America: Land of the...Hypocrites?

America is often called the "Land of the Brave" but I do not see much bravery in this country. Why? Because the very principles with which this country was built have been forgotten. Have so many forgotten one of the founding principles? That of natural rights? [1] Have people become so afraid of the government that they seem to bow down and cower with fear at this beast we have created? And yes, we have created it; not necessarily us, but our recent ancestors who allowed the government to get bigger and bigger and gain ever greater control over our lives. [2]

Absurd seat belt laws, drug laws, parking laws, speeding laws, and the list goes on and on. [3] Our freedoms are slowly being squeezed out of us as I type.

A natural right that the founders felt was important was the "right to alter or abolish governments." [emphasis mine] To quote Michael Zuckert:

Since government exists to secure rights and only for that purpose, governments which fail to secure rights can have no legitimacy [...] This so-called "right to revolution" must be "among" the other rights [and] [g]iven its relation to the primary rights, it too must be an "unalienable right."

Obviously, the founders were not anarchists like myself and believed that without government this,

leaves rights once again insecure, as they were prior to the existence of government. [4]

Of course, as several experiments have shown us, [5] there can be a society without government and society will not fall apart, however, science has shown us that our evolutionary heritage has placed limits on how well a society can function. Ideally a society with approximately 150 individuals (however some communities have been found that contain as many as 400 individuals) can be found to function well without any need of any hierarchical structure. Any more than this and social controls, such as "shunning" and the social guilt felt is not as effective in larger groups. Therefore, larger groups need to split into smaller groups, which help to ensure social control and cohesion. [6]

It seems possible that given a multitude of groups containing fewer individuals anarchism is possible, and there is some evidence to support this. An anarchist society called Modern Times (see here) existed in America in the mid 1800's and during the time which it existed, there were no reports of any crime whatsoever.

But back to the founders' views of revolution.

Even though it's obvious the founders most likely would not have wished for the complete abolition of government, given the growth, power, and abuses of the government as it currently is, I see no reason why even the founders themselves wouldn't hesitate to cry out for a revolution (of course, they were also well to do and, like most rich politicians, enjoy power like our current rulers so I may be wrong about this - perhaps if they were on the other side of government and not the ones in charge?).

I believe that revolution and the abolition of government is the best solution, not a new form of government (unless we can create one that does not abuse its power, which is unlikely), since history will likely repeat itself as it did in England and America. The English attempted a similar coup against the king in the seventeenth century England during the Glorious Revolution and then they had to do it again when the powers in England became too oppressive and those in America fought the American Revolution to break free of the government's power.

How many times must we repeat this cycle? It's often said that the definition of insanity is doing the same thing over and over and expecting different results. Does this mean, then, that most Americans are "insane?" Deluded? Or what? Clearly, government is not working as well as we all (I would hope) expect. It's gotten too big, powerful, and oppressive, and we must reclaim our natural rights and one of the rights this county was founded upon [with a slight twist of course]: the right to revolution and the abolishment of government.

In closing, allow me to quote Michael Zuckert once more:

The Americans, with their clear affirmation of the right of revolution, introduced a novelty into politics; they were willing to take a chance with the disruptive principle, they were willing to encourage an adversarial or a judgmental attitude by the people toward their government. [7]

It seems that those like me who speak out against and oppose government are more "patriotic" than these flag waving, constitution-spouting apologists for the government will ever be!


Footnotes

1. I have been reading the book The Natural Rights Republic (1996) by Michael P. Zuckert and it has inspired me to write this piece.

2. Some good examples can be found here and here. An excellent book on this topic is also Lost Rights: The Destruction of American Liberty, by James Bovard

3. Arizona even currently has a catchy little slogan to help indoctrinate...I mean help people remember about how much the government cares for our safety that they've created a law to force people into buckling their seat belts: "Click it, or ticket." Bullshit! It's just another in a long line of "laws" that are imposed for nothing more than to catch those going about their day unawares and they forget some of these obscene laws, like "jay walking." Then those in power can fine those poor people who did nothing at all wrong. Pathetic!

4. The Natural Rights Republic: Studies in the Foundation of the American Political Tradition, by Michael P. Zuckert, University of Notre Dame Press, 1996; 27-28

5. The Abolishment of the State, Part 1 See also: Ignorance Abounds

6. The Science of Good & Evil: Why People Cheat, Gossip, Care, Share, and Follow the Golden Rule, by Michael Shermer, Henry Holt, 2004; 40-42

7. The Natural Rights Republic; 100-101