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The libertarians hate the security state but don't get that their open borders policy invites the people who murder us. #JeSuisCharlie - Charles C. Johnson

The above quote was taken from the Twitter feed of the editor of GotNews.com, Charles C. Johnson. As you can see, Johnson has here decided to use the murderous assault on the French magazine Charlie Hebdo as a platform for attacking libertarianism and promoting "the security state". He makes it specifically about the borders. There is so much wrong in this little tweet that I just couldn't resist writing about it.

Johnson is too smart of a man to be saying such stupid things in a public forum. I actually own a copy of his book, Why Coolidge Matters. I thoroughly enjoyed it and highly recommend it to anyone interested in the former president or the era. Johnson does shade his work with opinion, and I don't always agree with his opinion, but I wouldn't consider that a criticism. In the book, unlike this tweet, he comes off as very thoughtful when it comes to the subject about which he is writing. I'm seriously baffled how such a man could stuff so many ignorant and bad ideas into one sentence.

Who are "the people" who murder "us"? Clearly, he is referring to Islamic militants who would like to murder all Americans. Apparently, the only thing keeping them from doing exactly that is our current immigration policy. If only France were more picky about who they let in. Johnson's tweet which immediately preceded the one I quoted above read, "The only way to stop Muslim terrorism is to stop the mass settlement of Muslims. Wake up. #JeSuisCharlie". Yes, and the only way to stop black on black crime is to get rid of the blacks. The only way to stop white child molestation is to banish white people. And the only way to stop idiotic statements from red-headed journalists is to eliminate red headed journalists. Wake up.

I wonder if Charles knows that there are anywhere between 2 million and 7 million (depending on the source you use) Muslims currently living in the U.S. I wonder if he knows that this is not the first generation of Muslims to call America home. I wonder if he wonders why they haven't long ago started strapping bombs to their children and sending them to school to blow "us" up.

It was very disconcerting to find so many people in my Twitter feed, such as Johnson, laying these crimes at the collective feet of all Muslims. These, of course, were all people of a conservative bent. They don't always rush to blame billions of people for the actions of a few. When young white men shoot up an elementary school or a movie theater, there are no calls to reduce the white population. They even resist the left wing's arguments that taking guns out of the hands of these people will reduce gun violence. But put that same gun in a Muslim's hands, and they are ready for sweeping regulations from Big Brother. They want to know why Obama hasn't done more. They thirst for big government. They love it.

Johnson is right about one thing. Libertarians do indeed hate the security state. We hate the incessant unwarranted spying of the NSA. We hate the constant abuses and molestations carried out by the TSA. We hate the militarization of local police. We hate the CIA's policy of torture. We hate that the President of the United States has claimed that it is legal for him to use lethal force against American citizens who he considers a threat to the state (I wonder if Johnson is okay with that since Obama has only used this policy to murder American Muslims).

As fear grows, so does the government. Individual liberty was once the highest ideal of western civilization. Now the doltish electorate of Democracy's greatest empire unceasingly clamors for more tyranny to protect them from the savagery of a war that Washington itself has courted. As Randolph Bourne said, war is the health of the state. The bigger the threat, the bigger the cry for bigger government. The more frightened you are, the more money they will take.

I wanted to reply to Johnson's tweet with all of this and more. But you can only use 140 characters. So instead, I responded with this:

@ChuckCJohnson your enemies are inside the tower, Quasimodo

Improve Society By One Unit This Year

Anyone who regularly reads this blog knows that I don't normally adopt a tone of optimism in my posts. When it comes to economics and politics, I see the constant growth of the State as the greatest enemy to society and the welfare of mankind. From a philosophical standpoint, though, I can't see why it would matter whether or not man improves himself anyway. I don't believe in rewards or punitive measurements that will be doled out in an afterlife. And in the realm of ethics I feel that my unceasing impulse to do right by my fellow man actually puts me in a vulnerable position in my daily dealings. On top of that I also deal with the kind of morosity that Charlie Gordon faced when he was just smart enough to know that he wasn't very bright at all.

But I actually am feeling very optimistic about 2015. It's not that I think the U.S. government will stop printing money or dropping bombs. And I hold out slightly less hope that human beings will suddenly reach enlightenment. But I'm feeling optimistic nonetheless. Why? Because there is no reason not to. About 5 years ago I began, really for the first time, to try and make myself a better man. I wanted to be more knowledgeable about politics. I wanted to understand all of the economic theories I had read about. I wanted to be a better husband and father. I even wanted to dress better, speak better, and think more clearly about everything. I wanted to eat healthier. Hot Pockets, Pop-Tarts, and Coca-Cola were eliminated from the grocery list. My reading increased greatly. I read economic treatises from the early 20th century along with many of the classic novels I had ignored earlier in life. I even convinced my supervisor to let me have his philosophy textbook when his class was finished. I was truly an autodidact. I began to watch less television and listened to more classical music. I ironed my pants and was seldom seen without a tie. My (now former) wife and I kept a tight budget. We spent our extra money on medical debt instead of luxuries. I felt like I was improving nearly every day and I was very proud of my efforts and results.

Then, early last year, all of this progress came to a stop. I learned a rather harsh lesson that temporarily blotted out all desire to improve myself in all of the above mentioned fields. It was the kind of realization that comes to the protagonist in a movie when he finds out that his supposed ally was actually his biggest foe all along. It was the sock to the breadbasket while you're guarding your face. I was gasping for breath and clawing at anything to help me up. Every bit of knowledge I had gained in the preceding years was completely useless to me as I was sent reeling into the shadowy depths. The Devil had my ear. He was making a very persuasive case for taking a shortcut to the final destination. There were a couple of areas in which I did manage to improve. I began working out and stuck to my routine with a religious fervor. And I also learned to play a handful of songs (poorly) on my long neglected Stratocaster. But mostly I had lost my desire for self betterment. I did read some. I read a lot of O. Henry and H.L. Mencken. But it was very slow going. Not near the voracious pace I had set in the previous years.

What I discovered was that my motivation for improving myself had actually been lying outside of myself. All of my efforts were made in an attempt to make things better for others. This is what you call hubris. To alter yourself for another human being with the expectation that you'll receive appreciation as your remuneration is pure folly. I was overestimating my importance and assumed everyone shared the over inflated view I had of myself. The truth is that there is no being residing in the heavens or walking on the earth that has the ability to appreciate you in the way you would like to be appreciated. The only opinion you should concern yourself with is your own. Nobody else has to live inside your head and feel the pangs of your doubts. Nobody else can share equally in your personal satisfactions. They don't know what it's like to hear Beethoven through your ears. They can't relate to the way reading Mises affects you personally. It's not their fault. In fact, it's not a fault at all. It's just the way it is. You can no more appreciate them than they can you.

2015 for me will be the first full year that I embark upon self improvement for the sake of self improvement. I will continue my efforts in strengthening my mind and body. I will keep up the never ending quest for understanding. I will continue writing these posts. If other people are benefited from my thoughts, good. If not, so be it. Leonard Read was fond of saying that you can only improve society by one unit. That's exactly what I intend to do this year.