[MD] Value and the Individual

[Arlo Bensinger]

[Platt]
Collectivism as I use it describes a system of government where 
individuals are subservient to the state.

[Arlo]
And what makes one "subservient"? Taxation? Does public funding of 
roads and waterways make us "subservient"? Are we subservient because 
we fund public libraries? Subservient because we fund public lands 
and public parks?

Are we subservient when the state can tell us who we can marry? Are 
we subservient when the state tells us we are not allowed to marry 
outside our race? Outside our gender? How many we can be married to?

Are we subservient when we are forced to pay for a war we may not believe in?

Are we subservient when the state tells us we must use its currency?

Are we subservient for funding a governmental bureau of weights and 
measure standards?

Are we subservient when the state can tell us what we can consume? 
Where we can consume it? Are we subservient for forbidding people 
from using marijuana? Heroin? Meth? Opium? Peyote?

Are we subservient to the state for funding emergency and police 
services, EMT and fire response units? What about Diving Rescue? If 
your child gets lost hiking, are we subservient for funding Search 
and Rescue Units?

Are we subservient to the state when it tells us how loud our 
motorcycles can be?