Eric Sundwall

After what seemed about an hour of everybody justifying the taxpayer supported paychecks, I was finally able to speak up after a number of my neighbors were afforded the opportunity to say their piece about what I still could not discern as the problem. My first question was basically by what authority did this 'Committee' exist. To which the pat answers of volunteers from the community came together etc. The second question derived from the idea that Niverville has no political boundary and how in fact was it being defined. And of course the third mention was to what end does this committee serve if a majority of people surveyed don't feel there is a problem. No exact formulation of a boundary was given as an answer and the fact that the neighborhood or community was self-defined by the members present. Of course my last question about purpose was quickly stroked as broad based 'community' effort and that it was in fact about more than identifying particular individuals so much as promoting a 'sense' of community and other positive change that could occur as a result of this committee. At that point I was removed from the discussion as others rushed in to defend motivations, identification of problems etc.

The reality is that there are four kids being singled out as the basis of this formation. It took almost two hours of listening for me to realize this. A similar meeting that took place about five years ago involved different kids. At the time I also questioned the motivations and intentions of such ad hoc communiteering. I thought the problem had gone away as the kids in question got older and drifted away. Fortunately the neighbors whose kids were involved last time attended the meeting and also spoke out about what simply amounts to four kids causing some sort of problem. Last time I was told not to take the law into my own hands etc., the problem being that I had no problem with the kids.

Ultimately it was determined that the problem was about 'unsupervised' children, despite not being able to get a qualified answer as to what age constituted a child that could go unsupervised. A lame attempt to say what the Red Cross certification for babysitting was all about, was the best attempt. For me being the chronic 'anti-statist' I heard that pretty soon only 'certified' children would be able to walk the streets of Niverville. Needless to say I was additionally horrified when one of the deputies replaced the fictional fifteen year old with a nine year old, amping up the fear and nanny state factor.

Many in the libertarian community think we should grow up and run for local offices because that will be a better engine for electoral success. I don't see how I could viably run for such offices and not get bound up in the true cause of liberty for the sake of getting along. I listened to people talk about annihilation of the individual, the need to conform, the inherit acceptance of taxing regimes which dole out benefits and resources that are not even needed or required. The concept of a 'grant' is not proffered as somebody else's tax money, but a derivative bureaucratic process and solution. I'm simply better off not getting involved and now I have to watch my back as a small minority assemble in order to set forth standards of 'unacceptable' behavior and self-identify problematic youth. Hmph! Sounds like I gotta hit the streets and talk to the kids. Act local, think anti-statist.