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Flirting with the Dark Side
by A.X. Perez
perez180ehs@hotmail.com

Attribute to The Libertarian Enterprise

Ever feel fed up with folks who go around saying there are two kinds of people? Don't blame you, if for no other reason than that they're wrong. There's actually four kinds of people.

The first kind are the enemies of liberty who wish to do away with government controls so they can violate the rights of others. Obviously, people who are trying to violate the rights of my friends and me, and even people I don't know well enough to care about, are my enemies. Probably that is the defintion of term for enemies. Less obviously, they give those who wish to reduce the power of government a bad name. They become the negative stereotype anarchists and libertarians have to overcome. This makes them our enemies on two counts.

The second kind of people are those who wish to reduce the power of givernment to prevent it from infringing on people's rights. A bunch of you are reading this, you may in fact be the majority of people reading this article. Hi guys!!

The third kind of people, and there are a bunch of you reading this too, are those who view government as a necessary tool for protecting the rights of people. By the way, you are the people this article is aimed at more than any other.

The fourth group of people are those who value the power of the state above all else, and are quite willing to destroy the rights of the rest of us to obtain this end. Some of them started honorably enough, others have always sought political power as a way to gain wealth and satisfy a Nietzschean will to power.

That is why I say those of of who seek to use the government to protect rights are flirting with the dark side. Any government powerful enough to protect people's rights is powerful enough to destroy them. It's real easy to decide to concentrate on one issue so thoroughly that you become willing to make deals with the devil to obtain your goal Take away someone's free speech to protect a woman's right to an abortion? Sure. Take away honest people's right to arm themselves to try to meet people's right to security? Why not. I'll trade you immigrant reform for the right to be protected from terrorists.

Hell, I'll give you your ugly gun ban for development of water delivery to poor people in my home county.

Then one day day you wake up and you realize you've become a Sith Lord and that Lucas was wrong, there can be many Sith at the same time.

If you belong to group three listen to those in group two. Try to find ways to obtain your goals without excessive reliance on the state. Hey, like I've said before, I've taken the king's penny and I don't fault you. Just remember, you are flirting with the dark side and avoid statements starting with the phrase "There ought to be a law.." and similar statist opiate phrasing. If you are in group two help keep those of us in group three honest. Find ways to solve problems without involving the Big G and keep us posted. Don't wait for the media to do the job for you, they are part of the government, they are the Fourth Branch rather than the fourth Estate, a true ministry of propaganda.

Remember Young Skywalker, him providing half your genes doesn't make Darth Vader your father.

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