Frank Zappa The Conservative

Way back in 1986 a certain Mr. Frank Zappa made a famous appearance on CNN's Crossfire programme during which Frank declared himself a Conservative(read Libertarian). The discussion was about civil liberties and freedom of speech in particular. It seems the Kulturkampf as the cultural war is being described now(in the blogsphere) has not moved on much in two decades. Authoritarians of both left and right seemed determined as ever to tell people what to think and do.

In Britain most people seem oblivious to the steady erosion of liberty, happy to watch mind numbing reality TV their only concerns being moving up the property ladder and what next to buy with their equity inflated credit cards. Meanwhile the Labour governments constant desire to control leads to badly drafted and plain dumb laws being passed. The left's so called progressiveness has become populist reaction.

Two prime examples(of dumb laws) are human rights legislation and ASBO's(anti social behaviour orders). The human rights legislation may seem like something your average Libertarian would support but it is being used and interpreted in ridiculous ways. Gypsies have used human rights legislation to make themselves exempt from planning laws, due to their right to family life. Even more crazily a council has slapped an ASBO on a woman who keeps trying to kill herself. The ASBO states she has to stay away from rivers and multistorey carparks, that's bound to cheer her up. Who needs Prozac when you can have a multi purpose ASBO! Let's chuck ASBOs at all nutters and the world will be a better place.

I think Frank would agree with me the less laws the better.