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L. Neil Smith's THE LIBERTARIAN ENTERPRISE Number 249, November 30, 2003 From a practical standpoint
A Town Called Liberty
Exclusive to TLE Once upon a time, long, long ago and so very far away, the story is told of a town called Liberty. The word, of course, is unfamiliar: it's reputed to have meant "freedom," but certainly not in the comforting form we know today, where all of our worries are allayed by our wise, all-knowing, motherly Government. That's the reason we can't ever know who they actually are, so that we won't worry about mere frail humans making such earth-shattering decisions on our behalf. No, we know to have faith in The Committee. The Committee is The Government and The Government tells us it can do no wrong. This is the reason we must unquestioningly obey every Government Agent, to prove our worthiness. We rightly remove our hats and bow our heads in their holy presence; we walk with our hands behind our back to prove our good intent. But how is such a thing possible, ask the children? The Laws. For every situation, there is a Law. Then couldn't there be two laws, one that says you can do something, and yet another that says you can't? How are we to know? Foolish children, such simple questions were long ago answered by The Government. We are not to worry. It is The Law. The simple answer, now as it always has been, is that whatever Law benefits The Government is the one that will be applied. You should well know that by now. It is not important if we survive, it is only important that The Government survives. The Government gives us food. The Government gives us housing. The Government teaches us. Is it not true that it is The Government that cures our ills? We owe The Government all; The Government does not owe any of us. It is an honor to die for The Government. We are privileged to sacrifice for The Government. So when I tell you this fable about a mythical town called Liberty, you must keep in mind that it is only a story. No one could live in a place where they alone bore the responsibility for each and every action they took -- it's beyond comprehension! Imagine having to daily worry about where your food was coming from! No man could ever live in such fear! Just thinking, "I going to become a healer," and then trying to become one without The Government's permission! Ridiculous! The evils that befall us today are tests to determine who believes in The Government more: those who fail such tests must die. We have been taught to rely on only The Government to save us, and so we are tested. If we do not prove worthy, is it a wonder why we are not saved? Such is the way of The Law. On those occasions when we are too many, is it not the kindly Government who gently gathers us together and transports us to heaven? The stories brought to us by The Government of our friends who have gone there make us all long for the day we will be permitted to go there, when at last The Government will give us all The Pill to ease the difficult journey. In days of old, it was said that Men, mere individuals, actually carried deadly arms with which to undertake their own protection. Can you even imagine such an absurd thing? We all know from earliest childhood that only Government Agents can be trusted, so obviously, no mere person could ever have possessed such a dangerous tool without The Government's permission! It was told, in days of yore, that mere people could go anywhere without first notifying The Government and being approved, then actually travel, without escort, without checkpoints, if you can believe such a thing, and simply go wherever it was that they chose to go. Anarchy! In those days, it's said, Men actually ate animals they themselves killed with the deadly tools they carried. I know, as distasteful as that sounds, but such are the legends, if you believe them, just like the stories that Men chose from among themselves to rule themselves. Who could believe such outrage? Impossible! It's even whispered that it was mere people, not The Government, who when they chose to travel, did so in conveyances that they themselves possessed. Imagine it! Obviously the reason that if such people ever once existed, that they don't now. The fable even says that long, long, ago Men constructed their own dwellings out of whatever materials they themselves so chose, and wherever they chose to locate them without regard for regulation or decree, without license or permission, and actually lived peacefully in them all their days without ever paying taxes to The Government! How was this possible? Rumor has it that an archaic form of barter, utilizing a mythical substance known as "gold" as a medium was employed. Such confusion must have reigned! And now, let me tell you the most unbelievable part of the story. It was said that in those far away times, the mere people who lived in their individual houses and traveled whenever and wherever they so chose, carrying deadly tools for their own protection, would, on certain occasions, declare among themselves a feast. A feast is supposed to have been when food, raised by the mere people themselves, luxurious, delicious, and in plenty, was prepared, cooked and consumed by the mere people until they were satisfied. An atrocity! Think of the many innocents who were starved to provide such gluttony for the few! We can thank The Government that nothing like that will ever happen again! We can rely on The Government when any mere person becomes unproductive to be given The Pill to assist their journey to heaven. We are never burdened. We never worry. We're assured that there never was a town called Liberty. The Government says so.
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