Does it grate on you when some government extremist utters the silly phrase "our president"? It annoys me a bit. It's the same when they say "our government", "our congress", "our schools", or any similar thing.
It bothers me because I don't have one. I can't have one. I don't want one or need one. Don't superimpose your weakness onto me. It doesn't fit.
It doesn't matter who the current president is or isn't. I will never have a president for the exact same reason I will never have a Grand Wizard or a Pope. I am not a participant in that particular religion or club. That you have one is your problem, not mine. It's your responsibility. If you try to act as though your social club offices and rituals apply to me, you are being rude and presumptuous. Or worse.
Yes, I realize the Believers will say I have a president whether or not I acknowledge one. In that case, they have a pope and a Grand Wizard whether they accept him or not. If I'm in any way responsible for a president, then they are responsible for the office holders in the clubs they reject as well.
_______________
Reminder: I could really use some help.
I understand of course, but the president you "don't have" has the power to order your summary execution. Or mine. We of course can flip him off until that (or some lesser action, such as arrest) actually happens, but still in some very real sense we "do have" that thug and all his minions.
ReplyDeleteAnd the pope could order his guards to kill you, and the Grand Wizard could shoot you. That a thug has the power to kill you (or order your murder) doesn't legitimize the post. Nor does it make him "mine".
DeleteNOthing but playing with definitions. Word salad, nothing meaningful to see here. Sounds like typical libertarian idiocy... and I say that as someone sympathetic to the libertarian viewpoint.
ReplyDeleteHow would you define "the libertarian viewpoint"?
Delete