Tag: civilization

Categories
education and schooling national politics & policies responsibility

Half a Sawbuck for Civilization

schools, schooling, home, education, civilization, illustration

Just gave a fiver to a sixth grader … to help the public schools.

He was going door to door, which I’ve had occasion to do, and he was nice and well-​spoken. Glad to give.

And it was only five bucks — that’s what I had in my pocket. It was like buying a Starbucks venti-something.

No big deal.

But something does bug me.

What is it?

The fact that the school system sends kids around to pull on our heart-​strings but when our homeschooled kids could benefit by taking part in sports or band or debate or other extra-​curricular activities through the public schools, without enrolling as a full-​time student, they’re told to “go play in traffic.”*

So, why did I give that screwed-​up system anything that wasn’t taken at gunpoint?

For starters, a young person stood before me, not the governor or the school superintendent. I don’t want to approach their level of cold-heartedness.

Next, there is something I really do want: Community. My desire, as a committed individualist, is to grow and strengthen and be part of the community of folks who live close to my family.

There’s no contradiction here.

I want civilization. And five dollars is an awfully cheap price for a smidgen of it. I want that kid to receive a good education. I want our community to succeed, including him and all the other kids.

Why call yourself an individualist or libertarian and not work for voluntary community? Free individuals form better, more sustainable communities than those built on state power or authoritarianism.

Hey, maybe I should go door to door.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

 

* For two straight legislative sessions, Gov. Terry McAuliffe has vetoed legislation allowing homeschoolers to participate in sports, band, debate and other such activities. On a county by county basis, Virginia public schools are free to permit or to block homeschoolers from taking academic classes and joining after-​school clubs — with roughly half of counties deciding to accommodate homeschoolers.

Printable PDF

schools, schooling, home, education, civilization, illustration

 

Original (cc) photo by Swaminathan on Flickr

 

 

Categories
Common Sense crime and punishment general freedom

Ultra Anti-​Civilization

Against tolerance

The stabbing event at a Thursday “Gay Pride” march in Jerusalem reveals an element of the much-​talked-​about “clash of civilizations” not often discussed any longer. But it used to dominate the conversation.

Why? It was not a Muslim jihadist who stabbed six people and ultimately killed one of them, a 16-​year-​old girl (she died in the hospital this weekend).

It was an Orthodox Jew.

That is, the man arrested at the event, identified as Yishai Schlissel, certainly looked Orthodox, when I saw him on TV, briefly, in an early report. The BBC now refers to him an “ultra-Orthodox Jew” (“ultra” theirs; emphasis, mine). He had previously carried out a similar attack in 2005.

“Israel’s government would have ‘zero tolerance’ for Jewish extremists, Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu said at a security cabinet meeting on Sunday,” according to a BBC report.

What suspect Schlissel shares with other terrorists is not merely a rock-​hard belief that certain other people are sinful and corrupt, etc. He somehow also believes that he may assume the role of judge and executioner … of people he only knows by their differences.

This is beyond “ultra.” Schlissel repudiates not only the rule of law (since he acts outside it), but a basic idea that has grown in Western civilization — from roots found in his own religion.

Liberty.

The essence of liberty? Leaving peaceful people you disagree with alone.

It is more than possible for the religiously orthodox to get along with the un-​orthodox. We can all get along if we respect each others’ rights, regardless of our differences.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.

Printable PDF

Against tolerance

 

Categories
general freedom

Against Terrorism

It’s the business of reporters to report on events like the Boston bombings, and the business of commentators to explain them. But since we don’t have enough evidence, yet, about who did what, all commentators can do is speculate …

And that’s not very illuminating. Anyone can speculate.

Instead, let’s take a step back.

“Terrorism” is old. Anarchists at the end of the 19th century began their “propaganda by the deed” campaigns, eliciting from the U.S. government a vast repressive effort against anarchists (even peaceful, non-​terrorist anarchists) and syndicalist unionism.

Striking out and terrifying a populace tends to unite that populace, making people more supportive of their government and its policies, not less. This has been observed from time immemorial. So anarchist terrorism was probably the dumbest terrorism in history.

An earlier bout of terrorism was the mob of “democrats” in France, during the late French Revolution. The furor to kill and dispossess got so out of hand that the French were prepared for a tyrant, Napoleon.

Not very effective there, either.

The most common form of terrorism in the last century was state terrorism, where governments brutalized their citizens, the better to solidify power. These regimes seem to succeed, sometimes for long periods. But people eventually turn on such tormenters, preferring peaceful life under a rule of law.

As Bostonians reel from the bizarre bombing, we should remember: the rule of law is better than terrorism. It’s plodding, yes. It is never ideally just, since it is run by human beings. But refusing to resort to indiscriminate violence to “obtain justice” or “make a point” or “get/​maintain power” is the basic idea of civilization.

This is Common Sense. I’m Paul Jacob.