One of the more
common arguments against anarchism or any form
of less or smaller governmental power and control is the irrational
declaration that more crimes will be committed and the weak and
innocent will not be protected. On the contrary, it is my feeling
that the weak and innocent will be if not equally, then quite
possibly more cared for than they are in our so-called civilized
modern society. I will use the crime of sexual assault as an example and compare the natural reaction to the
"civilized" reaction and permit the reader to judge for
their self which reaction is more efficient and satisfactory.
Before I do so
though, let me state that I am well aware that our current civilized
societies have programs that do aid the weak and innocent and which
often can protect them, but these programs come with a trade-off.
These programs are only possible because of law and order and social
structures. The trade-off is that law and order and social
structures bind the hands and the mind, and often create new
problems, and many times make it so that cheap deceptive masks must
be thrown into society so that the reality can be repressed rather
than actually dealt with in an efficient, timely, and quite natural
order.
Let us assume that
in our example a young autistic girl has been sexually assaulted by a
close relative or a friend of the family, as is most often the case.
Let us assume that we know for a fact who the perpetrator is. The girl has been raised decently and knows the
difference between "good touches" and "bad touches,"
and like many autistic children, is not particularly prone to lying.
Let us further
assume that this young girl went directly to her mother after the
incident occurred and told her what had happened, and that this young
girl demanded that her father be called immediately because she was
terrified of the perpetrator and she knew her father would not only
protect her but that he would give her the justice he has always
given her, because he loves her.
What in our
example would occur in our so-called "civilized" society and what would likely occur if the
consequences of the crime were dealt with in a more natural setting?
By natural I mean with hands and mind unbound by law and order and
social structures which are not fabricated but perhaps more natural
social structures.
In the civilized
setting the mother would call the father and she and/or him would
call the police. Despite their natural feelings (which are very
real) they would do nothing else but console the child, which itself,
when looked at for face value, is pretty meaningless when no
immediate corrective action is seen. They would then take the child
to the hospital to be poked and prodded and interviewed. Then the
child would sit in terror for days, weeks, or maybe even months as
the perpetrator roamed free until enough evidence had been collected
to lock them in a cell as they awaited a trial. Finally, perhaps a
year or more after the crime occurred and the child had finally
started to heal and get past the incident she would suddenly be
forced to face her accuser in a big scary courthouse and re-live the
incident all over again.
By this time
thousands of dollars have been
spent and lost, lives have been in constant turmoil, the child has
lived in terror that the perpetrator may "get them", and
really...absolutely nothing has been done. That is, nothing has been
done except the child now feels less empowered, the child feels as if
their parents, family, and friends are less capable of protecting
them and rendering aid, and generally somewhere deep down inside the
child has grown colder because of a lack of efficiency and action.
In
the more natural setting the mother
would call the father and she and/or him would call friends and
family. They would console the child and attend to any medical
needs, but they would immediately apprehend the perpetrator and deal
with him. The child would not live in terror of the perpetrator
because he was already dealt with and the child knows this and has
been made quite aware that it has already been handled. Very little
money was lost, it was handled quickly and efficiently, and the child
feels empowered knowing that they can get justice and that their
family, friends, and neighbors will always be there to render them
aid and protection.
Certainly, the
actual events of the more natural setting could have went quite
differently and the perpetrator could have been too powerful for the
family to gain justice (maybe the perpetrator could have been a
warrior with a large and mighty family or something?), but at least
the child would have seen that someone tried to do something!
I know my example
is not perfect and I know such an example does not encompass all
possibilities, and that it does not necessarily make a strong
argument for or against anything on a truly rational and educated
level, but it is an example which comes from the heart and the heart
is very real.
Personally,
everywhere I turn I see a failed society. Certainly our modern civilized society has accomplished
many things, but each day I am more and more convinced that it has
harmed, hindered, or hoodwinked more than it has helped, healed, and
made whole. Our society is inefficient and empty, and it does little
or nothing for the soul, which to me, means it does little or nothing
at all.
I am not looking
for perfection in society, but I am looking for balance and
wholeness. Our world is out of whack because it is unbalanced,
unfulfilling, untrustworthy, and unhappy. Bad things will always
happen but those bad things must be met with equally swift goodness.
I believe a short poem which I wrote sums up my feelings on the
matter quite succinctly. It has no title which is fitting because
the poem is about emptiness:
I am so tired.
Where is my world
of butterflies,
where children
laugh and no one cries?
Where is this
place with steps ahead,
where dreams are
made and plans are had?
Empty. Empty are
the arms of angels...
Peace &
Happiness,
Alraune
