My Memorial Day was wasted doing laundry, writing papers, playing Civ4 and missing Anna.
How is it possible that I ended up with such a beautiful woman?!? oh, i know, because I am handsome and charming. haha!
I have been getting more and more interested in property rights and the laws defining them as observed by non-Western peoples. The main reason why non-Western societies haven't been able to match our rise in standard of living is because property rights are not being honored, observed or even talked about. Instead, what non-Western societies get from us are military troops in their lands to back up a puppet dictator - elected or not - in order to preserve the boundaries that Western Imperialists drew up a century ago for the benefit of their corporate interests.
Yet underneath the fragile structure of failed states and their monstrous bureaucracies lies the key to the rise in standards of living for non-Western societies: customary or common law, interpreted by elected or hereditary officials within the confines of the community in question. In other words, the people of these societies themselves will determine how to live their lives. Under the guise of the United Nations, Imperialists have continued to impose their ambitions on non-Western societies by refusing to recognize their self-proclaimed and God-given right to independence from Western-created states, and instead send in shock troops (either UN, NATO, AU or some other form of international "peacekeeping" military force) to ensure that the order of the Imperialist is not threatened.
Again, there is no real debate going on as to how to actually solve the world's problems. In government, there is only coercion, corruption, imperialism and bureaucracy. Unfortunately, too many young people have been brought up and conditioned by public education centers to believe that government is there to solve problems and crises. All too often young people just shrug their shoulders and assume the problems of the world will be solved by the same entity that nurtured their intellectual journey from ages five to eighteen. This is unacceptable in the Land of the Free.
If this article is any indication, however, the way academia is beginning to understand how the world works could be shifting to a more reality-based approach. As hostile as mainstream academia and government is towards private property and free markets, even their representatives have a hard time refuting the wonders achieved with liberty and individual freedom being protected by government - instead of assaulted by it. As Native Americans knew full well, private property is the cornerstone for liberty and freedom. It is preposterous to believe that young people are still being taught that Native Americans were the first environmentalists and that they in no way actively engaged in maintaining the land!
Anyway, I am starting to ramble so I would like to give a shout-out to folks who are actually making things happen. Agencies like the Red Cross and Red Crescent have done an amazing job dealing with and confronting disasters head on. And there are, of course, amazing individuals who go to great lengths to achieve lasting results and honest, equal cultural exchange in this world. It would just be nice if people were taught the true foundations of a peaceful society: liberty, property, honest money and free trade (not the NAFTA-style bullshit).....
1 comment:
Just to brag a little - not about you, although all the adjectives Anna used definitely apply - but I wanted to tell you that my students are some of the amazing people you mentioned. We had a contest at school to see which group could raise the most money to be donated to an African charity.
The K-3 group raised nearly $600 for Hatua Likoni (Natalie's stepdaughter is involved with them) and the 4/5 Academy & MACLand raised nearly $500 for Mampong Babies Home.
These kiddos brought in their own change, not checks from their parents. A couple of them donated more than $30 in CHANGE. Kids wanting to help kids :)
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