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I just mentioned the Armed and Dangerous Eric Raymond - see the previous post that comes in fact right after this one. (Yes it's confusing, yes it's a tough world but ever since your multi-millennial great grand mother, who was a fish by the way but it's okay, first set a fin ashore, we had to adapt to survive. So stop whining and renounce Socialism now, it leads nowhere but to slavery) and reading his post on the Free State Project not only brought up memories of a prenatal dissident frogman but also reminded about me the practical reason why I've never called myself a "libertarian" and, as things go, why it does not look like it's going to change anytime soon.Now, I've been informed that the dissident frogman was the subject of many speculations, among the Idiotarian gaggle of course, but also among those with whom I share most - since it's apparently not all - positions on most issues, particularly on this side of the pond.
It's not a big surprise actually, considering that the French, stuck as they are in a bipartisan and antagonistic conception of society (Nothing new. It all started irremediably on August 26, 1789), usually define "free thinker" as "the fucktard who doesn't think exactly like us" (the "us" is important) and end up being more active in trying to categorize URI (Unidentified Reasoning Interlocutors) into tiny tangible think boxes than in actually, well, reasoning.
I must confess bluntly that I have no real concern for the gaggle of Idiots. If anything, their pathetically obsessive moos are a confirmation that I'm doing something right (it's a figure of speech. I don't need a confirmation thank you.)
But to counterpoint the discordant melody (hint, hint) I heard here and there on French speaking Libertarian forums, a remix of the "Who and what is the dissident frogman" tune that usually goes "Ah! He supports Israel and the war against terrorism! Therefore he's not one of us!" I can turn back, once again, to one of the foundations of my humble blog.
Please welcome Mr. Eric Raymond:
I've had troubles with other libertarians recently. Too many have retreated into isolationism in the face of a war with terrorism that I do not believe we can or should evade. The isolationists judge that empowering the State when we use it as an instrument of self-defense has consequences for the long term that are more dangerous than terrorists' aims are in the short term. I sympathize with this view, but when all is said and done, Al-Qaeda shahids with backpack nukes from the 'stans are more of a danger than John Ashcroft has ever been. I have done my homework and if anything, I believe the U.S. Government is understating the danger we face.My words exactly.
And my feeling is that the same goes for the Samizdatistas - They in turns, do have their share of Libertarian mullahs, declaring the "Ah! You're not one of us" fatwa upon them just because at some point in its history, Samizdata was called "Libertarian Samizdata" (In my experience, the only remnants of this glorious era are 1) smart yet seductive ladies and 2) smart but wacky gentlemen. All "libertarian" issues put aside).
I don't know if Eric Raymond and the Samizdatistas care about being tied to tiny tangible think boxes but my own position is quite effectively summarized in the title of this post. (Yep, if so, I don't know why you end up reading all of it either. But now that you're here, you can as well finish it. And also, I lied: I know damn well what the Samizdatistas think about the TTTBs. And you're going to find that acronym by yourself. You'll have to make a minimum of efforts if you're really serious about growing arms and opposable thumb enabled hands in place of those fins.)
That said, it's interesting, on a strictly intellectual plan, to consider how the only people who - supposedly - really "believe in individual conscience and individual choice" end up having a hard time steering clear of the good old dogma reflex.
Anyway, if you're speculating on the odds and ends of the dissident frogman, keep in mind Eric Raymond's quote above and mark my words: a libertarian who hates the State as much as Socialists love it and, at any rate, more than he cares for real people is definitely not somebody with whom I'd want to share a tiny tangible think box.
That's why I support the legitimate war against terrorism, that's why I think our civilization is worth defending actively, and this by the States that constitute it, and that's one of the reasons why the battle of Iraq was a just cause.
As for (most of) the rest, I (mostly) agree. Hey, the world of immaculate ideas is indeed a great place to visit.
But I certainly wouldn't want to live there.
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Comments thread (13)
744 - papyrustigyrious
papyrustigyrious
745 - the dissident frogman
the dissident frogman France
746 - LaFéeC
LaFéeC
747 - Constantin_H
Constantin_H
748 - the dissident frogman
the dissident frogman France
749 - the dissident frogman
the dissident frogman France
750 - Constantin_H
Constantin_H
751 - the dissident frogman
the dissident frogman France
752 - Constantin_H
Constantin_H
753 - LaFéeC
LaFéeC