One of the best movies, nay best stories ever told was the Movie Starring John Wayne, McLintock...
Come in about 43 minutes into the movie... And you find a scrawny statists explaining to Birnbaum and McLintock that the indians have to follow what the law says and what he says. Then Mr Douglas explains that a girl has been missing and she was kidnapped by the indians, and that he had sent out a posse of farmers to go “round up the red devils”after the wussy government guy gets thrown from his horse go forward to 46:30 where an indian has a rope around his neck is about to get his neck stretched. McLintock goes up to stop the “Lynching” and a man strarts pushing GW around with a shotgun in his middle. This goes on for a minute until the man’s daughter who was supposed to have been kidnapped comes riding back with ben. Then when the man starts to go after ben, McLintock gets the shotgun away and the tables are turned, he pushes the other man around a while and tells the man “I haven’t lost my temper in 40 years, but pilgrim, you caused a lot of trouble this morning, might have got someone killed. And someone ought to belt you in the mouth! But I wont. I wont. To Hell I Wont!” As the words come out of his mouth he hits the man as hard as he can.Now from that point on in the show its just a western movie but for a few minutes it is pretty deep, raising the questions of justice, and of violence, and of the proper place of violence between individuals. In the first place due process is not ensured by law and so what would keep the same thing from happening today without government. And if it went through and McLintock weren’t there, surely there would be a war between whatever two factions would be involved in similar situations. And in the 2nd place, what about McLintock after he gets the gun away from the overzealous father, was he in the wrong? Or Would a Libertarian have Punched that guy in the mouth too? And would anyone who supports government have any charges brought against either douglass or the posse members for unjustly prosecuting the indians? Or against the father for threatening John wayne the way he did? Or would they prosecute John wayne for punching him when he wasn’t in any current danger. And if you are an anarchist, maybe you can just answer the moral question of who was in the right and who was wrong.
and any other ideas concerning violence and morality that you might have, Honor? Fighting words? declarations of war etc... basically, we embark to formulate the libertarian doctrine concerning violence... ready.. set... go!
Everything you needed to know to be a libertarian you learned in Kindergarten. Keep your hands to yourself, and don't play with other people's toys without their consent.