There are a thousand hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root. -Henry David Thoreau
On Tuesday, April 24th I stopped by Keene State University to speak with Henry King, director of the Holocaust and Genocide Studies department. My visit was unannounced – motivated by my interest to share ideas that I thought overlooked by the program curriculum.
Despite the impromptu nature of my drop-in, King invited me to sit and for about ten minutes, we had a conversation. His colleague, department chair C. Paul Vincent, joined us about halfway through. It was a civil discussion but it was clear that we weren’t on the same page about some things – for example while I proffered that individuals have the same rights no matter where they’re born (and pointed-out that with that freedom comes personal responsibility – for more on this, check out the excellent 2-min video Chain of Obedience) King made mention of a “social covenant” that imparted rights as well as obligations.
Such an idea denotes that the individual is subservient to the majority. That doesn’t sync with me. After all groups don’t have rights, individuals have rights. A group of individuals doesn’t generate extra rights nor mitigate the rights of one individual.
Before we parted ways (King and Vincent were heading to lunch) I shared my contact information, we shook hands and said I’d be in touch via email.
The edited video of the civil disobedience panel held at the 2012 Liberty Forum, in which me, Ian Freeman & Jason Talley converse with those present about ideas, strategy and impact. It was recorded on Friday, Feb. 24th, 2012 at the Nashua, NH Crown Plaza.
Do you have thoughts on the content discussed? Points where you agree or disagree? Things that need clarification? How would you have answered some of those questions?
Many individuals around the world have learned that only by interacting peacefully can we achieve a more harmonious, prosperous, healthy, fair and tolerant society, that our lives on this planet can be far better. People universally oppose acts of aggression, theft, and fraud when committed by individuals. We accept the principle that the initiation of physical force against others is illegitimate, immoral, and may rightly be defended against. For the most part, we also insist that organizations of individuals, such as corporations, also abide by this natural tenet.
When it comes to state aggression, however, especially that wrought by democratic governments, the perspective for many can change. Individuals too often excuse the state when it harms innocent individuals. This may be because they feel powerless to effect change or uninformed, preferring to defer to those more knowledgeable. They may possess cultivated feelings of nationalism and exceptionalism; expectations of benevolence and altruism in state officials; fears of attack, fostered by interventionist propaganda and complicit mainstream media; yearnings for conformity; or just a willingness to harm, burden or restrict others, in the expectation of benefit to ends and causes they themselves consider to be good ones. Thus, when our governments act as aggressors rather than protectors of human rights, many individuals remain silent.
So begins the the forward to Why Peace, an over 600-page compilation of pro-peace essays edited by Marc Guttman, a book he he says:
Even the most totalitarian regimes ultimately rest on granted authority. Misdeeds must be hidden or legitimacy erodes. Censorship, propaganda, purposeful omissions and blatant lies fuel the Statist Quo.
Enter the free flow of information.
Case in point, the How to Make a Wicking Bed Garden instructional sheet. Days after being created by @BrknSdwlkFrm (great work!) it was being distributed in NYC and translated into Arabic to be disseminated on the streets of Egypt.
On Tuesday, April 24th I stopped by Keene State University to speak with Henry King, director of the Holocaust and Genocide Studies department. My visit was unannounced – motivated by my interest to share ideas that I thought overlooked by the program curriculum.
