Liberty For All

by Dennis D. Hayes

“We are fast approaching the stage of the ultimate inversion: the stage where the government is free to do anything it pleases, while the citizens may act only by permission, which is the stage of the darkest periods of human history, the stage of rule by brute force.”

- Ayn Rand

Time’s ticking away out here on the west coast.  Still, it seems strangely quiet. I’ve started to wonder if it was this quiet at the dawn of the American Revolution. It occurs to me that there probably was a kind of quiet outrage going on at the time, and looking back, it becomes obvious that all that changed because of an Englishman named Thomas Paine. It seems incredible that a fifty-page pamphlet called Common Sense could spark a revolution.  Thank heavens it did!  So what was it that got people so aroused as to lead to a new nation?  An idea!  And this was it: “We don’t need a King!” This simple idea resulted in the country that has come the closest to true freedom!

Well, here it is 224 years later. Looking back it’s safe to say, “We almost made it.”  Almost, because I think in a very important way, we’re still subjects!

In spite of the Bill of Rights, the Separation of Powers, and the enumerated Checks and Balances, today there is less freedom and more coercion.  Funny thing is, it is wrapped up in a “body” that has more power than any King that ever reigned. To make matters worse this “body” is one that we ourselves created at the outset!  Has the King returned?

No, the King has not returned.  What we have now is the King’s Magician!  You know, he was that guy that would prop up the King with a little sleight of tongue! When the peasants questioned the King’s authority the Magician would say, “To rule is the Divine Right of Kings!”  Nowadays, it has been morphed into, “To rule is the Divine Right of Government!”

But what of the people today who say, “We don’t believe in the Divine Right of Government!” The magicians say, “Sorry, there aren’t enough of you. Therefore, you are to be voted down.”

Now this is real magic!  As a people and as individuals we are told we are not smart enough to provide for ourselves when we become old, or sick, or unemployed, or in need of education…and yet, as a people and as individuals we are told we are smart enough to choose someone who can do all this for us! Abracadabra!

Mind you, your choice is restricted to either Candidate A or Candidate B.  This is a choice?  No, it is a false alternative!  Why not just ask us whether we prefer a broken arm or a broken leg!

Magically, these false alternatives lead people to consider their choice as one between the lesser of two evils.

I, on the other hand agree with Jay Leno who says, “It’s really a choice between the evil of two lesser(s)!”

Freedom is a very hard concept to grasp.  Now more than ever I am convinced it is because we’ve never actually had it!  But I do want it! That is why I will be voting 3rd Party this time.  And why I will be voting Libertarian in all races.  It is because a Libertarian vote is a vote for freedom.  It is a vote for Thomas Paine’s’ idea that we don’t need a King, or his magician!  That “government” is established as subordinate in service to its people.

In closing I ask you, is there “No Subject Here”? I respectfully submit that if yours is a vote for the way things are, or for some minor variation thereof, then the Subject is you!

Pacificus

Originally published in Liberty For All October 22, 2000.