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THE AMERICAN TALIBAN

I don't mean Johnny Walker. I mean the strain of American religious bigots
who have been here since the beginning. The "my way or the highway"
religionists. The "believe-like-me-or-else" religionists.

It is no accident that Jerry Falwell and Osama bin Laden have the same
complaints about America. Too sexually permissive, too many homosexuals,
too much alcohol and drug use, and not enough emphasis on religion in the
schools and in the country.

What the Republican Religious Right and the Taliban forget, or more likely
pay no attention to, is that most people don't want to live in a theocracy.
Given the choice, people the world over are putting the religious enforcers
out of business.

In America, the choice was made quite early and at relatively little cost.
I'm refering to the Salem Witch Trial where religious dogma was enforced by
the secular authorities.

In addition, we had the example of the European religious wars fought on
the basis of who was or was not a true Christian. We also had the notable
example of the Inquisition that killed and tortured people with the wrong
beliefs to save their souls.

Thomas Jefferson saw the folly of this sort of behavior and made religious
indifference the conerstone of American federal government. Government was
not allowed to be for or against religion. It could not favor one sect or
religion over another. In this atmosphere, through a pluralism of beliefs,
America is now one of the most religious countries on earth. Compare this
with Europe, where interest in religion is indifferent at best. The rule
is: if you force a man to do something, he will do the opposite. Otherwise,
he will do as he pleases.

But we still have remnants in America of the Puritan totalitarianism. It is
not just the American Taliban of the right against some recreational drugs
and not others. We also have the Taliban of the left and the Tobacco wars.
We know that the drug war has done nothing substantial to restrict
supplies, but it has driven up the price. Correspondingly, the tobacco war
has made no serious restriction on the availability of tobacco and use has
stabilized or even started to rise.

So what have these puritan wars accomplished? They have enriched certain
classes of people at the expense of others-your typical socialist wealth
transfer. In the case of drugs, the main beneficiaries are enforcers,
criminals, and terrorists. In the case of tobacco, the beneficiary has been
government. Both cases represent a tax on the people. In the case of
tobacco, the taxes come from the users and go to government. In the case of
drugs, everyone is taxed to support the Government's Cocaine Price Support
and Gang Finance Program. The profits, of course, go to criminals and
terrorists. Your government at work.

There are other issues that people believe can only be solved by men with
guns-that organization otherwise known as government. Take gay marriage, or
abortion, or the rights of plants, or what to eat for dinner, or what kind
of fuel your car should use. Everyone thinks government should step in and
force people to do the right thing. The problem with all these rules is
that they act as a brake on whatever problem solutions might otherwise come up.

Take the anti-abortion folks. Had they put as much energy in finding a
non-coercive solution to the problem of abortion as they had in getting the
government to act, the number of abortions in America might have been
greatly reduced. When they needed allies, they made enemies. Or the tobacco
mess. Government is now addicted to tobacco money. Will there be much
incentive to actually be effective in reducing smoking? The same can be
said of drug war money. The government is addicted. The government's only
incentive is to maintain policies and programs that maintain or increase
the number of users. And you thought the reason that the government was
losing the war is because of the crafty Mexican smugglers. Government needs
to come with a warning label: Ladies and gentlemen, whatever your
problem-government is not the answer. Long-term use of this system for
problem solutions can be dangerous to your Life, your Liberty, and your
Pursuit of Happiness.

This week's saying: Drug prohibition is a joke inspired by religion
designed to enrich criminals and terrorists in the name of promoting
morality. It is working, except for promoting morality.

Ask a politician: Do you support drug prohibition because it finances
criminals at home or because it finances terrorists abroad?

This week's politician: Sam Brownback of Kansas (R) Senate Judiciary
Committee phone: (202) 224- 6521 FAX: (620) 275-1837 www e-mail site:
http://www.senate.gov/~brownback/CMEmailMe.htm

M.L. Simon is an industrial controls designer and independent political
activist.