By: Gary D. Barnett
I received a fairly bitter letter yesterday from a reader concerning my latest article about the American subject’s inability to handle the truth, and even though he was rude at times in his critical rant, I felt that it would be appropriate to answer his unfounded opinions, mainly because he was not foul-mouthed or obnoxious, but also because he made many false assumptions without any possible way to know of what he was speaking. I thought it might be of interest because it is a lesson in hypocritical and contradictory thinking, or lack thereof, and exposes the mindset of many who think they are ‘libertarians’ who really are against government, when in fact, they unknowingly and voluntarily remain slaves to the state. He even, in his letter, alludes to the notion that he thinks I should be censored, as he does not want LRC to publish my essays.
The battle ahead is daunting to say the least, as the deep-seated brainwashing of most in this country is extremely difficult to penetrate and overcome. This is why having an open mind, believing nothing coming from the state, questioning everything, and accepting and acting on the truth when you find it, is so vital to any effort to find and hold freedom.
Note: I was not able to get this reader’s permission to use his name, as he did not answer my request, so he shall remain anonymous.
Letter from reader:
While I have great respect for Lew Rockwell I do not enjoy his constant publishing of your essays.
Like most libertarian dissenters, you are very long on critique/history and zero on solutions.
In fact you are part of the Learned Helplessness Brigades. “Nothing can be done!” is your mantra.
Yes, you preach ignoring the State, but regardless, the State will not ignore you.
Long before you were a libertarian (probably) about 50 years ago, a small cadre of hard core market libertarians, including myself, handed out leaflets at an election day polling place.
These read, “Don’t Vote” along with an essay about why voting, government, was bad, etc.
Bad idea. It was totally misunderstood and we quickly ended our effort amongst hostile reception.
Of course the non-voters (who may have agreed with us) weren’t there.
You can’t “ignore the State” or pretend it doesn’t exist.
As a retired CPA you can’t ignore the IRS either, as too many libertarians I have known, principled people all, found out. So you can be a martyr or not.
Nor can you hide, move to some imaginary better country, or form your own “new country.” These have all been tried and so far, failed.
While I assume you are sincere, preaching fatalism and cynicism is not helpful. If you didn’t exist, statists would invent preachers like you to discourage others from trying to make life better.
Ron Paul and his son do great things. Many others have done so as well. I helped found the LP and while it has not been very successful, they have kept the ideas alive.
Your descriptions of problems are not unique. Nor do they – by themselves – provide any solutions for improvement.
(I was raised in Helena Montana so come from that frontier mentality myself. But ultimately the Vigilantes wanted limited government and got it as soon as practical.)
While I am a hard core Rothbardian, and friend of the late economist, he didn’t preach helplessness nor the idea that elections are fraudulent. He was quite interested in politics and alternatives for change. He was for a time on the LP National Committee and later became a huge supporter of Ron Paul.
You seem to be cheerleading apathy and hopelessness. The State can squash you any time it wants. Elections are not panaceas but do provide an avenue for change and education.
Okay, I’ve said enough. You are unlikely to change, as cynical pessimism is a powerful intellectual drug.
There is no Miracle Cure for statism (a false religion) but there are avenues to limit its growth and effect. Simply ‘not voting’ defaults the decisions to those who do. This seems obviously true but you studiously ignore that reality. Why?
Instead you will continue to write like a doctor who uses 2,000 words to describe the progress of a horrible disease. Your final words are only about finding a good spot for your grave.
Statism isn’t an incurable disease. You might give some thought to what to do about that…
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My response:
Well Mike, Lew has been publishing my work since 2006.
This is an interesting critique, but completely off base, without any understanding of what I try to accomplish, and a total mischaracterization of not only my personality, but also of any reality whatsoever. I have never been a cynic, a pessimist, or a fatalist, in fact I am a positive happy person who lives life to the very fullest. I do only believe in the truth and presenting it to others who have the backbone to do their own research before accepting anything I say. I possess no apathy or indifference whatsoever, but the bulk of this population is consumed by these exact traits. My writing for two decades is proof enough that I am anything but apathetic.
The ridiculous notion of stating that I do not give any solutions is an outright misstatement based on total ignorance of all that I have written, and of the crisis we face. First, no one can give others “the” ‘solution,’ because no cure-all solution exists. I, nor any other human, can simply say this is the solution, and expect others who do not have any desire whatsoever to help themselves, take any risk, or face any adversity head on, to act on some so-called ’solution’ coming from one man out of 8 billion. To believe such hogwash is madness. Each individual has to come to his own conclusions, decide what is right, and act on that regardless of consequences. If done en masse, as individuals of course, and not part of a collective herd, positive change would result.
I do not like labels, and I am no ‘libertarian,’ as that term has been fully politicized, and in that light has become contradictory. When I did call myself a ‘libertarian,’ I said a pure, no-compromise, libertarian. I am an anarchist (no rulers) who believes in non-aggression. I began distrusting the state, questioning the idiocy of government, and doing what I could to negate it, as early as 16 years old in 1968. I also, when I was drafted into slavery, loudly refused to go to Vietnam and murder innocent people who were being maimed, tortured, and slaughtered by order-taking Americans doing the bidding of this heinous government.
As to your handing out leaflets suggesting that people not vote, and then complaining that those who don’t vote were not there, is a direct contradiction. The only people to target would be voters, not non-voters.
I have, nor would I have ever have considered, being a CPA. I owned a full service investment firm, and did everything in my power to help all I could avoid the scum of the IRS as much as possible. That is why I became a trust specialist, and estate planner as well.
I have great respect for Ron Paul, probably the only politician I have ever considered to be honest and moral. I would never say the same of his son, and he has never once been ‘libertarian’ or anti-government. As to parties, including the Libertarian Party, my view is clear; they are all corrupt, and strive to gain power, regardless of their rhetoric to the contrary.
I have never once preached to anyone, so your statement to that effect is moot. No one is forced to read one word I write.
There is no limiting government or any such thing as ‘limited government’ (oxymoron); that was the lie expressed at the very beginning of this current tyrannical governing system, created purposely by the founding politicians and their big business partners in order to build a massive national federal government, when none existed at the time of that power-grabbing coup. All government is force, and no government will ever restrain itself, no matter that some worthless piece of paper created, drafted, and implemented by those same trimmers, feigns otherwise. Government always and forever seeks more power and control; period. That is the truth about government, regardless of insane straw man arguments. (As an aside, Murray Rothbard was an anarchist, and exposed the Constitution as a horrible power-grabbing coup)
Your contradictory comments to me expose exactly what I have been attempting to get across to as many as possible. While you claim that voting and government are bad, at the same time you said, “not voting defaults the decisions to those who do.” That is 100% hypocritical and a total contradiction.
None of my response is meant to be antagonistic, nor is it meant to be argumentative or aggressive. I simply do not understand why people continue to think that they can beg the same government that enslaves them for relief, why they petition them by voting in order attempt to gain some partial freedom, and hide behind the fact that most are too cowardly to help themselves or take their own freedom, as is the only way they will ever know it.
I am writing this with all due respect, and hope you will come to understand that what I do, and how I present my material, is meant to be brutal and honest, in hopes that some will at least search for the truth themselves. I hope more get mad! I cannot fix anything for anybody else, they have to become responsible for themselves, and gain the courage to improve their own lot in life individually.
My sincere best to you,
Gary
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