Support Your Freedom, Support Yourself: A Call To Action

I will endeavor to explain myself in every way possible throughout this blog. I am going to make some assertions, and I want to be as clear as possible, so if I in some way fail to be clear please let me know in the comment area.  Please do not just argue with me, or bother disagreeing as I will just delete your comment.

Firstly, I want to say that most of these statements will be based around the ideas of objectivism.  A quick recap, objectivism is the philosophy that asserts there is an external world that a person can be aware of through their senses. It maintains that senses lead to perceptions, which in turn can be used by the rational and conscious mind to make decisions used to improve a person's life.  Now, this philosophy necessarily employs capitalism as it's economic AND political system.  The idea of capitalism as a political system is foreign to most people, and that's not a surprise.  It's a relatively obscure idea, but when you consider it, it appears to be the best thing out there.

Currently, this country has a mixed economy, although more of the money is controlled by the government than the people.  This is against what the founding fathers were in favor of, and it is un-American for the government to play such a role in our daily lives.  Again, that was what the Revolutionary War was fought for.  But you might say, "Caleb, the government doesn't play a role in my every day." Untrue.  The government has progressively taken more and more money from the people without representation than at any point in history.  Consider this: out of every paycheck about 9% is taken out or taxes, give or take a bit.  Now, on top of that, when you spend money at the store there is a sales tax between 7 and 9%, depending on the product.  And if you buy something that qualifies as owned, then you must pay taxes on it every year.  That is property tax.  So they tax what money you make, then they tax you when you spend it, and if you have bought something large, or if you own property then the government taxes you for owning it.  Whew, the government taxes you for everything!   

Imagine a system where you were free.  The only role the government played in your daily life was to provide a police system in case your rights were violated, a court system in case you had an issue with the law or another person, and a military system, in case the nation you lived in came under attack.  Under this system, you would be free to buy what you wanted, make all the money you could rightfully earn, and do what you wanted with who you wanted.  Marijuana wouldn't be illegal because it is a victimless crime.  Speeding would be illegal because people are put at risk by reckless action.  Drunk driving would also be illegal, but drinking would be legal for all citizens because it is a personal choice.  Owning a gun would be legal because people have a right to hunt and defend themselves, but shooting a person or damaging another's property would be illegal because it infringes the rights of another.  There is an old saying, "Your right to swing your fist ends where my nose begins."  This would be the case of this government.  If you go about your day without hurting others you could whatever you wanted.  Want to stay out all night drinking?  Okay.  Want to travel somewhere?  Go do it.  Anything you want to do you can do as long as it does not infringe on the rights of another.  Sleep with who you want when you want as long as both are consenting.  Rape is obviously infringement on another's rights, but if both people are willing, then both are able to enjoy what they want to do.

And here I will fight the first argument against this pure form of Capitalism.  In our current society, the one where the government owns most of the money and you only have a right to property if the government decides it does not need it, we have come to rely on the government to fix everything.  They provide roads, but they take your money to pay for it.  They provide schools that people complain about sucking, but they take all of our money to pay for it.  If you never have kids then you are still paying.  Socialism is what we are getting close to.  The government says that they want something and we all have to do it.  The government, it its current form, produces nothing.  I know how that sounds, and it seems illogical.  "Caleb, you just said they make all these things!  How can you say they produce nothing?"  Simple; money is only worth something when it can be exchanged for something else.  A dollar is worth nothing if there is nothing to buy with it.  Imagine if you had all the money in the world, but people traded with one another instead of using money.  All those pieces of paper in your wallet would be worthless!  And the government does not produce anything that your money can buy.  Consider a road, and the workers needed to create it, and the hard materials needed to actually rest on the ground, and on the equipment needed to flatten the ground first.  All of those things must be created and used and paid for.  But the government did not earn the money to pay for those things.  The government took that money from citizens and then the government decided how to use it.  I will give you a personal example. 

I work at Hastings in Warrensburg, and I like my job.  Every hour I stand there and ring up customers who pay their rightfully earned dollars in exchange for  product created in the private market that they decide they want to use.  And every hour I stand there I get paid a little over 7 dollars by my private employer in exchange for my effort.  I wish I got paid more, but I am not doing a task that nobody else could do, so I suppose my wage is fair.  But for each hour I stand there earning my money, the government takes 8% and decides how to use it.  This money is used to pay for roads, and much more, but more on that later.  One road they pay for is 13 highway.  Every time it rains, potholes over a food long and two or more inches deep appear.  They have appeared every rain since I moved to Warrensburg.  That is 3 years of driving through or around potholes since I moved here.  They are taking my money and not even supplying a product I can really use.  I avoid that highway until I have seen work crews out there.  Now consider, they are taking the money from every person working in Warrensburg, every person buying products in Warrensburg, and yet every driver of that road is suffering the same conditions.  

A private contractor understands the need to produce in order to survive as a businessman.  If a private contractor created a road like 13 highway and kept it in the condition that 13 hwy is in, then that contractor would not get a job after doing such a poor job.  If another, rival contractor, came into Warrensburg and said they could do the same road in a better condition, they would make more money and be worth more because their effort would be worth it.  Why would you buy a weaker product for the same money that a better product can be bought?  No reasonable person would do that.  But the government does not trust people to be able to maintain their own lives.  The government expects people to need them and in the last 5 or so decades, the government has become larger and larger, and it no longer expects people to be able to support themselves.  The government does not trust you, so it takes your money and uses it how they think it needs to be used.  Do you agree?


That last one may be the worst waste of your money.  And I think it is important to not call it "government money" because it is not earned by the government.  It was taken from taxpayers, from me, from you, from your mother and father and grandmother and grandfather, and your children and your boss, and your coworkers and your husband or wife.  The government instituted policies but did not pay for it itself.  It paid by appropriating money and charging taxes. 

And this brings me to a hot button topic.  Planned Parenthood.  And I now face the toughest group of people to talk to, those that see how something benefits them and accepts that if it is good for them then it is good.  They ignore that something is unethical because they in some way are better off for it.  Just like the Nazis were better off with less people to fight when they killed saboteurs and dissidents, these people view the government in terms of benefiting them.  They rarely consider how the government pays for something and even more rarely care.  I had an argument with a friend who argued on behalf of planned parenthood because she got her birth control from there.  Now, birth control is a remarkable invention, but I shouldn't have to pay for it.  If you have been in a long term relationship for years, you are still paying for her to be able to sleep around.  If you have been married, or if you abstain, you are still paying for her to get birth control and for her to get checked.  The only people benefiting from her use of planned parenthood are her and the people she lets into her vagina.  Regardless of your opinion of birth control, you are paying for it.  Further, planned parenthood assists in abortions, either by referral or procedure.  I am in favor of a person having a right to an abortion if they want one, remember, I believe in freedom.  But many disagree.  True, abortions must be paid for by the abortee in the event of an abortion, but in some cases the taxpayers do pay.  Events of rape or if the birth could be harmful to the mother are situations under which a woman may receive an abortion paid for by you.  You've paid for abortion and condoms and the pill and std testing regardless of if you have a uterus or if you have ever had sex!  That is why I am against funding planned parenthood.  Think about it logically: if you are mature enough to have sex, aren't you mature enough to take precautions?  If you want to have sex, you must be prepared for the possible outcomes: pregnancy and stds and emotional baggage.  These things can all occur, and they are your responsibility.  What's next, are we going to pay for people who have their hearts broken by someone they sleep with who never calls them the next day to go to counseling?  Ridiculous.

And people argue that theses institutions are good because they help children of the poor.  But ask, why is someone poor?  What is that they did that put them in that position?  I am poor, but I get by by working and reducing my expenses to a level that is affordable.  But there will undoubtedly be people who argue that if someone is poor and they have children then they must be taken care of.  I agree, those children are a moral duty of the parents.  Every parent must be prepared to take care of any children they choose to bring into the world.  But THEY must be responsible for THEIR children.  I am not responsible for the children that I have not chosen to bring into the world.  That's why I keep my reproductive equipment out of situations I am not prepared to personally support.  You and I are paying for children we did not chose to bring into this world.  Consider a family, lets say they make $15,000 a year.  One father, one mother, one child.  Money will invariably be tight.  But it is possible for a family to get by in that situation if both parents work and if both try to improve their situation.  But if a family in that condition chooses to have 3 more children, can those people really be said to be considering what is best for them?  Why then, if they are not willing to prevent the pregnancies, should I be required to pay for the outcome of such pregnancies?  Why, if a person makes a bad decision, do I have a duty to support them?  I do not.  But charity is a personal choice. If I should choose to let one of their children stay with me, or if someone should choose to adopt one of those children then that person has a right to do so, if the parents are willing to allow it.  No person has a right to my labor and effort but me, and since it is my money and effort, I can apply it where I choose.  That means I can buy birthday presents for those people I care about, I can give rides to people who I want to help, and I can donate money if I feel like it is something I want to do.  But the government disagrees.  It thinks that we have a right to some of our labor, but that they know how to spend our money better than we do.  They think that we have to support those people who have not demonstrated capability ineptitude.  They support those who have not succeeded by fining those who have.  Taxes on the wealthy to support the poor?  That is robbery.  If a person succeeds in this nation then they become a target for the leeches.  If you manage to make good decisions in life, if you become productive, if you rise up and make more money then you are rewarded by money in the private marked, but are given a bullseye to wear on your back by the government.  Their edict; "You have succeeded, so you must support those who have not."  Capitalism's edict; "You have succeeded, do what you will and know that you will live or die by your own hand."

Friends, this is a call to action.  Support capitalism and you support your self, you support your freedom.  Do not encourage those who ask you to surrender your money to their causes.  Do not allow yourself to be guilted into supporting the weak.  If you are a producer, produce.  If you are a survivor, survive.  If you choose to live, live.

"We (the first Americans) hold these truths to be self-evident (so obvious that nobody could contend them because of their fact-based nature) that all men are created equal (nobody is born destroyed, but they manage that by their own hands) that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable (cannot be taken by anyone) rights (which are yours without you having to work for them) that among these are Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness." Constitution of the United States of America

It is a shame that our modern government and worse still, our people, are working to destroy what this country used to represent. My call is this:


 Believe in freedom, work for your own happiness, enjoy and live your life, and support yourself.  Nobody has a right to you but you.
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