Classic Christmas movies that say taxes are theft!

Author: Tom Muhlen, fee.org

These wonderful works of freedom have disappeared from today's politically correct holiday stuffing.

"And it came to pass, that there went out a decree from Augustus Caesar, that all the world should be taxed. And all were to be taxed, every man in his own city: for to disobey the Roman emperor was death."

This message at the beginning of the 1968 film The Little Drummer Boy is as rich and pleasing to the ear as Greer Garson's melodious voice-over.

First, because the fact that Bethlehem was so overcrowded that there was “no room in the inn” for Joseph and Mary was not a natural development. It was caused by the state, as indeed is all the misery in the world. Second, because universal taxation was enforced by the threat of violence, since refusal to pay meant “certain death.”

And all of this happens in the first 30 seconds of the film. A libertarian couldn't have hoped for a better start.

Throughout the narrative, taxation is repeatedly denied. Garson goes on to note that "there were good people who couldn't afford the cruel tax." Even the film's main villain, Ben Haramad (voiced by José Ferrer), who kidnaps Aaron to force him to perform in his traveling show, addresses the audience as "dear fellow taxpayers," demonstrating that as bad as he himself is, he and his audience suffer from a much more cruel and malicious oppressor.

I couldn't be happier that my seven-year-old daughter saw all of this, along with a very appropriate introduction to the gospel stories. With the central lesson of Thanksgiving—that communism is deadly and that private property is fundamental to human survival—almost completely erased from the mass consciousness, it was refreshing to see these basic libertarian ideas in a classic Christmas movie.

Santa Claus is arriving

Then, we lined up to watch another classic from the same DVD collection – “Santa Claus is Coming” from 1970. This film did not disappoint either. Again, the main suffering in the aptly named “Dark City” has the same origin – the state. We can’t help but draw a comparison between Burgermeister Meisterburger’s idiotic anti-toy law and the US government’s war on drugs. All the familiar characteristics are there.

First, the law is completely ineffective and fails to stop the children of Grim City from playing with toys, aided by the young and energetic Kris Kringle. When the government confiscates the toys, Kringle brings new ones. When the government starts searching houses, Kringle hides the toys in socks above the fireplace.

As always, any failure of government to thwart human activity leads to more repressive measures. As is done these days in the “Land of the Free,” the government eventually resorts to raids without warning, in which armed men break down doors and enter the homes of both the innocent and the guilty. Parents and children hug each other in fear.

Meisterberger demonstrates the traditional hypocrisy of the state when it breaks its own law by playing with a yo-yo given to it by Kringle. It's a very effective analogy to the drug trade with government involvement - this applies to both the street cops who have "gone bad" and the CIA with its vast covert operations.

Meisterberger further exposes the American government's absurd enforcement of this unjust law, arresting not only Kris Kringle, but his entire family, his future wife Jessica, and even the transformed Winter Warlock. All are charged with "conspiracy" - a tactic used by the state to circumvent the rules of evidence in court, which has landed over two million people in prison.

The story has its useful idiot in the form of Jessica, who initially fully supports this law, until Kringle gives her a china doll. Realizing how harmless her entertainment with the doll is to others, she eventually begins to question the meaning of the ban.

Kringle escapes from prison with the help of Winter Warlock's flying stag and remains an outlaw for many years to come. Yet the story ends on a happy note, as the libertarians outlive the oppressive Meisterburgers, who eventually "die out and are left without power." As Fred Astaire's voiceover narrates:

"Soon the good people realized how stupid Meisterburger's laws were. They laughed a little and then forgot about them."

If only good American citizens could attain similar wisdom.

There is no better way for a young person to learn a radical libertarian lesson than in this delightful little Christmas story. The state is evil. Its decrees are often unjust and result in unnecessary misery. The hero of the story is an outlaw who commits civil disobedience to bring a little happiness to his friend.

Conservatives often complain that modern Christmas movies remove Jesus Christ from the holiday, turning it into a secular celebration of gift-giving and merriment. This isn’t hard to understand—coming from “progressive” Hollywood, whose dislike of Christianity is rivaled only by its dislike of free enterprise. It also explains why these wonderful libertarian theses have disappeared from today’s politically correct holiday fare.

Whatever your religious beliefs, and even if you don't have any, you can't go wrong watching these classic Christmas movies with your kids. Not only will they learn the true meaning of Christmas, but they'll also be taught the fundamental libertarian principle from a young age that the state is evil.

God bless us all.

Translation from English: Tsvetanka Fileva

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