Tragedy Strengthens the State
Monday, January 26th, 2009A couple of recent, fatal events involving state actors illustrate well how lives of individuals are manipulated to strengthen the master/subject relationship between individual and state.
First, a Dallas police officer was shot and killed on January 6th while serving a warrant. A tragedy, to be sure- particularly since the officer had a record of mentoring youth to keep them out of trouble. But any grief is tempered by the immensely huge funeral procession that accompanied the dead officer. Humility has never been a virtue for those working in law enforcement. Public expositions such as this bring to mind the reality of the relationship between the state and the individual.
The police don’t exist to protect individuals. The police exist to serve the needs of the state and collect its revenue. The police will continually remind us just who matters most (it’s not you) and just who is in charge (it’s definitely not you). The police’s obscenely ostentatious display of pomp and public expense illustrates that well.
The police are just another gang looking to control turf. The only difference between them and the street gangs is that the police wear uniforms and badges. When street gangs rob and kill individuals it’s called “crime.” When the police and state rob and kill individuals it’s called “good government” and “effective law enforcement.” The only reason the police and the state (the government gang) fight street gangs is because they are perceived as a threat to their monopoly of force and coercion.
The life and property of you meaningless, tax paying, peons is irrelevant. So, pull your cars to the side of the road and get out of their way!
Second, an Army Black Hawk helicopter crashed January 12th at Texas A&M University, killing one person. Much speculation has arisen over why the chopper crashed. Upon closer examination, one fact is certain- the state will only be strengthened, not weakened by such an event.
When realizing the fact that the military produces nothing but death and destruction, this should be considered a successful flight. Mission accomplished! One death and a destroyed piece of equipment amounts to an institution well-focused on what it does best!
All sarcasm aside, the tangible benefits to the state after such a tragedy are:
- Those employed as crash investigators will have plenty of work to keep them busy while they calculate just what caused the accident.
- The destroyed helicopter will have to be replaced, resulting in more job security and revenue for the ever-busy military industrial complex.
- The personnel lost will have to be replaced, creating a new assignment for aggressive military recruiters.
- The new personnel will have to be trained, clothed, fed, etc, resulting in a multitude of support opportunities.
- The treatment of the injured and the care of the deceased’s family will necessitate more work for the military medical and compensation establishment.
Add to these tangible benefits the intangible gains:
Militarists everywhere now have another dead hero to fawn over. Only the military honors those who have failed.
The media will expound on the “service” of the deceased, contributing to the statist conditioning of the populace that the military is comprised of brave, courageous folk who are our only barrier between being free and living under tyranny.
The military uses this event to expound on the dangers involved in “protecting” the populace from ever-increasing (and state created) threats.
Bastiat said, “Society loses the value of things which are uselessly destroyed.” Yes, society suffers but the state is strengthened, at further cost to society. Society is forced to pay for the state’s mistakes- in this case, the military’s. The state is not only tangibly compensated but intangibly strengthened.
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