Why Government Doesn't Work

In June of 2012, soon after moving back to Pennsylvania to spend my father’s last days with him, a book came across my desk entitled, “Why Government Doesn’t Work.” It was written by Harry Browne, who was the candidate for the Libertarian party during the 1996 and 2000 US Presidential elections. My previous knowledge of the Libertarian party was limited, so this book was rather enlightening. In simplest terms, the reason why government doesn’t work is that the only thing that government can contribute to anything it gets involved with is force. The book cites numerous examples of how the use of force is not the most ideal way to get things done.

Because people are naturally fearful, they are also naturally inclined to use force in order to protect themselves, or get their way. It is only when one is motivated by a higher principle that they can develop a character to see another way. In the process of reading this book, it became evident that the founding principle of the Libertarian Party is to abstain from the use of force in getting things done. Because of this, I later registered as a Libertarian voter since I could now be involved in a political party that would not cause me to violate my conscience when addressing the issues of state.

After moving to Rimrock, where I presently live in Arizona, I was contacted by the secrectary/vice-chairman of the Libertarian Party for Yavapai County, and asked if I would be willing to hand out invitations to the party members of this precinct for a meeting this past November, to which I did. After that, I was asked if I wanted to be the Precinct Committee Member, to which I accepted. In January, I was invited to a county meeting in Prescott, and was named the Treasurer of the party for Yavapai County. At that meeting, I was asked about attending a state meeting in Tucson later this month, and consider taking a state level position. Although I have yet to book a hotel room, I fully intend on making the meeting.

At this past meeting, it was brought to my attention that the Chairman of the party for this county is @adamkokesh, who didn’t attend. When it was finished, I was given a copy of Adam’s book, Freedom! And like the other book, it demonstrates the vanity of force in a concise manner, as each of its many chapters is only a page or two long. After finishing the book, I went online, and discovered that Adam is running for President of the United States as a Libertarian candidate. Within the hour of making this statement publicly, he was pulled over by police in Texas two times in the same day. The second time his RV (No Force One) was searched. The Police claimed to have found enough contraband to arrest Adam, and bring him up on one felony charge, and three misdemeanors. We’ll see how this unfolds. From what I’ve witnessed throughout life, a felony is a guaranteed prison sentence.

Adam has made it clear that his objective as President is to abolish the Federal Government. Such a thought had never crossed my mind before. But the fact is, my family lived in Pennsylvania for almost eighty years before the Constitution was ratified without any problem. And when one considers that the Federal Government declared itself irrelevant over a hundred years ago when they turned money creation over to the Federal Reserve (which isn’t even a government institution despite its name), then what is the point of having a central government? The only answer to that question is the fact that so many people rely on some kind of government stipend that other people are forced to pay for. Some may argue over things like utilities, roads, abortion, health care, and protection from “terrorists,” but with enough communication and innovation, those things can be worked out on a state level.

Because of this, the only way to transition away from a central government (and more importantly the central bank with its collection agency) is through knowledge, understanding, and agreement. The fact is, the technology is already here to do all of this, so it’s only a matter of time before it happens regardless. Unfortunately, Adam’s approach is through resistance, and the use of executive orders. These things tend to kindle the fear in others, and are probably the real reasons he was arrested.