SumthinWhittee
Hopefully Santa gives these out this year. Best gift to help counter the elementary school propaganda. #tuttletwins
Time to say something controversial: I don’t buy the hullabaloo surrounding this “1/6” anniversary.
It’s not that I think the events of one year ago were good.
My full-time job is calling out bad government, but hurting people and damaging property to prove a point is wrong: whether in response to election fraud, police brutality, lockdowns, you name it.
But… let’s be real here. The breach of the Capitol was not Pearl Harbor. It wasn’t another 9/11. (Contrary to what Kamala Harris claimed this morning… with a straight face! Oy.) It wasn’t terrorism or an assault on our democracy.
Of course, the government has a huge incentive to convince us otherwise.
The more afraid we are of terrorism, or “insurrection,” or our neighbors who think differently than us, the more likely we are to surrender our liberties. This makes us easier to manipulate and control.
Here’s an example: Our Federal bureaucracy used 9/11—a legitimately tragic event—as an excuse to set up a “temporary” surveillance state. And it has only grown more sinister and powerful in the 20 years since. The TSA, the PATRIOT act, and all the dystopian horrors exposed by Edward Snowden are all still firmly in place. Our constitutional right to privacy has become the butt of a decades-long joke.
That’s not to mention legalized acts of plunder like civil asset forfeiture, eminent domain, and taxation. Or the very real problems of police brutality (in select cases) and a twisted criminal justice system. Or the scientifically-ignorant lockdowns that have plunged us into all kinds of economic, educational, physical, and mental crises. Or the massive inflation we’re forced to manage as the Fed dilutes the dollar to prop up the promises being handed out like candy by politicians.
The state is supposed to work for us (in theory), instead, it’s our most menacing bully: controlling our bodies, property, even lifestyle… So you’ll have to forgive me for rolling my eyes at the notion that last year’s “insurrection” is the gravest concern facing the nation.
We’ve heard all sorts of propositions from Congress and our federal surveillance agencies on why January 6th, 2021 should be cause for new laws and “anti-terrorist” safety measures. But by now, we should know better: these measures become permanent and monstrous invasions of our liberties faster than we can turn the clock back.
Robert Higgs summarized this beautifully in Crisis and Leviathan, a book I can’t recommend enough. He describes the government as a greedy monster that thrives on our fear.
His book is the foundation for our latest children’s title, The Tuttle Twins and the Leviathan Crisis. Through a fun story about an innocent-seeming unicorn that turns into a nasty villain, readers learn the dangers of unintended consequences.
Remember, while our country’s direction isn’t pretty at the moment, it’s not all bad: we’re experiencing a massive teaching moment.
There’s never been a better time to show our kids why our liberties are so precious. The world around us is making it obvious.
Until next time…
—Connor
