I'm nice, but I won't lie to you

People who know me consider me a nice guy, so it shocks them when I refuse to lie and say cops are OK people. (And actually, the same goes for all politicians and bureaucrats- they are not OK. Not ever!) I will always admit that cops are bad guys.

"Polite society" just doesn't do that!

Since I am nice, people expect me to excuse cops, or go with the hilariously absurd "few bad apples" narrative. I won't do it.

I may say nothing if I don't have time to get into an argument, or if I don't believe you will be swayed. Never mistake my silence as agreement, though.

I am nice, but more than that, I am too good a person to lie to spare your feelings.

Your friendly uncle who is a cop is a bad guy. A scum. An archator. You need to accept reality, but if you choose not to, I won't lie to help you avoid the truth. That wouldn't be good of me- or nice, either.

(Steemit link)

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Pirates and cops- but I repeat myself

I like pirates. Not the real pirates who archate, but fictional pirates who are often noble scoundrels and outlaws, but who don't really do much evil (and do none in the real world, because they are fictional). And I love their weapons and how they dress.

I recognize the difference between the fictional pirates I love and the real ones, who are all scum.

Too bad people who admire cops (one type of real-life pirates) can't do the same. They like- often to the point of worship- actual bad guys. You just shouldn't do that.

I have liked some fictional cops. Just like with pirates, I realize fiction isn't reality.

I won't call for your murder if you defend yourself with deadly force from a real-life pirate, whether he's a cop or not.

Cop lovers are delusional.

(Steemit link)

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A big "thank you!" to those of you who support this blog, with your visits, shares, or money. If you get any value from my writing, consider a subscription or a one-time donation to keep this blog going. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during the ten years this blog has existed, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the added difficulty of having a boss to offend.

Magic words

Magic words. So many people place hope in them. If they find the "right" definition, it will banish the bullies of the State, or otherwise protect them. Or so they believe.

Here's a free clue: the bullies of the State don't give a crap about your definitions- even if they are correct. They don't give a crap about mine, either.

They are going to do what they are going to do. No recitation of magical words will make them change their minds or their behavior.

But... what definitions can do is change the way YOU think about things. In a big way. They can make you see reality in a different light. That is where they are useful and helpful, not in court or when facing Blue Line Gang scum.

Maybe- just maybe- used correctly, definitions can change someone else's mind, too.

(Steemit link)

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A big "thank you!" to those of you who support this blog, with your visits, shares, or money. If you get any value from my writing, consider a subscription or a one-time donation to keep this blog going. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during the ten years this blog has existed, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the added difficulty of having a boss to offend.

Lying to Government

I was raised to always tell the truth, although I have often fallen short of that goal. I don't even like lying to save someone's feelings from being hurt. My second wife used to ridicule me for not lying "enough".

So this may seem uncharacteristic.

I think it is often more moral and ethical to lie to government agents and bureaucrats than it is to be truthful with them. It may be dangerous to do the right thing, though.

If you had lived in Nazi Germany, would you have lied to protect hidden Jews? It was illegal and dangerous to do so. But it was the right thing to do.

Would you feel guilty if you got mugged and hid the fact that you have $20 in your shoe? Are you obligated to reveal it to the mugger so he can take it? Only a fool would say "yes". 

In a consensual relationship, I can see the point of being totally open with the other party (although even that may not be best, and may damage any relationship).

No one is obligated to be truthful in a coercive "relationship" such as between you and The State or a freelance mugger. 

It's a small matter of degree between protecting innocent people from freelance bullies, and lying to an IRS agent about your neighbor's off-the-books home business. It may well be a matter of survival to your neighbor.

One of the most important times to lie to government is when you have a chance to be selected for a jury. This is one of your few opportunities to save someone from government in a concrete way.

Tyranny fighter Julian Heicklen reminds us:

Judge will tell jurors they must uphold the law as he gives it.
If you are a dishonorable person, you will agree.
If you are an honest person you will decline and be removed as a juror.
If you are an honorable person, you will agree and then ignore the oath.

It can not be wrong to lie to keep someone from being violated by someone else. Not ever.

(Steemit link)

(Updated from a really old post)

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Archate

Archate (ark-ate)

verb

to initiate force; to use violence against someone who isn't being violent; to start the fight; to throw the first punch; to attack without a credible imminent threat of being attacked;
also, to violate the private property of another, to steal, rob, "tax"; to malevolently trespass; to force others to use their property in a particular way, or to prevent them from using their property as they wish, even though it would violate no other person or property; to bully or govern.

From "arch(ós)" leader, king, ruler , and "-ate", the exercise of such a function

Forms- Archate, archation, archator: one who archates.

This is the meaning of "tread on", as in "Don't tread on me" (or anyone!).

I am an anarchist. I do not archate, nor do I support those who do.

"No human being has the right, under ANY circumstances, to archate, nor to advocate or delegate archation."

Of course, since the Zero Aggression Principle (linked above) isn't a "thou shalt not" to be applied to others, but is instead a promise from me to you, letting you know what to expect in dealings with me, you are free to archate, but you are stepping outside what you have a right to do if you choose to do so, and in that case anyone has the right to defend themselves from you. No job or position can give you the right to archate, because such a right doesn't exist and therefore can not be delegated to anyone.

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Manipulated into v*ting

I don't need a president. I don't support Trump or Clinton (or Johnson, or even Vermin Supreme). I won't v*te. I have no pony in the show, but...

It is obvious to me how badly the mainstream mass media wants Hillary to win. So they do everything they can to paint Trump as UltraHitler, and to fool The People into v*ting for Hillary Clinton. It's so obvious it should be embarrassing to them.

Hillary's shortcomings, health problems, and crimes are ignored or glossed over. Everything Trump does is snatched up, latched onto, and twisted into the worst possible interpretation and then harped on endlessly. The mainstream mass media is absolutely desperate for Hillary to be president. Desperate!

If I were a v*ter, I'd v*te for anyone other than Hillary for that reason alone. I hate feeling manipulated. But, if I change my behavior just because the mass media wants me to do one thing, and I do the opposite, I have still been manipulated. Every v*ter has been manipulated in one way or the other. It's unavoidable.

The best option is still to refuse to v*te. Why keep playing a rigged game against liars? You really don't have to, you know.

(Steemit link)

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Free market helps economy grow

(My Clovis News Journal column for July 22, 2016)

Liberty gives prosperity a chance (my choice for the headline)

How's the economy treating you?

Unless you have a job where people are forced to pay for your services whether they want them or not, things could probably be better.

You may have many ideas which could bring in money by offering products and services to people. You just need the chance.

The main limiting factor is often the roadblocks to economic growth erected by government. Things like permits, licenses, taxes, and all the other laws and regulations which seem to exist for no reason but to destroy the economy, one entrepreneur at a time.

The most effective lie used to justify those economy destroyers is that without them you'd harm your customers. But, in a free market, how long would your business-- or you-- last if you were known to be harming your customers?

Consider what most people imagine as a worst case outcome of a free market.

Yes, in a truly free society you'd be able to set up shop selling heroin. Without a license, to anyone, with no government to watch over your shoulder. Does that scare you? It shouldn't. That's how it has always been, except for the past century or so. The drug abuse problem has never been worse than under prohibition, plus prohibition breeds violent crime.

A free market heroin seller would be personally responsible if he sold a contaminated product, sold to someone who didn't understand the dangers, or cheated customers. There would be no corporation to hide behind. It would be in his best interest to sell responsibly, and to make sure his customers understood the dangers. Yes, some people would still abuse his product, and some would die. Prohibition never prevents this, either. But there would be no crime associated with his business.

If a customer wrecked his life with addiction, he couldn't end up on welfare (including a prison stay) financed by robbing his neighbors through taxation. If he needed financial help, he (along with any family who stayed around) could appeal to the charitable nature of others. If he is known as a bad or untrustworthy person, he'd have a hard time finding someone willing to help. Just as it should be.

You probably have better ideas of what you'd do in the absence of the State. The same rules of the market would apply to your venture, as well.

Liberty doesn't result from prosperity; liberty gives birth to prosperity. It's time to bring liberty-- and prosperity-- back to America.

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Doomsaying is fun!

I'm not sure why it crossed my mind today, but I found myself feeling nostalgic for "The Y2K bug".

I never believed Y2K would cause any real problem, but I enjoyed pretending it might, and imagining what I should do just in case.

The funny thing is, I didn't actually do anything different than things I always did anyway. But it was fun. All my life I have done various things to make sure I am ready for TEOTWAWKI/TSHTF scenarios. That was just another- and an experience I could share with other people for a change.

I enjoyed comparing notes with others to see what they were ready for- or felt they weren't yet ready for. And allaying the fears of those who actually believed something would come of it. Those were the days before I joined the online world, so all my discussions about it were were face-to-face.

Then, when midnight rolled around for New Year's 2000, I was sitting beside a campfire, dressed in buckskin clothes, with a rifle beside me and a pistol on my belt- in other words, pretty much how I spent all my time back then, anyway. I wasn't even watching a clock- although I knew from the distant sound of shots or fireworks when the time had come.

I hate to say it, but I would like another Y2K-type "crisis" to come along. Nothing since then- not the religious "End Times" predictions, or asteroid scares- has quite measured up.

(Steemit link)

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Division of labor

Division of labor is a good thing. I want to know how to do everything, but that's just not realistic. There are things that are complicated enough that it is really good there are experts available for me to hire.

Youtube has helped me do things I would have never attempted before. It's one thing to read about doing something, but quite another to watch someone demonstrating how to do it. I've encountered that reality in many areas of life.

By learning to do things for myself, I have saved a lot of money, and I have helped other people save money, too. And that's a great feeling. I do feel a little bad that by doing things myself I am keeping money out of the hands of someone who has become an expert and depends on being hired to do a job. But often, I don't have the money to hire them anyway, so it's either do it myself or do without.

The plus side for the professionals is that sometimes my attempt at handling it myself ends up screwing things up worse to the point I have to spend even more money to have them undo what I've done. 

And there are some things I just don't want to do, or don't believe I can do right that I will hire professionals to do. Sometimes it's almost as much so they can bring the right tools to the job as anything else.

I can't afford to buy every tool I need for some jobs. I realize you can borrow tools at many "public" libraries, or rent them (although the local rental place went out of business), but a lot of times I don't know I'll need a tool until I'm halfway into the job, and by then it's too late to try to track down what I need.

So, yes, I am a big fan of the division of labor.

Even if I believe division of labor is a good thing, there are some jobs I won't hire anyone to do, including "jobs" I don't think should be done at all.

"Jobs" like law enforcing, lawmaking, and otherwise governing. "Jobs" like enforcing a "national border", being in the military, or keeping people in prison and killing some of them in a premeditated manner, To force me to hire people to do a job I either prefer to do myself or don't want done at all is wrong. It is a violation of my life, liberty, and property. It is something I would never think of doing to any other person, and I am disgusted by those who advocate doing it to me.

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What crimes would Jesus commit?

(If you use Steemit, please go there and upvote this post.

I won't be adding this plea to the posts after today. 

If you want to upvote me on Steemit, follow me there.

Thank you.)

A lot of them.

Have you ever considered the crimes of Jesus? Just off the top of my head I can think of several: Practicing medicine without a license. Moonshining (turning water into wine, rather than corn into whiskey). Interfering with officers of the law. Vagrancy. I don't think he ever applied for a permit for the large public gatherings- or parades- which formed around him.

If I thought about it a bit longer, I'm sure I could think of many more of his "crimes".

With a list like that, how long do you think he would make it in Police State USA? Not 3 years, I'll bet. It's no wonder he didn't show up today, but 2000 years ago when the State was just beginning to be the problem. It would be a very different story today- all centered on his prison cell, I would imagine.

Not only that, but he didn't support "borders". He never supported v*ting to choose a master. He never advocated a new "law", or enforcing existing "laws" against individuals, or carrying out a death penalty. He never suggested that just because something was immoral, it should also be illegal. He didn't ask his disciples if they had a permit before telling them to get and carry a sword.

He was completely opposite his modern fan club in almost every respect.

I'm not making the claim that he was an anarchist or libertarian, like I have seen so many others make. Maybe he was, maybe he wasn't. Certainly he was much more anarchist and libertarian than his supporters today are.

It should be very embarrassing to Christians that I, an atheist, am much more Christ-like than most of them (there are exceptions, of course). Every Christian in my real-world life is a big supporter of the US police state, "laws" against almost everything, and never-ending wars around the globe. I know some who are right now desperately trying to find a way to use the violence of the State to drive away some people who are not harming them in the slightest, but whom they suspect "might" be undocumented "immigrants" from Mexico. How Christlike is that? Not even a smidgen. They should be embarrassed to the point of tears- but I'm the one who keeps trying to point out their error... and being ignored.

Supporting counterfeit "laws" is wrong. It is not even slightly "Christian".

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Worst, except for all the other ways?

(Previously posted to Patreon)

"Slavery is the worst way to get the cotton picked, except for all the others." ~ Average Nice Guy 1850s

Just because you can't imagine something better is no excuse to keep doing the wrong thing. If your method violates life, liberty, or property, it is wrong. You shouldn't do it even if you think it's the best possible way. The "lesser of two evils". Not getting the cotton picked would have been economically disastrous. Having slaves pick it was still evil.

 Picking cotton by hand was hard labor. My grandmother did it when she was young, and I remember her descriptions of how it hurt to be stooped over, dragging a heavy bag slowly through the field for hours and hours. And the raw, bleeding fingers which resulted. Yet, she and her sisters did it. More or less voluntarily. It would have been evil of them to force others to do the work for them even if it would have meant their own starvation and my non-existence (imagine how happy that thought would make some people!).

 After slavery was (sort of) abolished, cotton still got picked. Better ways were invented, even if people in some places, such as my grandmother's family on the Llano Estacado of the Texas panhandle, couldn't afford technology, and lived as people had lived over a hundred years before.

 Sometimes you have to first stop committing evil before there's incentive for average "nice people" to go ahead and consider better options.

 "Democracy is the worst form of government, except for all the others."~ Winston S. Churchill

 And so it is with poor old Winnie's delusion.

 There are better ways to govern. None of them involve mob rule or forming a State. One particularly better way involves the Covenant of Unanimous Consent. It doesn't matter if you like democracy, or can't imagine forcing people to do what you want without it. Maybe your mindset is backward. Democracy is wrong, in part because governing others is wrong, no matter how you go about it. And, in spite of Churchill's assertion, there is at least one much better way. Try it.

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If you get any value from my writing, consider rewarding me with your financial support commensurate with the value you receive. You can also do that with zero cost to yourself by upvoting my posts on Steemit. This blog is in its 10th year now. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during these ten years, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the fear of saying something to get fired over. I really, desperately could use some more help; please don't depend on the same people always helping out.

Instead of doing wrong, just don't

(If you use Steemit, please go there and upvote this post.)

You don't need an alternative to doing the wrong thing. Just don't do the wrong thing.

Just because you aren't sure what to do instead of doing the wrong thing is no excuse to keep doing the wrong thing.

It doesn't matter if you don't know what to do instead of "taxing" people. "Taxation" is theft. It is wrong. Don't do it any more for any reason.

It doesn't matter if you don't understand who will stop bad guys from preying on the innocent if you don't have police. Having police- financed by theft, enforcing "laws" which are mostly evil, and who are almost entirely unaccountable- is wrong. Period. You have to stop, no matter what you fear might happen without them.

It doesn't matter if you don't know how children will get educated without "public" schools. It is wrong to finance schools with theft. It is wrong to hold homes and property hostage to pay for schools and teachers. It is wrong to keep kids prisoners with "compulsory attendance laws", and to subject them to sexual molestation in the name of "random drug tests". It is wrong. It is wrong to put a criminal organization in the position where it can brainwash kids into believing it isn't a criminal organization, but is synonymous with society. Just don't do it, because it is wrong.

It doesn't matter if you don't understand where roads, justice, protection, safety, libraries, parks, etc. will come from if you don't allow a State- a "government"- to provide them by robbing and attacking your neighbors. Providing them through a State- in other words through theft and aggression- is wrong.

To stop doing wrong is more important than having an alternative fully worked out before you stop doing wrong. Stop doing wrong first, and allow people the freedom to solve the problems voluntarily.

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If you get any value from my writing, consider rewarding me with your financial support commensurate with the value you receive. You can also do that with zero cost to yourself by upvoting my posts on Steemit. This blog is in its 10th year now. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during these ten years, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the fear of saying something to get fired over. I really, desperately could use some more help; please don't depend on the same people always helping out.

What is "being a cop" all about?

(If you use Steemit, please go there and upvote this post.)

Ask a cop, or someone who supports cops, what being a cop is all about, and you may get something along the lines of "cops protect and serve the people, being the thin blue line of protection between the citizen and the guys who want to harm them".

That sounds good. I've heard them parrot some version of this all my life. It's happy "Officer Friendly" propaganda.

But, what do cops actually do?

They enforce "laws", most of which do nothing but violate the life, liberty, and property to prop up the opinions of politicians and lawyers.

Cops are the guys who most often end up harming "citizens" exactly like those they pretend to protect you from. Trading one bad guy for another isn't a net benefit. And when you are forced to finance the bad guy's career to your own detriment, that's even worse.

Cops have been given special privileges due to their connections. They believe their "job" entitles them to extra "rights"- rights which don't exist and therefore can't be granted by anyone to anyone.

I don't "need" cops and neither do you. If you believe you do, you might want to hide somewhere soft and warm so that reality doesn't scare you further.

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If you get any value from my writing, consider rewarding me with your financial support commensurate with the value you receive. You can also do that with zero cost to yourself by upvoting my posts on Steemit. This blog is in its 10th year now. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during these ten years, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the fear of saying something to get fired over. I really, desperately could use some more help; please don't depend on the same people always helping out.

Citizen

Dictionary.com defines "citizen" as someone who "owes allegiance to its [sic] government and is entitled to its protection". 

It sounds more like a description of slavery. Let's check that out: 

"Slave"- someone who "owes allegiance to its master and is entitled to his protection". 

That sure sounds like what they are describing. 

The reality is "citizen" is just a fancy word for "slave".

"Owe allegiance"? You owe government-- and obviously when they use the word "government" they mean State-- nothing but contempt, regardless of which government you refer to.

The only thing you can be "entitled" to from any government is to be left alone. To not be violated in life, liberty, or property. It's the same thing everyone owes you. 

Government can't protect anyone, "citizen"/slave or not.

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"Everyone else does it..."

(If you use Steemit, please go there and upvote this post.)

Is it OK to do wrong, just because other people do?

Maybe for you, but not for me. I live by the Zero Aggression Principle (ZAP) whether you do or not. It doesn't matter, and your choice doesn't affect mine. The ZAP is a promise from me to you about how I will interact with you; to tell you what to expect. It doesn't obligate you.

If you choose to initiate force or violate my property, you might also take my adherence to the ZAP as a warning.

But, just because most other people choose to initiate force and violate private property-- either in person or by sending bullies to do it on their behalf-- I had better just suck it up and become the same as they are. Right?

Liberty has an uphill battle for certain. Until people actually understand the issues, they'll keep straying off-course in the same sad ways. "Statism is bad... unless it is doing something I want it to do, then you have to go along. Pay your taxes, have your property rights violated in the name of National Borders and such. You might allow people on your property who I don't like. It's for your own good, and anarchy is Utopian, and no one really lives that way. Etc. etc. etc."

It's almost enough to make a guy say "Screw it, Just go with the crowd. Eat babies, or whatever, because everyone else says it is necessary, and no one else will ever agree with you that it's wrong."

Almost... but not quite.

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If you get any value from my writing, consider rewarding me with your financial support commensurate with the value you receive. You can also do that with zero cost to yourself by upvoting my posts on Steemit. This blog is in its 10th year now. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during these ten years, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the fear of saying something to get fired over. I really, desperately could use some more help; please don't depend on the same people always helping out.

Today’s counterfeit laws not ethical

(My Clovis News Journal column for July 15, 2016 I was really, seriously unhappy with the headline assigned to this one, and got in trouble with the editor for saying so on Facebook. But I am still unhappy with it.)

"You are the government" is one of the most useful lies ever crafted by the bullies who mean to enslave you.

If you are to blame, you can't blame anyone else. If a "law" makes gun ownership or drug use or driving without a seat belt "illegal", you can't really blame the people who wrote the "law", nor their hired guns who violently enforce it. It's your own fault.

But, truth gets in the way.

If I were government, I could fire all legislators, police, and bureaucrats, because they'd work for me. I could abolish all the harmful laws they have created. I can't, because I am not the government.

If I were the government, no one would be violating you in the name of the law. Former enforcers would be paying restitution to everyone they've harmed through committing acts of enforcement.

If you vote, how often do you find yourself on the winning side? Even when your guy wins, do the politicians in power do what you want them to do? Not the "majority", but you, individually? Probably not very often.

It would be bad enough if their new laws were real laws, but none of them are. Haven't been for centuries. All recent laws are counterfeit "laws".

A counterfeit "law" looks like a real law. It is described in more or less precise language, by lawyers. It is recorded in a government office. Judges act as though it is binding. Officers will kill to enforce even the most minor and arbitrary of these "laws"- if you fail to instantly obey their every demand to the letter, or if you accidentally scare or confuse them while complying.

A counterfeit "law" has no ethical basis. It attempts to forbid or control something other than the use of violence against the non-violent, or the violation of individual property rights. Often, counterfeit "law" acts as though a collective-- society or the state-- can have rights which can be violated.

I don't want any counterfeit "laws" enforced on my behalf. Not one.

So pretending that I am in any way the government, doing what I know to be wrong by violating your individual rights, is a lie. Even if I were on the winning side in an election, it isn't going to change what government is or what it is doing.

You can't magically change wrong into right (or vice versa) by voting on it, nor by making up a law. And if I were the government, I wouldn't even try.

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If you get any value from my labors, consider rewarding me with your financial support. This blog is in its 10th year now. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during these ten years, and believe I have more to contribute, help me stay online. .

Statists- making their own lives difficult since forever

(If you use Steemit, please go there and upvote this post.)

Why is it that so many people seem set on making so much extra trouble for themselves?

I'm not even necessarily speaking of those who seek out interpersonal "drama" when they don't have enough of it naturally. Although, they are of the same sort.

I'm talking about statists.

The world isn't perfect. There will be trouble whether you have a State and all its associated bullies and institutions or not. It's just the way it is. Some people are just bullies. If there's a State to join so they can bully in safety, the smart ones may choose that route. If there isn't, all the bullies will be freelance or form gangs that they don't call "government", but the actions remain the same. And, for the most part, the outcome does, too.

State or no State, you are going to have trouble. But with a State you get to pay extra for the thrill of being molested. You get to pay to build imposing buildings, huge office towers, fancy cars, guns (which they'll forbid you to own), weapons to be used to make enemies of people all across the globe (before being used against liberty on the streets of America by the Blue Line Gang welfare whores), and all manner of other things which will be used against your life, liberty, and property. By permitting a government to exist, you get bullied and robbed at least twice as much as you would otherwise.

So, why go to all the trouble of adding the layers of extra problems you get by supporting a State?

Anarchy is the natural state of human interactions. It's not perfect- nothing is. But why go to all the effort and expense to build an institution which will- at best- give the same results with a lot more trouble, rather than getting rid of all the extra nonsense and dealing with what trouble exists anyway by accepting reality?

I still think cowardice explains a lot.

What about you?

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Be the better person- reality is on your side

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Liberty lovers can be some of the very best people I've ever known. They stand with others, help others when they can. They reach a hand to people they don't know- statists even. They can be loving and inclusive. They can be generous to a fault, understanding, and compassionate.

I am proud to count myself among them, even as I can't hope to be half as inspiring as some are.

But... and if you've been around long you knew this was coming... liberty lovers, or, at least those who proclaim themselves to be lovers of liberty, can also be as bad as the statists they oppose.

I'm sure there are times I would be included here.

They can be unforgiving, inflexible, hypocritical, hateful, and aggressive. They can be arrogant and dismissive.

And that is a shame.

Why would anyone want to learn more about liberty with examples like that? If you're going to be miserable anyway, you can do that just fine without rejecting statism; by taking the easier route.

I am happy to report that the negative examples in the liberty crowd are greatly outnumbered by the shining examples of goodness. But the nasty guys seem to have an impact greater than those I would rather people see. They tend to be loud and get lots of attention- especially by statists who want to show how unreasonable liberty lovers are. The bad examples play right into the hands of the cowardly slavers.

It should be so easy to be a good person when you understand and love liberty. After all, you are on the right side- standing against everything negative and harmful. So, why does it seem so easy to fall into The Dark Side?

Well, I have some idea about that, based on my personal experience. I am only human and as a liberty lover, I end up dealing with a lot of statists.

Statists are infuriating. They are cowardly and want to violate everyone else to coddle their fears. They don't listen to logic and reason, but are ruled purely by emotion and propaganda. They don't want to be told that 2+2=4. and they won't pay attention when you try to show them how easy it is to demonstrate. They don't like it, so to them it simply isn't true. Or it doesn't matter one way or the other. It is easy to get angry and frustrated over their juvenile behavior.

But, you and I are the better people. I can't speak for you, but I want to be the reasonable one. The one not baited into a fight with a feces-flinging monkey. Because, even if I win the fight, I'm going to be left feeling very unhappy.

Life is too short for that.

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If you get any value from my writing, consider rewarding me with your financial support commensurate with the value you receive. You can also do that with zero cost to yourself by upvoting my posts on Steemit. This blog is in its 10th year now. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during these ten years, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the fear of saying something to get fired over. I really, desperately could use some more help; please don't depend on the same people always helping out.

"Be afraid! Run away!"

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I guess I suffer from a terrible lack of fear.

Or, so some would have me believe.

Sure, there are some things I don't want to happen. One of the worst already has. There's something freeing in that, even though I'd give anything to have avoided it. I now know that the thing I always considered to be the absolute worst thing ever couldn't destroy me.

I take what measures I can to avoid bad things- but I know nothing can prevent them all. It's just the nature of reality. And I don't sit around consumed with fear.

I wish I had more money, but even without it I'll find a way to go on... or I won't. But if I don't, it won't be the lack of money that kills me. I may become socially unacceptable and living in a cave or a wikiup, but I don't worry about survival.

I try to be prepared for difficulties. I'm a bit of a "prepper". It's not out of fear, but just because it's fun, and has bailed me out of bad situations so many times that I know I'd be stupid to not be prepared. I've found that being prepared also de-fangs fear. And, like I said, it's FUN!

I don't like government or any of the bullies doing the will of those who call themselves government. But I don't fear them any more than I fear other bad guys. Or rabid wolves. They are dangers to be acknowledged, observed, avoided, and dealt with. But not feared.

I certainly don't fear the absence of The State (what most people mean when they use the word "government") or its gangs of armed bullies committing acts of enforcement to impose the opinions of "lawmakers" on me. Fearing the absence of such is as silly as fearing good health.

There's nothing special about me. I'm no once-in-a-century genius. I'm not brave, or particularly skilled. Maybe some would say my ignorance is causing me to not be afraid- that if I were smarter I would see why I should be scared all the time. I don't care to live in fear. That's not freedom or liberty.

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If you get any value from my writing, consider rewarding me with your financial support commensurate with the value you receive. You can also do that with zero cost to yourself by upvoting my posts on Steemit. This blog is in its 10th year now. If you believe I have contributed anything to the conversation regarding liberty during these ten years, and believe I have more to contribute, help me keep writing without the fear of saying something to get fired over. I really, desperately could use some more help; please don't depend on the same people always helping out.

In need of donations or subscriptions

I had this little PS on the last post...

I recently helped someone out, and now find myself in dire need of money. Again.I'm not complaining; I knew the bind this would put me in when I did it. If anyone is in the position to help, and wants to (yes, please meet both conditions, and never feel bad if you don't), please donate and/or subscribe today. This time, Paypal would be best for me. Thanks so much!

As it turns out, my situation is worse than I thought. Besides the money I thought I was going to need, I need $62.37 in the next day. (Note: This most dire need has been met. I'm leaving the post up for now, because I could really use more help.)

So, again, if you can help, and if you want to help, please donate or subscribe through Paypal.

Thank you.

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