A Nation of Ratfinks
Ludwig von Mises: “A free man must be able to endure it when his fellow men act and live otherwise than he considers proper. He must free himself from the habit, just as soon as something does not please him, of calling for the police.”
Totalitarianism used to be the product of the Hitlers and Stalins of the world, but your neighbors are beginning to grasp the power of a centralized government that exists exclusively to metastasize its evils throughout every human endeavor—a government that never sleeps and is always ready to put its nose into anyone’s business. Just give the feds a call, they’re ready and willing to assist with any effort that increases their power and influence. 24/7.
Are your children whining over carrots in their school lunch bag? Are you tired of hearing that Mr. and Mrs. So-And-So down the street let their children eat Ho-Hos and Ding-Dongs for lunch? Does the local school cafeteria serve chocolate chip cookies to anyone with 50 cents to spare?
If the answer is yes, what do you do? Do you take control of your own family and lay down the laws of the household? Or do you blame this whole situation on those of the ilk of your neighbors, the So-And-Sos?
Taking control may cause some hard feelings for a few days, maybe even a week or two, but blaming the So-And-Sos gets you off the hook right away. See, if only the So-And-Sos joined you in your health crusade, your children would be forced to join; you know peer pressure and all of that. You hit the first bump in your road toward the Progressive Utopia when you realize that the So-And-Sos living down the street are not really that friendly with you and are unwilling to follow your marching orders. Ok, next option.
How about your best friend? He agrees that Ho-Hos are the devil’s fruit but he’s not certain about the Ding-Dongs; they do taste good with a tall glass of cold milk.
Your crusade just isn’t working and your kids are still crying about their friend Johnny’s lunch snacks.
How about petitioning the local school board? Ask them to ban all unhealthy foods—at least those foods that you deem unhealthy. What is to be considered unhealthy is simply those foods that you don’t want your children to eat.
Alright, the list of foods has been defined, but how to get the school board to agree. Go to a meeting and call them all uncaring hypocrites. How can they sleep at night after claiming that they want the best for children all the while knowing that little Johnny crinkles the snack wrapper at lunch—in the school’s cafeteria nonetheless?
Those crusty yahoos on the school board don’t even smile as you speak, they’ve got their own agenda to push. Those who struggle with their own parenting somehow become omniscient once elected to a school board or hired as an administrator. Sure they pray that their
Article from Mises Wire
