By the magnificent Maggie McNeill, via fabulous Fred. Damn, I wish I’d written this!
Given these facts, how is a moral person to act? The answer is, by one’s own conscience. Any resemblance between the laws and moral behavior is now purely coincidental; this is not a problem for those of us who have always relied upon our own moral compasses rather than guidance from authority figures, but those whose personal senses of right and wrong have been stunted through reliance upon external dictates will be much slower to adapt. It’s true that, as Voltaire said, “It’s dangerous to be right when the government is wrong”; however, our government is so totally out of control that even following all the laws one knows of to the letter is no guarantee against destruction. The “law-abiding” citizen is a thing of the past, so it’s better to do what one knows to be right even if it’s illegal, because everyone is constantly in violation of some law anyhow. It’s time for Americans (and all other subjects of repressive states, which means a large fraction of the world) to start practicing what Vaclav Havel called “living in truth”: in other words ignoring the lies and proclamations of tyrants and just living like free people, avoiding all contact with government actors whenever possible.
It’s kind of a strange coincidence, but I wrote a little bit on a similar subject just today: My encounter with a hardened criminal.
Brilliant article and a great find. I’ll be reading Maggie’s blog regularly.
Good one, Kent. I wonder how many innocent old ladies are going around these days wondering if they’re secretly arch-criminals.
And definitely a good find by Fred, Mr. Galt. When Maggie McNeill was among the guest bloggers for Radley Balko for a month this summer, I thought she was the best of the best.
Heh heh… this old lady doesn’t “wonder,” she KNOWS. And it’s pretty much no secret at all! 🙂
Why, I’ve even been seriously tempted to rip tags off pillows and mattress covers… used empty vinegar bottles to cart gasoline… had my fanny pack on when I went to the post office once… ahem…
Oh, the extent of the mischief I can get into boggles the mine sometimes.