Mother and father gather around the dinner table to fervently discuss their day as the children neatly assemble themselves accordingly. A sense of gratitude is dispersed among them as nutritious yet savory meals rest beneath their eager mouths as they prepare to alleviate their hunger.
Wholesome pride washes over them as little Hailey announces her 2nd-place victory in the school's spelling bee. Her older brother is happy for her but his attention is clouded by the anticipation of getting his 1st car this summer. Ah, a new set of wheels and the accompanying freedom that it will bring in post-adolescent suburbia.
The low tone of clinking and clattering of the silverware provides an almost rhythmic background score for the gentle sacredness of nourishing their bodies and minds in the warmness of one another's company. Isn't life grand?
This is a family.
As much as statists want all of society to be regarded as one another's siblings while government bureaucrats and politicians serve as the honorary parents who oversee the operations of daily life, it is not a reality. Indeed, it is an absurd fantasy to cling to.
While we as a society have certain moral and ethical considerations and obligations toward each other, such as respecting one's right to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, we are not automatically brothers, sisters, friends, or any kind of family.
This may sound harsh at first to hear, but the possible resplendence of the notion is quickly absorbed by its asinine simple-mindedness. When statists vie for more and more government involvement in our everyday lives, we are reduced to a nanny state where we are no longer autonomous individuals, but the adult children of the political class.
To be infantilized in such a manner destroys the capacity for individual responsibility, personal choice, and free will. We are left at their mercy and can only hope they are benevolent caregivers.
We do not owe anybody in society anything other than an acknowledgment of their rights. We particularly owe no affection to the government or its cronies.
Now, that's not to say that we cannot show compassion to strangers nor neglect to show them sympathy or even charity, but it must be done voluntarily. If we are forced to take care of one another the way a parent makes an older sibling share with a younger one, then all of our value as free, independent, sovereign individuals erodes and decays.
Recall the lessons of Anthony Burgess' A Clockwork Orange. A man can do no good or evil if he is not free. Charity is not charity if it is forced. Compassion is not real if it is coerced. A man only ceases to be a man when he can no longer decide for himself.
The paternalism of government might make some weak, naive individuals feel that there's someone there to care for them, someone there watching the lights, looking over them while they sleep in comfort, and expressing joy at their accomplishments with unconditional love.
Yes, and in rare times, be their sole disciplinary who are the only ones allowed to use force, threats, and punishment against them. From the rest of the world, including from their own selfhood, they are safe and protected.
Stop this madness.
The government is not your parents. They are not your mommy and daddy. They do not care about you. They are not there to validate your existence. They are not your mentors, friends, cohorts, or colleagues. They are not here to keep you safe and teach you how to think. They don't care about your trophies and they don't care when you get your ass kicked.
The people who matter the most in your life outside of your actual family should be those with which you've voluntarily and mutually built lasting relationships. Groups and communities that you became a part of through your own free volition.
You can take care of each other, and enjoy life-long friendships, marriages, and brother/sisterhoods without the use of violence and compulsory expectations. Iron sharpens iron.
We do not need paternalism, we do not need big brother, and we will never consider politicians to be our guardians. You are free to do as you wish as long as you respect the rights of others.
To begin your journey of becoming a free individual, check out What is Libertarianism?
