From: Spike (spike66@comcast.net)
Date: Mon Jun 30 2003 - 21:59:13 MDT
-----Original Message-----
From: owner-extropians@extropy.org [mailto:owner-extropians@extropy.org]
On Behalf Of Samantha Atkins
The first notion that we Americans have an overblown respect for
authority
really is a shocker though. We'uns fairly well invented disrespect for
governmental authorities and threw a successful revolution to underline
the
point and supposedly formed governing documents precisely to limit and
constrain such authority and keep it out of folks' hair as much as
possible.
Now, it obviously wasn't a rousing success or we wouldn't be where we
are
now. I wonder if our schools simply neglected to teach such things to
a few
generations?
- samantha
Im amazed at how many Americans do not realize we have
a written legal contract that limits the government's
authority and a court specifically set up to insure
that government stays within its bounds.
Increasing taxation is a form of government outgrowing
its bounds. For that reason, *all* tax increases must
be automatically opposed, utterly regardless of what
use it is to be put. Since we all must live within our
means, so must the government, especially the government
of a certain large, highly-populated western state which
shall remain nameless.
Regarding Americans' disrespect for authority, I have
a theory on that. Long before we get lessons on how
our nation was born out of rebellion against authority,
we get a more fundamental lesson in the form of
instruction on how to cross a road with a bicycle.
We are instructed to dismount the bike and *walk*
it across the street or intersection.
I ask you: is this not absurd? Do motorcyclists
push their bikes across the intersection? Not only
is it absurd, it is downright dangerous, for two
reasons. First, if one walks the bike across the
street, one is in the road for more time than if
one rides across. But secondly, and more importantly,
if one does obey that silly rule, one appears to be
a pussy. Word will get soon around, resulting in three
or four burly third-graders catching the hapless prole
on the playground and beating him beyond recognition,
early and often.
Clearly, any authority which would suggest such a
thing is either stupid, malicious or both, not
deserving of respect or obedience. Unless things
have changed a great deal since my childhood in the
60s, this bicycle thing is one of the very earliest
and most important lessons learned by our children,
resulting in their growing up to be solid self-reliant
minarchists.
spike
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