The Militia Movement and Logic
I was listening to NPR’s story on the inside of a militia group, and I have to admit, I’ve been wrong about the militias, in particular, the extreme Libertarians of the nation. They’re even dumber than they behave. To their credit, there was an interview with a militia which didn’t seem crazy, though they had guns and the usual accessories of the militia movement, but they seemed like responsible citizens with friendly and even helpful ties to the loval law enforcement.
The clip was actually part of a recording an undercover FBI agent made with a Hutaree leader. Here’s the quote:
“In this nation, we think we are free, but you need a certificate to be born, a license to drive or permit to build, a number to get a job and even a paper after you die,” he said in February, unaware that the FBI was secretly recording him. He was in a van with other members of the Hutaree driving to a militia rally in Kentucky. This was part of a speech Stone hoped to deliver there.
Let’s break down his complaint a little one by one here. First, you need a birth certificate. Aren’t these the same people howling for President Obama’s birth certificate? What would they do if there was no birth certificates issued for anybody? They would undermine their own arguments on the constitutionality of any presidential election just to complain about a piece of paper which somehow takes away their freedom. And of course, these guys are the first to complain that Obama is trashing the constitution.
But let’s move on to a license to drive. I live in a state where a former governor is in prison because he offered licenses to unqualified drivers for bribes which wound up killing people. Government is there to govern people. Taking a basic test of moderate driving competency doesn’t seem to me to be an infringment on my civil liberties, but the contrary, putting anybody on the road who fits behind the wheel, seems like it would go a good long way on infringing my right to life. Why not just ignore traffic lights, too? They seem kind of oppressive, especially when they’re Commie red.
A permit to build, well, imagine how much lesser the disaster in Haiti would have been had they had in place building codes. I know in Michigan, it isn’t very seismically active, but there’s big snows, heavy winds and floods, and other severe weather a shelter must be able to withstand. Those permits are required for a reason. You really want to trust your life to a contractor who will cut any corner for a profit and has no oversight in the form of a governmental institution?
A number to get a job. Well, the movement which argues against and begs for a government crackdown on illegal immigrants getting jobs is now aparently against the basic preventative mechanism on this issue. Of course that same number allows you to vote, so without that number, all those illegal immigrants would be electing an illegal immigrant president. This is kind of like the Minutemen complaining the government is building a fence on the border to make their pet issue more enforceable.
And a death certificate, well, if you’re dead, do you really care about one more piece of paper in your life?
These institutions which issue papers and permits evolved over a century often in response to a tragedy or disaster to protect the public, and often the call from the public was for someone to step in to help create a code to keep the public safe. You want an example? Doors that open out on public buildings? A response to a high casualty fire in Chicago where many people died due to inward opening doors which couldn’t open because of the throngs trying to leave. Fire drills? Because of a Catholic School outside Chicago where the teachers didn’t know what to do and so they prayed and dozens of children died. This is what you’re fighting here, guys. You know that?
These are the same people fighting against healthcare. Fighting to continue this system where people go bankrupt because they get sick, where insurance companies will cut you off from life saving care for their profit margin in the guise of personal responsibility. I find it ironic they are fighting against a mandate to personal responsibility in the name of personal responsibility because Fox News called the health bill a government takeover. This is America. If you hadn’t noticed, we aren’t very good at personal responsibility. We don’t do that here. It just doesn’t fit our “thing.”
I understand it. I really do. Those papers are holding you down, man. Time to grab the full auto and pretend to kill some people. Makes perfect sense.