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Anyone familiar with this blog knows I’m a freedomist. I despise the tyranny of mandatory toil (i.e., a 9-to-5 job), and I despise the tyranny of a nanny state (i.e., a government that “cares” so much about the downtrodden, stupid, and prodigal, it is perfectly willing to dispense with freedom and assert abject control over the thoughts, actions, and wealth of the people).
But just because I’m not a fan of jobs and government doesn’t mean I don’t see the usefulness in either. Heck, if it weren’t for lame 9-to-5 jobs, Mrs. Groovy and I would have never achieved financial independence. And it doesn’t take much thought to recognize that the government is uniquely qualified to do some tasks that are indispensable to a well-functioning society. Consider the following:
At the turn of the 20th century, American food and drink was hardly the epitome of wholesomeness and purity.
- Milk was thinned with water, whitened with chalk, and preserved with formaldehyde.
- Black pepper was cut with sawdust, gypsum, hemp seed, walnut shells, almond shells, and sand.
- Cocoa powders often contained clay, sand, iron oxides, and tin.
- Flour was laced with white clay and powdered white rocks called barites.
- Fake beans made from flour, molasses, dirt, and sawdust were mixed with real coffee beans.
- Popular “medicines” were nothing but strangely named cocktails. Lydia E. Pinkham’s Vegetable Compound was 20.6 percent ethanol. Baker’s Stomach Bitters was 42.6 percent ethanol.
- Tin cans used for food were soldered with alloys that were up to 50% lead.
- Canned meat was preserved with borax and formaldehyde.
The Poison Squad
Thanks to my sister-in-law, I got a refreshing reminder of why government is needed. She gave me a book called The Poison Squad, and this book details how some chemists at the Agriculture Department led the fight against food adulteration at the turn of the 20th century. I won’t ruin the book for you. It’s a great read and well worth your time. Let’s just say that processed food back in the day (see above) was even more horrendous than its counterpart today. Processed food today has a disturbing amount of salt and sugar. Processed food back in the day had a disturbing amount of impurities and formaldehyde.
Guarding Against Becoming an NPC
This may seem a bit off track but bear with me. I loathe NPCs.
For those of you who aren’t familiar with the NPC meme, here’s a link to a New York Times article explaining it. Basically, it’s an insult crafted by the Right to mock the Left. An NPC is a “non-playable character” in the gaming world, and it has no autonomy. It can only do and say what it has been programmed to do and say. The Right is thus insinuating with the NPC meme that Lefties—especially those who consider themselves SJWs—can’t think for themselves. They can only respond to situations, controversies, and politics the way their programmers over at the New York Times, the Huffington Post, and MSNBC have programmed them to respond. Here are a couple of YouTube videos that explore the NPC meme further:
The NPC meme is a great mock and I salute whoever created it. But the NPC virus isn’t just a problem for the Left. The Right—whether we’re talking about conservatives, libertarians, or freedomists—is just as susceptible as the Left to being programmed by the media. I should know. Up until my late-30s, I let Fox News, Rush Limbaugh, and the National Review do my thinking for me.
Two executables that Right-wing media programmers have been coding for as long as I can remember are as follows:
Free market good.
Government bad.
NPC Mr. Groovy never questioned these two executables. How could I? My programmers didn’t permit that. In fact, my programmers told me that anyone who questioned these two executables was nothing more than a miserable egg-sucking commie.
I don’t remember exactly why, but it finally dawned on me in my late-30s that it wasn’t particularly wise to outsource my thinking. I realized that right-wing media programmers had neither a lock on wisdom nor virtue and if I continued to let them do my thinking for me, I would go through life as nothing more than a pathetic cliche-spewing zombie (i.e., a freakin’ NPC).
To de-NPC myself, then, I consciously adopted the following two guidelines when it came to formulating or contemplating my beliefs—especially my political beliefs.
- Seek out opposing viewpoints and arguments.
- And if I can’t logically refute those opposing viewpoints and arguments, concede. It’s okay to be wrong. It’s okay to change positions. Getting it right is more important than protecting my ego or blindly upholding the papal bulls of my ideological church.
This is why I love the book The Poison Squad. As a freedomist, I need to be routinely reminded that the free market isn’t always good, and the government—which stepped in to curb the abuses of the food-processing industry—isn’t always bad. It’s the only way I’ll avoid becoming an NPC again.
Takeaways from The Poison Squad
Now let’s see how my non-NPC brain works. Here are my takeaways from reading The Poison Squad:
- Man needs an impartial referee. There is just too much larceny and avarice in man’s heart, and if that larceny and avarice aren’t checked, life would get nasty and brutish fast.
- Government is best suited to be that impartial referee. Rules have to be formulated and applied fairly, and rule-breakers have to be punished fairly. This means a whole lot of due process constraints for the referee and a whole lot of headaches for those hiring the referees (what will be refereed, how will the referees be chosen and paid, and who will referee the referees?). Now some questions. What institution do you know that is duly authorized to use force? What institution do you know that is capable of regulating an industry that operates in multiple jurisdictions? And what institution do you know that has a lot of experience mitigating the headaches of those hiring referees; that is, what institution do you know that is a one-stop shop—it writes the rules, hires the referees to enforce those rules, makes sure everyone who uses the referees pays for them, and has a time-honored system of holding itself and the referees accountable (e.g., voting, an independent judiciary, and a free press)? If you answered “government” to all of these questions, go straight to the head of the class.
- But the government can and will be corrupted. Men and women in government have just as much larceny and avarice in their hearts as men and women outside of government. Cronyism, “pay to play,” lobbying, and outright bribery have been around since the dawn of government. Check out the book Plunkitt of Tammany Hall for a nice historical perspective on this lamentable fact of life. The government, I’m afraid, will always be a crooked referee. And that’s okay. As long as the crookedness is held to a tolerable level, a crooked referee is better than no referee.
- You can’t let your guard down. Voting, an independent judiciary, and a free press do a fairly good job of refereeing our referees. But these checks aren’t foolproof. You, therefore, must look at yourself as the ultimate referee where possible. Yes, the government should referee the food industry (and many other industries as well). But if you really want unadulterated food prepared in a sanitary manner, don’t let others prepare your meals. Prepare your meals yourself.
Final Thoughts
Staying clear of the NPC virus isn’t easy—especially for those on the Left. There are simply far more Left-wing programmers in education, journalism, and entertainment than right-wing programmers. But it can be done by anyone, regardless of his or her ideological bent. One just has to exercise some humility and follow the two guidelines I detailed above.
Okay, groovy freedomist, that’s all I got. What say you? Do you have a little NPC in you? And if you don’t, how do you stay clear of the NPC virus? Do you seek out opposing viewpoints and arguments? Do you reject the papal bulls issued by your ideological church when those papal bulls can’t be logically defended? Let me know what you think when you get a chance. Peace.
Oh, man, I just came across this YouTube video. Comedian Jimmy Dore, with the help of Joe Rogan, shows the dangers of becoming an NPC. The New York Times reporter on the Joe Rogan Show is caught using words she can’t define and hurling accusations she can’t defend. She’s just mouthing things she’s been programmed to mouth. Hilarious and sad.
And don’t forget to check out my opus!
“I despise the tyranny of a nanny state (i.e., a government that “cares” so much about the downtrodden, stupid, and prodigal, it is perfectly willing to dispense with freedom and assert abject control over the thoughts, actions, and wealth of the people).”
For every social justice warrior who reads this statement and rolls their eyes thinking “Yeah, control is our motivation, jackass,” I want to seek clarification. Because I think we’re on the same page on this. Feel free to correct me if we’re not.
I always assume that the vast majority of people who support nanny state intervention are kind-hearted, well-intentioned folks who see suffering and want to end it. There’s a small minority who are motivated by jealousy and hatred for those who are more successful. And there’s another small minority – and these are the really scary ones – who are opportunists taking advantage of the abundant kind-hearted, well-intentioned group. These are people who manipulate your kindness to turn it into power for themselves. Basically, they say “Give me more power and influence, and I’ll use it to save so-and-so!” This group – although a tiny minority in the world – make up the vast majority of our politicians, which is why everyone implicitly hates politicians.
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Agreed. Just like I don’t believe the typical person who opposes abortion does so because he or she is hell-bent on “controlling women’s’ bodies,” I don’t believe the typical person who wants a larger government footprint does so because he or she is hell-bent on “controlling other people.” I believe both are kind-hearted and well-intentioned. Yes, my friend, we are both on the same page. Excellent clarification. Great comment.
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I’ve passed the clip onto Jack. I think he’ll like it.
Glad to see you’ve made it back safely. I enjoyed our time together and our free-ranging discussions.
First time I’ve EVER had anyone ask me, “So what do you think is wrong with my country?” and then listen with an open mind to the answer!!!
You two are welcome back anytime.
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Hey, FDJ. Sorry for the late reply. I have another YouTube channel that Jack may like. Tell him to check out Tim Cast. It’s a sister channel of Tim Pool. And I loved discussing the woes of America with you. It’s always great getting the take from disinterested observers. You take was spot on. And, finally, I can’t thank you enough for your unbelievable hospitality. You made Mrs. G and I really feel like honorary Aussie. You’re the best, FDJ. Cheers.
Having larped as an NPC for several seasons, yes.
But, I dont watch the news channels to have that influence.
At the same time being in the biopharm industry, government regulations are a daily consideration.
I am willing to hear opposing views, but have low tolerance for people who wish to negate the existence of my friends, family, coworkers.
Jacq, We’re about to engage in a meaningful conversation if you’re open to it. You’ve been warned 🙂
You said “I am willing to hear opposing views, but have low tolerance for people who wish to negate the existence of my friends, family, coworkers.” Can you give me a couple examples of this? I can think of very few things that fit in that category without some (perhaps emotional) exaggeration or misunderstanding. I generally find that when people say something as apparently outlandish as this, either a) They don’t fully understand the viewpoint, or b) I don’t understand what they’re saying.
Between the two of us, here’s our chance to possibly gain some understanding!
Hey, Jacq. I got to agree with Ron on the “negate” accusation. Some examples will help further our understanding. You might have a very valid point. But “negate” can mean anything from advocating genocide to advocating the removal of ideological foes from Facebook. It can also mean a simple disagreement. Do atheists “negate” religious folks because atheists don’t believe in god?
These days it seems you can ask where someone stands on a single politically polarizing issue, and once they tell you, you can predict with 100% accuracy where they stand on all other issues. Guaranteed.
There’s no independent and objective thought, it’s all just about belonging to a team and trying to squash the other team.
“There’s no independent and objective thought, it’s all just about belonging to a team and trying to squash the other team.”
Nailed it, my friend. Just as there’s a hamster wheel in personal finance, there’s a hamster wheel in personal thought. And both are equally hard to jump off of. But at least in the personal finance realm, there are proven escape instructions. There are no such escape instructions for the personal thought hamster wheel. This post was a pathetic attempt to formulate those escape instructions. Perhaps I should address this topic further. The plot thickens, my friend. Thanks for stopping by. Great comment.
I think you lost 98% of people with #1: “Seek out opposing viewpoints and arguments.” Unfortunately almost no one seems to do this. I get a little excited (and sometimes scared) when I finally understand an opposing viewpoint better. It goes something like this: “Wait, that “evil entity” isn’t always bad? Shithit, what does that mean for my list of other beliefs???”
We’ve all been there, and most of us still are. If we’re so much smarter now than we were before, just imagine where we’ll be in a decade!
Imagine if we started with the assumption that the other side isn’t evil and we actually listened to why they hold the positions they do! But unfortunately, too many of us are afflicted with “worst-reason bias”–we take the worst reason someone can hold a position and assume that everyone who holds that same position does so for the worst reason. And because this degree of unthinking is so widespread, we get wonderful examples of tolerance like “All Trump supporters are racist” and “All abortion supporters are baby killers.” Sigh.
All abortion supporters may not be baby killers but all abortion supporters support baby killing.
That is a baby inside the womb not a tumor to cut out. There is a difference.
I’ve resorted to calling it “human life” as people want to debate if it’s a baby, or a person, or a whatever. And I’m specific about “human life”, not “A human life”. Because it -is- alive, and it -is- human, regardless of how developed it is and whether someone wants to call it an actual human yet.
“That is a baby inside the womb not a tumor to cut out.”
Absolutely. Couldn’t agree more. My point is that labels that strip away every ounce of decency from the accused must be used judiciously. Remember, our returning vets from Vietnam were often vilified by anti-war protestors as “baby killers.” And in one sense, the anti-war protestors were right. American bombing and ground campaigns surely resulted in the killing of Vietnamese babies. But did the “baby killer” label really capture the true nature of our Vietnam vets? Were they all that unbelievably loathsome? Likewise, I have a hard time labeling someone who is impregnated by rape and elects to have an abortion as a “baby killer.” Yes, she killed the baby inside her. But she didn’t consent to the creation of that baby, and I don’t think she behaved like a moral reprobate because she sacrificed the baby in favor of her emotional and physical health/comfort. Believe me, I get your point. I just think we should use labels such as “racist” and “baby killer” for truly evil people and not decent people who were driven to do uncomfortable or ugly things by circumstances beyond their control. Thanks for stopping by, Mat. I really appreciate your comment. It was great food for thought.
I have three thoughts on this topic.
The first, no one should outsource their thinking, especially you folks, over the pond as your whole country and culture were based on this idea, called freedom. There were too many things sacrificed for this, don’t throw it away voluntarily.
Second, (maybe I have already told this story, but anyway) back at the university one of our teachers enlightened us that most folks are thinking totally wrong about the positioning of the left and the right. The Average Joe thinks that the range is a flat line, the center is balanced and as you get closer to the left and right end it gets more and more extreme. In reality, we should think about it like if you would bend that flat line into an almost closed circle. Now the extreme right and left get next to each other and this is how we should think about it. Extremities are equally problematic, does not matter the side.
Third, I don’t see any problems with capitalism and communism as of theory. These are both good ideologies and using the proper mixture of them could create a better world. My problem is that in history I only see not so good implementations of one or the other or a mixture of both which happened to pick the wrong points of the original idea or twisted and turned the principles to benefit the ruling power. So I could not really say that capitalism or communism itself is evil. The way humans implement the ideologies is wrong.
That’s my two cents. Thanks for the thought food 😉
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Awesome comment, my friend. The circle analogy is quite clever. In my WWII history class in college, the professor was outlining the tenets of the fascism, and I remember thinking that as defined by my professor fascism and communism were virtually the same. They were both totalitarian forms of government in which the individual had few rights to tell the state to lump it. There was thus no continuum. Right-wing extremism equalled left-wing extremism.
i can’t stand the extremes on either side, especially those that pretend to offer “news.” i saved a girlfriend from a life of being an NPC once in the 90’s. she was all rush all the time and we would just chat about some of it (i tolerated the right wing stuff because she was hot and i was shallow). i saw her many years later and she had kicked that habit along with a few others and had become more of a free thinker and much less of a follower of either side.
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Haha! What’s scarier? Dittoheads or Maddowheads? I sure hope that ex-girlfriend appreciates what you did for her.
I’d never heard the term NPC, but I like the concept. Too many people are too influenced by letting the media do their thinking for them, and I agree with you that it happens on “both sides”.
It’s time to do some thinking for ourselves folks. Regardless of which side of the aisle on which we sit. Great reminder. Welcome home, hope you had an incredible journey through Australia!
I came across the NPC meme about a month ago. Great mock. And it really hit home. I was a conservative NPC well into my 30s. I shudder to think how manipulated I was by right-wing programmers. And you are so right my friend. The NPC virus afflicts both sides. Sigh. But on a brighter note, Mrs. G. and I had an unbelievable time in Australia. I should have a post about in a couple of weeks. Stay tuned. Hope all is well at World Headquarters. Cheers.
Truth! Great article. That books sounds amazing – can’t wait to read it! Sending love to you guys!!
I think you’ll get a real kick out of Poison Squad. A real eye-opener. I don’t know how our ancestors survived. They were definitely hardier than we are.