It’s been awhile since I’ve posted here, so I wanted to provide a little personal update.
The holiday season explains some of my absence, but a recent back injury is the real culprit. I herniated a disc, and the recovery has been arduous to say the least. For a few days, I couldn’t walk at all. I am happy to say that I’ve graduated from crutches to a cane. My physical therapist is incredible, but it will be a long slow process to get back to 100 percent. Ultimately I hope to get back out on the ice stopping pucks!
It’s been a difficult experience for me. I don’t do dependence well. And I’ve been dependent on others for virtually everything. Even today, I can’t tie my own shoes. A couple of weeks ago, I needed help just getting up. That’s pretty humbling. I think we all like to pretend we are self-sufficient. We really aren’t. We need other people.
A lot of people believe those of us who hold libertarian world-views are selfish and don’t care about others. Or that we don’t believe in “society.” Maybe that’s true of some. I don’t speak for “libertarians.” I only speak for myself. I know I need others. I need community. I believe people were created to live together and cooperate. This injury brought that home. I need my wife. I need my family. I need my church.
I believe in cooperative society. What I reject is the use of coercive force to make society function. I need my wife. But I’m not going to put a gun to her head and force her to serve me.
That’s the difference between society and the state.
