From: Rockwell.com
by Ron Paul
While I oppose
most gun control proposals, there is one group of Americans I do
believe should be disarmed: federal agents. The use of force by
federal agents to enforce unjust and unconstitutional laws is one
of the major, albeit overlooked, threats to liberty. Too often Americans
are victimized by government force simply for engaging in commercial
transactions disproved of by Congress and the federal bureaucracy.
For example,
the offices of Rawesome Foods in Venice, California, have been repeatedly
raided by armed federal and state agents, and Rawesome’s founder,
65-year-old James Stewart, has been imprisoned. What heinous crime
justified this action? Rawesome sold unpasteurized (raw) milk and
cheese to willing customers – in a state where raw milk is
legal! You cannot even drink milk from a cow without a federal permit!
This is hardly
the only case of federal agents using force against those who would
dare meet consumer demand for raw milk. In 2011 armed agents of
the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) raided the business of Pennsylvanian
Amish farmer Dan Allgyer. Federal agents wasted a whole year and
who knows how many millions of our tax dollars posing as customers
in order to stop Allgyer from selling his raw milk to willing customers.
The
use of force against individuals making choices not approved of
by the political elite does not just stop with raw milk. The Natural
News website has documented numerous accounts of federal persecution,
including armed raids, of health food stores and alternative medical
practitioners.
Federal bureaucrats
are also using force to crack down on the makers of gold coins for
fear that people may use these coins as an alternative to the Federal
Reserve’s fiat currency. Bernard von NotHaus, the founder of
Liberty Dollars, is currently awaiting sentencing on federal counterfeiting
charges — even though Mr. von NotHaus took steps to ensure
his coins where not used as “legal tender.”
Yet,
the federal government was so concerned over the possibility that
Mr. von NotHaus’s customers might use his coins in regular
day-to-day commerce they actually labeled Mr. von NotHaus a “terrorist.”
These type
of police state tactics used against, among others, raw milk producers,
alternative health providers, and gold coin dealers is justified
by the paternalistic attitude common in Washington, D.C. A member
of Congress actually once told me that, “The people need these
types of laws because they do not know what is good for them.”
This mindset fuels the growth of the nanny state and inevitably
leads to what C.S. Lewis said may be the worst from of tyranny “…a
tyranny exercised for the good of its victims.”
All Americans,
even if they do not believe it is a wise choice to drink raw milk
or use gold coins, should be concerned about the use of force to
limit our choices. This is because there is no limiting principle
to the idea that the government force is justified if used “for
our own good.” Today it is those who sell raw milk who are
being victimized by government force, tomorrow it could be those
who sell soda pop or Styrofoam cups. Therefore, all Americans should
speak out against these injustices.
From: Rockwell.com
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