-Disclaimer:  The following rant is fairly elementary stuff (at least you’d think it’d be), it is not directed at my AnCap brothers and sisters in the liberty mission.  It’s directed at those folks that still cling to the idea that a collective minority and pieces of paper can and want to, protect your rights as an individual.

All political power is enforced at the barrel of a gun.  To many this statement would seem extreme, but the sad fact is that no matter what country you live in, it’s the truth.  No matter how many times I talk to average folks they just can’t seem to grasp this simple principle.  Often times I hear the battle cry “America is the freest country in the world” or simply “without a government there would be chaos”.  Both these statements show a gross misunderstanding of what Freedom truly is.  Freedom is all about choice.  How can you consider yourself free if you are forced to pay “rent” on property you supposedly own?  How can you consider yourself free if you can be thrown in a cage for consuming a substance that an ignorant minority deem “illegal”?  How in such a “free” country can there be so many “laws”  that make simple activities a crime?  How can a fictitious entity like “The State” be considered the victim (or damaged party) in said crimes?  Wiretapping, increased militarization of police “enforcement officers”, restriction of travel, the list goes on and on.  America (and the rest of the world) really need to wake up and see the state for what it is……a collective hallucination and a monopoly of force.

Governments the world over embrace what Franz Oppenheimer called the “political means”.  Governments produce nothing, all they can do is steal from the tax cattle or “citizens” as we’re more commonly referred to. Taxes, regulations, and fines(for  “infractions”) are the only means by which the State can obtain wealth.   Governments believe in, and strive to, control, their very existence depends of all of us giving them said control.  When they can’t indoctrinate us into giving up control, they create “laws” to make us comply.  We are coerced into compliance with the threat of violence.  There are no voluntary interactions involved here folks, try and volunteer to not pay taxes and see what happens.  Statists’ on both the left and the right (as if there is a difference) want to use the force of government to control your actions.

As a free individual I embrace the “economic means” and the non-agression principal.  I understand that my rights are unlimited so long as they don’t conflict with the rights of another individual.  I have no lawful or moral right to tell you what to say, who you can marry, what you can consume, or how you choose to defend yourself.  Furthermore I don’t have that right even if 51% of the population agrees with my standpoint.  I do have the right to defend my property, and the responsibility to respect yours.   Can you honestly say that governments….any government operates by this moral standpoint?

Our (voluntary) interactions, be they economic, or personal, should not be regulated by any outside entity.  I don’t need to make the government a third party in any of my contracts.  Now I realize to live in this utopian world I envision, it might take some and wait for it…….work, along with a little common sense.  I also realize that we will not get there overnight, the road to freedom will most likely be a generational one.  There must be a rollback in political power and perceived influence.  That’s why people like Ron Paul are so great.  It’s time to free ourselves from the monopolies that the state creates; in communication, food production, health, and education, just to name a few.  First and foremost however,  the myth of the State must be dispelled.  The youth of the world can no longer be indoctrinated to accept this myth.  We should teach them how to think, and not what to think. We can no longer accept the notion that the criminals in the capitols know better than us as to how we should live our lives.  Now I realize that not all people are moral, however in a completely voluntary society those that violate another individual’s rights would be shunned or worse.  The economic means, innovation, and the market will develop more effective ways to deal with folks like that.  The first step towards true Freedom is knowing that you are free.  Actively disobeying immoral and unjust laws is part of the formula.  Learn to say “No, I will not comply”.  Removing your consent, building strong local relationships, and becoming more independent, will help the demise of the state move along.  Ohh, and never forget to have fun!?