11-21-2010
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Michael Wolfensohn
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Subject: We've Got a Social Disease
"Civilization is the process of setting man free from men."
— Ayn Rand
We hear the message from every quarter: "Help thy
neighbor", "You are your brother's keeper",
"It takes a village". These are all expressions of the
philosophy of altruism, which prohibits a self-interested and
therefore a self-responsible concern for one's own wellbeing,
substituting in its place an external focus on the welfare of others.
In the personal arena, a constant exposure to this message results in
a society where people are trained to pay very close attention to the
actions of their friends, neighbors, and even complete strangers.
Since they have been instructed to be responsible for the safety and
wellbeing of others, it often becomes necessary to intervene in their
lives in order to advise against mistakes or actions that are judged to
be foolhardy or dangerous. And this leads to the establishment of the
busybody as an accepted social norm. Do you choose not
to wear a bike helmet, or recycle, or shop at the local organic grocery
store? The busybody has no hesitation in informing you of your error
— and feeling great about it — regardless of whether or not
you desire and have invited their input. After all, it's only for your
own good, and they have been told that this "selfless" intrusion
into your life is the essence of the morally good.
However, there can be a problem. Sometimes the other person —
the object of these good intentions — simply will not listen to
and adopt the recommendations that are being offered, so generously,
in their own best interest. It can be frustrating when someone else
doesn't see, understand and accept what is so clearly the proper way
to think and act. Maybe their problem stems from a poor upbringing and
exposure to the wrong influences. Or possibly they are distracted
by other concerns, leaving them with a dangerous blind spot. Or, as
is often judged to be the case, they may simply not be smart enough
to work out out the optimal course of action on their own. Whatever
the reason, the busybody, looking for other ways to help, turns to
government — the repository of force — in order to make
sure that these misguided people are made to do the right thing.
Here are a couple of examples:
Well neighbor, you didn't listen to me when I warned you about the
importance of wearing you seatbelt during that trip to the corner
grocery, so I decided to help you anyway by voting for a
legislature willing to enact a mandatory seatbelt law. Maybe that
$200 fine will get your attention and help you to start thinking
straight. Oh, and you're welcome!
Hello there my Samoan
brother. Can't you see that you are being exploited by the
capitalist oppressors runing the tuna industry? They offer you
jobs in their canning factories at wages that I would not allow
them to pay to my dog! Why do you not rise up and demand to be
treated fairly? Well, if you will not stand up for yourself, being
the busybody and savior that I am, I will do it for you by making
sure that the U.S. Congress raises the minimum wage to acceptable
levels. What? Starkist and Chicken of the Sea just moved their
operations to other countries and now you are unemployed with no
other jobs available? Well, at least you should be happy that you
are no longer being oppressed! And have no fear my friend, for my
love and concern for you is boundless and I will not let you
starve. Please accept this can of dog food, complements of the
compassionate American welfare system. My mission here is
accomplished. Onward and upwards.
Busybodies in private life are annoying, but when these same people
move into government where they can impose their views upon others, not
through persuasion, but by force, they then become a very real danger.
This country was founded on Enlightenment principles which held the
sovereign individual, in possession of inherent rights, as the
fundamental unit from which more complex social organizations were
then formed through mutual voluntary association. However, the
influence of altruism has slowly transformed our culture towards a
collectivist view, where many people now see "society" as the
preeminent social unit, with the individual citizens as subservient
components, each owing a moral duty to the group. And where political
leaders were once seen as representatives, entrusted with the task of
protecting the rights of all citizens so that they might determine
their own course through life in pursuit of their own definition of
happiness, the collective shift has created fertile political ground,
allowing the busybodies to acquire positions of power, transforming
them into totalitarian masters intent upon ruling over
the lives of their subjects.
Over the years, like a Chinese water torture, the transformation from
freedom to oppression has occurred slowly, drip by drip, so that each
incremental change was never large enough to cause the American people
to rise up in rebellion. Starting out with a limited mandate to manage
the post office and post roads, governments, without any express
constitutional authority, simply started to assume control over all
manner of transportation from cabs to buses, to trains to subways
and air travel. Aviation and shipping ports, along with most utilities
and communication mediums were nationalized. Total control over the
money supply was achieved through the creation of a fiat currency
coupled with regulation of the banking system, after which they began
branching out to regulate industry after industry, until they had
accumulated the power to effectively intercede across the entire
economy.
Not satisfied with that, the autocrats also wished to control even the
most minute details of our personal lives. Under the guise of
"public safety", they began to regulate and license
one occupation after another. Starting with medicine, profession after
profession fell under government control, granting to these political
rulers the power to decide if, and under what conditions, we would be
allowed to practice our trade. And once the licensing system was
firmly established, the fiction of public safety was dropped, and
controls on up to 500
occupations including manicurists, flower arrangers and fortune
tellers were implemented. And while they were cementing their ability
to dictate our means of earning a living, these politicians also
created legislation giving them the power to manage our education,
retirement and medical care while redistributing wealth to control
the housing and feeding of some, at the expense of others.
Today, they instruct us on how we may transport our children. They tell
us what we can eat, drink and smoke. They determine how and what we
may build on our property, and require us to seek supervised permission
should we wish to remodel a bathroom. We must submit to being groped
at an airport, and our computer can be confiscated and searched at will
without a warrant. School children are forced to perform mandatory
community service, and two years of mandatory national service is
currently being proposed for all adults. And on and on it goes. Every
step in this abusive accumulation of power and exercise of control, has
resulted in the loss of each citizen's individual rights, while always
being justified by the altruistic claim that it is done with only the
best interest of others as the goal. Could that be so? Even if we
disagree with the results, are the politicians truly well-meaning in
their intentions, having only our best interest at heart?
Every once in a while an opportunity presents itself to strips away
the facade, allowing us to see the true nature of those politicians
who claim to be our benefactors. Such an event recently took place
in New Castle, NY, as reported
here and
here.
Four thirteen year old boys had a dream of becoming entrepreneurs
by buying a hot dog cart and starting a small business venture. In
order to purchase the cart, they would need to save a fair amount of
money, and so, with their parent's approval, they decided to spend
their weekends making cupcakes, cookies and other baked goods and
selling them at a nearby park. During their first outing, the boys
had great success, earning $120 in sales. On the following Sunday,
two of the boys returned to the park and set up their table. A man
with his wife and two children was passing by. He stopped to ask
the boys what they were doing, and they eagerly explained. He then
walked away to make a telephone call. The boys assumed that he was
calling his friends to come down and support their cause, but
instead he had phoned the police who arrived a short time later
and told the boys that they were breaking the law and must stop.
It turns out that in order to sell cupcakes, they would have to
obtain a two-hour vendors permit from the city at a cost of $175,
as well as provide a certificate of insurance for $1 million. So
much for the entrepreneurial plans of four enterprising youth. And
who was the individual who ratted them out? None other than New
Castle Councilman Michael Wolfensohn.
Did Mr. Wolfensohn care enough about the boy's dreams and the lessons
they would learn from their hard work to simply let the matter slide
and instead help them by purchasing a few of their goods? NO. Did
Mr. Wolfensohn make an effort to explain the need to obtain a permit
and then help the boys navigate the bureaucratic system and find a way
to continue without breaking the law? NO. Did Mr. Wolfensohn have
the simple decency to talk directly with the boys, explain his
concerns, and ask them to please halt their sales activity? NO.
With all of these possibilities available to him, what Mr. Wolfensohn
did was treat these innocent children like common criminals and, like
a snitch, turn them in to the cops. And now, Mr. Wolfensohn is
puzzled, because, of course, he only did it for the public good!
Wolfensohn is your typical busybody, who, by being elected
to even the modest post of town councilman, has been transformed into
a petty tyrant, able to inflict great harm within his domain.
He see it as his mission to monitor the actions of those around him
and make sure that they never step outside of the straitjacket of
rules and regulation he so cherishes. Only a person who thrives on
power and control over others could act as Wolfensohn did in this
circumstance. But the important lesson here is to recognize that
Wolfensohn is merely showing us the honest soul of a great many
politicians, including that of our current President. Remember this
the next time you hear some politician tell you that the seatbelt
law or the health care legislation is something that they support
because it is in your best interests. The truth is that while they
speak, they are actually dropping the noose around your neck and
in a moment or two, they will be yanking on the other end of the cord.
Yes, we have a serious social disease, and if we do not inoculate
against it very soon, it is going to kill us.
Here is a copy of the letter I sent to Mr. Wolfensohn and published
on various public sites.
Of Cupcakes and Kings
An Open Letter to Michael Wolfensohn of the Town of New
Castle, NY
Dear Mr. Wolfensohn:
I side with many other people in finding the actions
you have taken against Andrew DeMarchis and Kevin Graff,
halting their sale of homemade cupcakes and treats, to be an
arrogant and reprehensible abuse of power. Like a great many
other politicians from the township level on up to our
President, each of you see yourselves as superior to your
fellow men and women and wish to rule over us, restricting our
free choice to act independently in the pursuit and
realizations of our individual dreams. You believe that your
position grants you the ability to regulate every aspect of our
existence, while reducing the rest of us to the role of beggars
who must come, hat in hand, asking you to grant us your
beatific permission, whether it is to practice our chosen
profession or to sell a measly cupcake — always of course,
accompanied by the necessary bribe, oops, I mean requisite
administrative or licensing fee.
Often, people are confused by the actions of politicians when
they shroud their oppressive and unconstitutional acts in
misdirecting altruistic rhetoric such as the "public
good" or the "general welfare". But here we have a
situation where the naked truth is exposed for anyone to see.
So Mr. Wolfensohn, thank you for stepping out from behind the
curtain and allowing the average citizen to observe the exact
nature of your intentions. You have sent a clear message to
two thirteen year old boys, wiping away any naive innocence
they may have held, and replacing it with a clear understanding
of the exact nature of the oppressive society in which they
live. It is a lesson I am sure they will never forget -- nor
will I. The truth is that through your actions, you have made
me ashamed to be both an adult and an American.
And to everyone else, whether you are a cab driver,
hairdresser, automotive mechanic, realtor, veterinarian,
accountant, lawyer, teacher, nurse, dentist, doctor, architect,
engineer, therapist, florist, librarian, beekeeper, fortune
teller, or any of the hundreds of other licensed and regulated
professions, please remember that you are receiving exactly the
same treatment as Andrew DeMarchis and Kevin Graff. And where
a child should properly be confused and upset at their first
exposure to this sort of treatment, we adults know better and
should be outraged by it! It is time to put a stop to this
abuse. We elected Mr. Wolfensohn, and all of the other
politicians, in order to protect our individual rights to life,
liberty and the pursuit of happiness — not for them to
become our masters, granted the power to direct and control our
lives. Let each of them know that you are a competent adult,
capable of managing your own affairs and making your own
decisions, and in the name of freedom, you are reasserting your
independence and autonomy and will no longer allow them to tell
you what you may and may not do with your life.
Regards,
—
C. Jeffery Small
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You can share your own thoughts with Mr. Wolfensohn by sending him
an email message at: mbwolf@town.new-castle.ny.us
And if you have a comment for one of your Senators or Representatives,
you can find their contact information at: Congress Merge
External links to reprints of this article:
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