Anarchy: Law, Order, and Authority

[Author's Note: Another essay that I wrote onundeniable. The United States government has no
notebook paper during boring school hours. Thisright to rule me any more than I have a right to
wonderful little piece was starting in boring Englishrule those people who make up the government.
class on Tuesday, November 26, 2002, andNor ar they justified in any of their legislation, and
continued into Art class. It was finished in schoolenforcing their legislation, whether it is outlawing
on Tuesday, December 2, 2002, when I finished itmurder, wearing hats, or believing what you want.
in English class. I worked on it in no other class,The government has no right to pass such laws
and finished it within a few classes. Hooray forany more than I have the right to pass such laws.
high school.]The Middle
The BeginningThe Republic is a type of government where the
If a group of people were to live on an island,people vote for one person to rule all. This varies
who would govern who, how, and why? If personfrom other types of governments where, more
A suspected person B of possessing a deadlyor less, a ruler maintains their power. By
weapon (if this were a crime), then how could wemaintaining power, I do not mean by campaigning,
justify person A searching person B? Whateverbut rather by an army theratening the populace.
reason offered for justification of search andSuch a ruler may be known as a dictator or a
seizure, it aso justifies person B searching personmonarch. However, there are some who stipulate
A. On this island, who would be the government?that a king's rule is tryanny to the rule of an
Who would rule? Whatever can justify the rule ofelected official. What can there be, honestly, to
person A can also justify the rule of person B. Ifseparate the rule of a dictator and the rule of an
one person is elected on the island, through someelected official? Historically, both are prone to
sort of Republic process, how is he justified incommit the most atrocious acts, often defending
passing and enforcing laws? If an elected rulerthemselves with the idea that they are defending
passes a law that anyone to wear a hat is killed,their land.
would it not be equally justified for one dissidentFurthermore, both presidents and kings have
to make their own government, passing legislationaccepted bribery and corruption. What can there
that wearing hats is acceptable?be to separate a Dictatorship and a Republic? It
A government may be defined as a person or astill gives one person, out of thousands, possibly
persons trying to enforce a rule or regulation. Andmillions, it gives this one person control over the
if one government can be formed by one person,rest of the populace. And whether or not a
with legislation passed that possessing headConstitution exists in this Monarchy or Republic,
fashion is illegal, so another one is not more wrongkings and presidents have both trampled them to
in making it legal.pieces in the wake of their search for power and
By what right would one government have thewealth. There is one solitary difference between a
right to tell one person to do, any more than thedictator and a president: one is elected, one is not.
one person would have the right to tell what theThe similarities between these two, though, is
government to do? Is there anything intrinsicallyendless: their cruel search for power, the history
distinctive of either the individual or theof their relentlessness in eliminating enemies, they
government that allows one to control the otherrule a population without restrain or control, save
without restraint? If this individual opposed thethe remnants of their conscience.
state's regulation as much as the state opposedThe United States' administration differs from that
the individual's actions, how is one more justified inof a Latin Dictatorship in one way: how they are
controlling the other? There can be no appeal tochosen. The United States goes through the
one being intrinsically right and one beingprocess of election where we choose our
intrinsically wrong: there have been just as manypresident, but even this failed, as the majority
bad governments as there have been bad rebels.voted against the president who seized power. If
So, if a party of people lived on an island, whothere is any proof of corruption of power, of
would govern who, and how could it possibly behow a president is nothing more than a dictator,
justified?then let it be this: our current president was
Take into consideration the lack of justification forvoted against by the people, but he rules us
government to rule anyone on this island, as foranyway. His laws control our bodies, even though
the United States to rule anyone on this land. Justwe did not choose him. George W. Bush is not in
as a government on the island can oppose anpower because he was elected. He is in power
individual's actions, so does our United Statesbecause of his army, because of his secret,
government oppose some of our actions, as theyunderground spy network which keeps tabs on
carry out their regulation. Use of Marijuana, a+300 million American suspects. The difference
harmless practice, has been banned by the state.between a Republic and a Dictatorship is election,
By what writ can the government jail Marijuanabut both governments give unfair power to one
users, any more than Marijuana users can enforceperson to rule all people, and both are productive
their own regulation allowing Marijuana? If a policeof heartless, cruel atrocities.
officer is justified in arresting members of societyThe Ending
who do no harm but just commit a crime, then aBy what right does a police officer have to detain
citizen must be justified in arresting theme, anymore than I have the right to detain the
government equally. There is no divine mandatepolice officer? How isa president more qualified to
given to anyone to rule, control, and kill others, berule a populace than a dictator? Why is it so
it any populace member or any government.impossible to imagine a society that rules itself,
The similarities between the hypothetical islandwith Direct Democracy, and no leaders or police
scenario and the United States government areofficers?