the Rules of the Road |
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Your Dream Machine by
This essay was first completed on Tuesday, November 17, 1992 and was most recently revised on Tuesday, May 20, 2014. This document is approximately 498 words long. Other essays in this collection are available on Pharos. This essay is LiteraShare. That means that it isn't for sale and that it isn't protected by a formal
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Your Dream Machine
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Your Dream Machine
So you finally made that last payment and the Dream Machine is finally yours, all yours. But, .... What happens if a cop has it towed away? You didn't give him your permission, he just did it. There are only two possibilities. Either he stole it or he didn't steal it. If he stole your Dream Machine, then you can have him arrested and recover it. Obviously, you can't do so. That demonstrates empirically that he didn't steal it. Since he didn't steal the car, that necessarily means that he didn't take the car away from the owner. To do that would be stealing it and he didn't steal it. If he didn't take the car away from the owner, then that means that it remained in the possession of the owner. Again, there are only two possibilities. Either the cop owned the car or he was acting as an agent for someone who did. If the cop was the owner, then he'd keep the car and use it himself or sell it. That isn't what happens. He turns the car over to someone else. Clearly, he was only acting for the owner. Who's the owner? Think about it for a minute. Who determines what equipment is required on the car and what insurance it must have? Who decides what kind of fuel to use in it? Who determines how fast it's allowed to go? Who requires that the operator must be licensed before he can use the car, and decides what qualifications are necessary for the license? Who requires the operator and passengers in the car to wear seat belts? Who requires that the operator pay an annual fee for the use of the car, and determines how much the fee will be, and will reclaim any car which doesn't display evidence of current payment? Who? Right. That's who owns the car. If you believe that you
own it, then you must be dreaming.
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Your Dream Machine
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the Rules of the Road |
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