Doug Stanhope On Freedom

When I heard that a comedian, Doug Stanhope, had been considering running for President as a Libertarian, I thought it was about time. Who better to highlight just how hopelessly ridiculous the system has become than a comic. Then I heard his material: some of the more depraved comedy I’ve come across– not a criticism, mind you, because he’s funny as hell, but not someone with a realistic chance at being taken seriously. With plenty of material on whores and drugs, I can’t imagine many members of the “greatest generation” would vote for him.

But take a look at the below clip (below the fold, due to rather extreme language) and ask yourself one question: just how much fun would it be to see this guy on stage in a debate with McCain and Obama?


Video is rather old, when Stanhope’s presidential aspirations still lived– killed by the sort of insane campaign finance bullshit created by guys like McCain.

My favorite part is the truth of the last line:

“The only true freedom that you find is when you realize and come to terms with the fact that you are completely and unapologetically fucked. And then you are free to float around the system.”

The first step to being free is realizing that the government has no moral power over you. Yes, the government has lots of physical power, and they can do things like throw you in jail or extort money out of you. It’s my view of Rational Anarchy. I choose to follow laws or not follow them based on what I believe to be right, and what I believe to be the risks of being caught. I don’t blindly follow or wantonly break them because they’re “laws” with moral power. Being free to float around the system doesn’t always ensure that you won’t get eaten by a shark. But it does entail the understanding that there’s nothing inherently special about that government agent shark other than the fact that he’s carrying a badge and a gun big fucking set of teeth.