Shukrainternationals wrote: >I like your idea that we have government employees paid by us to harass us. >What an irony?
Like protection money. But don't paint it with too broad a brush - very many of them are fine people who take their responsibilities seriously. >Can we not start a movement 'NOT TO HAVE A GOVERNMENT AT ALL"? Er, it's called anarchy, and there's a lot to be said for it, in spite of a really bad press, a lot of misdefinings, and many purloinings by nihilists et al. It doesn't simply mean chaos and disorder, though it's often used that way. It entails voluntary cooperation and, above all, the acceptance of personal responsibility rather than ceding it all to some authority or institution. Real responsibility, that is, not just following the rules. Like this: "The difference between a moral man and a man of honor is that the latter regrets a discreditable act, even when it has worked and he has not been caught." - H. L. Mencken, 'Prejudices: Fourth Series,' 1924. Or this: "The measure of a person's real character is what they would do if they knew they would never be found out." - from Thomas B. Macauley. So it requires ethics and principles rather than just morals. Ethical behavior is acting after thinking about what would produce the greatest good for the greatest number. But people are generally very uncomfortable with the uncertainty of trying to figure out the right course of action. Most people can't tolerate much uncertainty, and are reluctant to take responsibility for mistakes. Morals are thus ethics simplified into easy-to-grasp rules. Being moral is comfortable because a moral person always knows what should be done, does it and is not to blame for the result. With ethics there's no "system" to take the blame, only you. It takes honor and character, individual virtues that are not strongly reinforced in today's society, lip-service aside. So attempts at social anarchy usually fail, the personal responsibility required soon degenerates to moral behaviour, voluntary cooperation becomes a matter of committees > institutions > authorities > government. The people who are willing to take responsibility, not only for their own behaviour but for society in general, are too often just thieves - the power-hungry, emotional retards who have to rule and control, and when the buck stops they aren't there. All that aside, anarchy is a direct threat to the powers-that-be, which tend to respond rather actively to such threats. After all, as Mao most truly said, political power grows from the barrel of a gun. Previous attempts to make gun barrels sprout flowers have met with mixed success - they've tended to sprout bullets anyway. Still, there are plenty of working examples of anarchy, even if we don't recognise them as such. We do all understand voluntary cooperation and personal responsibility, to the extent that we don't all kill each other in the streets and in our neighbourhoods, to the extent that we're socialised rather than feral. We make ethical decisions all the time - up to a point. Beyond that there remains personal anarchy, an honorable path, but it's not to be imposed on others against their will. If you can think of a movement that might avoid these pitfalls, do let us know. It might work better if it's attached to some issue rather than a general panacaea. Energy-independence might be a fine place to start [on-topic content]. Best Keith Addison Journey to Forever Handmade Projects Osaka, Japan http://journeytoforever.org/ >----- Original Message ----- >From: <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> >To: <biofuel@yahoogroups.com> >Sent: Monday, February 11, 2002 6:25 PM >Subject: Re: [biofuel] EPA hassle > > > > Arne: > > > > I too have found many (dare I say most) employees of the government who >are > > unresponsive to us...us who pay their salary. Something about government > > employees that they are too busy taking care of us to find out what we do, >or > > do not want them to do for us. I was in the military during Viet Nam and > > even I opposed it as did most men in the military. But we did as our > > leadership ordered. > > > > Richard > > > > > > [Non-text portions of this message have been removed] > > > > > > > > Biofuel at Journey to Forever: > > http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html > > Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. > > To unsubscribe, send an email to: > > [EMAIL PROTECTED] > > > > Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ > > > > > > > >Biofuel at Journey to Forever: >http://journeytoforever.org/biofuel.html >Please do NOT send "unsubscribe" messages to the list address. >To unsubscribe, send an email to: >[EMAIL PROTECTED] > >Your use of Yahoo! Groups is subject to http://docs.yahoo.com/info/terms/ ------------------------ Yahoo! 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