Elections are a lot like wearing a face mask for protection against a virus. Both are harmful but they do relieve anxiety, at least for some.
The similarities persist: There is shame in not voting as there is shame in not wearing a mask. Voting has turned a country of rugged individuals into a country of serfs. Wearing a mask has become the perfect attire for serfs, as it keeps them compliant and fearful.
Compliant, fearful people don’t make good boss material.
Who needs to be your boss? The only one qualified for the job: You.
Does that induce uneasiness? Are you reluctant to get out of bed in the morning while others advance progress in quantum computing? Does an accomplished lady such as Dr. Simone Gold, who holds both a medical and law degree, and who fights established authorities for what she believes is right, frighten you? Are you willing to surrender boss-ship to some talking head on TV? That would be a mistake.
Go ahead and learn from others, as Dr. Gold and billions of others have done, but restrict decisions about your life to the one who owns your life. If you turn those over to someone else — might as well put on a mask and wait for your next orders.
“Man is a being of volitional consciousness,” an immigrant, long famous, once wrote.
“Man’s mind is his basic tool of survival. Life is given to him, survival is not. His body is given to him, its sustenance is not. His mind is given to him, its content is not. To remain alive, he must act, and before he can act he must know the nature and purpose of his action. He cannot obtain his food without a knowledge of food and of the way to obtain it. He cannot dig a ditch-or build a cyclotron—without a knowledge of his aim and of the means to achieve it. To remain alive, he must think.
“But to think is an act of choice. . . .”
Don’t believe it? Better make sure you’re stocked up on masks. And if you live in South Dakota you must be miserable having to live under your ruthless governor, Kristi Noem. But keep your attention on the State’s media mouths — CNN, MSNBC, Washington Post, NY Times, PBS —. They’ll provide the direction they want you to take.
Big companies have organization charts. They start with the CEO and board of directors and proceed downward. Clearly, one can recognize who the boss is — the CEO. He calls the shots, pending board approval. He’s in charge. Maybe you work for a company where the CEO is way above you in rank. Don’t you wish you could be a CEO?
You are — regarding your life. Or you could be if you assume the responsibility of being human. This is not to say we act independently of others. The CEO of a successful company recognizes his or her true bosses — the customers they serve. Fail to serve them, and the company is doomed. Steve Jobs learned this the hard way when he foisted the insanely-great original Macintosh on the world without a knowledge of what users needed — but he did learn and eventually saved the company.
In today’s world we have governments that have the power to tell us what to do. This is wrong. We need a government that recognizes our need to be in charge of our lives. Is the coronavirus a new threat? You decide — then act. Wear a mask? You decide — then act. Put restrictions on your business? You decide — then act. Decisions such as those require knowledge. You can choose to acquire that knowledge or take the word of who you believe are experts. However you do it, you are deciding, then acting, for better or worse.
Only a society free from coercive interference can provide the conditions needed to live in this manner.
And this means a stateless free market. To cast your “vote” for a free market, please go here.
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George Ford Smith is the author of nine books, includingDo Not Consent: Think OUTSIDE the voting booth,The Flight of the Barbarous Relic,Eyes of Fire: Thomas Paine and the American Revolution, andThe Fall of Tyranny, the Rise of Liberty. He is also a filmmaker whose latest work bears the same title as his most recent book, Do Not Consent. PLEASE WATCH IT AND VOTE!
