We tell ourselves that the contrived authoritarian monopoly on violence we call “government” is a necessary evil. When we feel victimized, used, and yet powerless to do anything about it, deluding ourselves into believing that government is necessary and ultimately beneficial may seem like a crucial relief valve. It’s already getting harder and harder to maintain that delusion.
Bush contributed to the awakening process for so many and Obama is quickly reaching almost everyone whom Bush missed. More importantly, Obama managed to generate ridiculously unreasonable expectations only to dash those hopes in such a short span. It was the perfect storm of events for showing more people the true nature of government. I’m not suggesting that all those people suddenly became anarchist, at least not in their minds and surface thoughts, but I think they feel something in their hearts akin to what anarchists feel about government. They’re prime for the message of hope that only a voluntary society can deliver.
The big question now is whether we can address that disconnect between what people feel and what they can understand intellectually. There are a lot of folks out there who are quickly realizing that there is something very wrong and we need to provide the language necessary for understanding exactly what that is. What makes the task all the more difficult is that we don’t have an easy answer for all of those problems. There is no one simple answer with actual basis in reality that compares to the delusional catch-all answer they’ve always depended on to relieve their worries– a violent authoritarian government.
To those of you who insist on wearing your rose-colored glasses, you’re only forestalling the inevitable. The sooner you abandon your comforting fantasies and start considering realistic answers, the better off you’ll be when the shit really starts to hit the fan.
Happy Tax Day!
Most of the speakers at the Memphis Tea Party were advocating for a Fair Tax and a Republican return to power in 2010. Most people are just stuck on stupid.
I love this one!
Funny that characters name is Josh.
I first thought those were blinders.
Also many of us don’t pay Federal Income Taxes and aren’t funding the empire.
Another penis euphamism?
Man, I wish I could be delusional about tax day. Or about the state of the nation in general. I took the wrong freakin’ pill, man.
Funny he looks like me too…contrarian? I’m not foul-tempered as much as I have a few sharp edges and hot spots – like a knife wielding man on fire.
Nice comic Dale (”Josh” was easy to spot!). Love the 1, 2 punch (comic + aritcle) as it makes for unique one of kind way of communicating ideas. I can’t remember seeing a Polictical Comic with a short commentary, ever.
And it’s refreshing to see a Comic Artist explain the philosophy behind his work.
On Taxes, you used to be able to say the money the IRS collects only goes to pay the interest on the Debt but I can’t believe that’s even close to being true anymore.
It makes me want to tell my fellow Americans that they wouldn’t have pay Any Taxes, if they didn’t let the Government spend their money for them.
Not as brilliant as usual. Could have used a better ending. Threats of violence are only funny when they’re way over the top, this isn’t. Good, not great.
There are hiddin taxes in the things you buy. Thus if you buy a product you are paying taxes indirectly. There are some people who claim that they don’t pay income taxes. Well I wonder if those who say that have a job. maybe some of them don’t but if you do your employer will usually deduct income tax from your pay. Legally you have to provide your socialist insecurity number to get a job so that taxes and socialist insecurity contributions can be deducted from your pay.
hey guys, thought you might enjoy this twitter
http://twitter.com/ourenemy
its from the point of view of the state
I do agree that even if Obama got many on the lefts hope up, and has been smashing them for anyone with a brain, unless your hope was he would become a totalitarian President that expands government in every direction. I’ve known many people on the left who have become increasingly aware of Obama’s abuse and expansion of government powers. They have become increasingly angrier at the state, a wonderful thing. Unfortunatley those who lie some where in the middle of Democrat and Republicans, or are just plain stupid/ ignorant, are still in hoping for “change”. These unfortunately make up the vast majority of the population when combined with the neocons. Were still in shit, but maybe, just maybe there will be a significant portion of the left who will hate the state, and never trust it. Then they just need to learn economics, and bam, those on the left will be become market anarchist.
Cynically speaking, I’d have to say that Bush…and now Obama…may have served to stir some and sour others…but I think you’ll see a demand by the majority for EVEN MORE SOCIALISM/FASCISM…
The reasoning for that is simple…as long as people see someone else…ANYONE ELSE…with anything left to loot…they will demand that the bureaucrats lay claim to it and that the jackboot enforcers seize it…for the hoards of looters to subsist for just one more day…
Only when they are faced with immediate, first-person deterrents such as being refused and rebuffed with defensive actions which may or may not result in their injury or death…
Only then will they cease and desist…
On the other side, there are a number of rose tinted glasses wearing people out there who believe:
their non-enforced government can do anything to deter thieves and thugs or
they can manage to keep up on all affairs and be trained to defend themselves and keep a job in a competitive market or
that private companies will be more honest then the gov (and not just seize power) when given control over things like a military or
that the market will correct itself in every given situation without any checks (take an economics class, there are types of markets that naturally tend towards monopoly)
The fact is not that there is no easy solution, it is that no one has come up with any solution that works in practice. This is do to two facts:
True freedom entails that there is nothing to prevent an individual from attempting to impose on another person’s freedom.
There are limits to resources essential to our survival, thus, someone is going to lose out.