The Truth of the Matter

By tzo.
 
Exclusive to STR
 
 
Freeman finds himself within the borders claimed by a government. This human being decides he does not want to participate in the government organization anymore, so he quits. He then finds a nice plot of "public" property and claims it as his own. He is quickly confronted with a government participant named Citizen, who informs him that the land belongs to the government, and he is trespassing.
 
Freeman points out that the land is not owned, and so he has claimed it from nature as his own. If this Mr. Government person indeed has first claim on it, then let him show up and prove his claim. Citizen then informs Freeman that there is no "Mr. Government person," and that the government is made up of all of its participants. These participants pay taxes, and so they are the rightful owners of this land, and they all (or at least most of them) say you are trespassing, so clear off.
 
But Freeman is not so easily moved. Citizen seems to believe that the imaginary organization called government (Yes, it is no more than an intangible, imaginary construct.) can actually claim the right to hold a piece of nature's resources as if it possessed the rights of an actual human being. Freeman points out, quite correctly, that imaginary creations cannot claim rights equal to that of an actual human being, and so if Citizen is actually saying that Freeman cannot stay here because an imaginary entity has already claimed this land, then Freeman is afraid that Citizen is the one who must leave, as he is the trespasser upon Freeman's justly acquired property.
 
But Citizen continues to insist that millions of tax-paying humans have decided that Freeman cannot just appropriate this land that has been declared public, because all those human beings are joint owners. Freeman points out that no human being, or group of human beings, can arbitrarily claim land that they are not using or have never seen as their own, or else the first person to lay claim to the entire planet would rule over all humanity. Every human being has the right to exist upon the Earth, and it is imperative that he be able to claim unused natural resources as his own in order to survive. This right cannot be logically overridden by the supposed rights of a fictional character, nor can it be justly overridden through the aggressive force of the many against the few.
 
Citizen wishes to convince Freeman that the edicts of government overrule the laws of nature. Citizen does not want to give credence to the idea of natural law. He wants to believe that government is an idea that rules human beings, and not the other way around. Citizen believes that whatever the majority holds to be just, is de facto just. Citizen is a very deluded individual, and Freeman is having none of it.
 
Citizen then points a gun at Freeman, and the truth of the matter is revealed.
 

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tzo's picture
Columnist tzo
Columns on STR: 64

tzo now lives in your head.

Comments

wkmac's picture

Nicely made point in purely simple terms where the last sentence nails the core ideal home!

Instead of preaching to the choir if you will, tzo spoke directly to citizen and held up a mirror the whole time for citizen to look in.

B.R. Merrick's picture

Wow... tzo DOES live in my head!

Scarmig's picture

Indeed that is an excellent distillation of the inherent conflict. And I love the punch line.

Suverans2's picture

tzo has lived in my head since reading his treatise entitled A Theory of Natural Hierarchy and Government. http://tinyurl.com/2ej6cxd

Keep up the good work, and thanks, brother.

FREE'MAN, n. [free and man.]
1. One who enjoys liberty, or who is not subject to the will of another; one not a slave or vassal. ~ Webster's 1828 American Dictionary of the English Language

Glen Allport's picture

My copy of WORDsays this column is 499 words long. It's an EXCELLENT column; word for word, one of the most powerful and persuasive bits of pro-freedom writing I've seen. Nice job, tzo!

GregL's picture

Agreed. Another powerful article by tzo.

Paul's picture

"Freeman points out that the land is not owned, and so he has claimed it from nature as his own."

That's Freeman's first mistake, arguing with idiots and members of the brutalizing class. Waste of time. How about this for an alternate story:

Freeman turns around, and Citizen then notices the gun on Freeman's hip. Freeman walks up to Citizen, says, 'There is no government; there is no law. There is just you and me out here. If you have any sense, you will fuck off. Now."

jd-in-georgia's picture

Try not to make TOO much sense, tzo. We must systematically figure out how desensitize the masses after years of governmental schooling and corporate brainwashing. There are so many people content on sitting on that crowded velvet cushion, even though it now has many mystery stains and smells like stale beer farts.