Serving the High Plains
Serving the High Plains
Life is too short to waste it trying to govern other people. If you’re honest you’ll admit you have enough to keep you busy just controlling – governing -- yourself. Even if you have it all worked out and you are perfect, your perfection collapses the moment you try to govern someone besides yourself.
It’s your responsibility to govern yourself. It’s not your responsibility to govern anyone else. In fact, governing others is something no one has the right to do. Nor can you delegate to someone else a right you don’t have. Being in the majority doesn’t change this. A mob by any other name is the same.
Sure, you have the right to defend yourself and others from all violators. Governing others isn’t the same thing.
We all know how others should live. They also know how we should live. Those visions don’t often agree.
I’ll give my opinion, obviously, but anyone is free to take it or ignore it. My only non-negotiable stand is that they keep their hands off my life, liberty, and property -- and off of everyone else, as well. Otherwise, they are setting themselves up to be the focus of defensive force. I’m not so self-centered as to imagine only my rights matter.
Long ago, when I was young and foolish, I thought it was a great idea to use government violence to impose my opinions on others. I supported legislation to punish -- and police officers (and a military) to fight -- whatever I thought was wrong.
I knew drug abuse was stupid, so I approved of having legislation to authorize government aggression against those who abused drugs. I thought it was a good idea to fight their stupidity with evil.
There were so many similar issues where I didn’t like something, so I thought it was justifiable to force others to go along. I came to my senses eventually. It’s called growing up.
My own life got so much better once I got over the idea that I should try to make others live as I knew they should. It’s just another form of bullying, including when it is accomplished by voting for certain legislation or politicians.
Govern yourself so that you violate no one else, stand up for those being violated, and leave others to peacefully live as they see fit. Government and freelance crooks can’t abide by this. I never expected they would. It doesn’t excuse their behavior.
Farwell’s Kent McManigal champions liberty. Contact him at: