When I bring up the fact that the social state is a system built upon violence against its own citizens, it’s amazing the reactions I get from average people. One of my friends told me tax evaders and people who resist arrest are not patriotic. When the state gives a command, it is your duty to follow it without question. And if you don’t like it, write to your congressman! I believe that by classifying the people who question the authority of the state as “extremists,” we don’t have to face the cold and ugly truth about the so-called benevolent state.

Some dissenters would label my friend mentioned above as a “statist” or “state apologist.” I don’t like labels; they just divide people. I think of people like my friend as just, well, people who went to the same state-run schools as I did. Of course the state is going to teach all of us that it is benevolent and ours is the freest society in the world (maybe it is, but it looks less so with each passing day). It’s in the state’s best interest.

I think it is important to question the state and so-called figures of authority. If we do not, then we become complacent and we forget to take responsibility for ourselves.  And responsibility for oneself is the cornerstone of this society. Immigrants from all over the world didn’t risk their life and limb to come here because we have the best social programs in the world and superior social safety nets. They risked it all so they could experience freedom.

When you are responsible for yourself, you stop thinking that the rest of the world owes you a living. You face the fact that you need to take care of yourself and your family because no one else is going to. If you think that the rest of the world does owe you something, then you support the social state. You justify what it does by uttering phrases like “compassion” and “greater good.”

An example is the whole push for health care reform (which may wind up being socialized medicine through the back door).  The argument is that we need to be compassionate to those who cannot afford health care. In fact, those less fortunate than the rest of us have a right to health care because otherwise they are deprived of life.

Powerful words. Moving. It makes you want to cry to know that people are going without the medicine they need. How could anyone put profit above life?!

Of course, when you look at who is behind health care reform (wow look at all those powerful special interests!) one wonders where the compassion actually is. How like the people running the government to create a crisis then exploit it. I could go on trying to illustrate that it is government policies that caused the current health care “crisis,” but I figure if you were really after the truth, you would be researching this for yourself and not just listening to what they tell you on the TV. The truth is, the people who are creating these new laws will give the green light to the state to take your property without your consent to pay for the boondoggle. How is that compassionate?

The fact is, whenever you push for providing a service for free at someone else’s expense, it’s tyranny. If you favor free health care, for example, you favor authorizing the government to use lethal force to make others pay for this service. This is because the government cannot create wealth–it can only move wealth around. So what it means is this: the government will pass laws forcing others to pay for new “services.” If you resist and try to control your tax money so its spent the way you want it to be spent, you may be killed.

I oppose aggression in all its forms. I would rather seek to solve our problems with something other than violence. If we have issues with health care, why not look at all the variables involved? We have so much government intervention into health care and so many anti-competitive regulations…gee do you think that might have something to do with skyrocketing prices and denial of coverage?

But that’s okay because providing free health care is compassionate. Regardless of how it is paid for. See, the ends justify the means.

The elephant is staring right at you and you pretend it isn’t there.

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