342 lines
21 KiB
Plaintext
342 lines
21 KiB
Plaintext
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ÉÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍ»
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º BAD CITIZENS AND GOOD FREEDOM º
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º º
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º by º
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º Jefferson Mack º
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ÈÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍÍͼ
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"The danger is not that a particular class is unfit to
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govern. Every class is unfit to govern." --Lord Acton
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If every class is unfit to govern, then who will lead
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us? The answer is obvious. No one!
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Free, independent, competent people don't need leaders.
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A truly free society is disorganized. Nobody is in charge.
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Nobody takes orders. Everyone does exactly what he or she
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wants to do, taking orders from nobody else. If you want
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something from someone else, you make a voluntary trade or
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exchange in which both of you are happy with the deal.
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The people who preach the need to organize don't want
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you to be free. What they want is for you to pay their
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bills and do their dirty work so they can be free to do what
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they want to do.
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The last thing someone who wants to boss others wants
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around are independent, competent people who want to left
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alone to live their own lives. Such people never make good
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citizens, not the way a politician talks about good citizens.
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A political leader will tell you a good citizen obeys
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the law--every law. A good citizen works hard--at whatever
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job the government tells him he is suppose to work at. A
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good citizen pays his taxes--even if he doesn't have enough
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left over to feed his kids. A good citizen volunteers his or
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her time to work on civic projects the leader designs. A
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good citizen goes off to fight and die in wars with people he
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doesn't know so that the leader can win a place in the
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history books. The good citizen never complains--no matter
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how stupid or crude a government official treats him nor how
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much a leader asks him to sacrifice.
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Give a politician enough good citizens and he will rule
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forever, fat and happy, while the good citizens sweat and
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suffer and die to make sure the political leader keeps the
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good life.
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Politicians and bureaucrats spend a great deal of time
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and effort trying to convince the people they rule that a
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moral person must be a good citizen. Back in the dark ages
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they called it the "Divine Right of Kings". Now days it's
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called patriotic duty, or civic responsibility, but it all
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adds up to the argument that every decent, honorable person
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must put the interests of the state and the government above
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their own personal interests.
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BAD CITIZENS HAVE MORE FUN BECAUSE THEY ARE MORE FREE.
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A free society is supposed to have free citizens, not
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good citizens. The day you wake up and realize you don't
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have all the freedom you want, the first thing you want to do
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is bad citizen.
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A bad citizen may love the place where he lives. He may
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love his country and respect his neighbors. But a bad
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citizen won't love or respect the people who run the
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government. A bad citizen will always put his own interest
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and the interest of his family and friends above the interest
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of some common good as described by the people who hold
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political power.
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We are not talking here about violent criminals or
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rebels. Political leaders love those kinds of people. They
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love pulling their guns, arresting people and putting down
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riots. If you don't think the politicians loved the recent
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events in Los Angeles, you haven't been watching the TV news.
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Every single politician in the country has jumped on the band
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wagon by promising us they'll solve the problem if we'll just
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give them some more of our money and a little more of our
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freedom.
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Political leaders love big trials with lots of newspaper
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space. It gives them a chance to show how powerful they can
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really be. They are expecting open confrontation and they
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will be prepared to deal with it. They have detention camps,
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secret police, riot control equipment, and the army ready to
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go after all those who dare openly confront the government.
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But any political leader who's got a country full of
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peaceful bad citizens has got a serious problem. Bad
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citizens work hard to support themselves, they treat their
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neighbors with respect, they won't cheat others for their own
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gain, and they don't do violent acts that hurt innocent
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people.
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What bad citizens won't do is help the government make
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his or her life miserable. They continually try to maximize
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the freedom they have, even if they have to break or ignore a
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few laws to do it.
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Too many bad citizens make government almost impossible.
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That's one big reason why the Soviet Union didn't work. Too
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many Soviet citizens realized they were never going to get a
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fair share out of socialism and they stopped being good
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citizens. They looked out for themselves rather than the
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good of the State.
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GOOD CITIZENS MAKE TYRANTS POSSIBLE.
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Nazi Germany wasn't filled with people who wanted to
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throw Jews into bonfires, make slaves of eastern Europeans,
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or rule the world from Berlin. Nazi Germany was filled with
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good citizens and Hitler did everything he could to make all
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those good citizens think they were better off with him in
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charge, even if they did have to give up a few freedoms.
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Hitler was more frightened that all those good citizens might
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stop being good citizens than he was of the allied armies.
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North Korea, Viet Nam, Cuba, Iran, and Iraq are filled
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with good citizens, all of them hoping that by being good
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citizens, they will help things get better. Only things keep
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getting worse. The good citizen works harder but gets less
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to eat, has less fun, enjoys life less, and has less hope for
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a better future.
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BAD CITIZENS HAVE KEPT THE UNITED STATES FREE.
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Back in 1917 a majority of the voters in the United
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States decided they knew what was best for everyone and
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passed the Eighteenth Amendment, taking away the freedom of a
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man to relax with a beer after an honest day's work. Hundred
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of thousands in this great country suddenly turned into bad
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citizens. They didn't organize into a let's-bring-back-the-
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booze political party or start blowing up police stations.
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All they did was to keep on drinking. Some bad citizens were
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more than willing to smuggle, distill, or brew the booze and
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sell it for a profit.
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In 1933, the social manipulators and the do-gooders
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finally gave up, agreed to throw out the great experiment and
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a tens of thousands of people went back to being good
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citizens.
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These kind of things keep happening all over this
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country. Have you tried driving a fixed fifty-five along our
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highways? A whole industry has gotten rich selling us radar
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detectors to give us a chance against the modern technology
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of the Highway Patrol. Eventually, the wizards in Washington
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had no choice but to up the speed limit to 65, at least in a
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few places.
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The Drug Enforcement Administration, and every State and
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local police department spend billions each year to try and
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stamp out the use of recreational drugs. Yet every year, the
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price of the drugs go down, while availability go up.
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Anybody who wants to smoke pot, can, any place in the United
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States.
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Other freedoms are under constant attack. Take the
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issue of gun control. The people who tout this totalitarian
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principle keep telling us that the majority of Americans want
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some kind of gun control. So what? No majority in a free
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country has the right to take away the freedoms of any
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minority. That's what freedom is all about, and owning a gun
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is a damn good way to help make sure nobody starts
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interfering with your personal freedom. As long as the
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people who understand and believe that principle insist on
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keeping their guns, we are going to be able to keep them.
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In California the state government outlawed a whole
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collection of different kinds of semi-automatic weapons and
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demanded that every citizen register those weapons and turn
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them in. Non-compliance has been almost total.
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Americans used to be pretty good tax payers, way back in
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the forties and fifties. But one day we woke up and realized
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that the fat cat friends of Congress had all been given
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special privileges and were paying less than their fair
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share.
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So a whole lot of good taxpayers have turned into bad
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citizens. We are now a nation of tax evaders. We figure
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every angle, both legal and illegal to bring down our own
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taxes. Every increase in the tax structure is matched or
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exceeded by losses as more ordinary middle class citizens
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figure out ways to cheat on their taxes or join the
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underground economy. We've now got the politicians against
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the ropes. They are bankrupting the treasury, but they can't
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raise taxes any farther because the know all us bad citizens
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aren't going to take it any more.
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If we keep protesting and evading new tax increases,
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eventually the politicians will have no choice but to start
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cutting the waste if they want to leave enough money in the
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treasury to keep paying them their fat salaries.
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Each of the above examples shows just how much we are a
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nation of bad citizens. That's why we have as much freedom
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as we do. That's why in recent years, this country has been
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moving in the direction of more freedom, not less. The
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politicians are finally beginning to understand that you
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can't take an American's freedom away and make it stick.
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There are two many bad citizens in this country.
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HOW TO SURVIVE AS A BAD CITIZEN
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Once you realize that you are not living in a free
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country and that there is no go reason why you should be a
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good citizen, there are a few rules you need to learn so you
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can get the most benefit out of being a bad citizen without
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suffering more loss of personal freedom or even going to
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jail.
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A smart bad citizen won't let himself get caught being
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bad. He won't brag to his friends and neighbors about what a
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bad citizen he is. He won't tell the local newspaper how
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proud he is of being a bad citizen. He will not deliberately
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confront the government, and he will avoid doing anything in
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public that will warn any government official that he is not
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a good citizen.
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The bad citizen tries to be the invisible man or woman,
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the person the government official would never expect is
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denying the government his help and cooperation.
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That means if you want to be a bad citizen, you don't
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want to stand on any street corners making speeches demanding
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revolution and you don't want to run with a mob throwing
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rocks at police vehicles. You just want to live your own
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life, doing everything in private you want to do, exactly the
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way you want to do it.
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You want to look like a good citizen. You will even
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want to do some things that all good citizens do, like vote.
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Only once you are in the voting booth, you vote against
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every bond issue, every politician who's in office, and every
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new initiative that will increase government power or raise
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your taxes. If the only choice is between two common thieves
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then a bad citizen writes in someone else's name, or even his
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own.
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You insist on getting every possible government benefit
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you are eligible for and demand every government service the
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law says you are entitled to receive. If you are eligible,
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you'll collect social security, unemployment benefits, use
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food stamps, dip into Medicare, claim farm subsidies, and try
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to get the government to pay you for drawing obscene art or
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writing nasty stories.
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You may even decide to take a government job, if you can
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make more money doing that than working for some private
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firm. But a bad citizen who's got a government job takes all
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his sick leave, goofs off every chance he gets, and does
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everything he can to minimize the damage the government can
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do to other bad citizens.
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But don't cooperate with the bastards when it's not to
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your advantage to do so. Except when it's in your direct,
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economic advantage, you ignore the government. Never
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voluntarily do anything that will help the government in any
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way.
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If bad citizens know someone who is cheating on their
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taxes, violating a business license law, working in a job
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paying less than the minimum wage, or selling a little dope,
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they don't call the authorities.
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A bad citizen files his income tax return but cheats in
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ways that take advantage of IRS incompetence. Bad citizens
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work off the books and don't declare the income. They'll
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drive one hundred and fifty miles to buy a truck load of
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groceries in another state that charges less sales tax.
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A bad citizen loses his census form, or fills it in
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wrong. Bad citizens don't provide the government any kind of
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information unless they get an immediate benefit or there is
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a government official standing there insisting that they do
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it.
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Bad citizens don't sacrifice their own pleasures or
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happiness just because the government tells them such
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sacrifices are in the common good. They don't volunteer
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their services for anything the government is trying to do,
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no matter how worthwhile the project appears to be. If the
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politicians tell them there is an energy crisis, they don't
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turn the heat down and the lights off if they can afford the
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electricity.
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Bad citizens enjoy the freedom of driving their own
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personal cars instead of riding tax-subsidized mass transit
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systems or subjecting their personal schedules to the demands
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of car pooling. Bad citizens don't waste time sorting
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garbage unless there is a direct economic benefit for doing
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so. They don't man a voting booth, support the local
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sheriff, waste time in town meetings, donate to political
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parties, report poachers, nor contribute to the Community
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Chest and United Fund. They recognize that a government that
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steals freedom shouldn't get any voluntary help.
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Of course, there is a chance that someone will show up
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at your door pointing a gun to make you volunteer for some
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civic duty like jury duty. When that happens, don't argue,
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go. But a bad citizen won't do anything more than what is
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absolutely necessary. On something like jury duty, it may
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even be possible to help screw up the system even while
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pretending to act like a good citizen.
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It the person on trial is accused of tax evasion, drug
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offenses, bootlegging, pornography, non-violent sex offenses,
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a failure to obtain a business license, or any other crime
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that shouldn't be a crime in a free society, a bad citizen
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can always find some justification for voting not guilty,
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even if every other member of the jury is convinced he's
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guilty.
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Such a bad citizen is exercising the right of jury
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nulification, that is, the right to set a person free because
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the juror thinks the law is not constitutional. But the bad
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citizen won't admit that to the judge, the jury, nor the
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press. Instead, he or she will insist that he or she was not
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convinced by the prosecutor's evidence.
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When the government confronts a bad citizen, the bad
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citizen will insist that the government official respect
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every right that the Constitution and the law gives every
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citizen. The bad citizen makes sure he knows what rights the
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law gives him, and then he demands they be respected. The
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bad citizen will be polite, he will fight the urge to get
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angry, he will never, ever, initiate violence against a
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government official, but he will insist on his rights.
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Unless he is presented with a warrant, he won't let a
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government official into his house, he won't give permission
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to any officer of the law to search any of his belongings,
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and he won't answer any questions, even apparently innocent
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questions without first checking with a lawyer.
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Even in the United States with all the protections
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against self-incrimination, most of the people in jails are
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there because they talked too much.
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When questioned by a government official, the smart
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person in such a situation becomes the dumbest citizen in the
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county. He hasn't been reading the newspapers, doesn't
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listen to the radio, doesn't know a thing about what is going
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on, but he loves the government, and loves doing his civic
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duty, and he knows his rights.
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If bad citizens are asked a direct question, they won't
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lie, but they give as little information as possible. They
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never gives any information that they are not required by law
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to give. But the do it all courteously, never suggesting by
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tone or attitude that they are being anything but totally
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cooperative.
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All you have to do is say, "I don't want to answer that
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question." If the government official insists you answer
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the question, then you say, "I want to speak to my lawyer
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before I answer that question."
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But most of the time, the bad citizen will never be
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bothered by some government thug because he will learn how to
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maximize his own happiness without having to have any
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dealings with the politician or the bureaucrat.
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+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
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| THE CHAOS ADVOCATE is copyrighted by Mack Tanner. You |
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| may review and read sections of this electronic publication |
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| to determine whether or not you would like to read the entire |
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| work. If you decide to read the entire magazine, or if you |
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| keep a copy of the magazine in the unpacked, readable format |
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| for your own personal use or review for more than two days |
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| must pay a SHARELIT fee by mailing $2.00 to |
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| Mack Tanner |
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| 1234 Nearing Rd. |
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| Moscow, ID 83843 |
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| If you want a receipt, include a self-addressed and |
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| stamped envelope. |
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+-----------------------------------------------------------------+
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