Wars of antagonism toward the individual
It
is difficult to limit the scope of such a list, since every bit of
liberty is precious and the government knows no bounds in its attempt
to curtail freedom. Truth be told, there need only be one item on the
list – the state – for it is the single greatest threat to
liberty, from which all other threats originate. - By Joel
Poindexter – via The Tenth Amendment Center
The Drug War (war on property)
All
forms of prohibition are wars against property. When the state
decides to prohibit the consumption of certain goods, property rights
are abridged. This process is also inherently arbitrary; itself a
contradiction to the principle of liberty, since it usurps decision
making authority from individuals and places it with a third party.
How could anyone truly be considered free if someone else assumes the
power to determine what they may or may not own? Furthermore, those
who accept prohibition must necessarily accept all other forms of
social engineering and surrender control of their persons...
Civil
asset forfeiture has become a widely-used tool in the war on drugs;
so much so that rival police agencies often compete – almost to the
point of violent confrontation – with one another to be the first
to seize property. These laws don’t even require criminal charges,
let alone a conviction, to allow cash or other assets to be taken by
law enforcement. So it isn’t just non-violent individuals involved
in the drug trade who suffer, which is bad enough, but outside
parties also lose their property and even their lives.
The
Food War (war on our bodies)
Everything
said of the war on drugs can also be said of the war on food. They’re
essentially the same, often fought by the same agencies, and under
the same pretenses, namely our own welfare. However, unlike the drug
police, who are there ostensibly to target certain segments of the
population, the food police have everyone in mind when they go to
work...
The one
thing which must be added is that not only does the moral busybody
sleep well at night, but so many others approve as well. In this way
their tyrannical behavior is often rationalized by the general
population, no matter how antithetical it is to freedom...
Due to
innumerable interventions in the economy, such as patents, tariffs,
quotas, regulation, and the tax code, Americans are incentivized to
consume food and drugs that are destructive to their health, while
truly healthy items are pushed to the fringe, forced out of business,
or simply outlawed. It should come as no surprise that such policies
are lobbied for and promoted by the politically well-connected
businesses in bed with government.
The
Currency War (war on our livelihood)
Individual
liberty is greatly dependent on the ability to support oneself
financially, so governments have a natural interest in restricting
financial freedom and privacy. This is accomplished in many ways and
the actions of governments have many consequences. The nation-state’s
premier weapon in the war on money is nothing new. From the first
Roman coins clipped, to the latest key strokes at the Federal Reserve
Bank, governments and their agents have always sought to increase the
money supply. This allows them to expand their programs of war and
welfare.
This is
principally accomplished by establishing monopolies through legal
tender laws.
War
(war on humanity)
War is
of course evil because its ends are death and destruction. While
other wars carried out by the state wreak havoc on humanity, they at
least carry the pretense of serving the victims. In the case of war
however, no one questions the end result, and few question the
motives. Everyone knows that killing is the goal. Those who do
challenge the state on this matter are branded as traitors and often
persecuted for it.
It’s
no surprise then that some of the most despotic measures ever taken
by governments happen during times of war, and are used to support
the war effort. For the US it didn’t take more than a few years
before the Alien and Sedition Acts were passed...habeas corpus was
revoked, journalists critical of the war had their presses destroyed
and were thrown in jail, and income taxation was enacted. Individuals
are conscripted to fight, and those found guilty of desertion are put
to death. The twentieth century brought the detention of millions of
people in concentration camps, not only places like Nazi Germany and
Soviet Russia, but here, in the “land of the free.”
Today
we endure the TSA, which has caused untold pain and misery for so
many individuals. Travelers in America have no right to privacy, no
expectation of security in their persons or their effects. The
federal government has attempted to preempt TV broadcasts for an
emergency address system, of course. There are now efforts to
establish government control over the internet, again all for our
security. For many years a network of prisons – some secret, some
open – has been established all over the world where people are
detained for years, many without access to attorneys or any form of
justice system. Torture is practically accepted in our society, where
most see at as perhaps a necessary evil, but necessary nonetheless.
The
Privacy War (war that makes all others possible)
The war
on privacy, which comes to us courtesy of the National Security
State, is the means by which the government wages all of its other
wars. Without the ability to monitor, track, and catalog the
day-to-day individual behavior, the centralized state is unable to
carry out all of its other freedom-crushing activity.
To
fight the drug war governments track the financial activities of drug
dealers. States pass laws to collect data on the sales of over the
counter medication, paints, solvents, and other household items used
in meth production. Such surveillance and restriction on trade have
led to the prosecution of innocent parents, only looking to relieve
their children’s cold symptoms.
Federal
agents pose as customers at health food stores, hoping to goad
employees into giving them medical advice, thereby incriminating
themselves. Those who offer advice violate laws and often stores are
forced to close their doors. The same sting operations are carried
out against peaceful farmers. They must be very cautious when dealing
with strangers because agents of the government pose as customers,
only to return with guns to seize their property and ruin their
businesses.
The IRS
tracks much of the activity of citizens and never tires of new ways
to collect government revenue. Governments all over the world seek
ways to undermine cash economies, in the hopes of making it easier to
monitor and tax commerce. Financial institutions are required to
collect ever more information on their customers, and to report
“suspicious” activity. Several years ago an attempt was made to
require a national ID card, which would be used to monitor Americans.
The
Patriot Act is used to spy on citizens’ virtually every move.
Financial privacy is long dead, along with the need for warrants to
view phone records, and listen to phone calls, read e-mails, and
search library records. The Department of Homeland Security employs
agents to troll social network sites looking for dissidents and snoop
on internet activity.
Conclusion
At
least because most of this despotic behavior occurs at the national
level, state and local nullification is an option for redress. In
fact, in every category nullification has been used, or is now in the
process, to restore liberty. Here’s to hoping we can nullify it
all, and once again be free.
Joel
Poindexter is a student working toward a degree in economics. His
writing has been published by the Ludwig von Mises Institute,
LewRockwell.com and the Tenth Amendment Center. He lives with his
wife and daughter near Kansas City. See his blog.
Send him mail.
If
you enjoyed this post:
No comments:
Post a Comment