What is Natural Liberty? Why is it important?

Natural liberty comes from the simple fact that you exist. Your liberty does not come from another person or group. Another person or group can, of course, infringe upon your liberty, just as you can infringe upon another's. But your natural liberty belongs to you, period.

Natural rights stem from natural liberty. Because you are a free man or woman, you have the right to remain free, to defend your life against threats, and to accumulate property, provided you do so without depriving others of their rights. A natural right is something you have, something inherent to your existence, unless it is taken away from you by someone else. For example, you have the right to speak freely, unless that right is taken from you by another. You have the right to associate with other individuals of your choosing, unless that too is deprived of you.

Your most important right, at root, is to yourself. You own yourself. That may seem odd, or obvious, but it is actually quite profound, and has great implications. Because you own yourself, you own your mind, your body, and your time--the time you spend on various interests and pursuits you may have. For someone to assert that another group or person has a claim on your mind, body, or your time is to deny your right of self-ownership.

Suppose now we introduce the idea of a new right, the right to medical care. Is that a natural right? Only in the sense that you use your own time and resources to procure treatment if you become sick or injured. But if the right to medical care means that others must come to your aid when you are sick or injured, whether they want to or not, or that others must pay for you’re the aid you receive, whether they want to or not, how does your right to medical care dovetail with their rights? The answer is that it doesn't. If you have the right to medical care provided by others, that right can only come from depriving them of their rights to self-ownership, their rights to decide how to spend their time and resources. The right to medical care, a manufactured right, here trumps the right to self-ownership, a natural right. This is a profound immorality, in my view. How can a manufactured right be more important than a natural right?

It is perfectly fine, laudable even, for someone to volunteer to come to your aid. It is perfectly fine for you to engage a medical professional to treat you in exchange for something you own. But enslaving a doctor to care for you, or compelling someone else to pay the doctor to care for you, is simply might over right.

Most of the arguments about what government should and should not do are really about which manufactured rights should be allowed to trump natural rights. These arguments are usually couched in emotional language, involving needs, fairness, greed, rich versus poor, etc. The true nature of the battle, between natural and manufactured rights, is rarely, if ever discussed. Some disguise this struggle between natural and manufactured rights by calling the former “negative rights” and the latter “positive rights.” By their selection of terms you can tell which side they’re on.

In a democracy, a majority of the people decide which manufactured rights will be allowed to trump our natural rights. As unconscionable as this is, it’s routine. Natural rights should never be subject to a vote. But it happens, and it’s properly called mob rule. Over time, mob rule replaces our natural rights with manufactured rights. And it brings the tyranny needed to enforce them.

The policeman who catches the thief who stole your iPad and returns it to you has defended your right to property, but who defends you when the government seizes a third to a half of your earnings against your will, and squanders the stolen loot on stuff you disagree with? This tyranny is exercised against you every day by the government itself. And it’s called—get this—the “consent of the governed”.

Liberty today in America means that you are somewhat free when it comes to choosing your occupation, where you will live, and your preferred brand of soap, cellphone, or NFL team. And TV shows—there are plenty of those to choose from too. For many people this is enough, judging by their relative contentment. A cynic might say it’s all the liberty they can handle.

If the consequences of manufactured rights trumping natural rights were benign, maybe we could continue to look the other way. But destructive results are everywhere to see:

• A swelling hoard of government dependents ready to riot at the slightest grievance.
• A generation of dumbed-down youths with few skills besides texting and expressing their feelings.
• A growing group of voluntary and involuntary retirees nervously eyeing their pensions and savings.
• A small cadre of overlords pulling the legislative strings and reaping the benefits of confiscatory taxes and a central bank-funded stock market bubble.
• And shouldering the burden of it all, a shrinking class of the productive—workers, managers, business owners, and entrepreneurs.

In the end you retain all of the natural rights you are prepared to defend. You’d prefer to keep them by reasoning with those who would prefer to take them. But what exactly are we to do when reason is not enough?

Ebola and Self-Reliance

The government says we shouldn't worry about Ebola, they can handle it. Nobody believes them.

This is actually a sign of progress.

It's way too early to call the first appearance of Ebola within the U.S. an "outbreak". But it's entirely possible that what has begun with one case of a man desperate to get here to save himself from that dread disease could become a literally vital lesson in self-reliance for many of us.

On the one hand, we have the government's assurances that they know what they're doing when it comes to Ebola. They know how it's spread and how to stop it. They know how to care for Ebola patients. We have the best hospitals, the best doctors and nurses, the best procedures, the best equipment. Ebola is a third world disease. It can't spread here. Trust us. We got this!

On the other hand, we have comical levels of evidence of government incompetence, malfeasance, and even malevolence: Solyndra. Benghazi. IRS abuses. Doctored statistics on jobs and inflation. Fast and Furious. The VA scandal. Unchecked illegal border immigration. New EPA rules to shut down coal-fired power plants. Pretty much everything about Obamacare.

No wonder nobody believes the government about Ebola.

A few weeks ago, Obama told us it was unlikely that Ebola would reach the US. Four days later it happened. We shouldn't be surprised. How many people travel to the US?  The answer is almost 70 million in 2013. That's 190,000 people per day. So far, one person arriving in Dallas after being in Liberia became critically ill with Ebola and died, after being in contact with about 100 people. How many of them will come down with it? And how long will it be before the second Ebola patient arrives from overseas, or the third, or the tenth? For all we know they are already here. The one thing that would have kept Ebola out of the country--a border lockdown--is the one thing we can be sure will NOT be done, unless and until there is a full out-of-control outbreak with people dying by the thousands. By then it will be too late.

That pretty much leaves it up to us, ordinary people who would rather not catch a disease with an over 50% mortality rate, to protect ourselves. How exactly do you do that?

That depends on what happens. I suggest paying attention to the news (the real news, not the phony stuff served up on TV). Know if Ebola cases have been reported in the city where you live or travel. Pre-outbreak, stay away from people who are obviously sick. If I had to travel and be in confined spaces, I would bring a surgical mask and goggles, in case I found myself in an airplane near someone coughing, sneezing, or throwing up. Ebola isn't airborne (yet), but I don't want to be the one who proves that expelled droplets inhaled after a short journey through the air can pass the contagion. If I had kids in school, they would be on strict orders to leave if anyone in class is sick with flu-like symptoms, regardless of what the teacher or principal say.

That's all pre-outbreak. We can hope there is never an outbreak, but if there is, everything changes. It will be too late to prepare then, so prepare ahead of time.  Plan on staying inside your house for weeks, possibly months. That means food, of course, but also other things you really need and can't just go to the store to pick up, such as important medications. Imagine what will happen in your community if there is a serious outbreak. Will the power stay on, if electrical company workers are afraid to venture out of their own homes. Same question about police and fire fighters. You will want to be able to defend your home just in case. And you will want to be especially watchful about fire.

Basic medical supplies and first aid are important too--in an outbreak scenario. You won't be able to just pick up the phone and call the EMTs, and even if you could, you wouldn't want to--the hospitals will be overrun, not necessarily with the number of Ebola patients, but with the protocols surrounding the care of Ebola patients. And of course, where are you likely to find high concentrations of Ebola patients?  In the hospital!

One thing I would avoid--if FEMA arrives and starts herding people into trucks and buses--I would do pretty much everything necessary to avoid being taken somewhere prepared by the government "for my safety". Not exactly a great track record there.

Oh, and don't forget bleach. You should have some bleach on hand. The powdered kind used in swimming pools lasts longer. The basic formula for disinfecting any inanimate object is one half-cup per gallon of water.  An old spray bottle or pump-up garden sprayer can disinfect large surfaces quickly.

Protect yourself and your family the best you can. If this thing gets loose, God help us all.

Take the "Winter Ice Storm Challenge"--what should you have on hand in case of emergency?

Ok, here is the setting: It is the coldest week of the year, as cold as it gets where you live. An ice storm (fairly common where I live) has taken out power to your home and much of the surrounding area.

Challenge: List the items you should have on hand to ride out this situation in your home. Here are a few categories to stimulate your thinking: Light, Food, Shelter, Health, Sanitation, Safety, Security. I've deliberately left something very important off this list--what is it?

Make your list first, then come back here and read my answers.


My Answers to the Ice Storm Challenge

WATER. The big item I left off the list above was water. Normally in a power outage you can still get city water, but only if your pipes don't freeze, which they could easily do at the coldest time of the year, with temperatures in the teens and twenties. So at the start of the storm, fill bathtubs, pots, and other food-safe containers with fresh water. You should have at least ONE GALLON PER PERSON PER DAY. If you are on a private well and the power is out, you'll be without well water unless you have backup power.

LIGHT. The best answer for long-term indoor lighting without power is the candle. Get a number of 3" diameter pillar candles. One inch will take 8-10 hours to burn. So a 3x9" candle will last for at least a week of nights. They will not provide enough light to read, unless you have an array of them. But they will keep you from bumping into things, and will fill the psychological need for light, which is very powerful.

Get a half a dozen or more pocket-sized LED flashlights at a discount store. Give one to each family member, and keep a couple more in reserve. Get the kind that take one AA battery, and get a supply of lithium batteries. One lithium battery, while expensive, will last a week if used sparingly (a couple hours a night), and they won't leak inside your flashlight and ruin it, unlike those alkaline batteries will after a few years.

Camping lanterns are also a nice touch. Battery-powered is preferred for the indoors, though you can use a propane lantern if the room is well-ventilated. Please be sure about that.

Don't go to sleep with candles or propane lanterns alight.

SHELTER. At the coldest time of the year without heat, your house will become very cold, especially at night when everyone is trying to sleep. Congregate in one room, and focus on making that room as comfortable as possible. Pick the smallest room that still provides enough space, preferably with a low ceiling to reduce the volume to be heated. Body heat from you and other family members will raise the temperature significantly above what the room would otherwise be.

A small propane space heater, used carefully, can be a godsend. If you use one, pick a larger, more open and ventilated area. Even a small space heater can take the worst of the chill off a very cold night in a surprisingly large indoor area. Use it sparingly to conserve fuel. Turn it off before going to sleep--if the cold wakes you up, turn it back on and run it a while, then shut it off and go back to sleep. This really works, and is much safer and more fuel-thrifty than running it all night.

Set your faucets on trickle to help keep them from icing up. This is especially important for faucets and sinks on an outside wall.

Practice fire prevention. With candles, open flame cooking (see below) and space heaters, the opportunity for fire is greatly increased. Have buckets of water nearby and be watchful. Keep flames and hot items away from combustible papers, wood and such.

FOOD. You should always have at least one week's supply of food for the whole family in your house, at a very bare minimum. Most people do, but some don't. Eat the leftover stuff in the refrigerator first--before the house gets cold, some of the food in there could rise above 40 degrees for hours and spoil. Then go after the stuff in the freezer. Even if it gets very cold outside, the freezer will probably defrost at least partially in a couple of days. Mix in stuff from the pantry, then when the freezer has yielded its goodies, use that as your last, unperishable stores.

If you have a cooler and it is constantly below freezing outside, you could put some of your perishable food outside in the cooler. Secure the cooler and its lid carefully to prevent animals from getting inside. If your garage is securely below freezing you could put the cooler there.

Preparing food may be easy if you have a gas stove and the gas is still working. Or you could use a charcoal or propane grill, though that will be cold for the cook. A propane-fired camping stove is probably the best option if you don't have a gas stove or the gas is off.

HEALTH AND SANITATION. Keep ample stocks of prescription medications on hand, especially those for heart conditions, diabetes, and other illnesses that could quickly become medical emergencies without regular meds. Have an amped-up first aid kit on hand--not just a box of Bandaids. With open flames and use of hand tools you should expect more cuts and bruises than normal. Plus the ice storm will make emergency service much slower, or even inaccessible.

A good trick to know in case of heavy bleeding is use of a disposable diaper or even a feminine napkin. The modern absorption materials make these items amazingly effective at controlling bleeding.

Keep an ample supply of toilet paper on hand. In the event that the plumbing is out of order, you can improvise a toilet with a bucket and trash bags. The good news, if there can be good news in this situation, is that with freezing cold weather, the waste will not develop an unbearable smell piled up outside (in plastic bags) as it will be frozen, or at least very cold.

SAFETY AND SECURITY. Because of the increased potential for injury and the reduced (or prevented) access to medical services, emphasize safety to each member of your family. Use knives and other tools very carefully. If the ground and walks outside are slippery, avoid going outside, and be extremely careful when you do. Do not try to travel somewhere on foot or by car unless absolutely necessary. And do maintain fire security at all times inside the home.

COMMUNICATIONS. Land phone lines could be out. So could cellphone towers, if they lose access to power. Nevertheless, have a hand-cranked cellphone charger on hand. Have a couple of AM/FM portable radios with extra batteries. An inexpensive set of cellphone-sized walkie-talkies can be very helpful when someone does need to go outside, though effective range is limited to a block or two.

WHAT IS NOT ON THIS LIST? Conspicuously absent is a generator. That's because in most situations, a generator is not a practical substitute for normal home electrical power over a long period of time. You can certainly run your refrigerator, a well pump, and a few lights off of a big enough gas-powered generator (5,000 watts or larger), and you could probably store enough fuel to span a week's worth of periodic operation. But generators aren't a good answer for longer-term power outages. And our one-week scenario could easily become two or three, if you are a bit remote, or if the outage is sufficiently widespread.

Also missing are firearms. This is not to say you shouldn't have one or more guns for self-defense in your home or on your person. But this one-week neighborhood power outage is unlikely to heighten the security risk necessitating violent defense of your home. In fact it may objectively lower it, as criminals who might otherwise be disposed to break into your home will have ice storm-related problems of their own.

Keep in mind, as mentioned earlier, that a one-week emergency could easily stretch out significantly longer. And you don't know at the start of an emergency how long the situation will last. Prepare wisely, and conserve your consumables as judiciously as you can to make them last.