Accidents don't deserve punishment

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for August 9, 2017)

When an innocent person falls victim to a tragic accident, I hurt along with everyone else. Yet I part ways with most others when they start calling for the blood of the person who caused the accident. Or the modern version of calling for blood-- punishment imposed by the government's laws and justice system.

This isn't justice.

Accidents are never crimes. It doesn't matter how much harm was done. It doesn't matter how they make you feel. Accidents lack a key component of a real crime. A crime requires an intent to violate an individual. Concepts such as "negligence" confuse the issue and try to legitimize the hunger to punish, but the reality remains. Without intent to harm there is no crime, no matter what man's made up laws say.

Even if some sort of arbitration is necessary, which may be the case, government shouldn't be involved. Government is not a party to the matter, and is most certainly not the injured individual. Nor is society. Involving government doesn't solve the problem nor wipe the slate clean. Neither does punishing the person responsible.

Does this mean there are no consequences? That someone will "get away with it"? Not at all. There is still loss of reputation and trust.

Plus, if you cause harm, intentional or not, you owe restitution to the person you harmed-- or to their survivors. Some harm you can never pay off. The injured person can forgive your debt, but they aren't obligated to.

I understand the desire to make someone suffer when they have caused you pain. Believe me, I've been there. I also understand the wish to call suffering inflicted in retribution "justice", but it isn't.

Causing pain in order to punish an accident is wrong. It's wrong for you to poke out an eye for an eye blinded in an accident, and hiring someone-- such as a prosecutor-- to do it on your behalf can't magically make it right.

Maybe people grasp these straws because they can think of no other way to feel better when a tragic accident occurs. Does it really help?

I know my words mean nothing to those who are hurting, but I would ask them to consider the harm it does to their soul when they lust for legal revenge against someone who made a horrible mistake. Remember, the shoe could as easily be on the other foot, because even if you lie to yourself saying otherwise, anyone can make mistakes.

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(Yes, I've said the same before, but that time it didn't get published in the paper.)

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You can't have it both ways, Constitutionalists

Who is the enemy of Rightful Liberty?

It is the one who violates it, or advocates violating it. It is the one who asks others to violate it on his behalf.

Period.

No one else can be the enemy of Rightful Liberty.

So, who is violating Rightful Liberty?
Who advocates violating Rightful Liberty?
Who asks others to violate Rightful Liberty on his behalf?

Archators-- specifically including anyone who advocates governing others-- do. That's who.

It doesn't matter if they try to govern others with socialism, communism, republicanism, democracy, theocracy, or some other version of statism. Governing others is always a violation of Rightful Liberty.

This means those who use the US Constitution as some sort of touchstone are mortal enemies of Rightful Liberty. The Constitution established a government. A State. As such it continues to violate Rightful Liberty with everything it permits or fails to prevent, even to this day. And Constitutionalists encourage it to do so. Even harder, if it suits them.

They'll deny it venomously. They'll try to place the blame elsewhere. On you. Somehow they'll blame you for not "enforcing Constitutional limits" on the State a hundred years or more before you were born. They'll blame you for not demanding employees of the State stay inside those limits (or at least the limits they like) now-- and will tell you v*ting is the way to accomplish it. They'll claim it's the way to scare them into behaving. Never mind that it has never worked. Yes, it would be hilarious if it weren't so sad and dangerous.

They'll promise to defend Rightful Liberty to the death-- your death-- while utterly destroying Rightful Liberty with everything they advocate, delegate, and do.

They'll even advocate things, using the Constitution as a justification, that the Constitution didn't ever allow. Such as "immigration" control. Ask about that and they'll point to the part about "naturalization"; ignoring that it set out how to make someone a "citizen", not how to allow them to be here. This shows they support something they don't even understand, and make it up when it suits their feelings.

And they'll feel pleased with themselves, and feel superior.

They are not necessarily the greatest threat to Rightful Liberty right now. Their numbers are too small. Others may be worse and are more numerous. But if you mistakenly believe they understand and support liberty, and see you as an ally, you are making a fatal error.

Just heed the warning.

Those who want you to doubt that anarchy (self ownership and individual responsibility) is the best, most moral, and ethical way to live among others are asking you to accept that theft, aggression, superstition, and slavery are perhaps better. They are dead wrong. No matter the excuses they use.

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