 |
|
|
 THE LIBERTARIAN ENTERPRISE Number 527, July 12, 2009 "Robert McNamara— It is good that he died."
Special to The Libertarian Enterprise A few days ago I ran across this short essay in a Harry Potter fanfic. It immediately struck a chord in me, and I e-mailed the author of this short piece to ask permission to use it in an article. The author, Jack Nalett II, who writes under the pen name of Hamilton Wrye or Hamm on Wry, very graciously granted me permission to use it, in whole or in part. I hope you will read it, and my comments afterword. ©2000 "So many times I have heard or read stories about other people's struggle for freedom, but brushed it off with the old Southern expression of "I ain't got a dog in that fight". The older I get, however, the more I realize the error of that line of thought. Let me tell you about this dog. She is a battle scarred mongrel bitch as old as mankind, spoken of with awe by people who have never known her. Her name is Liberty. She climbs into the pit every time some wretched soul lashes inner tubes together, braving dehydration, starvation, and predators to reach the land where Liberty lives. Countless times she has used her razor sharp teeth and claws against her twin opponents, Oppression and Tyranny. She does not always win, many times because her guardians have muzzled her, but she always brings her heart and soul to the fight. She has a brave spirit and fierce loyalty. What is her background? Part of her ancestry is Jewish, finding a home with Moses as he led millions of Hebrews out of 400 years of Egyptian slavery. She has a little Greek in her, residing for a time with Spartacus, when he tried to throw off the yoke of Roman servitude. She rode the Mayflower with the Pilgrims to the new world. She won a victory over a century later, but it was not as decisive as it should have been, since many of her charges remained in oppression and slavery. It would take almost another century and thousands of gallons of spilt blood to win, at least on paper that unqualified victory, and another century before her name was no longer a goal, but rather a fact for all of her guardians. She is revered by the Cubano who looks northward to her home, the Mexicano crushed by the weight of poverty and oppression, the Haitian fleeing the ton-ton macout and a "friendly" dictator. She is sought by Chinese women fleeing forced abortion, the Sudanese Christian held in slavery by Sudanese Muslims, and Bosnian Muslims fearing rape and murder by Serbian "Christians" In every arena in which she has fought, she has left her offspring, some to flourish, but most drowned at birth or crippled in infancy. Although revered by oppressed peoples throughout the world, we, her guardians, those who have benefited most from her struggles, have allowed her to become infested by parasites, we kick her when she inconveniences us and sadly, attempt to have her put to sleep, considering her old and useless. If we continue abusing her, she will not die, but she may leave us to find a more worthy guardian. Her name is Liberty." When I read this, I was ashamed. Not just for myself, but for my country. Mr Nalett wrote this originally in response to the forced kidnapping of Elian Gonzales by federal agents wearing Nazi helmets and carrying German machine guns, wearing masks to keep their faces and identities hidden, as if they were ashamed of what they were doing. AND THEY SHOULD BE ASHAMED! As should we, the people who allowed her to become infested with parasites, parasites such as the liberals who want everyone to be equal, equally impoverished and enslaved, that is. Parasites such as the ultra-conservatives who want to impose their twisted vision of morality and "right" on the whole world, for the "greater good" of course. Parasites such as the corrupt and venal politicians, lawyers and judges who have twisted and distorted the whole meaning and purpose of this country's very existence for personal power and influence. I won't go into a long historical diatribe, there's enough evil and venality in today's world that I don't need to do that. Just ask yourselves a few questions, and be honest with the answers. I can almost guarantee that if you ARE honest, and you're NOT a true libertarian, a follower of the Zero Aggression Principle, you will be heartily ashamed of yourself. If you're a liberal or a conservative, or a politician of any stripe: What gives you the right to take the hard-earned money of law abiding people and use it for projects that those people would NEVER give to of their own free will? What gives you the right to take that money and pay people to kill others halfway around the world, most of whom just want to live their lives as peacefully as possible? What gives you the right to order the deaths or imprisonment of people who disagree with you? And before you say that you don't, look at Waco and Ruby Ridge and the various memoranda and reports that have come out of various government agencies, THEN say that! What gives you the right to decide what a woman can or should do with her own body? Whether you agree with abortion, prostitution, strip clubs or any of a host of other 'erotic' services or not, that is NOT your decision to make! That is between the person who practices those actions, and their conscience, or in the case of those who believe in a deity of some sort, their god. Don't presume to judge a moral issue, since no one, NO ONE, knows the final answer to all of those questions. You're not god, and neither am I. I wouldn't want the damned job, to tell you the truth. If I had it, I would probably go way overboard (impalement on a short stake is too damned good for them!) on crooked cops, politicians and judges, and I wouldn't want that on MY conscience! Sorry about that. Got on a rant, there. Anyway, if you are an average Joe or Jane, not connected with politics in any way, why not? Why haven't you started taking a stand? Why haven't you let your local city and county and state officials know that Tasing kids and the elderly and those who are NOT posing a grave and present danger is not acceptable? Why haven't you told them that police state tactics are not acceptable? Why haven't you told them that taking YOUR money and using it for various pork barrel projects is not acceptable? Why haven't you taken responsibility for your own life and protection, instead giving that power and responsibility to those who have proven, time after time, that they are not capable of wielding it? Why haven't you written your Congresscritter or Senator and told them that the destruction of the economy is NOT the way to preserve this country? Why haven't you let your servants know that their ineptitude in arresting and convicting those who do wrong does NOT give them the right to put restrictions on you? Why? Why haven't you gotten up on your hind legs and let the politicians know that they work for you, and not the other way around? Hmmmm? I think it is time, and way past time, to give that old dog not just a face lift, but a new life and a new indentity, a total rejuvenation! Let's fix her up, and do it right this time! Sharpen her teeth and claws, give her some armor against those who would harm her, and above all, change her name from Liberty, which implies what you are allowed to do, to FREEDOM, that which you can do as long as you don't harm others! Then, instead of standing back and letting her do all the work, stand beside her, fighting as hard as we can to bring that dream of freedom back to life. If you agree with me, please, make some noise! Spread this around, and give credit where it is due to the original author of this short essay, Jack Nalett.
TLE AFFILIATE
|
|
|
|
![[DIGG THIS]](../gifs/91x17-digg-button.gif){kind=small}
Previous
Contents
Next