Solution To An Imperfect World

by Rick Gee

In a perfect world – well, since there’s no such thing, let’s say in a stateless society – Tuesday’s attack on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon would never have happened. For it is governments that engage in warfare, not people like you and me who want to be left alone to live our lives in peace. 

Need proof? Listen to Senator John McCain (R - AZ), former Vietnam prisoner of war, best-selling author and fervent hawk who wanted to send ground troops into Kosovo. “I think that this act obviously is one which would constitute an act of war. I am confident that our military and our president will find out the perpetrators of this outrage and we will not only punish those responsible but ensure that something like this never happens again." 

Please. First of all, this was a terrorist attack, not an act of war. And even if it was an act of war, it is merely retaliation for blatant warlike atrocities committed by the United States government against innocent civilians around the globe. Secondly, does anyone believe that we can truly prevent this sort of massacre from occurring again? Did Reagan’s attack on Libya stop all future terrorism? Did Bush 41’s Gulf War stop Sadaam and scare off all terrorists? Did Slick Willie’s bombing of “terrorist installations” in Sudan and Afghanistan preclude the calamities in New York and Washington? No, but in Bill’s defense, it did avert media attention from the Lewinsky mess for an hour or two. 

When asked if the United States should go to war with a country that is the patron of those responsible, McCain replied, “Absolutely, because they have committed an atrocity on a scale that is unprecedented.” Somehow, I don’t think the people of Hiroshima and Nagasaki would agree. McCain and his ilk are itching to use this horrific tragedy as a pretense to send our young men (and women) into harm’s way in a pissing contest that we ultimately cannot win. 

I was on the verge of violent projectile vomiting when I saw hundreds of members of Congress gathered on the steps of the Capitol Tuesday evening in a show of bipartisan solidarity. Whenever you hear that the jackboots in DC are coming together in a bipartisan fashion, it can only mean one of three things (or all three at once): soldiers and more innocent civilians will die, your wallet will be fleeced (again) and what few precious liberties you have left will be further curtailed. 

Then, when our elected representatives followed up their insufferable speeches with a rousing a cappella version of God Bless America, my visceral sensation quickly changed, as the physical urge to disgorge my dinner gave way to sudden anger. What they really mean is God (and you, lowly subject) bless the government of the United States of America. 

The various networks that I surfed between went to great lengths to tell us that our top leaders were safe. Bush 43 was in the air, traveling from Florida to Louisiana to Nebraska and finally back to Washington in time for a prime-time address to the nation. Dick Cheney, Denny Hastert and others in line to succeed the president were in “secure” undisclosed locations. Boy, did I feel better knowing that! What would we ever do without our fearless leaders?  

And what about Bush and other pols and pundits describing these attacks as “cowardly?” Sorry, but I don’t buy that someone who is prepared to willingly sacrifice his life for what he sees as a noble cause can be considered a coward. Conversely, U.S. presidents who bomb the hell out of Iraq, Libya, Sudan, Afghanistan, Serbia and whomever else winds up on our official shit list do so knowing that no harm can possibly come to them personally. Who are the cowards here? 

I watched television coverage for a dozen hours on ABC, NBC, CBS, FOX, CNN and PBS, which carried BBC coverage. Only on the latter did anyone dare to suggest that the assault on the World Trade Center and the Pentagon could be seen as retaliation for relentless American hegemony. Not one of the American networks had the temerity to even discuss the possibility. This comes as no surprise since those mainstream media outlets are nothing more than acquiescent and ardent mouthpieces for the imperial state. 

The gruesome events that occurred on Tuesday, September 11, 2001 provide Exhibit A of the superiority of an anarcho-capitalist society. The absence of government would mean that we would have no politicians exporting war and misery around the globe under the pretense of protecting “vital American interests.” A free market unfettered by government regulation would flourish, making everyone around the world our friends and trading partners.  

The vast majority of us want to be left alone and don’t desire power over others. Unfortunately, there is a minority who do seek dominion over the rest of us. These people eventually seek and attain elected office, and it is they who wage war on innocent people around the world. It is inevitable that our own innocent civilians will suffer, even die, for the sins of our rulers. Therefore, minarchism is doomed to failure. Even if government is reduced in size and scope, those who have the urge to exert coercive power over their fellow man will ascend to positions of authority. Only anarcho-capitalism – the complete elimination of the state apparatus – will put an end to tragedies like the one that visited us on Tuesday, like the ones perpetrated by our own government.

September 12, 2001