It Is Dangerous to Be Right When the Government Is Wrong - Andrew P. Napolitano [46]
The NLRA violates the rights of all parties involved, stripping them of their freedom of association. Not a single entity—employer, individual worker, or union—has the right to associate with the entity or individuals of its choosing. It is amazing how the NLRA managed to hit so many birds with one stone. As you can see, “the authors of the U.S. Constitution would have considered the NLRA unconstitutional on its face.”22
There is one party that benefits from this forceful, freedom-negating federal regulation: The government. As a result of this labor union–private employer arrangement, the state grows in power, asserting a substantial amount of authority over the private sphere.
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Professor Charles Baird poses a solution to the government’s obsession with coercion and its tendency to violate the freedom of association: “If Congress insists on giving unions special privileges of coercion, it should be honest and promulgate a constitutional amendment that says freedom of association does not apply in labor markets. Don’t hold your breath.”23 When was the last time the government was honest with you?
Conclusion
Court orders can’t make the races mix.
—ZORA NEALE HURSTON
A folklorist associated with the Harlem Renaissance, Zora Neale Hurston was a preeminent author of the twentieth century most famous for her novel, Their Eyes Were Watching God. She staunchly opposed governmental intervention when the result was any kind of violation of individual freedoms. Even as a black woman, she stayed true to her belief that national law should be colorblind and went so far as to oppose government-mandated racial integration in schools because she respected the freedom of association and believed the state should never have a role in violating personal rights. Zora Neale Hurston knew laws should not be enforced based on an individual’s race, but rather decisions, such as association, must be left up to individuals to make for themselves, whether based or not based on another’s race. She believed integration would never be successful under the forcible hand of the state; rather, segregated schools would become equal when people personally decided to integrate.
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Zora Neale Hurston was so true to her convictions and belief in freedom that she vehemently disagreed with the Supreme Court’s Brown v. Board of Education decision in 1954 mandating the racial integration of government-owned schools. She even wrote a letter to the Orlando Sentinel entitled, “Court Order Can’t Make the Races Mix.” Not trusting the government to help black America, she continually questioned, “How much satisfaction can I get from a court order for somebody to associate with me who does not wish me near them?” Just as Zora Neale Hurston espoused: The federal government cannot solve our problems, the South’s, or anyone else’s for that matter. We must be free to associate with those we choose, and the rest is up to time, education, and free market principles.
How dedicated is the government to the freedom of association? Professor Walter E. Williams suggests a test:
The true test of one’s commitment to freedom of association doesn’t come when he permits people to associate in ways he deems appropriate. It comes when he permits people to voluntarily associate in ways he deems offensive.24
Unfortunately for us, the freedom of association is just one more test the government has failed.
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Chapter 5
You Can Leave Any Time You Want:
The Freedom to Travel
Steve Bierfeldt, the Director of Development for Ron Paul’s Campaign for Liberty, had a particularly frustrating day of travel on March 29th 2009 after attending his organization’s regional conference in St. Louis. There, he sold Campaign for Liberty items, such as conference tickets, bumper