It Is Dangerous to Be Right When the Government Is Wrong - Andrew P. Napolitano [74]
Gore Vidal, a playwright and novelist, sees through the government’s lies clearly:
The bureaucratic machine has a vested interest in playing cops and robbers. Both the Bureau of Narcotics and the Mafia want strong laws against the sale and use of drugs because if drugs are sold at cost there would be no money in it for anyone . . . will anything sensible be done? Of course not. The American people are as devoted to the idea of sin and its punishment as they are to making money—and fighting drugs is nearly as big a business as pushing them.
Ironically, the actions our government seeks to control and regulate are the creations of the government itself. The state has perpetuated the dreadful consequences of prostitution—violence and disease—by attempting to prohibit it. The government has lengthened the kidney waiting list by outlawing compensation and incentives to donors. The government has brought on its war on drugs by trying to quash their use. When will it ever learn? It is time the government gets out and stays out of our bodies.
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Conclusion
The government’s god-like complex has taken its power trip too far. If you want to consume trans fats, the government should not stop you. If you want to ingest drugs, the government should not stop you. If you find prostitution to be a viable option for employment or enjoyment, the government should not stop you. If you need a new kidney and have the economic resources to purchase one, the government should not stop you. If there are no feasible treatments available for your illness but Switzerland is testing a drug, the government should not stop you from choosing to try it. The moment the government interferes with our right to do with our bodies as we please, the state has unconstitutionally, immorally, and unnaturally overstepped its enumerated powers and has violated our rights as individuals. The purpose of the federal government is to protect our constitutional and natural rights—not to restrict or inhibit them.
When we are children, our parents raise, educate, groom, teach, and lead us to make the important decisions that life will surely demand of us. We will make good decisions. We will make bad decisions. We have the right to make these bad decisions. The poor decisions help us grow and learn to become productive members of American society, and the government must not deprive us of these opportunities. The bottom line is we, as adults, are big boys and girls who can make our own assessments and conclusions. The government should mind its own business, and worry about its own problems (and it has many).
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Chapter 8
Sticks and Stones Will Break My Bones:
The Right to Self-Defense
The Constitution does not allow the government to experiment with your constitutional rights. The Founders did not tell us when we can be baptized, what God we can worship, where to register our religion, when we can speak freely, what books we can read, or where speech free zones exist. Yet, the government today tells us when we can purchase a gun, what guns we can purchase, where we must register the guns, how we can use the guns, and in what areas guns are prohibited.
What the government ignores is that our right to keep and bear arms is a natural or fundamental right. For example, if someone breaks in to your home and attempts to swing his fist at you, it is your natural right to raise your arm and try to defend yourself. You also have the