Don't base your life on politicians

Why would anyone bother confronting politicians? Do they really believe politicians matter in their daily life?

You protect your rights by exercising them -- by putting them into practice -- not by begging others to respect them.

I’m not going to a politician’s office to try to convince them of anything. Not to beg them to stop violating my rights nor to ask them to violate someone else on my behalf.

You won’t find me at a protest, a political rally, or in a voting booth for the same reason I’m not going to go to an inner city to beg the violent criminals there to stop hurting innocent people. It’s a waste of time and, as shown by Jan. 6, 2021, can be pointlessly dangerous.

Both groups, freelance criminals and politicians -- which I see as clones of each other -- are inconsequential to my life. They don’t matter except when they do something to violate me or someone around me, and in that case, they aren’t likely to stop simply because I asked nicely. Especially not if I ask them according to the rules and procedures they say must be followed.

The worst type of political action is to ask for the rights of others to be violated through more laws. It’s not smart or ethical and only gives them justification for violating you later. Playing political “an eye for an eye” is how liberty dies.

Politicians and other criminals will only stop violating people if they have no choice. When you ask politely, they have the choice to say “no.”

Exercising your rights can be dangerous when there are people out there who mean to stop you. Most worthwhile things carry some risk, and living your life outside political permission is no different. I believe it’s worth the risk.

Anyone who attacks you for exercising your rights is the bad guy. It doesn’t matter what justification is used or what law they say gives them this power or imaginary political authority. It doesn’t matter if they got enough votes to get away with it. They are bad guys with delusions of legitimacy.

Don’t base how you live your life on the opinions of those who win elections. Not even if they have the power to hurt you -- this is something any bad guy has the power to do. Don’t live your life to appease them. Treat them as though they don’t matter, and soon you’ll discover they don’t.

Farwell’s Kent McManigal champions liberty. Contact him at:

[email protected]