A Light Shining in the Darkness

This time of year, adherents to the world's great religions celebrate a Great Light shining in the Darkness. The setting is perfect for inhabitants of the Northern Hemisphere, who have lived through the darkest months of the year and now anticipate the bright days ahead.

Absent its various sectarian interpretations, the symbolism should be especially meaningful for we libertarians, because we see our philosophy and way of life- which is the way of peace and mutual, voluntary cooperation among humankind- as a great light shining in the darkness of centuries of coercion, slavery, and war.

I believe our very lives span the winter solstice of human history. The oldest among us have seen in their own life times, the very blackest horrors governments have ever conceived or perpetrated against humanity. The great darkness of absolute statism in all of its ugly forms, from fascism to communism to military dictatorship, has blanketed the earth in its foul, polluted mire for a century.

Yet in the midst of this great darkness there has shined a great light, the dawn of a new era, and the promise of brighter days to come. Humanity is awakening. I say again- the humanity inside each of us is awakening to the hope and possibility of a free and open society. Playing no small part in this crucial turning point has been the advent of the Internet and the World Wide Web.

Shining a light on the darkness of ignorance, information famine, propaganda, and lies, the Internet is- without any rivals- the number one reason and hope I have for the belief that truth and freedom will prevail over lies and slavery in our lifetimes. Its advent is not only metaphorically a great light shining in the darkness, but quite literally, the use of Light itself to spread and store information. How perfectly poetical!

So I will leave you with the injunction to hope and to marvel at the Great Light men have wrought, and to fight tenaciously to keep that Light free and unobstructed by the designs of power-hungry legislators and executives in Washington. History has no shortage of King Herods.

Barack Obama Tattoos

With Barack Obama's approval ratings still at a solid 62%, I became suddenly curious to know how popular the 44th U.S. President really is. Are people so enamoured with President Obama that I could do a quick Google search and turn up some photos of people with permanent tattoos of Obama inked into their very skin? Oh yeah. It's that bad. Below are ten examples of Barack Obama tattoos (some decent, some pretty awful). PS: As a control, I decided to Google "bush tattoos." I found only two examples in the first couple pages, and they were decidedly anti-Bush. I also learned to never, ever Google "bush tattoos" again. Seriously. Don't. There are some gross tattoos out there. In the interests of full disclosure, I must admit that I am not a fan of President Obama . But I've got to say that the tattoos above aren't nearly as bad as this: Editor's note: The pictures are linked to their respective sources. To view the source pages, simply click ...

Legal Marijuana On The Michigan Ballot for 2018

A Michigan ballot initiative to legalize recreational marijuana received enough valid signatures to qualify for a vote in November. When the required number of ballot signatures was certified by the State Board of Canvassers, the 4-0 decision of the board was met by cheers from supporters of the initiative who were present, the Detroit Free Press reports . Rick Thompson, a board member of the Michigan National Organization for the Reform of Marijuana Laws (NORML), put this ballot initiative in perspective as a matter of the State of Michigan safeguarding its own sovereignty and protecting its own citizens from an intrusive federal policy: "The people of Michigan deserve this. They earned it. We've faced many trials and tribulations. We've had so many stop and go signs from the federal government. That's why states have to take the reins on the issue and really be the crucibles of democracy that they've always been intended to be." Indeed the last time ...

What I did on the ten year anniversary of 9-11

During my brief trip to Korea, on the ten year anniversary of 9-11, I did exactly what the terrorists didn't want me to do: I lived without anxiety. I lived without regrets. I lived without fear. I let nothing intimidate me. I let my soul be still. I laughed with my friends. I tried something new. I marveled at nature. I sang at the top of my lungs... badly. My heart was at ease, because I spent all day knowing that for me, this day and every one that preceded it for the last decade was not about the terrorists, but about loving my life, the world I live it in, and the people with whom I am so lucky to share this world. The best memorial I could offer for so many thousands murdered ten years ago, was to ignore their murderers, live without terror in my heart, and in its place let blossom joy. This post is dedicated to you, chingu . Wes Messamore , Editor in Chief, T H L Articles | Author's Page

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