Odd title, no? Some countries are just emerging from brutal, draconian lockdowns (implemented under the pretext of fighting COVID-19), and over the past week the United States has been reeling under mass protests and riots, the spark of which was the inhumane, sickening murder of George Floyd. As of writing, Derek Chauvin has been charged with third-degree murder and second-degree manslaughter.
For many in the US, now is the
time for resistance and protest, for pure rage and emotion. It is hard not to
empathize, to not understand the frustration that comes with centuries of
injustice. In the midst of all the economic and emotional turmoil, I would like
to point to some modicum of hope, perhaps: For many of us, we will never get a
better chance in our lifetimes than right now, to fight for the liberty of the
individual.
It breaks your heart to see what human beings are capable of doing to each
other. But through the heart-rending pain, we have to understand that the
ever-increasing control and power of the state must be resisted. Not just because of what has happened up to this
point, which is infuriating in itself, but because much of the brutality meted
out by police is indicative of the larger role the state has taken on – when,
through its representatives, it assumes we have done something wrong, it will
instruct us to act as it wishes. If we even lift our hands, indicating we will
cooperate, this ‘resistance’ is met with deadly force. This cannot, and must
not, be allowed to continue.
The indiscriminate force
currently being meted out by all manner of government forces makes one of the
strongest arguments yet for citizens to be armed. When protests turn into
violent riots, the private property of everyone, regardless of their race, is
under threat. And very often the very police, whose proper role is to protect
people, are too far away. That’s precisely
when you would rather people are armed in the responsible use of their
firearms, that they may defend themselves, their families, and their property
(both homes and businesses).
For decades now, the progression has been toward more statism and more collectivism. When the government grows as
big and powerful as it has (in various forms all around the world), the chances
of abuse and atrocities becomes exponentially higher. The more regulations on
people’s ability to create wealth, the more societal tensions will increase.
The COVID-19 lockdowns have pushed many into financial hardship, with little certainty
of when things may return to ‘normal.’ Perhaps those who want to increase
government control realized the opportunity the virus presented, to slow
growth, and to increase dependence upon the government itself.
Inequality becomes a moral problem when a government places barriers to entry
and trade in front of new players in the market. The concentration of wealth
becomes a weight on society. Liberty is something truly robust, and meaningful.
Liberty means each individual is respected by others as a human being, and most crucially by those who wield political
power. The more power concentrated in the hands of the state, the less chance
anyone has to create prosperity for themselves, and the worse the consequences
when it sets its sights on those it views as problematic.
It will not do to simply talk about the need for wide-ranging, deep reforms in
police behaviour, if the very relationship between government and citizen is
also not understood. The government is supposed to be the servant of the
people, not the master of the people, not the enlightened one who should decide
all manner of things on behalf of people. Through imposing lockdowns, virtually
overnight, governments stripped away people’s civil liberties, and they enjoyed
support among many parts of the population. When you cede this level of
presumed control to a government, you cede your
position in the relationship between state and individual. It only takes a
few pushes for the ball to roll down the hill, and to snowball with devastating
consequences.
I implore anyone and everyone, on whatever side of the political spectrum you
may be, as part of whichever community or group that is important to you; now is the time to push back, to subvert
the direction in which elements on the left and
the right have been pushing the world. The more control and power the state
has, the more it will pit people against each other, and always seek scapegoats
and targets, when its consistent
interventions and restrictions have made it as difficult as possible for people
to improve their own lives.
Imagine your worst enemy in control of the levers of power, and what they could do to you and yours with unchecked state power.
The right to your own body, to your mind; the right to think; to move and to act, the right to own property, and to be protected in what you make and earn – these are part of the human way of living, the right way of living within the context of a broader society. We must get back to the absolute sanctity of individual agency, dignity, and action.
We have to adopt the right of relating to each other, of respecting each other as ends, not just as means or tools for whatever vision we have for society, because wethink we know best for others how they should live. The philosophy of liberty, of treating each other as individuals and not just as part of groups, is the answer to the pain and anger we see now. As difficult as things are right now, I want to hold onto this line, that, through all the struggles each person is facing right now, there has been no better time to fight for liberty.
Chris Hattingh
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