Being a 'Criminal'

Saturday, 23 May 2009 03:54

Being a Criminal
Larken Rose

As in just about every other culture on the planet, Americans are raised to respect "authority." They are taught that obedience is a virtue, and that the measure of whether you're a good person is whether you're a "law-abiding taxpayer" who "plays by the rules." Likewise, we're taught that the bad guys are all "criminals" who "have a problem with authority."

People with brains have a problem with authority. And while being at odds with "authority" and "the law" does not automatically make someone a good person, it also doesn't automatically make someone bad, either. Whether someone respects and honors the individual rights of other people is what matters. The trouble is, so many people, including those in the pro-freedom "movement," still have a desire to receive the approval of authority.

Try asking yourself, or the people you know, "Are you willing to be a criminal?" Most will vehemently say no. But why? These days, when politician scribbles are called "laws," what does it mean to be a "criminal" anyway? All it means is that someone disobeyed any one of the myriad of arbitrary politician commands and demands. Why should anyone feel bad about that? (The truth is, by that definition we're ALL criminals, since the sheer volume of "laws" makes it impossible to even KNOW all of them, and impossible to obey them all.)

But shouldn't "laws" against murder and theft be obeyed? Yes and no. People should refrain from committing theft and murder, but NOT because there are "laws" against them. Theft and murder are wrong because they deprive others of their rights, not because some political windbags sat down and scribbled a "law" about it. In fact, most thefts and murders that occur today are seen as necessary, if not good, because those crimes have been declared "legal" (and are called "taxation" and "war").

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