3. What Is There Left to Celebrate?
   by William Stone, III  

Exclusive to TLE

"It would be remiss of me not to wish everyone I regularly communicate
with as happy an Independence Day as they can have. However -- as I
observed in one of my earliest books -- what the hell is there left to
celebrate?"
     -- L. Neil Smith, 2003, in Correspondence

As eternally optimistic as my friend and comrade-in-arms L. Neil Smith is,
I was rather surprised to see him communicate this thought in the
discussion forum of the Ad-Hoc Conspiracy to Draft L. Neil Smith For
President (http://groups.yahoo.com/group/smith2004-discuss).

At first pass, Mr. Smith's question seems to be a no-brainer.  Indeed, for
lovers of individual freedom in this country, things would seem to be
bleak:

o  The Federal Constitution has all but been declared null and void by all
three branches of government.  House Speaker Hastert declared it
"irrelevant" in 2002; Supreme Court Justice Scalia announced that
the Constitution only enumerated "minimums" and that we can
expect accordingly dramatic decreases in our freedom; and President Bush
violates the Constitution on a daily basis.

o  The party now in power (the Right Wing of the Boot-On-Your-Neck [BOYN]
Party) has almost completely usurped the agenda of the Left Wing BOYNs. 
Surprisingly, they do this with the full support and aid of those in their
own Party who, only a few short years ago, decried this agenda when the
Left- Wingers advanced it.

o  The only Party in existence that actually represents the ideals of the
Constitution -- the Libertarian Party -- continues to slide down the
slippery slope of philosophical decadence.  Every year, small bits of
philosophy are given up in the interest of becoming more marketable.  Some
day, the Party will eject the Pledge altogether, at which point they'll be
nothing more than Republican wannabes.

o  Most disturbingly, American culture continues to trend away from
individual liberty toward socialism.  It has now been almost two
generations since the term, "Don't make a Federal case out of
it," had any meaning, nor does there appear to be any chance that this
trend will reverse any time soon.

That's how things appear on the surface.  If one digs more deeply, there
are some surprisingly positive developments beneath each of these seemingly
negative trends.

o  The Federal Constitution was a valiant attempt to limit government. It
was doomed to failure from the start for the simple reason that government
cannot be limited.  Having "a little government" is exactly the
same as being "a little pregnant," and with exactly the same
eventual outcome.

Lovers of freedom NEED the Constitution to be abolished.  We should be
grateful that all three branches of government now agree that it is
irrelevant.  The Constitution defines the Federal Government:  without the
Constitution, there is no Federal Government.

o  The Right-Wing BOYNs' descent into abject socialism is a wonderful
thing.  It proves what freedom-lovers have said for more than a generation:
 that there is no discernible difference between the two.

Since the Right-Wing BOYNs have taken up the Left-Wing BOYNs' agenda, I
have had more e-mails and correspondence from former Republicans seeking
another alternative than I had in the preceding five years.  People used to
criticize me, saying, "Once the Republicans are in power, then
there'll be some changes."  Now the Republicans are in power, and the
only change is that they've shown their true Socialist colors.

We NEED the Right-Wing BOYNs to act like the disgusting little Socialists
they are down in their souls.  They're driving more freedom-lovers into our
waiting arms every day.

o  The Libertarian Party's philosophical demise, while tragic, was utterly
predictable.  Indeed, no political party -- however well-intentioned -- can
be counted upon to live up to their principles once they are in power.

A couple of years ago, I wrote what I believe is the absolute final word on
this phenomenon:  "The Free Mind"
(http://wrstone.com/sylranch/html/Tales_From_SYL_Ranch-4.html), available
in my on-line essay collection, _Tales From SYL Ranch_
(http://www.wrstone.com/sylranch).  It was far too lengthy to recount here,
but suffice to say that Lord Acton's famous quote is entirely accurate:

     "Power corrupts; absolute power corrupts absolutely."

We NEED the Libertarian Party to betray its own principles.  Lovers of
freedom need people to understand -- via concrete events -- that no person
can be trusted with the awesome power that a central government can
command.

o  The trend toward socialism in American culture is only disturbing if you
listen to polls and don't do some fairly simple math.

In my essay, "The Fall Of the Republic"
(http://webleyweb.com/tle/libe213-20030303-03.html), I point out that only
one-eighth of the American population actually approves of government. One
half of registered votes actually vote; one half of the eligible population
registers; one half of the total population is eligible. One-half of
one-half of one-half equals one-eight.

Everyone else does not approve of government.  They're collectively
"exercising their pedal franchise," by not participating at all.

The BOYNs decry this.  They try and make it sound like this represents a
tragedy.  In point fact, it frightens the hell out of them. They have no
way of knowing what an overwhelming majority of the population might decide
to do to them.

For freedom-lovers, this is a wonderful thing.  We need as little voter
participation as possible.  The sooner no one is paying attention to
government flunkies and their sycophants, the sooner they'll become
irrelevant in our lives.

The only way the present situation appears to be poor is if you look at it
in the near term.  In any revolution (and this is a revolution, whether
there's shooting involved or not), there is pain.  In short order, however,
the masses of government parasites who subsist by inserting a straw into
their victims' throats will open their eyes to discover that their would-be
victims have simply walked away.
 
There is a revolution in progress.  However, thanks to technological
advancement (particularly the Internet), as well as the complete corruption
of government at all levels, this revolution need not be bloody.  Much of
the problem will be self-correcting without a shot being fired.

American governments -- particularly the Federal Government -- are on their
way to the same fate as the dinosaurs.  This Fourth of July, I invite you
to celebrate with me as I commemorate our coming emancipation from
Government: our TRUE Independence Day.

Freedom, Immortality, and the Stars!

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William Stone, III is a computer nerd (RHCE, CCNP, CISSP) and Executive
Director of the Zero Aggression Institute (http://www.0ap.org).  He seeks
the
Libertarian Party's nomination for the 2004 Senate race in South Dakota.

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