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A small Libertarian moment...

... because life really is about a lot more than politics and policies.

There is a creek about thirty feet wide that runs through the center of town in Breckenridge, Colorado. The water, which rushes swiftly, varies between six inches and maybe two and a half feet deep [there are a couple of small holes that are deeper]. There are rocks and boulders strewn around--some jagged, some slippery, some flattened and nicely rounded.

What you do in Breckenridge on a sunny July day is go down and sit by the creek and watch your kids and grandkids from about age four on up wading in the creek and jumping haphazardly from rock to rock.

Sometimes a kid slips and busts his or her ass on a rock. On very rare occasions a smaller child will lose footing and be swept along pell-mell for five or ten feet before some other kid or a nearby parent snags the sputtering tyke.

Everybody laughs.

There is not a single sign from the town of Breckenridge to remind you that there is no lifeguard, that you enter the water at your own risk, or that parents should remain within arm's reach of a non-swimming child.

There's no trash in the creek.

Everybody just sort of watches out for their kid and any other kids in view.

Amazing: social self-organization without the State.

Obviously this has to be stopped.

Comments

Anonymous said…
Steve, I appreciate you visiting our state. But we don't like to advertise these things to the world. If everyone finds out what it is like, more people will come here and try to ruin it.

So, in the future, please turn all blog posts regarding Colorado into something like the following:

1. It snows constantly and there are blizzards year round. It is routinely -15C in July as the high.
2. You'll immediately get altitude sickness and you'll be dizzy and sick the entire time.
3. The mountains are covered in trash and the roads are barely maintained.
4. We have a serious Velociraptor problem, even in the towns and cities. No one is safe if they go to Colorado.

Thanks,

Libertarian in Colorado
Anonymous said…
Breckenridge is a gorgeous place. we were there in october about 8 years ago visiting friends and went through town and we stopped into a small little cafe for hot chocolate and started talking to the owners who were from hockessin.

golden is also a beautiful place.

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