Genesis of the "NO" Logo
In history there have been two basic forms of social organization: collectivism and individualism. In the 20th and 21st century, collective variations have included socialism, fascism, Nazism, and communism. Under collectivism, a ruling class of “intellectuals”, bureaucrats, politicians and/or social planners decides what people want or what is “good” for society and then uses the coercive power of the State to regulate, tax and redistribute wealth in an attempt to achieve their desired objectives. Individualism is a political and social philosophy that emphasizes individual liberty, belief in the primary importance of the individual and in the virtues of self-reliance and personal independence and responsibility. It embraces opposition to controls over the individual when exercised by the state. The Preamble to our Constitution makes it plain that all power rests originally with the people, as individuals.
The “O” within the circle represents collectivism in its various forms. The “N” represents an emphatic repudiation of collectivism. The red, white and blue circles encompassing the “NO” are emblematic of our Republic. It is the responsibility of the individuals in an engaged and enlightened republic to limit the influence of the government, especially one that attempts to wield power outside the boundaries delineated by the Constitution.
The fair taxes demanded by the left ignore the uncomfortable truth that the rich receive less from government than most of us. When the rich send children to private schools, public schools need less money from taxpayers. Wealthy Americans who live in gated communities need less police protection than other Americans. The rich do not need Medicaid, public housing, or welfare. Those who produce little or nothing and who pay almost no taxes gobble up huge amounts of taxpayer-funded services. Our noble instinct for charity governs part of this help for the poor, and charity is a modest, real virtue. But coerced government transfers of wealth are not charity at all. When the serpent slithers into the picture, then the gratitude toward charity felt by the poor morphs into the venomous predator of social justice.
