Special to L. Neil Smith’s The Libertarian Enterprise

“Until one is committed, there is hesitancy, the chance to draw back, always ineffectiveness. Concerning all acts of initiative and creation, there is one elementary truth the ignorance of which kills countless ideas and splendid plans: that the moment one definitely commits oneself, then providence moves too.

All sorts of things occur to help one that would never otherwise have occurred. A whole stream of events issues from the decision, raising in one's favour all manner of unforeseen incidents, meetings and material assistance which no man could have dreamed would have come his way.

Whatever you can do or dream you can, begin it. Boldness has genius, power and magic in it. Begin it now.”
― William Hutchison Murray

Recently a friend of mine suggested that it would be a bad idea to openly admit his libertarian and anarchist views. Such a political position would be off-putting, I guess. Or maybe it would be dangerous.

There is also an argument that being anarchist means being subversive. I don't think that's actually true. The legal definition of subversive is someone who is committed to the violent overthrow of the United States government (or whichever government may be applicable to you in your time and place).

So, from roughly April 1775 to Ocober 1783, one could argue that Sam Adams, George Washington, or Thomas Jefferson were subversives, as they were actively engaged in the actual violent overthrow of the government, or the tyranny, of king George the Third. The Declaration of Independence is a defiant statement in defence of freedom and in opposition to any established government which opposes the freedom and sovereignty of the individual. After the treaty of Paris made it clear that the colonies, except perhaps Delaware which is not named in it, were now independent from the realm of George the mad tyrant of England, the formerly subversive persons mentioned were no longer subversive.

My own view is that the violent overthrow of any government is a mistaken idea in that violent revolutions only end up replacing one terrible set of evil and despicable scum with another set. "Meet the new boss, same as the old boss," sang the rock group The Who. You might like to listen to the rest of those lyrics. "The men who spurred us on sit in judgement of our wrong, they decide and the shotgun sings the song." Or buy the song and support this online 'zine. Whether or not you'll get fooled again, I've no idea.

So, no, I'm not trying to overthrow the government of the United States, nor of any other country. It also happens that I don't have any desire to support that government, it happens I have many trenchant criticisms of its violence, support for war profiteers, corruption, ineffectiveness, and madness. But why substitute one bad government with another one? Mindless.

State of the Enemy

It is not the case that I believe myself to be the enemy of the state. I oppose its violence, corruption, and existence, but I'm not trying to do anything to cause its collapse. As a collapsitarian, I fully expect it to collapse, just as all empires have done through history.

But the state very clearly declared me its enemy in February 1991 when I was falsely arrested on charges that the state of Texas and county of Harris county, Texas, admitted were false charges of felony gambling promotion of a lottery only a few months later. The arrest involved cruel and unusual punishment, according to the notices posted at the Harris county jail by the federal court there. The inches of raw sewage on the floor, the stench in every holding cell, the overcrowded conditions with over 90 men in a space built to hold only thirty, and the "food" slid under the door into the raw sewage at meal times were among the symptoms of this cruelty. Though, to be clear, it seems quite usual in my experiences.

Yes, I've been arrested, and expect to be arrested again. The system is evil, it is mad, it is vicious, and every police officer hates all of the freedoms of every individual on Earth. There are no good cops, there are only corrupt cops who hate their neighbours, enforce unjust laws, and do as much as they can to bully and hurt everyone else. The only good cop is one who has actually resigned and who never calls the cops. There are presumably good cops who are deceased, in that they are no longer operationally cops.

But I'm not a coward. And if you are for freedom but you won't say so, I think you might be a coward. If you are an anarchist, but your wealthy clientele would be appalled and you don't want to be identified as such, then I think you are a coward. Perhaps you should have the courage of your own convictions. Perhaps you should speak up for freedom and individual sovereignty while you are able to do so.

If you are free and proud of being free and you are on record as a free person, then I commend to you the book of Esther in the Bible. It goes over the story of an especially evil sycophant of a king, a minister of sorts named Haman. When a fellow named Mordecai would not bow and scrape to Haman, the corrupt minister hatched a plan to arrange for the simultaneous killing of every Jew in the kingdom. Messages in the name of the king were sent around to ensure this slaughter would take place.

It seems to me that those who believe they have power over the rest of us, especially the vile and disgusting filth of the deep state agencies like the FBI, CIA, and NSA are eager to slaughter anyone they imagine may be opposed to their tyranny. These are the same scum who hid all the lies and corruption of Hillary (not very well) and who have imprisoned Julian Assange and who have tortured tens of thousands of people since 11 September 2001 and quite a few hundreds before then.

For twenty-eight years, the state has viewed me as an enemy, and has treated me accordingly. Yet, here I am. And here it yet another essay of mine, pointing out their depredations, degradations, murders, and perfidy.

Yes, of course they could come for me and kick in the doors and slaughter everyone and everything in my home and leave a blackened scar where my home once stood. But, guess what, coward? They can do that to you, too, whether intentionally or by error, so hiding your views isn't doing you any good. It just makes you look foolish and weak.