Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Comment on this quoteShare via Email Print this Page Daily Quotes Archives2014-03-03 Mar 3, 2014People want government to do all manner of things, things that if done privately would lead to condemnation and jail sentences. Some want government to give money to farmers, poor folk, college students, senior citizens and businesses. There’s no Santa Claus or tooth fairy. The only way government can give money to one person is to forcibly take it from another person. If I privately used the same method to raise money for a “deserving” college student, homeless person or businessman, I’d face theft charges. Others among us want government to protect wild wolves, bears and the Stephens kangaroo rat even if it results in gross violations of private property and loss of lives. The problem is that some people disagree with having their earnings taken to satisfy someone else’s wishes. They don’t want the Corps of Engineers and Fish and Wildlife Service dictating to them what they can and cannot do with their property to ensure a habitat for the kangaroo rat. Force and threats must be used. Here’s the question: Could the average American kill a person who resolutely refuses to give up his earnings so Congress can give it to farmers? Could you kill a person who insists on using all of his property, even though some wolves have set up a den on it? You say, “What do you mean, Williams— kill?” Here’s the scenario: The Corps of Engineers commands me not to remove debris from a drainage ditch on my property, placed there by beavers building a dam, because the debris creates a wetland. I remove it anyway. The Corps of Engineers fines me. I refuse to pay the unjust fine. The Corps of Engineers threatens to seize my land. I say no, you won’t: it’s my land, and I’ll protect it. A politician sends marshals to take it, and I get killed defending it.~ Walter E. Williams Feb 28, 2014Statism – the subordination of the individual to the state -- leads inevitably to the most hideous oppression.~ Andrew BernsteinCollectivism holds that the individual has no rights, that his life and work belong to the group (to "society," to the tribe, the state, the nation) and that the group may sacrifice him at its own whim to its own interests. The only way to implement a doctrine of that kind is by means of brute force -- and statism has always been the political corollary of collectivism.~ Ayn RandCOLLECTIVISM: Collectivism is defined as the theory and practice that makes some sort of group rather than the individual the fundamental unit of political, social, and economic concern. In theory, collectivists insist that the claims of groups, associations, or the state must normally supersede the claims of individuals.~ Stephen Grabill Feb 27, 2014We have met the enemy and he is us.~ Walt KellyThere are two good things in life -- freedom of thought and freedom of action.~ W. Somerset Maugham Feb 26, 2014Why is patriotism thought to be blind loyalty to the government and the politicians who run it, rather than loyalty to the principles of liberty and support for the people? Real patriotism is a willingness to challenge the government when it’s wrong.~ Dr. Ron PaulEnse petit placidam sub libertate quietem (By the sword we seek peace, but peace only under liberty)~ Massachusetts State MottoThe state calls its own violence law, but that of the individual crime.~ Max Stirner Feb 25, 2014The welfare of humanity is always the alibi of tyrants.~ Albert CamusThere comes a time when a moral man can't obey a law which his conscience tells him is unjust.~ Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King, Jr.Unnecessary laws are not good laws, but traps for money.~ Thomas Hobbes Previous week's quotes Next week's quotes Share on Facebook Tweet Email Print