The guy started in with saying “we” have a Constitution and “laws” that we are required to follow, and … “we”/”our” “society” “social contract” blah blah blah. He was justifying every kind of law, and any amount of violence to enforce them, with his superstitions and collectivism. And this was in a liberty-oriented, individualist group.
Tag: constitution
Don’t Trust Government to Keep Deals
President Trump decided to withdraw from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, also known as the Iran Nuclear Agreement, and his critics are enjoying their opportunity to show concern. You can debate whether the deal had any legitimacy, whether it was a good idea, and what breaking the deal means, but you’d be missing the point. Agreements are meaningless to governments.
Words Poorly Used #136 — Originalism
The non-loyalist, non-royalist patriots, who sued for freedom in the lead up to and conduct of the American Revolution, wanted freedom from unreasonable searches and seizures. As a secondary matter, they made the poor choice of wishful thinking about the objectivity of the courts in issuing warrants of reasonable search and seizure. Why on Earth did they believe that courts would be any different here than in England — they were based on the same general model?
Unschooling is not ‘Lord of the Flies’
In the book, the absence of adults to model and nurture responsibility is palpably felt. Adults matter to children. They guide, protect, tend, reassure, and mediate. The lack of calm, care, and stability that adults offer children is what ultimately triggers the boys’ downfall. Of course, the great lesson from this great book is that it isn’t just children who would descend into brutality when calm, care, and stability are missing; it’s all of us.
Government Not Designed to Help
No government has ever protected life, liberty, or property when it meant scaling back its own power. Expecting government to do so is like hopping in your family SUV expecting to drive it to Alpha Centauri. That’s not what it was designed to do, and not in the realm of possibility, no matter how much you wish it were.
Freedom, Not Force, Creates Lifelong Learners
As author Ray Bradbury famously said: “You don’t have to burn books to destroy a culture. Just get people to stop reading them.” If we want an educated and engaged citizenry, with a passion for reading and knowledge and ongoing self-improvement, then perhaps “free choice” should be the norm rather than the exception.
The Iran Nuclear Deal Isn’t Just a Good Idea — It’s the Law
On May 8, President Donald Trump announced US withdrawal from the Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action, colloquially known as “the Iran nuclear deal.” While that decision has come under criticism for being both a really bad idea and a severe betrayal of trust, both of which are true, it’s worth noting that the US withdrawal is also a breach of treaty obligations, and that such obligations are, per the US Constitution and co-equal with it, “the Supreme Law of the Land.”
Adherence to the Constitution, or Not?
U.S. conservatives generally make a fetish of, among other things, strict federal immigration policy and strong support of the Constitution. It never seems to occur to them that these two positions are inconsistent, given that the Constitution gives no power whatsoever to Congress in regard to immigration controls. So, federal immigration policy of any kind is unconstitutional.
Maybe It’s Time for Libertarian Countries
Contrary to the fears of the skeptics, a libertarian country could provide anything people want. There could be roads, parks, and libraries. The poor could be cared for and people kept safe. Everything provided voluntarily instead of at the barrel of government guns. If you want to make sure only those who paid for a service use it, charge user fees or sell memberships. It would be more ethical, and probably cheaper, than the current system.
An Ill-Conceived Idea
We have been operating with a roadmap (The DOI and the Constitution, among other tent poles) that tends to institutionalize the weaknesses of humankind rather than to remedy them. The idea of POTUS, in particular, signaled the controversial poor choice to retain a monarch (although not hereditary) but then to vest in that monarch saintly responsibilities. It was wishful thinking.