Some contests not safe to ignore

(My Eastern New Mexico News column for February 11, 2024)

I'm not watching television today. It's impossible for me to care less about a sporting event-- a game-- than I do

A good thing about sports contests: it's safe to not care. The outcome doesn't grant the winning team power to threaten my life, steal my property, or violate my liberty. The winners will not inherit an army of career rights violators who imagine their job is to control how the rest of us live. I can ignore the event without danger.

I wish all silly contests were as safe to ignore.

Unfortunately, this November the winning team in Stupid Bowl LX (that's "60" for non-Romans)-- you might call it the presidential election of 2024-- will get such power.

In this case, I care a little. By "care" I mean I actively dislike the teams and I'm not thrilled with the fans. The outcome is guaranteed to be harmful to life, liberty, and property. The best argument for either side is that a victory by their side will be less harmful than a win by the opposing team. Both are probably lying.

I'd like to cancel the contest and disband the league. For all his faults. Joe Biden has done one magnificent thing. His presidency proves presidents are mere figureheads.

At the bare minimum, I would like to make it safe to ignore their games. The way to do this is to make sure they can't threaten life, can't steal property, and can't violate liberty without facing the same consequences as any other criminal.

Since they are allowed to write the rules, this won't happen.

Those who would be out of a job want you to believe they are necessary for the functioning of society. They may even try to convince you they are society rather than the worms feeding on it. What a strange notion.

Over the years there have been many worthy suggestions for fixing things, but little interest in pursuing the solutions. It's hard to get anyone interested when the information is suppressed. It's even harder because these solutions must be written in legalese for the best shot at squeezing out all wiggle room.

The simplest solution remains to make everything in the Bill of Rights, after the first five words, redundant: "Congress shall make no law". This would also need to be retroactive. It would once again be safe to ignore the political games and stop worrying about the outcome of Stupid Bowl LX.

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Spoiled toddlers and their imaginary legitimacy

Authoritarians commonly try to portray those who value liberty as childish. Wanting to control your own life— childish? Really?

Which is more childish: wanting to control your own life or demanding the power— they claim it’s their right— to control the lives of everyone else? It should be obvious to anyone not brainwashed.

How many times have you seen spoiled toddlers screaming and throwing a fit to gain control over the adults around them? This is authoritarians to a T.

When I hear some statist strutting around claiming to be "the adult in the room" or the one having "the hard adult conversation", I picture a spoiled toddler pretending to be the parent. I picture a caricature. A foolish person, being evil while trying to hide behind a fiction. Even if they are unaware of the true nature of what they are doing. This isn't the way of the responsible adult.

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