By MamaLiberty
It is easy to lose sight of the good when evil surrounds us. It is even difficult to rejoice for a warm summer day if you are dying of cancer, living in serious pain, or so many other things common in ordinary life. Yet, remembering the good times, the blessings, the joys are a large part of what makes life worth living for most of us, I’d wager.
So, rather than our usual rants against all of the “worst” things going on all over the world, it might be good to look at the best instead. Unfortunately, that list is smaller and poorer than it might be without all the evil of non-voluntary government and individuals who dedicate their lives to controlling others, but let’s see what I can come up with. I invite you to add to it in comments!
Life and health. Even though the naysayers and controllers attempt to deduct from this positive the number of suicides and deaths from destructive behaviors such as drug use, the actual lifespan and health of people in the world otherwise is getting better in many ways. There are far fewer people in the world living in abject poverty (of course, one must be skeptical of some of the criteria used to measure this).
More people are starting to take at least some control over their own health. Trust in doctors, hospitals and other “health care” options has been dropping almost as fast as the trust people in general have of either “news” media or even politicians. It is difficult for many people to see that this declining level of trust is a GOOD thing because they have been taught all of their lives that they can’t make good choices or decisions without some sort of “expert,” especially some government approved or regulated expert.
The market is moving toward freedom in a few areas, while the black/gray market continues to thrive. All of the efforts of the non-voluntary government to “control” or prohibit various commodities continue to damage everyone, but there are glimmers of hope in some places and with some products. Cannabis is certainly one of them, and it is a mystery why some of the places where that market is reviving happen also to be the most irrational control states otherwise, but I believe that this also shall pass.
I predicted at least five years ago that the economy of the entire country, indeed, the world would have collapsed by now, so I am very happy to have been wrong. Not that it can’t… or won’t, just can’t be reliably predicted – even by the economists at von Mises. But they do understand the history, and track the trends very well.
America, and indeed the world, dodged the fatal destruction that Hillary Clinton would have brought to both individual liberty and the economy in general, but subsequent events and other politicians should be clear proof to everyone that there are no “right people” to elect to rule us. Unfortunately, few seem to grasp this elemental fact.
And so, we have to take at least a look at the bad. And that actually covers most people everywhere, and for far too many people reflects the reason for their choices and actions.
The desire/compulsion to control the lives and property of others is the ROOT of all evil. All of the evil: hate, wars, theft, murder and lies come from this. All of the race, gender and sex “political correctness” insanity is based on controlling other people. Politics is just another name for the control others game – that always destroys individual liberty.
Controlling oneself, being responsible for oneself and family, living in voluntary association and cooperation with others, and rejecting the idea that one can or should control others… that would seem to me to be a wonderful goal for the future of individual liberty and prosperity.
What do you think about all this?
The Price of Liberty 
Mama, I’d like your take on something. Humanity has a name for people who have an addiction to gambling, sex, drugs, shoplifting and many other failings. Is there a clinical scientific name for someone who seeks power for it’s own sake and if not, then why?
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“Addiction” is the wrong word for most things you list. People choose to do all of those things. None of those things can actually compel anyone against their will, or overpower their ability to choose. “Addiction” is simply used as an excuse for what they choose. Actual addiction, is relatively rare. I can think of a number of clinical labels for politicians and so forth, but it all boils down to lust… a lust for power/control over other people, no matter what form it takes. And, unfortunately, as I’ve written so often, that lust is not limited to politicians. Anyone, including little old granny in the church pew, who wants and feels the compulsion to control others – especially “for their own good” – is no different than a politician. Grannies just don’t usually get to exercise their lust for power over more than those in their own church, club or family. The lust is the same… control over others is the root of all evil.
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Happy New Year Mama!
I just now clicked on your name from over at TTAG.
I’ll be following you now….
Tom in Oregon.
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Hey, Tom!! Great to have you here. Too bad Oregon is so darn far from Wyoming! I’d love to take you hunting out here.
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I’m planning on an antelope hunt in Wyoming. It’s way too hard to draw a tag here in Oregon. 2018 is shaping up to be fun. Africa in July and a bear hunt in Alaska in September. Trying to squeeze in Wyoming…
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OOH! Squeeze harder!! LOL No difficulty finding something to hunt. I don’t know anything about the tag thing here now. Too many years since I went hunting myself. But the information is available on line as I’m sure you know. Antelope and wild turkey are my favorite wild eats. 🙂
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The desire/compulsion to control the lives and property of others is the ROOT of all evil.
Succinctly put, and I can’t think of an exception not covered by your statement. It’s too bad the constraints of life don’t allow for people from the past to be brought back to offer commentary on conditions of the present. Can you imagine what the nation’s founders would say about today’s micromanagement, debt, and taxation to death? On the other hand, who would listen? The Left would label them racist assholes, and the Right would say they don’t understand the complexities of the modern world, which require blasting our way around the globe, stealing rather than paying for resources we want, propping up repressive jerks if they’re allies, and screaming in fear if anyone crosses into our borders without government permission.
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Unfortunately, those same “founders” set up the system of control we enjoy today. I’ve read everything from Adams and Jefferson through Spooner. Very few could even imagine life without some form of non-voluntary government. Yes, they might be shocked at how far it has gone, but none of them truly spelled out the absolute requirement for voluntary association and SELF control, self responsibility, self defense, self ownership and self government being all that is necessary. All? Yeah, that’s a tall order. But nobody can actually do any of that for someone else, out of love or with any force in the universe.
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I agree, but the difference between peaceful anarchy and Jefferson’s ideal is way way less than between Jefferson’s ideal and today’s authoritarian nightmare. The system he and the rest set up did get distorted to where the constraints they thought were ironclad are all but completely dissolved, but I’m not sure it’s fair to blame them for that. Of course you’re right to say that they didn’t call for complete voluntarism, but compared to prevailing thought both before and after their lives, their hearts were in the right place.
Yes, they might be shocked at how far it has gone…
Might? Their denunciations would make for wonderful reading, I feel sure.
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Have you read any of Spooner’s work? http://lysanderspooner.org/node/44
Even he didn’t see the possibility of absolute self ownership. But he came about as close as any I’ve read.
Unfortunately, non-voluntary government is a cancer. A very aggressive cancer. The least little bit left in place, and it grows – spreads. It is inevitable, because that is its very nature. Do you think a teaspoon of ebola would be better than a tablespoon of it? Either will kill you.
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Happy New Year, ML. Here’s a toast for a great year to come.
Yes, it seems as things are looking up. I’m having more people in Oregon, of all places, positively commenting on my MAGA hat, which I wear mainly for poking fun at crackpots. I’m seeing more smiles, hearing more people expressing themselves without looking over their shoulders, and witnessing actual adult conversations. It’s either because of Trump, or not because of Hillary. Either way, we’re winning.
One of the things I was seeing escalate over the last half-dozen years was hate. Hate for everything, including self. Made me worry for mankind for awhile. I see that, too, leveling off.
…
I started a train (HO scale) of thought not long ago in my journal:
“Hate is a corrosive thing. We hear more and more from people who say “I hate this”, “I hate that”, while at the same time calling any dissenting view “hate speech”. I was taught early on that hate is the most debilitating emotion there is. It can cause you to make bad decisions. Your mind will focus on nothing but that hate and it’s unfortunate recipient; life and love will pass you by as you are stuck in that rut…”
…I’m gonna wait ’till after the turn of the year to finish the thought.
Peace
Mike
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Yes indeed, Mike. Hate is corrosive as battery acid. And what people have been taught over the centuries is SELF hate, which automatically leads to the hate of everything else. The false altruism and distrust of our own intellect and needs. How can anyone love someone or something else if they don’t love and appreciate themselves? The self hate taints everything.
Take a look at this and see what you think. http://selfadoration.com/ManAlive.html
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I agree there are a lot of good things going on. America is a tough country and always comes through what seems to be the most horrific of times. Lots of flux going on with people vehemently disagreeing with one another, but I view this as good too because it means many are finally WAKING UP!
Happy New Year!
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Disagreeing with each other, indeed. We simply have to do that honestly. The danger comes when those with whom we disagree work to force their ideas and “solutions” on us by the weight of government, regardless of their expressed motives or “feelings.”
Control over others is, as always, the underlying motive. We need the freedom to agree to disagree, controlling ourselves alone.
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