Politics

Politics, according to Webster's, is the art or science of government. To denigrate art and science to that level is despicable. So that should give you a clue of how I feel about politics. Now politic means, "characterized by shrewdness in managing, contriving, or dealing." Okey-dokey, this gives us a big clue. Politics is very closely connected with groups and trade.

Once upon a time, I read Ayn Rand. I continued to read Rand every year for a long time. I'm a "verse and chapter" fan of her work, or someone who knows her books very well. I must have read her work maybe 20 times each. That is where I started. I read "Capitalism" in 8th grade study hall. I owned most of Von Mises's works. And then I met the Objectivists. Then I met the Libertarians. I was so completely turned off of what I saw among some of these people that I never did walk this road. Why? Because I am female. Now, I'm not a libber, by far. But I saw that neither Objectivists nor Libertarians extended their POLITICAL ideals into their homes. Many of them felt that women were to be bought and sold and were to be managed. Most of them denied acting one way toward their fellow men and another to their fellow women and children, but heck, for many of them, economics and politics ended at their doors. The chattel was still chattel, only they had paid for it and not stolen it.

I was too disgusted by most of them to even argue with them. But I did notice one thing right off. On the fringes of the far, far right, and on the fringes of the far, far left, you have the Anarchists. The black flags make the far right and the far left meet. And these people extended humanity to women and children when confronted with them. In my encounters with the far left, many of them pushed the "rights" of women, but still let them do all the work and earn the money. Often the far left women were the ones practical enough to know that the commune was all well and good but someone had to work in a bookstore to go buy the groceries.

I was "converted" by Dave Tyson, in about two seconds. Dave wanted to be a librarian and manage the historical records of the Kansas activists and Utopians who tried to set up house in the 19th Century. He turned me on to Robert LeFevre. Some claim that Heinlein was influenced by him when they both lived in Colorado Springs. For any of you who are Libertarians or Objectivists and have not read LeFevre, for shame, for shame. If any of you call yourselves liberals and have not read LeFevre, for shame. Dave Tyson's irritation was that everyone was re-inventing the arguments that had already been hashed out, time and again, and few were as eloquent as LeFevre.

But the argument is pretty easy. A man rules himself. Period. If he cannot rule himself, then he is not a man. (Substitute woman here if you want.) Children should be treated as humans as soon as you can do so. It was clear that my son was his own person from the moment he came into this world. People told me not to ask my son if he wanted to do things, but to tell him, and I looked at them and thought: "this is the root of all politics." As Laurie Anderson says: "when justice fails, there is always force, when force fails, there is always mom. Hello, mom." And it was clear that any Libertarian or Liberal who did not see that managing and contriving starts in the cradle was an idiot. The only reason men become men is because they have the strength to defy mom. And we all learn that strength or we don't grow up. So few of us had moms that treated us like human beings that it's a wonder any man can rule himself. We have government because our mothers treated us like dogs, well worse, for she often asks the dog if it wants to go outside.

If you put a coat on a child who doesn't want a coat on, you are denying that child the most basic humanity there is. I don't care if you are in a hurry. I don't care if you think it's cold out. I don't care if junior has to wear something. That's in your head and you are acting as if that child is a thing, an animal, a slave or chattel. If you stick a spoon of peas into that child when the child doesn't want it, you are putting that child in prison. There is no middle way here. You treat that child with the respect due to every human and you will get a human; you treat that child like a slave and you will get a slave. Even masters are slaves. Even presidents and kings are slaves. If you can't argue or reason with a two year old, if you resort to force without owning up to using force because you're out of options, then you are evil. I'm sorry, but you have to take responsibility for your actions, your words and your thoughts.

Sure I spanked my child, threw him into time out. But I told him that I was angry and that was why I did it. I did not tell him it was because he was bad. That's bullshit. A child cannot be bad, no matter how much he irritates you. My son and I used to get into some terrible fights, but it was never because he was bad or wrong. We fought because he was in a bad mood and wanted to fight. Sometimes kids want to fight. As a parent, you must try not to fight with them, for you are much bigger than they are and that's just bullying them, but they may want to fight you. So what? You fight. They grow out of it, if you let them. If you don't listen to what it is that is bothering them and deal with it, then they will keep fighting, and good for them! I believe in kids who fight. They might grow up into something human if they are fighting for their humanity, for not eating those peas or wearing that coat or going to bed when you want them to. You are a tyrant and if they fight you, then they have a chance in hell of growing up into someone who will defy oppression.

People learn slave tactics as children. Women learn to manipulate people around them, men learn to ignore people or to use passive-aggressive behavior to get around doing what they're told. Women learn to cry or to whine to get what they want. Men learn to pout and to sulk. The endless behavior of couples toward one another is disgusting and tragic. I've heard people say that couples can only relate to each other if one is master and one is servant, if one wins and one loses. What kind of relationship is that? One is the parent and one is the child. Maybe both are the children. The state of humanity in this county--in the world--is appalling. The fact that people cannot ask things of each other without appearing to be manipulative is appalling. That people use language to manage and manipulate is appalling. That people expect to have their needs met by another is appalling. None of this is human. Much of it isn't even like animal behavior.

People ask me what my politics are. There is only one response to politics: to say NO. I am a human being. I am reasonable, rational, intelligent, and cooperative. But my response to anyone telling me what to do is the response of myself at two: HELL NO! I was really defiant at two, but it got beat out of me until I was a sulky teenager. I'm one of those people who is cooperative until a point and then I'm throwing you across the yard. I don't follow the rules. But I'm one of the easiest people on this planet to get along with.

My son once asked me why I didn't yell at him. I asked: "why do people yell at you?" "Because they are angry." "Don't you know when I get angry?" "Oh, yeah." "Then why yell?" That started him thinking. Communication is about the exchange of information. When the flow breaks down, then people have to get emotional. A child never starts out by screaming for something. Over and over, if you watch toddlers, you can see them trying and trying and trying to communicate their needs and feelings and getting ignored. It is only after trying everything else that they every start screaming. OF COURSE they do it to get attention. Sheesh. What do you think we are, slugs? The only reason a mammal screeches is to get attention. All these words and we have to resort to screeches or tears or sulks or growls or--well, you get the point. What are words for, if not to communicate? Take responsibility for what you need to communicate and try to do so.

I find that all the talk of what governments should do is ludicrous when we can't even make a family work in peace. If a husband and wife find that they cannot treat each other as humans, what do we expect from someone who lives thousands of miles away and will never know who we are or care?

No, I am not political. I'm human. I can talk to you; I don't have to manage, contrive or deal to get my way.

I feel like telling Libertarians and Objectivists, "grow up." But what I mean is "grow human." Be a human, be a man, be a woman. But to do that, you have to own all that you do and know that what you do will have consequence. You bet it will. So be there, be aware, and own yourself.