Sunday, November 27, 2011

We no longer make decisisions

From John Shuey's Facebook page:

The US no longer does decisions. It can neither stop the drug traffic nor legalize it. It can neither win wars nor abandon them, neither make money nor stop spending it, neither stop immigration nor assimilate the immigrants. Washington can beat its thumb with a hammer, and notice that it hurts, but it can't stop beating its thumb. That would take a decision, and Washington doesn't do decisions."

1 comment:

Anonymous said...

Perhaps because it is so delightful the way it is.

I go into a massage parlor for a massage. There are signs on the wall saying it is illegal to solicit prostitution, and that anyone who does so will be reported to the police.

Of course, the "masseuse" offers her services, and says the sign is only there for the cops. I ask her, "What if I were a cop?" She says the cops come in for services all the time.

It's a joke. We pretend to have laws and we pretend to enforce them. The community knows what goes on in massage parlors, but as long as it's not obvious, no one complains. If someone complains, there is a phony raid, there is phony paperwork, phony fines, and nothing changes. The city doesn't get sales tax revenue from services, but I'm sure there is a payoff somewhere.

We pretend to have immigration laws, and we pretend to enforce them.

We pretend to have drug laws, and pretend to enforce them.

With so much pretense, I'm beginning to think that society wants it to be this way. You're asking for people to be honest, but society is saying there is value in hiding the unseemly nature of humanity. There is value in dissuading some teenagers from smoking pot and some value in not explaining to children what goes on inside massage parlors. Community standards decide what vices can be visible and which ones cannot.

If society has tacitly chosen this subterfuge, can the libertarian soul accept that reality?

And no, I did not get serviced. I actually wanted a massage.