Why Doesn't George Takei "Hate the State?"

“Be the change that you wish to see in the world.” - Mahatma GandhiIn a recent TED talk, actor George Takei gave a speech recounting the tale of how, at the age of five, he and his family were taken to an internment camp for Japanese Americans during World War II. While Takei's story is frightening from a historical perspective, his attitude that developed from this traumatizing experience is truly inspiring. I highly recommend watching the 15 minute or so talk, and we'll pick up down below.By all rights, George Takei should have every reason to "hate the state" for what the U.S. government did to him and his family. Forcibly removing the Takei family from their property and placing them in detention is an absolute affront to every ideal America is supposed to value. It could have easily made George Takei into a jaded, bitter anarchist who wants to burn all of the world's governments to the ground.And yet, as he grew up and had discussions with his father, he came to realize that hate was not the proper path, and that he could still stand up for the same ideals he believed in despite the tragic events that occurred to him. George says his father told him,"Our democracy is a people's democracy; it can be as great as people can be, and as fallible as people are."Set aside any reservations about "democracy" as a form of government you might have for a moment; that is not important here. What's important is the attitude, and it pertains to any society or any government. A government, or "the State" of any given area is, at least on some level, a product of the philosophy of it's citizens. When you have a citizenry that doesn't understand or hold a respect for individual rights, you will surely see those rights violated, whether it's through internment camps for Japanese families, or the modern day internment faced by so many victims of the War on Drugs. Takei came to realize that to create a better future, a better world, where the idea of families being sent to camps based solely on their historic country of origin was rightly seen as abhorrent, he had to be part of the positive change he wanted to see in the world. There is a reason George Takei is so popular on social media; the positive attitude that he emits to the world is contagious.Contrast this attitude with that of anarchist Christopher Cantwell. In a recent speech, titled "How the Libertarian Party Saved My Life", Cantwell describes how several of his encounters with law enforcement caused him to "hate the state", and become an anarchist.http://youtu.be/OzxjFc2ctHoCantwell's story inspires sympathy on some level. He was probably in a similar circumstance many other individuals find themselves in when they get behind the wheel after having had too much to drink. His attempt to correct his error is ironically what landed him in jail. At the same time, he did hold some control over the situation, and just like any other adult, the consequences for drinking and driving are well known. It should not have been a complete surprise that doing so could bring hardship upon himself.I'm certainly glad that Christopher Cantwell ultimately decided to vent his frustration with his experiences with "the law" and advocate for a more just society through his blogs, videos, and other activism. It's certainly a more productive avenue than going out and shooting cops, as Cantwell admits he fantasizes about and has tacitly supported doing in his writing.Government agents, one could argue quite unjustly, committed wrongs upon Christopher Cantwell, and as a result they created a very angry man who embodies the "hate the State" attitude to a tee. Meanwhile, George Takei was imprisoned at the age of five, along with his family, through no fault of their own whatsoever. But instead of just being angry at "the State", Takei attempts to make the world a better place through his attitude and his activism.If we ran down a litany of political positions, I have little doubt that I would be in much greater agreement with Christopher Cantwell than with George Takei, and it's probably not even close. But when it comes to having the right attitude to create real, positive change towards a more free society, liberty-lovers could learn a serious lesson from Captain Sulu.I leave you with one of Takei's finest on screen moments.http://youtu.be/szS3SJDaBGcReceive access to ALL of our EXCLUSIVE bonus audio content – including “Conspiracy Corner”, “Degenerate Gamblers” and the “League of Liberty Podcast” by joining the Lions of Liberty Pride and supporting us on Patreon!