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Stop Signs and Liberty
Jeffrey A. Tucker
Lew Rockwell.com
Wednesday, July 15, 2009
“What is evil one day is mandatory the next.”
And then one day the stop sign was gone.
It was the very stop sign one block from my house that was oddly stationed at a low-traffic, 3-way intersection, tempting every driver to slow down but not come to a complete stop.
How the city cleaned up on that one! I have personally coughed up in excess of $1,000 for tickets there, once time receiving two tickets in as many days. This sign was even the reason that I spent a day in jail for failing to fork over when the judge said I should.
I’m not alone: 93% of the drivers failed to come to a complete stop. Even so, I’m routinely lectured that my job as a citizen is to do precisely as I’m told. I’ve learned to habitually stop completely, even when the place looks like a ghost town with no cars anywhere in view.
Then one day the stop sign vanished.
What happened here? Did the cops finally get all the citizens trained to stop and thereby dissipate their opportunity for rents? Was there just no more money to be made from the disobedient?
Do I get a refund? How about compensation for the day I spent in jail? What about everyone else?
The local government must have extracted tens of thousands of dollars before good sense overcame our overlords and they decided to relent to reality. But no, there will not be compensation. The law changed its mind, and we are supposed to just deal with it. Now I must rehabituate myself to breaking – I mean keeping – the law.
One day, I’m jailed for failing to stop. Presumably, I could now get a ticket for stopping, since surely there is a law against suddenly stopping on a public road for no reason other than some vague memory than one had to in the past.
What is evil one day is mandatory the next.
(ARTICLE CONTINUES BELOW)
Now, I know what some readers are thinking: here we go with the libertarian wacko complaining about the “coercion” of stop signs. For decades, conservatives have been poking fun, caricaturing libertarians as people who rail against stop signs and thereby reveal their personal problem with authority – even such obviously justified authority as government stop signs.
Don’t we understand that these keep us safe, and so surely we should be willing to give up just a bit of license to speed around with abandon in the interest of the common good?
Even now, a quick google of “libertarians” and “stop signs” reveals many people on the Left and the Right who think it is just stupidly hilarious that libertarians talk about these issues.
As a matter of fact, the management of the roads is a hugely important issue, given that tens of thousands of people die on government roads every year. Private ownership would in fact lead to greater liability for the road owner – and also more rational rules of the road. The private road would be devoted to serving the customers, not looting them at the point of a gun. And not only are private roads viable; there is a long history and a present practice to draw on.
Walter Block’s new book on road privatization makes the case that this is not an issue to ignore but one to solve through free enterprise.
In some ways, then, it is true that the stop sign – as with every regulation by the state – embodies all that is wrong with the public sector. The rules are made to benefit the state. You are on the hot seat if any policeman says that you have done wrong. The pretense of a fair trial is a complete farce, as you have to tangle with judges who hate you, waste several days of work, and throw yourself on the mercy of the court. Once you are entangled in the web, you can’t really get out.
And who makes the rules? The central planners make the rules, and the public be damned. The rules are there to serve the state, not us, and the stop sign that is oddly placed in order to extract revenue makes the point very well.
When you are stopped, you become aware that the imbalance between the citizens and the state couldn’t be more obvious. Deliver an insult and you are arrested. Try to run and you are gunned down. Fail to pay and you end up in the slammer. And maybe the cop will find something else about your life to be suspicious of. Whatever they want to know, you must tell them.
Government is not reason; it is force. What was the actual social rationale for that stop sign in the first place? You dare not ask, for then you are questioning the elites who are in charge of your life. And why was it removed? It’s not for you to question why; it is for you to do or die. It was there and now it is gone. All “law-abiding citizens” must change with the arbitrary dictate of the traffic masters.
Now, I’m not saying that we don’t need rules in society. But the question of who makes the rules and on what basis becomes supremely important. Will the rule-making flow from the matrix of voluntary exchange based on the ethic of serving others through private enterprise? Or will the rules be made and enforced by people wearing guns and bulletproof vests with a license to shock or kill based on minor annoyances?
“The private road would be devoted to serving the customers, not looting them at the point of a gun.”
Something as seemingly innocuous as a stop sign can become the occasion for the use of terrible violence and terrible oppression. And think about it: we are talking about local government that is especially sensitive to public opinion. If we see corruption here, what about at the national level, where the citizens are nothing but an abstraction?
So, no, I have no problem with making the stop sign a symbol of the fight. It shows that even the least objectionable aspects of the state can mask despotism and that we should think hard – very hard – before ever ceding control of even the smallest parts of life to the state.
Ultimately, the state is in control or we are.
There is nothing in between.
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44 Responses to “Stop Signs and Liberty”
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July 15th, 2009 at 5:29 am
yep i know a spot where the crummy little bootkickes [cops] sit half mile away and watch through the trees for cars to stop
Sui Juris Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 10:23 am
this pretty much sums it up:
“When a statute, code, or court holding changes tomorrow, does reality change? Does truth change? Do right and wrong change? If so, there are no absolutes, and the only logical conclusion is that reality, truth, and right and wrong are determined arbitrarily on a daily basis by those with the most power, guns, and money. While the rest of us can either choose to RUN, FIGHT, or agree to be their SLAVES”.
AlteredState Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 10:39 am
STOP H.R. 2159 IT’S URGENT!!!!!!
July 15th, 2009 at 5:31 am
What is evil one day is mandatory the next as we move closer to the mark of the beast
July 15th, 2009 at 6:53 am
Stop signs? Are you friggin kidding me? With all that’s going on politically and economically, THAT’S all this guy can think of to wax indignant about?
If paid propagandists from the Austrian School aren’t purposely out to make the truth and freedom movement look stupid, delusional and laughably out-of-touch, they may as well be.
http://propagandamatrix.com/fo.....084.0.html
Brian H Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 9:56 am
Austrian School’s right, who was the moron that put this on here
July 15th, 2009 at 7:08 am
I don’t drive. I am an orange HOMEGAIN gorilla remember? Have you ever seen an orange HOMEGAIN gorilla driving a car? I can ride a bike though. I have orange HOMEGAIN thumbs on my feet.
July 15th, 2009 at 8:12 am
This guy is against minimum wage AND stop signs!
Yeah, we should have no traffic signs or stop lights, people should be able to drive on any side of the road they want – or right in the middle of the road and/or swerving between lanes – at any speed, even while in reverse, and the right to drive should be enshrined in The Constitution.
Why does it seem that a retarded, half-blind baboon on acid has been choosing the articles to post here for the past few weeks?
Storm Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 11:08 am
You Sir Are A Dolt,
There is no reason for stop signs and speed limits (on certain roads) for that matter. Speed limits are revenue for the masters and that is all. If you think it is to keep you safe then go tell it to those who drive on the Autobahn, one of the safest roads in the world.
There is a stop sign in a town I used to live by, out in the middle of nowhere. There is farmland around and 1 house as far as the eye can see. An intersection from a movie about life after people. I would, every time I came upon this sign, blow it like it did not exist and once in a great while you would actually meet a car (you could see it coming from a mile+ as there are no trees). You should have seen the look of horror on the persons faces that saw you blow the sign…like you were going to set the country on fire. All the time I spent with this sign…never saw one person doing like me and blowing it. Always amazed me, my comment to my wife was, “I wonder if we put a stop sign up in the middle of a highway…would people stop at it?”
I am sure they would and you would have your cretins like ‘I’m So Bored’ stopping and telling you it is for your own safety.
I'm So Bored With The U-S-A Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 1:10 pm
You think traffic laws are immoral, and I’m the dolt?
Have fun being jack-knifed the next time you (try) to cross the street.
July 15th, 2009 at 9:47 am
I understand that ‘it’s not about the stop sign’. But it seems it is. Should we have a referendum every time the city wants to build a new neighbourhood on where there should or shouldn’t be stop signs? I’m assuming cities use qualified city planners to determine these things? If they don’t, the US is in more trouble than I previously thought.
Liberty and Law go hand in hand. Isn’t that what the constitution is all about – Fair laws?
So the cop abuses his authority at the stop sign. The stop sign didn’t make him do it. That was his decision. So you didn’t stop at the stop sign… Uhm, you should. It is a stop sign after all, not a pause sign.
Storm Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 11:13 am
Fran,
It is not about saftey. The majority of persons drive safley and would do the same with no ‘laws’. Yeild signs are just as safe as stop signs for the normal driver and those cops who would enforce stop signs ‘for your safety’ are as ignorant as those who say we need them.
Did Montana have a rash of dead bodies littering the higway when they did away with speed limits on highways during daylight? No they did not. Research the speed limits and the effects…crashes went down as a result of the limit going from 55 to 75.
Do your homework before posting and making yourself look foolish!
I'm So Bored With The U-S-A Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 1:13 pm
In your opinion, based on your observations, in the area you drive.
In the real world, however, people read the paper, text message, put make-up on, talk on the phone, shave, eat, etc. while driving.
Not only that, but in real cities we have things like paved roads that many people drive on, often at once, and the flow of traffic must be regulated.
Even then, we have to wait an extra couple of seconds to make sure jackasses like you don’t run the red light before we venture into an intersection.
July 15th, 2009 at 9:53 am
This is ridiculous. Rules and regulations are part of a moral civilized society. What? there shouldn’t be any rules or laws? Everyone just do whatever they want? That’s insane
July 15th, 2009 at 9:58 am
Maybe it’s just a curve ball to see if we’re paying attention. Yeah, that’s it. Has to be
July 15th, 2009 at 10:13 am
And the sign says “long hair freaky people need not apply”
So I tucked my hair under my hat and I went in to ask him why
He said you look like a fine outstanding young man I think you’ll do
So I took off my hat I said “Imagine that Huh Me working for you”
Signs Signs
Everywhere there’s signs
Fucking up the scenery
Breaking my mind
Do this, don’t do that
Can’t you read the sign
And the sign says “Anybody caught trespassing will be shot on sight”
So I jumped the fence and I yelled at the house, Hey! What gives you the right
To put up a fence And keep me out Or to keep Mother Nature in
If God was here He’d tell it to your face Man You’re some kind of sinner
Signs Signs
Everywhere there’s signs
Fucking up the scenery
Breaking my mind
Do this, don’t do that
Can’t you read the sign
Oh Say now mister Can’t you read
You got to have a shirt and tie to get a seat
You can’t watch No You can’t eat You ain’t supposed to be here
And the sign says “You got to have a membership card to get inside” Huh
And the sign says “Everybody welcome Come in Kneel down and pray”
But then they passed around a plate at the end of it all
And I didn’t have a penny to pay
So I got me a pen and paper And I made up my own fuckin’ sign
I said Thank you Lord for thinking about me I’m alive and doing fine
Signs Signs
Everywhere there’s signs
Fucking up the scenery
Breaking my mind
Do this, don’t do that
Can’t you read the sign
Signs Signs
Everywhere there’s signs
Fucking up the scenery
Breaking my mind
Do this, don’t do that
Can’t you read the sign
July 15th, 2009 at 10:25 am
“When a statute, code, or court holding changes tomorrow, does reality change? Does truth change? Do right and wrong change? If so, there are no absolutes, and the only logical conclusion is that reality, truth, and right and wrong are determined arbitrarily on a daily basis by those with the most power, guns, and money. While the rest of us can either choose to RUN, FIGHT, or agree to be their SLAVES”.
July 15th, 2009 at 10:30 am
Do WHATEVER you want, hell, go kill somebody! What’s the difference? Run stop signs, kill people – where’s the line? No responsibility for anything. THAT’S what ‘they’ want. No rules, no laws, do anything you wanna. Feeble minds out of control.
July 15th, 2009 at 10:31 am
Is the purpose of the stop sign to serve us, or do we serve the stop sign?
Brian H Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 10:36 am
What does it have to do with service?
July 15th, 2009 at 10:40 am
If you want served – go to a restaurant. If you want to serve – go work at one.
July 15th, 2009 at 10:40 am
Baaaaa Baaaaa!
July 15th, 2009 at 10:47 am
Jeffrey Tucker is missing the real issues here, missing the realll important stuff.. spending all this time and energy writing such a long article that is somehow supposed to convulutedly relate the issue of stop signs to freedom vs fascism, when everyone knows…
That what’s really evil is those goddamn yield signs!! What, the guy on my left could just run me off the road if I am forced to merge into oncoming traffic when he can just pass right by?!? This is all a plot by left handed satanist pigs, goddamn lefties. Look it up sometime, http://www.poligazette.com/200.....onspiracy/
We should all stand up for our rights, go out onto the highways, and FIGHT BACK AGAINST THE YIELD SIGNS! Only by refusing to have any sort of common sense or common courtesy, as well as by refusing any sort of rule of law, could we ever create a utopian society of anarchy, fight the power of the yield signs!
p.s. did you know that yield signs are upside down triangles? On the back of the one dollar bill is a pyramid with an eye in it… if you had a triangular shaped tv, you could combine the triangular tv with another triangular tv and create a square shaped tv.. therefore, yield signs are the work of the devil.
p.s.s. i’m joking. check this out too… http://www.newgrounds.com/port.....24#explain
Storm Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 11:15 am
You are a trained fool,
Mojokabobo Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 2:35 pm
Thank you so much! Though I do have to admit that I didn’t receive any training for my tom-foolery, though it is nice to be recognized as an adept.
I'm So Bored With The U-S-A Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 1:19 pm
It is not a right to drive a car.
When applying for a license, you sign a contract agreeing to obey the traffic laws.
If you don’t want to follow them, don’t get a car.
George [Costanza] Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 3:20 pm
As an individual, you do have a right to drive-you are engaging you inherent right to travel
Now if you are using the road for commerce, that is a privilege.
Business-business have no rights. This idea of corporate ‘personhood’ is complete nonsense.
If you can show me the birth canal that a business came out of, then I will say it has rights.
To operate a business vehicle, one needs a license.
Regarding ‘applying’ for a license, that is contract fraud perpetuated by the state.
Storm Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 11:39 pm
Yes George,
But try telling this to these dullards who have been taught so well by the state they claim to be against.
You claim to be taxed too much, you claim the government was behind 9/11, you claim the government took 12.9 trillion dollars from you, you claim…bla bla bla. DON’T YOU KNOW THIS IS FOR YOUR OWN GOOD? WE NEED AN OVERBEARING GOVERNMENT STEALING FROM US, KILLING US…IT IS FOR OUR OWN SAFETY!
This is the problem with fighting the NWO with a brain the size of a pea. There will always be those who say the state needs to be there to control those of us who will not stop at a stop sign out in the middle of BFE. These are the same ones who do not realize it is all revenue, nothing more!
PLEASE SAVE US FROM OURSELVES OH WISE GOVERNMENT, WE DON’T STAND A CHANCE WITHOUT YOU!!
Mojokabobo Reply:
July 16th, 2009 at 7:22 am
You people are off on a tangent again, let’s get back to the real issue at hand
Those god-damn yield signs, srsly, twat are we gonna do bout em?
July 15th, 2009 at 10:49 am
I’m leavin, I got sidetracked and was casting pearls to swine. I’m ashamed of myself.
July 15th, 2009 at 11:03 am
AND yesterday this same libertarian source was telling us the minimum wage sucks and the comments were disappointingly uniform in their condemnation, their seems to be an almost irreconcilable dichotomy here as if the informed aren’t really as informed as they believe themselves to be. the slithy toves did gyre and gimble in the wabe. makes sense to me. seriously, continuity is very important for a universal and psychological time line we might not be able to buy the levers of power but we cannot give the critical thinking to the illumanati for free. research history, all of it, jump into whatever interests you most, find the roots and maybe we can kill the tree. please spell check, we have to be united in righteous indignation and i don’t think emotion but reason will win the intellectual war and it helps to not sound like uneducated baboons we will be considered fringe conspiracy theorists.
July 15th, 2009 at 11:19 am
Hey complaining moron. You deserve the 1000 dollars in tickets. Do you know why? Because you went about it the wrong way. Instead of beefing with the judge and getting tossed in the slammer here’s what you should have done.
1. Find out who makes the decisions on where stop signs are posted.
2. Go find that guy and sensibly speak with him saying the sign is not needed.
3. If that doesn’t work, get a neighborhood petition to remove the sign.
4. Seek out the most influencial person in the area (say Mr. Peterson who owns 4 general stores in the town for 40 years) and see if he would help.
And finally number five if all else fails paint that muther fucker green and put a GO sign on it. Then put roofing nails where the cops usually park when they are sneeking around handing out tickets. Then when you see the cops out there put on a bright reflective vest and physically stand in the middle of the intersection (playing crossing cop with white gloves) and make sure each and every car stops so the city can’t make any more fucking money. Hey two can play games if they don’t want to listen to common sense.
Ronda Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 12:45 pm
I like #5
Mojokabobo Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 2:37 pm
Kudos!
wildcat Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 6:49 pm
#5 is the best
Just put up a sign saying “hidden speed trap ahead” and watch the revenue decline.
July 15th, 2009 at 1:48 pm
well said!
July 15th, 2009 at 2:15 pm
That says it all. It starts with a group of men and women thinking they are Authorized to use a gun to collect personal property from you because “I said so”.
If you are are a People of the state you were born in then you are a sovereign and NO legislated law applies to you. If you are a Citizen of the United States under the 14th amendment “all persons born…in the United States and subject to the jurisdiction thereof….” then the government has jurisdiction over you (all legislated laws apply), i.e. you have privileges not rights. The People established the government, the government rules over its Citizens, don’t you want to be a People rather than a Citizen?
Citzens have no rights to keep and bear arms, free speech, privacy against search and sizure, etc. Everything is applied to you with your permission. You signed a 1040 “under penalty of perjury” and thus signed away your rights or did you put “under duress”, or “without prejudice” above your sig.
Any mention of Law in the constitution of the United States or the individual States refers to the supreme law-the Common law. There is only 1 basic rule under Common Law “you are liable for any injury you cause to another flesh and blood man/woman/child” . With victimless crimes under legislated law there is NO injured party, yet it’s always the People of [State] vs YOU. Where’s the plaintiff (complaining party)? Does the Prosecuter have a signed power of atty. from any People to represent them? Of course a man in a uniform will use his gun to kidnap you but you have the right and just cause to sue him for fraud and under Title 18, 242 he is liable for any trespass against your person that isn’t lawful. There it is again Common Law. Lawful not Legal, there is a difference. Anyone can be free by studying their rights and demanding them. http://ronintruth.blogspot.com/
July 15th, 2009 at 3:51 pm
I have two points. One, in my town I can’t ever recall seeing a stop sign that didn’t serve a valid purpose. I understand such things do exist in places to use as a source of revenue, and that’s wrong. Two, in some small towns they have conducted experiments where there were no traffic lights and no signs. Accidents went down, actually. People started thinking for themselves, and they HAD to be courteous and attentive of their own accord, they weren’t PUSHED into it, mindlessly responding to signs. However, this only was effective in small towns.
wildcat Reply:
July 15th, 2009 at 6:51 pm
It does happen – low speed limits are placed at the bottom of a steep hill. Drivers have to be extra careful they haven’t accelerated over the new speed limit by the time they reach the bottom of the hill.
http://www.speedtrap.org/speed.....Louisiana/
July 15th, 2009 at 4:23 pm
I am against more government control,but as far as stop signs go,I really thing they should put up a roadblock,or post which forces a car to stop in order to keep people from running over pedestrians and bicyclists and so on,nobody ever stops anyway,and I have watched many deaths and injuries because of it.
A fine should be levied only if someone tries to crash the barrier,otherwise they stop,a stop sign is just a form of entrapment anyway,really.
The actual problem we face here,is that so many people have no regard for anyone but themselves,they don’t care about the guy on the bicycle,the guy on foot,shit!,half the time there isn’t even a safe place to walk or ride without mixing it up with morons in cars.
a lot of people don’t need to drive,governments need to provide safe alternatives to driving,and you whiners in your cars should just be quiet,gas prices are coming up soon,save your energy to whine about that………
I ride my bike,I live like a king because I don’t waste my money on insurance and maintenance,registration and licensure of a motor vehicle.
No need for a health club membership either…….
You are just a bunch of whiney suckers.
You think that freedom somehow gives you a right to put others in danger.
You are wrong!.
Americans are so ignorant.
July 15th, 2009 at 4:27 pm
Stop signs don’t make us safe.
Conscientious people make us safe.
We are those people.
So lets be those people.
July 15th, 2009 at 4:30 pm
It would be nice if urban planning was something more than trying to expand the tax base of the urban area.
July 16th, 2009 at 12:27 am
god, am i glad the US behind and relocated. i had completely forgotten about stop signs as there are none here.
i had completely forgotten about such stupidity.
July 16th, 2009 at 4:53 am
Let’s think this through shall we? First of all it’s not a choice between govt tyranny and “free enterprise”. The former is not inevitable, the latter is a cover for corporate tyranny. Both the public and private ownership models suffer from the same problem: they tend to monopolize and become corrupt and dictatorial.
The author needs to take a look around, this society is a prime example of what’s wrong with private ownership of “commons”. The US is becoming feudalistic. The media monopoly, the food monopoly, the energy monopoly, the medical monopoly etc are all emerging dictatorships with no more incentive to “serve the customer” than any totalitarian regime.
It’s not easy to reign in government but that doesn’t mean government has no place in management of the commons. There is such a thing as the “public interest”, and a well managed and publically controlled government will outshine private monopolies in terms of efficiency and freedom any day of the week.
It’s our government. Let’s take possession of it, not abandon it.