"It is unfortunate that the efforts of mankind to recover the freedom of which they have been so long deprived, will be accompanied with violence, with errors, and even with crimes. But while we weep over the means, we must pray for the end."
--Thomas Jefferson to Francois D'Ivernois, 1795.
I agree that we must abolish tyranny. It is not just our right, it is our duty. We must pray for a libertarian world, and take action to bring it about.
But when some "anti-government" types fly planes into an IRS building, we must do more than "weep." We must denounce this violence as a species of the very same violence we oppose in "the State." The State uses planes to drop bombs on the buildings of its opponents. The State drives its tanks into buildings it doesn't like. We are called to a higher moral standard than that of the State and its vengeance. We must win the hearts and minds of bureaucrats and politicians with sound arguments and irreproachable behavior, not threaten them or hurt them. They must repent of violence and follow the paths of peace.
"We the People" must do the same.
1 comment:
Very well put - violence is violence, evil is evil, if matters not a bit who is doing it.
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