Alex R. Knight III's Columns
Thoreau: Anarchist, Minarchist or Individualist?
"It is evident that Thoreau’s philosophy, however we may attempt to define it, was not such as to denounce all taxation as socialistic thievery, nor to forego 'fellow-countrymen' in favor of sovereign human beings. Yet, he has expressed an uncompromised desire to 'stand aloof' from the State, and has declared – however quietly – war against it." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
"As he now puts it: 'I knew what I was doing was wrong, but my need for fame, adrenaline, and peer acceptance overrode my good conscience.' Barry began to see how many productive, non-violent lives and families his work had ruined." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
The NRA: Friend of Freedom, or Foe of Firearms?
"The NRA, for all of its hyperbole, does not even want its own membership to be aware of the concept of jury nullification, even when an innocent gun owner may be standing in the dock." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
"...unlike the communist -- who will take up arms his or herself -- the 'socialist' will use elements of an existing State apparatus to do the same thing for him. He will not get out in the streets with a rifle and overthrow a State -- he will rely on the policeman and the soldier, already in place, to do the dirty work on his behalf." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
Don't Burn Your Bra, Just Stop Wearing It
"In short, revolution in the streets, where it is all too often seen and stopped, is many times best conducted (particularly in its nascent stages, of course) in apartments, and living rooms, and basements." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
Put the Monster in the Cornfield
"'It's A Good Life' makes one of the most powerful commentaries about government and its insane relationship to society ever visited. The townsfolk fear Anthony greatly, even hate him, though they are afraid to admit this (or even think it too loud), much less take action against him." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
Time in a Bottle: American POWs Left Behind in Vietnam
Recommended "Governments, we know, are capable of the most heinous and hideous atrocities possible....Here, in the case of these few hundred brave and extraordinary men, the State has provided us with an example par excellence of its hideous malevolence." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
"So long as we remain poised here on the tedious precipice of government's insane trajectory, we stand in very real danger, instead, of total immolation." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
"Virtually zero state taxes is goddamned appealing, no question about it." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
"So why don't I march myself down to Town Hall today? It would, after all, be both fun and gratifying to publicly denounce, bit by bit, such a Neocon abomination as the 'PATRIOT' Act. It would, no doubt, ingratiate me to a healthy percentage of the gathered crowd as I stood and ripped apart the Bush administration and the weak-kneed Republocrat Congress that gave him a rubber stamp in the frenzied wake of 9/11...." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
Chuck Schumer, You Are the Essence of Evil
"Since
you graduated with a Juris Doctor from
UFOs: What Does Government Know?
"...I don't believe any State in our world will voluntarily reveal what it knows or does not know regarding the subject...." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
Laws! Huh! (Good God, Y'all!) What Are They Good For?
Column by Alex R. Knight III.
Jim Morrison: Eternal Enemy of the State
"He is the eternal inspiration behind every teenager's act of defiance, and he is behind more than a few, I would guess, acts of disobedience and nonconformity on the part of adults. He is always there, ever young and full of vibrant angst and energy, beckoning us on, beseeching us to join him in unrestricted freedom no matter the cost." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
"When the veneer is stripped away, a bureaucrat is a salivating jackal who uses violence or the very real threat of it to accomplish EVERYTHING. They are not part of society, which operates on a voluntary basis, but part of a separate, far more sinister cabal altogether. And their real business is to leech off of the productive at the point of a gun while they in turn produce nothing." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
Time to Sunset 'Daylight Saving Time'
"Even to someone as jaded as me when it comes to the minute nooks and crannies of day-to-day life into which government unabashedly enmeshes itself, I yet find it hard to believe that it has for long years actually dictated to most of us what time it is during certain parts of the year. Can you think of anything more useless, more crass, and more utterly stupid?" Column by Alex R. Knight III.
"...government is in many respects like the weather: Unpredictable, wanton, arbitrary. But it is also (in spite of the aforementioned saga's ultimate levity) arrogant, inconsistent, bumbling, capricious, and of no actual productive use or purpose whatsoever." Column by Alex. R. Knight III.
"In short, happiness and meaningful human existence can only exist when people are engaged in activities which are either productive or recreational -- and under optimum circumstances, both. Government and its bureaucrats are in all cases the active antithesis of this. Which is why we must ever minimize, and ideally eliminate altogether, our contact and connections with them." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
"We
are back where we started, indeed. The
Police State is rising, all around us burgeoning like a dark and devious cloud
over this relatively small portion of Planet Earth where once the promise of
"Personally...any woman who would need or want that kind of an abomination between her and I as a sign of love and commitment can skip me as a candidate." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
"Take
a drive through suburbia sometime at night.
Anywhere,
"I have a problem with authority?!?! Actually, okay, you're damned right I do. But that's only because I rather think it's those who place themselves in that very position who have a really big problem with it. To the extent, in fact, that none of them should or ever can be entrusted with it, period...." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
Chasing Rabbits: My First Experiments With Hallucinogens
Fascinating! "The entire floor I was laying on was rippling, like waves coming in towards a beach from a shallow lagoon, or the wake of a boat on a still lake. To add to the nautical theme, the Rabbits had a wooden sculpture of a peg-legged pipe smoking sea captain on a shelf above the TV who started leering, jeering, grinning, and scowling at me. Then, the pillow I was laying on became some fuzzy, furry animal with a heartbeat inside of it. I threw it across the room." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
"Thus, might we not make the argument that Jesus was in essence stating to the Pharisees: 'If this emperor places such importance both on himself and these coins as to order that they bear his visage, let him have them. That is of no matter. For they are, in the end, nothing.' In turn, Jesus' contention was then that the spiritual comprises everything worth anything, and thus should be the only true concern of anyone." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
The 'Live Free Or Die' Lie: Why I Chose Political Exile in Vermont
"Today, spoiled by technology and creature comforts, most Americans prefer 'convenience' over liberty. Why risk prison or death when the refrigerator keeps the beer cold; lights come on at the flick of a switch; turn the knob and the thermostat banishes a winter's chill; hit the remote control and you're watching American Idol in digital sound and color." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
"And if we don't stand up and do something about it -- whatever it is that each of us finds within himself or herself that we know we can do -- if we continue watching football games, and cruising the bars, and ignoring the undeniable truth right in front of us, then posterity (if there even is one in the cards) will likely brand us all the Me Generation...or possibly something far worse." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
Column by Alex R. Knight III.
Anarchism: Atheism, Agnosticism or Faith?
"It is my contention that our civilization, from its miniscule vantage point, understands so little about the human condition and our place in the cosmos that to pass final judgment on the question of a Creator is simply not possible." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
Coast to Coast, We Could Use More Anarchy
"To my growing aghast, Ian Punnett repeatedly attacked the idea of a free-market justice system, in favor of the status quo -- even going to the absurdist extent of stating: "As far as freedom and liberty go...I've already got it'." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
"...there are many more sober (if you'll pardon the pun) connections between the ages-old practice of imbibing fermented or distilled fruits and grains, and the more high-minded ideal of Negating the State." Column by Alex R. Knight III.
"The trouble with Star Trek, however, lies in the insistent reliance upon the false framework of the State, even in the futuristic space-traveling universe in which Kirk, Picard, and their respective crews hypothetically exist. That such a debilitating, wasteful, arrogant monstrosity should still exist in a time where men can travel freely among the stars, teleport to and fro at will, and intermingle with beings from other worlds, is to me, an unthinkable horror." Column by new Root Striker Alex R. Knight III.