Just a Spooner Full of Sugar
Let’s begin today’s rant with some definitions. I draw a clear line between the concepts of “Nation” and “country”. A Nation is a stack of papers held in a garrison called a “capital” or “capitol”, where indoctrinated cultists stand ready to slaughter anyone who defies their edicts and decrees. A country is a group of humans, defined primarily by culture, but also by shared principles and geography, who support and defend their natural and organic way of life against all threats.
The Nation is an artificial construct administered by bureaucrats and legal systems. The country is a society built on mutual trust and values, who feel “at home” in each other’s company with shared experiences and tastes. A Nation is defined by force and rule, while a country is defined by common interests, shared experiences, and mutual trust.
The United State of America is a Nation. Merka is a country.
Lysander Spooner was a 19th-century American philosopher, abolitionist, and political theorist, best known for his staunch individualist and anti-authoritarian principles. If you haven’t read The Constitution of No Authority, you’ve missed a profound educational experience. He was particularly critical of the State’s coercive powers, arguing that gummint authority derived from anything other than voluntary consent was inherently illegitimate.
Spooner believed that unjust authority—particularly gummint overreach—was the greatest threat to personal liberty and societal well-being. He was right.
If we apply Spooner’s principles to the present moment, several major threats are identified as significant challenges to
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