity.

Few understand what the State is, or what it does. The State is an institution established to commit theft and aggression over a particular area. Of course, they call the theft "taxation", eminent domain, asset forfeiture, property codes, licensing laws, fines, and so forth, and call the aggression "law enforcement", "compulsory attendance", "arrest", and checkpoints.

The State is not the same as society, but is its worst enemy, with opposing goals and methods. Instead of using the "economic means", where both parties win, the State employs the "political means", where one party wins at the expense of another. Roadside peddlers use the economic means; muggers use the political means.

Lacking this basic understanding, the people support theft and aggression as long as it is "legally" committed by government employees.

Some believe this protects them from bad guys.

A big problem is that the bad guys who want to violate life, liberty, and property without facing the natural consequences of doing so are drawn to government jobs where they get a free pass. Or nearly so.

Maybe some believe that without the state, grand projects could never be completed. One of the most common expressions of this fear is "But who would build the roads?" Well, obviously, the same people who build them now. But financed voluntarily, by people who can be held accountable if poor design, shoddy workmanship, or faulty maintenance causes bodily harm or property damage. Try suing the state over icy roads, or the pothole which never gets properly repaired, resulting in property damage, and see how accountable the state is for the roads it claims to own.

If something is wanted or needed, someone will find a way to provide it, and someone will be willing to help finance it. Guaranteed. You don't need something as anti-social as the State to provide good things to the individuals who make up society.

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Anyone, even cops, can do good things

It seems to really befuddle the copsuckers, even though it seems very simple to me. That cops are bad, but can sometimes do good, and that people who don't buy into the cult's propaganda can recognize the good acts as good without falling for the cult.

If a cop shoots a guy who is making a credible threat to kill an innocent person, he did a good thing. Just like if (or when) a shoe shine boy shoots an attacker he has done a good thing. Or, the same goes for a serial rapist shooting another bad guy who is in the process of archating, saving an innocent in the process. Or, if one of these examples protects private property from violation. A good act is a good act regardless of who does it or why.

You can be UltraHitler and still, in one situation, do the right thing. Your past and your future have no bearing on what you do in that moment. And I would be grateful to you for doing the right thing.

But, that one moment doesn't excuse all the other bad you have done and will probably continue to do. No, it really doesn't.

Yes, cops can save lives. So can pet store employees, mafioso, bank robbers, grocery store cashiers, and any other person on the planet.

The only advantages cops have in the area of responding to trouble are that they are exempt from the "laws" against gun possession that they help impose on the rest of us, so they are generally prepared- toolwise- to deal with (other) bad guys without worrying that simply showing up with a gun will get them in trouble, and they have a communication network which alerts them to trouble spots. (And that advantage is going away.) Even so, they still manage to avoid doing anything helpful much of the time, and quite often make things much worse than if they had stayed away. Frequently even attacking the innocent when they can't figure out what's going on. Or, if they are just having a bad day and a confused, scared person who has just been violated doesn't comply to absurd orders and demands fast enough.

Cops only appear "necessary" because most others have been legally required to be useless in situations of trouble, and cops are zealous about maintaining this special status for themselves. Stop accepting this situation.

But, just because a person is a cop doesn't mean they can never be good or helpful. Sometimes they are. But when they are, it's not their status as a cop that is to be praised- it is the actions of an individual doing the right thing in spite of being a cop that should be praised. And their helpful action doesn't apply to the cops who weren't there and didn't do the right thing.

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