The "Barefoot Boy Bandit"

I just came across this article. I thought I would take the time to comment on what I thought about it and Colton Harris-Moore, this modern "folk legend."

So basically, this boy is a criminal (and I do admire his agility, you don't see that many subtle giants - he is 6'5.). I am not putting any kind of negative connotation on that word here, but by American standards, yes, he is a criminal. He has committed multiple felonies, hunts without a permit (I'm assuming on this one), and has possibly even shot at a police officer. However, after reading the comment section, I see that he is gathering quite the following of fans. After all, the article reports that pictures of him have sold online for 300 dollars, and there are movie deals and merchandise already involved.

I'm not going to lie, when I read the article I felt a little excited because the kid seems like the real smooth criminal type, just like all men want to someday be involved in a heist (but most are just too afraid of getting caught to actually follow through). For a second I wanted to be him. And I suspect that that is what is so attractive about this guy. He is a total badass, and men everywhere are bound to envy him.

This really got me thinking. We set laws in our country to protect the people, and when those laws are violated the violators are arrested and sentenced accordingly. Don't get me wrong, I know police brutality can be an issue and sometimes the law just doesn't seem fair. But everyone has to be treated the same in order to maintain justice in our society. In theory, what this teenage boy has been doing for years should be frowned upon, not celebrated. However, throughout the history of the United States, we have been celebrating heroes like Tony Montana, Robin Hood (I know, he is fictional), and so on. There have been countless criminals in history whom the people have admired and even come to love.

So why do we do this? I was thinking that maybe it has to do with the fact that people often feel oppressed by the government. Like it or not, politicians do indeed have a position of power, and it looks like we'll have a strong central form of government for a while. Theoretically, we should love our government, and love the protection and guidance that they provide for us. So why don't we? I am not criticizing American citizens, I am merely intrigued. And I think I may have the answer.

Since the beginning of man governments have risen and fallen, all according to what the people wanted. When it really comes down to it, the civilians have the power. That was the way that our country was designed, and even if it was a dictatorship, the people would still have the manpower to stage a successful revolt. Sure, the government is there for our convenience, but we often forget that. Some nations fear their leaders, we try and push ours around. What we really fear is losing power.

Man's basic instinct is to love power. The power to control one's own destiny, and even the destinies of others, is something that is very hard to resist. When given power, man never wants to give it up. And man, oh man, do we Americans have it. In fact, we as a whole can manipulate the federal government to do whatever we want. All it takes is a vote.

That right there is it. We hate the government. We hate the police. Deep down, every one of us hates them at least a little bit. And that is because we hate the fact that we have to share that power. Each and every one of us wants to do whatever we want, whenever we want. But we compromise our control to live up to the standards of society.

Colton Harris-Moore does not compromise anything. He lives his life the way he wants to. And we are jealous. That's all it comes down to. He can do what he wants, when he wants, whereas all of the rest of us have to be miserable (for the most part) and lead lives with economical struggles and difficult jobs.

But if we all followed Colton's example and essentially became barbarians, wouldn't it become much less admirable? I believe that it would no longer represent freedom, but chaos and insanity. Either way, we normal people will never be content with one side or the other. We all want to be powerful, and there just isn't enough power to go around.