Antidote to Anarchy

As a libertarian, I am familiar with the oft-stated complaint that my views represent a yearning for anarchy. If the critics are suggesting that I wish to reduce government’s role to a very minimalist level or to limit the federal leviathan to its enumerated constitutional functions, then I plead “guilty.” I do so with vigor and glee. If those same critics believe that self-determination is the equivalent of social anarchy, I say “bring it on.” I do not fancy myself a fool who has been compromised by some misguided dream of Walden Pond. No, I am a wounded realist who has witnessed the oppressive growth of government and its suffocating nature. I have been battered and beaten by too many “good ideas” initiated by others who believe that I am incapable of making life-affirming choices.

My over-extended line of reasoning has led me to conclude that if I err and do not harm or damage others’ lives or property, then I must suffer and recover from the consequences of my faulty decision-making. If government assumes the power to choose for me and missteps, the entire nation….or a significant portion of it…will be harmed. Suffice it to say that I respect you and your preferences too much to want you to be damaged on my behalf. In other words… self-reliance, self-determination and individual sovereignty are the ultimate expressions of concern for others and their well-being. If my stupidity or naiveté lead me to the pits, why should you be forced to share my misery and pain? For those of the Christian faith…. Christ took the sins of humankind to the cross so that we could be spared eternal estrangement from Father. While each of us has his own cross to bear, we are not forced to endure that agonizing reconciliation for all.

The individualistic impulse is imprinted into our very nature. We seek to forge our own pathways and follow our personal compasses. We want to be free, but… at the same time some of us seek to escape the consequences of our frivolity and foolishness. There are those among us who believe that our better natures can be molded and manipulated into paragons of passivity leading to a level of hum-drum happiness and contentment. Perhaps … but not for all of us. If a significant number of us seek the succor and sustenance of government, it must by its twisted mission, force all of us to comply with its mendacious mandates. The lies of big government deceive us by luring us into a false security. Its enveloping arms of comfort become restrictive bands of tyranny. Those of us who long for liberty are compelled to resist by whatever means available. Resistance is messy. Reaction to resistance can ratchet the conflict upward and into chaos. Suppression and oppression often yield anarchy when the smoke has cleared.

The greatest antidote for anarchy is freedom. A free people have no compulsion to dismantle the infrastructure of the state. Their liberty and the government’s limitations provide an environment for prosperity and personal development. As our Framers envisioned it, one of the primary obligations of the federal government is to protect and defend the individual liberties of the nation’s citizens. The wise and learned crafters of our republic understood that liberty cannot be constrained for extended periods because the people will either cease production or openly rebel. A free people have no need to resist or subvert the government. When a government illegitimately over burdens its people with a bevy of laws, rules and regulations that are designed to constrict their individual opportunities for self-fulfillment, the citizens or a surly portion of them will vigorously react.

Because tyrannical regimes restrict the means and the resources for people to mount a resistance movement, the anti-government liberty effort will necessarily be ragtag and disjointed. If the citizenry successfully dislodges the offending government, the resultant outcome will lead to a number of liberty-minded groups vying to install their respective versions of a free and wholesome society. Under such a scenario there are two overwhelmingly likely end games. One is that a new round of repression would ensue in order for the victors to solidify their gains. The other is that the leadership and organizational structure of the successful groups would be quite diffuse and disorganized resulting in broad based anarchy across the land. The challenge would be for each region to design and re-establish some element of government and order that honors the freedom of its residents. Fortunately there is an excellent model from the late Eighteenth Century that has been enhanced by two and a quarter centuries of experience.

In essence an oppressive government is one that forcefully and unnecessarily squeezes a tube of toothpaste. If its tyrannical behavior incites an insurrection, it remains for the survivors to place the product back into the tube.

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

Mares Eat Oats

Mares eat oats, does eat oats and little lambs eat ivy. There…I have successfully implanted a sing-song tune in your mind that will drive you crazy for the remainder of the day. Government wants your money, your property and your liberty. If only that catchy ditty were as memorable as the first one. The opening lyrics suggest that much of what we know and remember is a product of repetition. We hear a tricky catch-phrase over and over again and it becomes embedded in our unconscious minds while assuming the mantle of truth. Goebbels understood how our minds functions and used his knowledge to promote and justify Hitler’s evil designs.

You’ve probably heard the saying that a lie repeated often enough assumes a position of truth. That approach is precisely the one used by socialists, progressives and their fellow travelers to distort the Founding Vision of our nation. By constantly regurgitating their lies and misinformation, many listeners begin to accept the distortions as truthful. Over time the gross misrepresentations become truisms and generally accepted by the populace as fact. One of those mythical truths is that government can solve problems….particularly those of an individual nature. There are three basic elements that form government: force, law and compliance. Without the power of force government cannot coerce people to follow its dictates and demands. Law is the means whereby government legitimizes its use of force, and compliance by a willing or frightened citizenry is vital for maintaining order. The practice of sloganeering and myth-making reinforce all three elements of government.

The invincibility of government is one of our most enduring myths. When difficult issues vex us, we or other interested parties request government involvement….but if we were historically astute, we would know that government rarely solves problems. In my view government has traditionally made matters worse because of its notorious inflexibility and focus on money and force as the greatest sources for a remedy. While our minds may accept the meme of government competency, all we have to do to shatter the illusionary bubble is to recall various representatives of government agencies who have been lazy, unmotivated or rude. I remember when it first dawned on me that preachers, doctors and lawyers were ordinary people just like me. Perhaps they possessed extraordinary gifts in certain areas, but for the most part, they are normal people. Government workers and bureaucrats are very similar…..without the gifts. Generally speaking….anything they can do (in triplicate), we can do better.

We appear to have lost our “edge’ as a people. Our “can do” spirit that we inherited from our pioneering ancestors has been transformed into a “let the government do it” attitude. Because of the reluctance of the people to just say “NO” to government interference in our lives, our politicians have become spineless representatives of a weakened constituency. Our sovereignty as individuals and as member states of the union has been eroded to microscopic size as we sing along in our unconscious minds the tunes glorifying government and praising the power of the very entity that holds us in contempt. For most of us it is easy to observe that government is too big and inefficient, but while many of our cohorts accept this premise, we must further inform them about the systematic dysfunction in the entire government apparatus. Point by point, item by item nearly every aspect of government is broken. Yet…it continues to grow and assume more power over our sovereign lives.

The mass media are cheerleaders for Big Government so they are constantly advancing the narrative that bigger is better. In addition countless numbers of favorable-government PSA’s (public service announcements) assault our senses. Private-sector charities and improvement groups do not have the resources or waste their resources on advertising. They concentrate on their missions and purposes whereas the government and its allies use the cables, satellites and airwaves to sway your minds about the amazing magical remedies available through your friendly government programs. Repetition does work….too effectively it seems.

http://youtu.be/8EMUkITxTKg  So, enjoy this little ditty as it penetrates your mind for the remainder of the day, and be thankful that I didn’t use this one below as my example.

http://youtu.be/APmHR2bmQgw  See, constant repetition of themes works as a tool for compliance. The second song has no lyrics at the beginning, but you KNEW the words.

Have a great day. Resist tyranny. Resist tyranny. Resist tyranny. Resist tyranny. Resist tyranny. Resist tyranny. Resist tyranny. Resist. Resist.

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

Defining Fair

“Whatever’s fair” is a common phrase used by folks who are trying to apportion something of value. Fairness is abstract, not concrete. It’s all in the minds of the participants. I can recall trading a silver dollar for a cheap plastic bauble when I was about 5 or 6 years old. My parents were mortified, but at the time I thought the transaction was “fair.” Today…. I have a different view. Fairness is always a matter of perspective. The privileged child, for example, will complain of unfairness when asked to share her or his toys with visiting children. In today’s American culture fairness has come to represent a difficult-to-define form of entitlement.

Another old bromide states “life isn’t fair.” And that’s the truth. Sometimes despite our best efforts and agonizing persistence, things just don’t work out. On the other hand each of us has benefited from some serendipitous occurrence that has brightened our day or lifted our spirits. Life is not fair and certainly not predictable. Those who expect perfect equity in life are doomed to a lifetime of gross disappointment. So…..why is so much government power and government force dedicated to the illusionary concept of fairness? It seems as if whenever our federal government roams beyond its constitutional obligations, it becomes entangled in impossible pie-in-the-sky ventures.

Eliminate poverty? It does have a certain moral ring to it, but “poverty” is relative. If you have a dollar, and I possess ten of them, you are poorer than I am. On the flip side if you have $50 million, and I struggle along with $5 million, I am poorer than you. For more than 45 years the United States government has waged a war on poverty. Yet the percentage of those at the bottom of our economic scale has hovered near 20% for the entire half century. Progressives cry that it’s “unfair” that so many Americans are immersed in such dire circumstances. Yet study after report has indicated that all of our income quintiles (20% portions) are quite mobile. People move out poverty, and others drop in. Maybe the lefties should heed the words of the Lord: Matthew 26:11 reminds us that there are always people who are poor. Government has proven that it is incapable of resolving the issue of economic poverty, but it should never be involved with spiritual poverty. Life is not fair, but spiritual strength will overcome many of the barriers and disadvantages of life’s curveballs.

The word “fair” should be limited to a name or description of an event that includes animals, rides and amusements. It should be stricken from our lexicon of social injustice. Fair is not measurable. Fair is not definable. Fair is not achievable. Using fair to describe relative positions is not fair. It has been a given that when an innocent person is wrongly convicted of a crime it is unfair, but in today’s environment even the guilty claim unfairness for a number of extraneous reasons. We are using the ruse of fairness to excuse all kinds of uncivil and anti-social behavior. Lousy childhoods, poverty and AWOL parents are often cited as unfair elements that “cause” people to behave like social deviants. Nearly every person has some obstacle to overcome. Admittedly some have greater barriers than most, but our national narrative is replete with stories about people who have overcome distressing circumstances and thrived. They beat the fairness game. Fairness or its lack thereof cannot be used as a valid alibi for animalistic behavior. Of course the lack of good parenting does have a negative effect on young people, but that’s not unfair…..that’s life. Get over it. Rise above it. Stop complaining about it. Bad neighborhoods, lousy schools and nasty relatives can all be cited as excuses for uncivil or whining behavior. The ultimate truth is that you and I are responsible for our own circumstances. If the obstacles are huge, we must climb higher. If the opposition is numerous, we must fight longer. If we have been denied and deprived, we must struggle harder to overcome our late starts.

It is really not fair to abuse the word “fair” whenever someone hasn’t gotten their own way. Too many people confuse the term fair with equal, but any reasonable person can understand that equal rarely equals fair. Equality means that everyone is treated exactly the same. Won’t those who have “special needs” or “special circumstances” feel deprived if all are treated precisely the same way? So…logically, fairness requires some discernment and subjective evaluations which in turn lead to errors in judgment and misunderstandings. So…why don’t all of us stop playing footsie with the illusive concept of “fair?” It cannot succeed and any effort to promote fairness will result in a disaster of distorted perceptions. Everyone will be frustrated. The self-defined aggrieved parties will believe themselves short changed and unfairly treated while the other members of the society or community will resent the recipients because of their special treatment. It’s a lose-lose proposition, and we should stop chasing the rainbow of fairness. There is no pot of gold at the end…..just a septic tank of misery.

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

Picking Rocks

When I was young and growing up on the farm, one of my father’s standing rules was that whenever we encountered a rock while working in the field, we were to pick it up, place it on the tractor platform and deposit it along the fence row for later collection. I was twelve when I finally understood the relationship between rocks, costly equipment and seed displacement. You see, I was a young farm boy who was prone to daydreaming. Although I had my assigned tasks on the farm, I wasn’t very diligent in performing them because my mind was often wandering to places and events far beyond our acreage in north central Ohio.

During the spring of my seventh-grade year my father had to be hospitalized for an extended time. My mother and I were left to milk the cows, feed the hogs, gather the eggs and prepare the fields for planting. My siblings at 9 and 8 years of age were too young to materially assist us, so I missed a few days of school and we soldiered on. After we had the fields ready for planting, our neighbors and fellow church members arrived with their planting equipment and completed the job in one day. I learned about neighbors helping neighbors and the blessings of community that year. It was an eye-opening experience for my curious twelve-year old mind.

Back to the rocks… During my early years on the farm I could not fathom why rocks would appear in fields after we had picked them the previous years. One field was particularly obstinate. It consisted of 6 acres of “jackwax”… a black-blue soil that turned over in huge slabs when it was plowed with a moldboard. It was beautiful to see and extremely difficult to work as the reluctant slabs would fight every attempt by the disk, cultimulcher, cultipacker, springtooth and harrow to tame it into a seed-ready bed. That darn field was a kidney destroyer when I would drive the tractor across its massive slabs. Invariably, a few days after beating the black mass with our entire equipment inventory, my Dad would tell me to take the small tractor and a trailer and go “pick up the rocks in the jackwax field.” I was perplexed. I thought we had retrieved all the rocks the year before…and the one before that. What evil presence was pushing these rocks up to the surface just to annoy me?

That year that my father was in the hospital… the answer was revealed to me. The rocks were numerous and were lying in the rich soil quietly minding their own business when an all-day soaking rain or a 30-minute “gully-washer” would wash the soil away and expose their hiding places. The fertile black-blue soil camouflaged the rocks as they lay silently waiting to damage a disk blade or deflect some precious grains or kernels of seed. The cleansing rain washed away their cover and exposed them for what they were: impediments to our lives and prosperity. If the field were to have a good yield, the offending rocks had to be removed. Their hard-core interference had to be stopped so that our family farm might flourish.

More than a half-century later I was picking rocks from my own fields for the same purpose that my father and grandfather had. Even as I approach “golden-ager” status, my mind still wanders….and wonders. As I was driving my Gator while “rock scouting” and stopping to pick up the offending “back breakers,” I thought my exercise would provide a simple metaphor for where our nation is today. We are so blessed to live in a land of abundance and variety. We have a population that has brought the strengths of many cultures to our shores, but we are struggling…. and our yields are diminishing.

If the field represents our nation, the rich and potentially productive soil is symbolic of our natural resources and our citizens. Clearly the rocks are the faulty policies, the venal career politicians and the arrogant bureaucrats who damage our tools and suppress our yields. The Tea Party, liberty advocates and patriots are the rains. The steady downpours are the constant vigilance and insistence for accountability that our freedom warriors demand. The thunderous gully-washers represent the inflamed ire of our people when they have been “crossed,” sold-out or cheated. Freedom-loving people will expose the offending rocks and remove them….one by one until the field is cleared. We must never forget, however, the rocks will continue to appear, and we must always be vigilant rock pickers forever more. We cannot afford to be daydreamers like that young farm boy was more than a half-century ago. We must be alert. The heavy lifting never ends.

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com

Loose Change

If you purchased an item for $20.00 in 1913, the same product would cost you $459.93 today. That represents a 2199.6% rate of inflation. Is the product worth more than two-thousand times its original value? Probably not…. because the worth of the product has not varied, but the value of the money used to acquire it has gone down.  In other words….the (formerly) high prices for real estate and homes and nearly every other purchase in our market baskets are a result of our money becoming worth less…..and closer to becoming worthless. The decreasing value of our currency means that most people are constantly scurrying to earn enough so as not to lose too much ground.

Though conventional wisdom states that inflation or weakening currency is good for borrowers because they repay with cheaper dollars than those they borrowed, every other aspect of life for the typical individual buyer increases in price thus rendering the payback gains as negligible.  Besides, borrowing money should be a thoughtful process that weighs the probability that the use and value of the product outperforms the capital cost and carrying charges. If one borrows money merely to benefit from a cheaper-dollar payback, the underlying reason for the initial purchase is probably of questionable value. The scrambling that is necessary just to outrun the inflationary cycle could consume more energy than the minimal gains that are realized.

The economic uncertainty that results from an accelerating inflation cycle lures investors and business owners into unwise decisions. If the “chickens come home to roost” the faulty decisions will be exposed, and various sectors of the economy could be negatively impacted. Inflated money demonstrates the unreality of a currency or coinage that is based on nothing. There are no precious deposits that insure the stability of the money, and there is no underlying basis for valuing it. The value of an inflationary currency must ALWAYS be relative to other currencies and their purchasing powers. As nations and their economies ebb and flow the relative positions of their monies will change based on the underlying strength of each nation. It is an unstable system that allows for nefarious manipulation (see Soros, George). A sound money supply must be backed by a stable valuable commodity in order to assure a predictable and consistent value for the money in good times and bad.

There is another factor regarding devalued money that is rarely addressed in the mainstream. A nation whose currency undergoes a long-term pattern of devaluation must be, to some degree, a nation in decline. Currency manipulation, purchasing decisions and business plans become hurried “under the gun” activities rather than thoughtful and systematic. Long range planning becomes difficult because of the unreliable nature of the money supply and value. Consequently, the short view takes precedence in the offices and boardrooms of the nation, and most gains are ephemeral. Living for the short term can be costly, and especially so for nations and businesses. One misstep….one miscalculation can have a devastating economic outcome. Long term vision allows for tweaking, nudging and redirecting the plan, but the short duration reactionary action plan is similar to rolling the dice for the big payoff…. or bust.

When our medium of exchange (money, gold, barter) is volatile, people become either overly cautious or dangerously risky. The uncertainty that follows a widely fluctuating currency undermines citizens’ confidence in their government, their economies and their futures. The impact on the national psyche could conceivably be more damaging than the harm that is done to the economic well-being of the nation. Imagine for a moment if you were a citizen in Greece. Greece….the birthplace of democracy ( a very limited version) is functioning like an economic bungee cord. The citizens have lost faith in the government and justifiably so. The Greeks, however, have been major contributors in their government’s fragility because of their vociferous resistance to necessary austerity measures. The angst arising from the failure of the Greek economy, the turmoil among the people and the fragility of the Euro have combined to create a nation that seems to have lost hope and expectations for a better future. Unfortunately the United States is traveling a similar path.

Our inflated dollars have distorted the true value of goods and services produced in the U.S.A. Our profligate spenders in governments at all levels have contributed to the inflation by over spending and over borrowing. Although our local governments are forbidden from running deficits, they are too eager to issue bonds for underwriting large chunks of spending…..especially capital expenditures. Debt is deadly whether it’s in the household the business or the statehouse. As debt increases and inflation takes hold, more funds are required to finance the continuation of the enterprise…..whether public or private. Thus begins the cycle for the issuance of more money. If our currency were based on a solid measurable standard, the excessive indebtedness in the public and private sectors would not be possible. Borrowers would have to compete for loans and stand in line to wait their turns. Our money, our economy and our sleep would all be more stable.

cearlwriting@hotmail.com

www.littlestuff-minoosha.blogspot.com