Collective Rights
"If every person has the right to defend even by force-his person, his liberty, and his property, then it follows that a group of men have the right to organize and support a common force to protect these rights constantly. Thus the principle of collective right--its reason for existing, its lawfulness--is based on individual right. And the common force that protects this collective right cannot logically have any other purpose or any other mission than that for which it acts as a substitute." -- Frédéric Bastiat
# Fish at The Claire Files Forum - 10 Reason why gay marriage is wrong - satire. Hehe. [clairefiles]
# Sunni Maravillosa - Fuck You, Ohio Politicians, and Fuck the People Who Voted for Them - Sunni discovers Ohio SB 9, the U.S.A. T.R.A.I.T.O.R. Act on steroids. She has family in Ohio. This legislation will likely end her visits there. I posted the following comment: [sunni]
I will not have my driving restricted by thugs. If they start searching cars, I may, however, remove all identifying numbers from my car and my person, and travel with my pistol grip shotgun on the passenger seat and my battle rifle on the floor in the back. I call this "trolling for bacon". Unfortunately, it's not compatible with long life. Do you want to live forever? I don't.
# Nicki Fellenzer - Blatant anti-gun bias - Nicki chimes in on David Codrea's open letter to Katherine Letellier. She quotes a wonderful response from Mark Bunner in the Free Lance-Star, and a glorious essay of her own from 2002 entitled, Another Oath-breaking Band of Legal Buffoons. Bravo, Nicki! [nicki]
In the 1800's Frederic Bastiat, a French economist and statesman authored an essay entitled, The Law.
"Each of us has a natural right-from God-to defend his person, his liberty, and his property," Bastiat stated. "These are the three basic requirements of life, and the preservation of any one of them is completely dependent upon the preservation of the other two."
"If every person has the right to defend even by force-his person, his liberty, and his property," Bastiat continued, "then it follows that a group of men have the right to organize and support a common force to protect these rights constantly. Thus the principle of collective right-its reason for existing, its lawfulness-is based on individual right. And the common force that protects this collective right cannot logically have any other purpose or any other mission than that for which it acts as a substitute." This is the translation of the French quote I provided at the beginning of this column. And now you understand why I've included it.
...
The "Body of the People" referred to by George Mason are individuals.
The "free man" of whom Thomas Jefferson spoke is an individual.
"The people themselves" of whom Richard Henry Lee spoke are individuals.
"The people who are peaceable citizens" are also individuals, as clearly intended by Samuel Adams.
Any attempt to ascribe group dynamics to individual rights is an obscene attempt to force the individual to conform to a set of standards that negate his own existence as a human being.
# Richard Rieben at Strike the Root - I Was Not Born to Submit . . . Not Even to Freedom - Mr. Rieben is a private individual. He will never submit his will to a group, not even a group of freedom fighters. Interesting essay. [jomama]
In perusing my credits, below, you will note various books and websites. In the pursuit of liberty, these are, as public ventures, rather beside the point. At one point, I thought to share them with others. In the meanwhile, they have derailed my private life unpleasantly. The book biz will not last through the end of the present year; the websites will not last through the end of the following year. And my participation in the freedom "movement" will, for a second time in my life, cease. Hopefully, I have learned the value of being a private individual. I am too willful to be otherwise. I have nothing in common with others, aside from being as different from them as they are from anyone else (but knowing it). I do not have a common cause with anyone, not even being free. And the idea of subordinating my will to a group such as to regain, retain or proclaim my sovereign will is such a winsome contradiction it makes me smile, though ruefully.
# Robert Steinback at The Miami Herald - Fear destroys what bin Laden could not - Osama bin Laden, if he really had anything to do with the World Trade Center demolition on 9/11/2001, has accomplished everything he could ever have imagined. But he didn't do it by flying airplanes into buildings. No, our liberty was stolen by the fear-mongers in the White House. Copies here and here. [policestateusa]
Bush stokes our fears, implying that the only alternative to doing things his extralegal way is to sit by fitfully waiting for terrorists to harm us. We are neither weak nor helpless. A proud, confident republic can hunt down its enemies without trampling legitimate human and constitutional rights.
Ultimately, our best defense against attack -- any attack, of any sort -- is holding fast and fearlessly to the ideals upon which this nation was built. Bush clearly doesn't understand or respect that. Do we?
