Imagine that.
My Eastern New Mexico News column for September 3, 2023)
When it’s important, when it's life and death, when it matters most— that’s precisely when you don’t need government involved. This is when you don’t need politicians and bureaucrats dictating a one-size-fits-all standard, backed with the threat of violence. This is when government power is most dangerous to society.
I'm not only talking about unusual or emergency situations. The same applies to ordinary everyday matters which are important for your health, safety, and general welfare.
Unfortunately, these are exactly the situations in which politicians and bureaucrats are most likely to demand you give them control. These are the times when it's easiest for them to convince gullible people to give them power and then go along with whatever they are told.
I believe the residents of Maui found this out the hard way. Will you learn from their tragic example without waiting to experience something similar for yourself?
Not only will the political parasites (who hope you think of them as leaders) take advantage of bad situations, they will magnify small problems and manufacture imaginary problems to this same end.
If you've been paying attention, especially for the past few years, you've probably noticed this happening
A few people are never inclined to obey authoritarians. They see political power realistically and don't fall for the cozy lies it tells.
Some people noticed the deceptive excuses the politicians and bureaucrats overused and abused to seize control, and they won't be fooled again.
Others clamor to bring back the feeling of Big Mommy Government making all the uncomfortable decisions for them; giving them the illusion they are being protected from every "owie" and unpleasant feeling. These people will sell you out in a heartbeat, right along with any liberty you have left. They are government's favorite people.
If you make your own decisions and things go badly, accept responsibility, learn, and move on. Try to do better the next time a crisis comes along.
If you blindly obey someone who imagines they have a political quality they call "authority" and things go wrong, remember to hold them fully accountable. And don't make the same mistake twice.
I saw someone say we are in the midst of the longest, saddest, most excruciating and unsatisfying "I told you so" in the history of the world. Let's make sure to at least learn something useful from it. Such as this: if it's important, it's too important for government to touch.
