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Abstain from Beans

Posted on: October 30, 2020 at 11:06:53 CT
pickle MU
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by Robert LeFevre

In ancient Athens, those who admired the Stoic philosophy of individualism took as their motto: "Abstain from Beans." The phrase had a precise reference. It meant: don't vote. Balloting in Athens occurred by dropping various colored beans into a receptacle.

To vote is to express a preference. There is nothing implicitly evil in choosing. All of us in the ordinary course of our daily lives vote for or against dozens of products and services. When we vote for (buy) any good or service, it follows that by salutary neglect we vote against the goods or services we do not choose to buy. The great merit of market place choosing is that no one is bound by any other person's selection. I may choose Brand X. But this cannot prevent you from choosing Brand Y.

When we place voting into the framework of politics, however, a major change occurs. When we express a preference politically, we do so precisely because we intend to bind others to our will. Political voting is the legal method we have adopted and extolled for obtaining monopolies of power. Political voting is nothing more than the assumption that might makes right. There is a presumption that any decision wanted by the majority of those expressing a preference must be desirable, and the inference even goes so far as to presume that anyone who differs from a majority view is wrong or possibly immoral.

But history shows repeatedly the madness of crowds and the irrationality of majorities. The only conceivable merit relating to majority rule lies in the fact that if we obtain monopoly decisions by this process, we will coerce fewer persons than if we permit the minority to coerce the majority. But implicit in all political voting is the necessity to coerce some so that all are controlled. The direction taken by the control is academic. Control as a monopoly in the hands of the state is basic.

In times such as these, it is incumbent upon free men to reexamine their most cherished, long-established beliefs. There is only one truly moral position for an honest person to take. He must refrain from coercing his fellows. This means that he should refuse to participate in the process by means of which some men obtain power over others. If you value your right to life, liberty, and property, then clearly there is every reason to refrain from participating in a process that is calculated to remove the life, liberty, or property from any other person. Voting is the method for obtaining legal power to coerce others.
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MESSAGE THREAD

Abstain from Beans - pickle MU - 10/30 11:06:53
     RE: Abstain from Beans - pickle MU - 11/3 08:16:23
     There it is.... - Tigrrrr! MU - 10/30 12:37:45
     "Let other choose your leaders so you can complain" - Spanky KU - 10/30 11:16:24
          they aren’t my leaders - pickle MU - 10/30 11:24:24
               They actually are - Spanky KU - 10/30 11:26:48
                    they actually aren’t - pickle MU - 10/30 11:30:24
                         you a sovereign citizen type? (nm) - zoomer 99 - 10/30 11:32:36
                              I think he’s just a person - El-ahrairah BAMA - 10/30 11:39:45
                                   Like he can choose which country to be a citizen of? (nm) - zoomer 99 - 10/30 12:11:09
                    ^will be led around by Joe Biden apparently(nm) - El-ahrairah BAMA - 10/30 11:27:55
                         If Biden wins, I will not deny that he is the President - Spanky KU - 10/30 11:37:35
                              no, he’ll be your leader (nm) - pickle MU - 10/30 12:21:14
                                   Thanks for proving my point - Spanky KU - 10/30 12:31:29
                                        i was wrong - pickle MU - 10/30 12:42:09
                                             Yet I remain far smarter than you(nm) - Spanky KU - 10/30 13:01:45
          Why do we need a ruler?(nm) - El-ahrairah BAMA - 10/30 11:17:14
               Leader ≠ ruler (nm) - Spanky KU - 10/30 11:18:44
                    how about addressing the content for once? (nm) - pickle MU - 10/30 11:25:30
                         I very specifically addressed the 'content' (nm) - Spanky KU - 10/30 11:28:04
                              you didn’t address it at all (nm) - pickle MU - 10/30 11:30:43
                                   "Let other choose your leaders so you can complain" - Spanky KU - 10/30 11:39:12
                                   Not only didn't he address it, he reinforced it by showing - kmawv8 MU - 10/30 11:37:30
                                        Not voting is allowing others to choose for you - Spanky KU - 10/30 11:42:10
                                             read the article (nm) - kmawv8 MU - 10/30 11:44:28
                                                  I did and my response is spot on(nm) - Spanky KU - 10/30 12:03:02
                                             Wouldn’t you rather just you choose how you want to live?(nm) - El-ahrairah BAMA - 10/30 11:44:06
                                                  no, Spanky is ex-military - ashtray UF - 10/30 12:22:35
                                                       I was an officer - Spanky KU - 10/30 12:32:07
                                                            and took them from someone else - ashtray UF - 10/30 12:41:45
                                                                 Everyone takes orders from someone else - Spanky KU - 10/30 12:53:27
                                                                      whether or not you could leave at any time is irrelevant - ashtray UF - 10/30 12:56:34
                                                                           I never spent a minute as an enlisted man. - Spanky KU - 10/30 13:18:41
                                                                                are you denying the military has a "follow the leader" - ashtray UF - 10/30 13:19:51
                                                                                     Are you denying that almost all organizations have a - Spanky KU - 10/30 13:49:57
                                                                                          lol.. ok (nm) - ashtray UF - 10/30 13:53:57
                                                                                               Your lack of understanding of the military is shining - Spanky KU - 10/30 13:56:12
                                                                                                    no, you're obvious attempt at dishonesty is (nm) - ashtray UF - 10/30 13:57:41
                                                                                                         massive fail on your part(nm) - Spanky KU - 10/30 14:07:27
                                                                                                              pointing out your dishonesty is easy - ashtray UF - 10/30 14:08:34
                                                                                                                   Keep dancing like a George(nm) - Spanky KU - 10/30 14:23:06
                                                                                                                        that's your shtick (nm) - ashtray UF - 10/30 14:24:42
                                                                                                                             Nah... I use facts, not emotion(nm) - Spanky KU - 10/30 14:36:21
                                                                                                                                  your facts are not really facts - ashtray UF - 10/30 14:40:28
                                                                                                                                       No.. the facts are the facts.. they are not 'my' facts(nm) - Spanky KU - 10/30 14:44:34
                                                                 he’s dumb (nm) - pickle MU - 10/30 12:43:41
                    If they’re a leader can we choose not to follow? - El-ahrairah BAMA - 10/30 11:23:08
                         RE: If they’re a leader can we choose not to follow? - Spanky KU - 10/30 11:27:36
               to vicariously punish my personal enemies(nm) - dangertim MU - 10/30 11:17:47




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