Listen To Your Heart

August 8, 2009 by Dale Everett
Filed under: Anarchy in Your Head, Essay, Free Talk Live, Rant 

I co-host Free Talk Live every Thursday night from 7pm to 10pm, a nationally syndicated talk radio show. Last Thursday, an anarchist called in to talk about how he attended a meeting about a local smoking ban to speak out against it. There was some discussion about whether such an act is part of working within their system and I’m known for not being a big fan of that game, to put it lightly. Mark is equating this act with voting based on the notion that you’re just voting by proxy, i.e. trying to persuade council members to vote a certain way. I’ve given some more thought to this and wanted to expound.

I wouldn’t go in there telling them to vote a certain way. I would simply use the platform of the meeting to talk about why they have no right to control the behavior or property of others. I wouldn’t give any moral support to the idea of the vote. I realize they are going to vote on it, but that’s their game. What it comes down to is I’m not going to go through the motions and essentially act out what is to me a big lie. It’s the same reason I don’t rise for a judge. They are hoping I’ll go through the motions and act publicly in accordance with their lies, reinforcing them, and in complete contradiction to my deeply held beliefs. It’s disgusting and offensive to me. On the other hand, simply taking the opportunity of the meeting and telling them they have no right to control others is as honest as I could be.

(Read On…)

Comments

5 Comments on Listen To Your Heart

    2. George Donnelly on Sun, 9th Aug 2009 11:24 am

    Think of government like a gang. If a local gang was considering issuing a threat to imprison anyone who smoked, would you go talk to the gang leaders in an attempt to dissuade them from their aggression? I see nothing wrong with that.

    3. Mike on Mon, 10th Aug 2009 10:43 am

    @George: If I understand your analogy correctly, then you could continue it by saying that you also wouldn’t vote for a new gang leader who promised to threaten people fewer times than the incumbent gang leader, and you wouldn’t run for gang leader yourself: you’d want to end the gang.

    4. George Donnelly on Mon, 10th Aug 2009 10:47 am

    Mike, 100% agree. I’m just saying that while it’s wrong to participate in their criminal enterprise, there is nothing wrong with trying to talk some sense into them. How effective that may be is another question entirely. ;D

    5. Mike on Mon, 10th Aug 2009 10:49 am

    @George: Yup, I should have said I agreed with your statement, too, but just wanted to extend it. :)

    6. Thomas Laprade on Mon, 10th Aug 2009 11:16 am

    Politicains love to control and manipulate our behaviour.
    They are in office to serve us, not the other way around.
    Smoke from tobacco in a decently ventilated venue is a statistically insignificant health risk.

    http://smokersclubinc.com
    http://pasan.thetruthisalie.com
    http://www.davehitt.com

Tell me what you're thinking...
and oh, if you want a pic to show with your comment, go get a gravatar!





*
To prove you're a person (not a spam script), type the answer to the math equation shown in the picture. Click on the picture to hear an audio file of the equation.
Click to hear an audio file of the anti-spam equation

Subscribe without commenting