Liberty, safety, and misquotations
Hello everyone. I'm @lemony-cricket... and today, I'm learning new things.
![[source]](https://commons.wikimedia.org/wiki/File:Franklin-Benjamin-LOC.jpg){kind=link}
Context is everything.
Benjamin Franklin once wrote:
Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety. [source]People really liked capitalising random words back then.
Now, wait a minute, you might be thinking. That's not the way I remember it. True; I'll wager you remember it sounding edgier, more powerful, and less... qualified:
He who sacrifices freedom for security deserves neither.
Yes, that's much better, right? I agree... but as I discovered today, that's not what he actually wrote. I believe that it's important not to arm ourselves with misinformation, lest we attempt to pull the trigger and hear a resounding click. It's fine to repeat the above slogan all we want; we just shouldn't attribute it to Franklin. He never said it, and we really can't be certain what his stance on the relevant modern issues might have been. He is, after all, extremely deceased at this point in time.
The real deal is that Franklin was not, as many suggest, talking about surveillance or gun registration. He was not even talking about personal liberties of any sort. He was actually talking about taxation... but not in the way most libertarians would hope.
Franklin was imploring the colonial Governor, who had been appointed by the wealthy Penn family (the namesake of Pennsylvania, as it were), to cease blocking the Pennsylvania Assembly's continued attempts to levy taxes on... surprise... the Penn family estate. That's right-- Benjamin Franklin was begging the Governor to tax the rich.
It is ironic, then, that modern libertarians so lovingly recite bastardised variations on Franklin's quote between passionate assertions that "taxation is theft."
Does the bastardised, more conveniently-worded version still hold water?
For me, the answer is: "of course it does." Just because Benjamin Franklin never created nor espoused the de facto slogan of modern libertarian anarchism does not mean it completely loses all merit. In truth, perhaps it is good thing that we are not relying on the posthumous approval of a man who actively fought for government restriction of speech (it's true; Franklin was a staunch supporter of libel law).
After all, Franklin never said "taxation is theft" either; that doesn't mean it's not true. 🍋
How to get an upvote from me today: Was your faith in Ben Franklin, or even the entire foundation of your personal interpretation of reality, shaken by this revelation? Want to hang out and grumble about taxes with me? Ooh, I know-- what if you tried asserting that taxation is necessary and just, or simply cutting straight to the part where you call me a disgusting capitalist dog? Yeah; you should do that one. All comments are welcome.
This post was aesthetically optimised for viewing on Busy.org.
How has my favorite cricket on Steemit been doing? I hope all is well. Have a wonderful week!
I hope you got another blog that goes way over my head coming down the pipeline.
Hey @enjar. Still alive. Thank you for the well wishes. It means a lot that you are looking forward to my content. Thank you.
I'm going to be posting more soon. I'm just really very busy at the moment. I work in software development. Sometimes we're not doing the usual business day thing, or even the weekend thing. It ebbs and flows with the projects we work on and customer expectations. Around when I started using Steem, we were in more of an ebb. Now, it's time for a flow. Such is life.
Have a nice day, meow.
I love this post. It's so true that popular culture just wipes over the details so its more fit for consumer. This can be extended to the 'filters' over social media and the distortion of reality (I am not just talking about photographic filters). The fact people think their feed is reality is a little disturbing.
You disgusting capitalist dog! Meow Meow Meow! I’m disgusted by the dog part. Who does not want earn more money if the market allows it while being taxed the least amount.
It is always quite telling what history and time itself choose to represent to those who take things at face value. While I do think the more modern take on it is centrally interesting and is often used as a way to try and tell the masses giving up freedom for little more safety is not often wise. It does have some irony in the fact it was more geared towards taxation then freedoms.
While certain taxation sure feels like theft even more so when you noticed just how little rich people can afford to not pay taxes. Society needs also just don’t create them by good will and kindness of others often times enough. After all who would want replace or fix a road if your taxes did not in an area you would never drive!
Oh hey @enjar, or shall I say comrade. Who invited Chairman Meow onto my blog?!
I do honestly believe that taxation is theft. However, there is no denying that it certainly helps to protect society against selfish actors to a certain degree. I don't think that all taxation is necessarily unforgivable, but I believe it's important to understand that it is inherently evil. Always remember that the ultimate penalty for resisting government oppression is death. Resist taxation? Get audited. Fail to pay? Get arrested. Defend yourself from police? Get shot and die.
It sounds extreme, but it's the truth. You could be shot to death for adhering to the following, very reasonable rules:
As we live in the real world, we are often called to choose the least of several evils. That's nothing new. So we aren't ever going to be rid of taxation; not while the government still stands, anyway. However, we can protest against it, question it, audit government spending, and call out wasteful programs.
Before voting in favour of tax increases, consider that you are, in effect, pointing a gun at someone's face and threatening to take away their life unless you get that money. That's all I ask.
I'm all out of tuna-flavoured upvotes, so you'll have to deal with these off-brand Turkey & Gravy ones this time around. Hope that's okay.
“Hookers and cocaine are proof that god wants us to be happy.”- Ben Franklin Jr. Jr. Jr.
This was an awesome read and extremely informative! I couldn't agree more... CONTEXT IS KING! I learned something new today!
We thank It for this post! =)
Glad y'all liked it! :)
It knows We did.
Taxation was initially voluntary. Fear and intimidation made it mandatory.
We have created an adversarial culture where the "tax man" comes to "take everything he can." So, faced with that attitude, the wealthy develop loopholes and exploit little holes in the rules (or even pay people off to create them). However, because everything is confidential now, these people are protected from being held accountable. We don't get to see how much they are withholding from the public; we can only speculate. This just adds to the problem.
We should want to help each other, and most people do. We have to work as a society to incentivise that behaviour out of less altruistic people. Shame them a bit. Ostracise those who won't give their fair share. There is nothing wrong with that, and I support it 100%.
I don't think we need to go around raiding people's houses and throwing them in prison though. That's too much. Just let it go at that point.
Sure but take the good ole American pastime of driving a car. How many times are they gonna tax you for that one item? There's the sales tax, excise tax, the tag tax, the title tax, the inspection tax, tire tax, gas tax, smog certification tax... Not to mention the license, the sticker, the permit, the pike pass, the certificate for the validation of the requirements not listed but mandatory for the inspection of insurance tax on top of the tax for the tax tax. If you're lucky you might be able to drive down the street and get a piece of bubblegum after paying for it all. God help you if you get pulled over along the way and get awarded a citation for doing 2 miles over the speedlimit you'll have to take out a 9th mortgage on your house to pay that tax
Taxes are not that popular over here but it is mostly ignored, as it is mostly money spent by government cronies on their lavish living.
There are even ways by which small business avoid taxes over here and I do not think there's even a tax on land and houses or on cars... Lol... I don't any, so what do I know.
For me, if the taxes were actually being used for the purpose for which it was paid for, good and fine; if the wealthy are paying their taxes, then I am all for it. But this is not so.
Taxation is needed, I don't know if it's theft but, pay your tribute rich people.
Taxes are bad and you should feel bad!
My standard comment upvote for today is 30%. For arguing in favour of taxation, I have fined you 1%.
However, for having the courage to disagree with me, I award you an additional 1%.
Thanks for stopping by.
hahaha, well thank you good sir.