45 Or 46 Songs That Weren't Good Enough To Go On Our Other Records
2002 | Punk
“It has to do with freedom and personal liberty, I don't fuck with you don't fuck with me.”
Trivia
- The album was released as a double album despite all tracks fitting on a single CD.
- This particular song was recorded during the Pump Up The Valium recording sessions but was initially released on the Timmy The Turtle 7".
- NOFX has sold over 8 million albums worldwide despite never being on a major label.
THE HOT TAKES
Luke Tatum
At least there's no question on this song as to whether it's libertarian or not! Could you call this a precursor to Backwordz? Maybe not, but it's certainly direct. I love the insight that "Morals aren't substance you can shove in someone's ear; They're basically a bi-product of a mind thinking clear!" I mean, isn't that all we are? People who have taken the time to really think through what morality means, and what the consequences of government actions are going to be? We've been helped along the way, sometimes by Mises, sometimes by Rothbard, sometimes by Hayek, sometimes by Hoppe, sometimes by Bastiat, sometimes by Nock. But regardless of the thinkers that got us there, we're just using the same ruler to measure all that's around us. There's no magic "government ruler" that they get to use for themselves. Theft is theft, even if you call it taxation, et cetera.
Sherry Voluntary
“Cuz morals aren't substance you can shove in someone's ear/They're basically a bi-product of a mind thinking clear” This line reminds me of the frustration I feel at times when having a conversation about an anarchists ideal society, before they understand the morality of non-agression and self ownership. It’s hard to imagine a society not founded on violence and coercion. While many people say freedom, very few actually believe in it fully. The population has been sold a bill of goods that not only makes them complicit in violence but blinds them to the possibilities of something better. Like Jonathan Haidt says in his book, The Righteous Mind, “Morality binds and blinds. It binds us into ideological teams that fight each other as though the fate of the world depended on our side winning each battle. It blinds us to the fact that each team is composed of good people who have something important to say.” While everyone is subject to this at times, I think it is especially applicable to those who believe in authority. Authoritarianism is the exact opposite of libertarianism, and its very foundation is another’s right to control you to some degree. For all the criticisms of libertarianism, at least it doesn’t come at the end of a gun.
Nicky P
These guys put me in a weird place. I can 100% get behind this song but I know its just part of the flirtation punk rock had with libertarianism for a while years ago. I know Fat Mike is out there right supporting Antifa somewhere. It's disheartening knowing that freedom is OK until it let's people with different (Conservative) ideas do as they please or in the worst cases, hate who they want to hate. Freedom is a first principle for me. In truth I'm far closer to Fat Mike on the social side of things than the Tom Woods/Ron Paul camp I find myself surrounded by. I'm a weird deviant and I'm perfectly fine with that. I understand that there are plenty of people, even the aforementioned that absolutely wouldn't think positively of many of my lifestyle choices, but afford me the ability to live as I choose as long as I give them that right in return. I love the content of this song, yet it screams of hypocrisy. It's gems like this that give me hope at least. There is a kernal in there somewhere. Perhaps someday it will take root and open up the minds of those who already feel enlightened. Maybe they'll learn some economics too.