This, of course, depends on your definition of “war” and “states”. As we have clearly seen in the past few years, “war” (aka Jihad) can indeed be waged by non-state actors. To ignore this reality is to deeply undermine your own argument.

And this isn’t a new thing – before states existed, there were smaller groups that nonetheless committed war against their neighbors – but this was so long ago we no longer think much about it. One thing states brought is much less of this internecine battling – yet another fact you’ve conveniently overlooked.

Now wars are large and horrible affairs, and those sensible people in power try to avoid them when at all possible (meaning of course that GWB is definitely NOT a sensible person).

“We sing songs to honor it, make oaths and pledges to it, place its banner in our own places of worship.”

Well, I’ll give you that the simple minded do indeed do this. And unfortunately there seems to be a lot of them.

The description of our elected officials as “rulers” is childish in the extreme, and highly prejudicial to boot. I cannot recall the last time anyone worried publicly about anarchists. You give yourself way too much importance in the fabric of society. Yours is a dead and moldering philosophy.

Then you devolve into hand waving and “I’ll protect me and mine”. You fail to develop a clear view of what life in an anarchist society would be like (much like those who advocate for Libertarianism). To anyone with half a brain the answer to this is clear. Gangland warfare 24/7. Private armies. Walled compounds. Murder in the streets. No safety anywhere. The list goes on. No, we do not dismiss your ideas out of hand because we are narrow minded – we know the evil in men’s soul and we’d rather put up with having to file income tax forms every year than live in abject terror.

“rights are only threatened by states”

That is flat out the most stupid thing I have ever read. I feel dumber for having read it.

Your failure to clearly consider the results of your philosophy is a failure of imagination.

Your failure to see that the majority would not support living in your utopia is your blindness.

Go live in Somalia or some other state that exists in anarchy and get back to me on how you find things there. Tell me how your little freedom utopia will be better than what we have now and how that will happen when the strong take whatever they want from the weak.