I Love My Country by Larken Rose:
I Love My Country by Larken Rose:
Monday, 28 September 2009
E-Mail: larken@larkenrose.com
Most people don't think in distinct, specific concepts. They "think" (if it can be called that) in vague blobs of mush. They can't follow simple trains of logic, and have a complete lack of what I call "clarity of thought." For example, my wife just showed me an online poll, asking people whether they thought "healthcare" should be considered a "basic human right." What a fine example of meaningless mush.
Most people answered "yes," no doubt feeling very compassionate for having done so. Trouble is, none of those "compassionate" people have any idea what a "human right" is. They haven't bothered to THINK about it, because merely FEELING good is enough for them. Had they THOUGHT about it, they might have realized how stupid the question is.
What most people probably interpreted the question to mean is something like this: "Wouldn't it be nice if everyone got the healthcare they needed?" Well, duh, of course it would. But that wasn't the question. The question is whether the thing called "healthcare" is a basic "human right"--whatever that is. The implication is that if someone doesn't get the healthcare they need, someone's "rights" are being violated.
Let's consider the following question: Are Snickers (the candy bar) a basic human right? If so, everyone who lived prior to 1930 (when Snickers came into being) must have had their human rights violated. Poor them. Furthermore, it would also mean that everytime someone craves a Snickers, but doesn't get one, his "human rights" are also apparently being violated. (By whom, I'm not really sure; the Snickers-makers, I guess.)
Think that example is silly? Yes, it is, but no more silly than asking if healthcare is a "basic human right." If you hit a deer with your car, out on a country road at night, and careen into a ditch, there's a good chance that you'll be wanting some healthcare. So WHO, exactly, would be violating your "basic human right" to such healthcare when you don't get any? (Try suing the deer.) And who has an obligation to supply you with the alleged "basic human right" of healthcare, when no one even knows you're in need of any?
Sorry for stating the bleeding obvious, but you can't violate someone's "rights" unless you DO something to them. If you torture them, rob them, assault them, or murder them, you may very well be violating their "rights." In other words, a "right" is a purely NEGATIVE concept: something that should NOT be forcibly interfered with by anyone else. "Rights" aren't a bunch of goodies that
someone has to provide for you; they're the things that no one should STOP you from doing yourself.
For example:
1) If you have a right to "freedom of religion," it means only that no one should forcibly prevent you from practicing the religion of
your choice, or force you to practice a religion you don't want to. It does NOT mean that anyone has to make you a church, or listen to you pray, or pray with you.
2) If you have a right to "freedom of speech," it means only that no one should forcibly stop you from speaking your mind. It doesn't
mean anyone has to give you a stage, a microphone, or an audience.
3) If you have a right to be free from unreasonable searches, or from being forced to testify against yourself, or from being imprisoned without a trial, or from being tortured--and the list could go on for ages--all it means is that no one should use force to STOP you from exercising your individual liberty.
So what would it even MEAN to say that "healthcare" is a "basic human right"? It means nothing, and makes no sense. A "right"
cannot be something positive; it cannot be some THING that someone else should be FORCED to give you, like a house, or a job, or
healthcare. To have such a "right" would require that someone else be FORCED to serve you. Unless you think you have the right to
enslave others, you can't possibly have the "right" to any service or any product. You have the right to be left alone, and that's all. ALL true rights boil down to that.
The trouble is, collectivists like to hijack and mangle the concept of "rights," in order to justify the INITIATION OF VIOLENCE--the
exact opposite of what a "right" really is. For example, when people try to pass off "healthcare" as a "human right," they are
advocating the use of state VIOLENCE (via "taxes") to FORCE some people to serve other people. For example, socialists like Obama are pushing a system in which the government can forcibly rob some people, and/or forcibly conscript doctors and nurses, to give out healthcare to other people. They are advocating nothing less than widespread government violence, under the euphemism of "from each according to his ability, to each according to his need." (Sound familiar?) And they have the audacity to talk about it in terms of "rights." And the American people are so clueless they actually buy it.
(Apparently the old world slave-masters just needed better PR guys. Had they managed to pass off "affordable cotton clothing" as a
"basic human right," they might still have those slave plantations.)
Unfortunately, having been thoroughly indoctrinated for years, most Americans not only believe, but PROUDLY believe, that no one has a right to keep what he himself produces, but that everyone has a "right" to what his NEIGHBOR produces. And it's hard to get any more economically idiotic, morally schizophrenic, and logically insane than that.
While I'm on the subject, now would be a good time to introduce this list to my wife Tessa's new blog, since she wrote an article
on this topic (the second one posted at the link below). I did warn her that most people are incapable of detecting satire and sarcasm,
so be sure to read the disclaimer at the top of the page before reading the second article. (The first article speaks for itself.)
The Fourth of July and the Worship of Violence
October 4th 2009
By Tessa Rose
Why -- when people almost universally say that they think aggressive violence is wrong -- and people almost universally say that they believe it's better to believe truth rather than falsity -- why, when you suggest that human beings could have a society that is not based on violence (via "government" coercion), why do the ones who like you run away with their ears covered, and the ones who don't like you revile you and call you a terrorist?
This year, contrary to my usual habit, I actually went to my hometown flagpole ceremony on the 4th of July. Some local person always gives a little speech, and I really haven't wanted to go since the year the speaker implied that people who disagree with the government about taxes are probably going to hell. As expected, I found the whole aura of the celebration revolting and disturbing. Revolting because all those people were openly worshiping violence -- and disturbing because many of these people I grew up with and loved, and still love.
People reserve their highest praise for trained killers who obey the orders of politicians. All euphemisms and rhetoric aside, that is what soldiers are. There are other ways to "serve one's country," of course, but the very best, and bravest, and most honorable way is to kill people that politicians order you to kill. These people are "fighting for our freedom" as they empower the greedy, bloodthirsty gang that enslaves us all.
If you dare to suggest that our freedom would be better served by getting rid of the greedy, bloodthirsty gang that sends our brave young sons to their deaths to increase its own power and wealth, they look at you as though you just shot Jesus in the head. Which I guess, in a way, you did.
The people of my hometown generally claim to be Christian; but I believe that the true religion of most of them is state-worship with some Christian decoration on top. I believe their Christian god is subservient to their government god. Let's assume for just a moment that religion really is about love, compassion, and people living together in peace and harmony. Why then -- when you suggest that consistent condemnation of physical aggression would serve those ends better than glorification of it -- why are people so determined to avoid hearing you?
People seem absolutely desperate to identify themselves with what they perceive to be the greatest power. For those who believe in him, God is the greatest power in the universe. But the government is the greatest power here on earth. People don't want to admit that they're siding with the strongest gang because it's a lot safer to be part of it than to pit yourself against it. I suppose it's hard to admire and respect yourself if you see it that way. But if you can convince yourself that the gang is good and that you really believe in what it's doing, then your loyalty to it is righteous and honorable, rather than cowardly and self-serving.
Larken and I have received a lot of disapproval for taking a stand against a very powerful gang called the U.S. government. In this disapproval, there is a strong current of "you got hurt, therefore you were wrong." It would seem that in this moral system, financial self-interest and personal comfort are the ideals to strive for, and any goals that threaten these ideals are bad and wrong. Never mind that two million people are in prison while we picnic happily with our families and friends in our beautiful little community. Never mind that people are suffering and dying and living in desperate poverty all over the world due to war and other coercive government "solutions."
People live their lives as if "might makes right." But don't they really know, deep down, that truth is independent of power, and that aggression is evil? Why do they refuse to give up this addiction to power?
Perhaps the answer is in our biology. We all come into the world tiny and helpless. The first being to impinge on our emerging consciousness is a seemingly omnipotent, omnibenevolent mother. Perhaps it is imprinted on us so early in our lives that power and goodness are one, that most of us will never be able to reason our way out of this emotional box. Perhaps it was imprinted in our genes before we were even born, and it's part of our animal nature to bond with the strongest leader we can find.
But it's clear that some part of the human psyche is not satisfied with this. For hundreds of years, people have schizophrenically wrung their hands over the atrocities of war while glorifying the governments that make them happen. Maybe a better kind of society is struggling to come into being.