Joe commented, “Why can’t they just leave me alone?” Further discussion revealed what Joe meant. The pain and frustration was evident. Anger kept weaving its way in and out of our conversation.

And finished when Joe’s shoulders sunk, his head dropped and shook right to left and Joe said, “It’s hopeless.” Have you ever faced overpowering hopelessness? Well, Joe has.

Joe feels it goes against his nature to accept government commands through force. Joe wants to acquire more choices and comforts through his own labors and entrepreneurship. Joe’s angry that government has decided who wins and who loses. Joe complained how he has to wait until the government decides what it’s going to do before he can get on with his life.

Joe feels he’s not allowed to publically express his emotions without scrutiny and castigation. Joe wonders how anyone can have their own sense of fulfillment, passion, values and justice. Joe hates the influence being exercised by a government that doesn’t have a clue of who he is or what he believes and feels.

Joe proclaimed, “I have qualities, why don’t they count?” They’re even trying to tell me what it means to be a man!

When Joe left, I was bummed. My thoughts went something like this: Trying to deal with the government is like playing chess with a pigeon: no matter how good I play, the pigeon is just going to knock down the pieces, crap on the board and strut around like it’s victorious.

Libertarian Ludwig von Mises said, “Economic control is not merely control of a sector of human life that can be separated from the rest, it is the control of the means of all our ends.”

When government interference hits you, what do you tell yourself? What’ll I tell Joe?