As the “American System” of paper money and empire continues its decay, the number of American citizens who are losing faith in it appears to be growing. I come to this conclusion based on the burgeoning number of commentaries that I see from people who comprise what is known as the class of “respectable opinion”.
Today, I came across yet another plea that without politics, life itself would grind to a screaming halt.
Kathryn Jean Lopez seeks to remind everyone that reads National Review, that “political disengagement is not an option”. In other words, you were born into a system where robbing your neighbor, and using force against your neighbor, is your only option. Seeking to live peacefully by not taking part is simply not a choice for you to make.
Lopez writes:
If we start thinking that we are above politics, we need to remember that if we don’t get our hands dirty paying attention to who it is we are electing, and to policy and pending decisions, we are shirking a responsibility. Disengagement is dangerous. Engagement is our civic duty.
Peace and non-aggression is “above politics”. Standing in line (like cattle) at a voting booth does not mean that you’re paying attention to anything. The person that you are electing is not bound to anything. They do not have to (nor do they) tell the truth in order to get your vote. This should be obvious by now. It’s not like this charade started yesterday.
The person you vote for has no idea that you specifically voted for him/her. How on Earth can you possibly be “responsible” for what the politician does? As hard as it is for many to come to grips with, you are responsible for your actions.
Disengagement is dangerous?
How so?
Lopez doesn’t say.
Her job is to make sure people keep believing. The fact that she’s writing on this subject means that the believers must be going through a phase where their faith is being tested. That darn Internet must be making them second guess a few things.
Cynicism about politics can be seductive, too. The media thrive on conflict and scandal, and so it’s often the worst of political life that we focus on. But politics is necessary. “Politics is,” [Charles] Krauthammer explains, “the moat, the walls, beyond which lie the barbarians. Fail to keep them at bay, and everything burns.
Oh sure it’s the media’s fault. They just focus on the worst.
Politics is the worst. For it the use of violence and force to settle your disputes. It’s a never-ending struggle to gain control of the monopolistic use of violence. If you don’t control it, someone else will, and they’ll beat you over the head with it.
And Lopez wants us to believe that “politics is necessary”?
One can see why those who control The State would want you to think its necessary; and why they would want to keep everyone “Rocking The Vote”. But mankind’s long history of failed governments has proven that for 99.999% of everyone who has ever lived, politics is poison.
Finally, is Lopez really trotting out a quote for Charles Krauthammer? This is a man who never saw a bomb that he didn’t want dropped on some non-American. And he’s the voice who is to tell us that without politics “barbarians” will take over and “everything burns”?
Governments have killed so many hundreds of millions that it’s impossible to keep count anymore. No other group of organized individuals could possibly accomplish such a feat.
It’s time to stop buying into the stories of the real barbarians. It’s imperative to celebrate when people “politically disengage”. For it can possibly a sign that people are becoming more virtuous.
Reprinted with permission from Economic Policy Journal.
