Liberty is defined as the quality or state of being free. The words liberty and freedom are often used interchangeably in the land of the free. Americans pledge allegiance to a tri-colored flag, celebrate their “freedom” on the Fourth of July by attending a fireworks display, and vote in elections to determine who will be the next man or woman to have influence over their lives. This is what is considered free in the United States of America. The truth is the USA has not had liberty or freedom since the Revolutionary War was fought. The Founders who wrote the Constitution did not adhere to the very document they authored, and every elected official since has also ignored the Constitution, and the people have not held these individuals accountable for violating the document that is supposed to keep government limited and free from tyranny. In the words of Thomas Jefferson “all tyranny needs to gain a foothold is for people of good conscience to remain silent”. Have the people been silent? Have they allowed tyranny to take a foothold in the United States of America?
In order to answer those questions, one must understand the meaning of the word tyranny. The definition of tyranny is unjust or oppressive governmental power. Is there a government at any level in the United States of America that wields unjust or oppressive power? What is considered unjust? While unjust governmental power seems like a subjective term, it is only subjective if there is no comprehension of what is liberty. What of the oppressive power? Is oppressive also subjective? Again, this is only subjective to those who do not comprehend what is liberty. Governments at all levels, local, county, state, and federal, have unjust and oppressive laws. A law is unjust and oppressive if it violates the right to life, liberty, or property.
The rights to life, liberty, and property are all connected. The right to life comes from the right to self-ownership of the individual; the individual has authority over him or herself and answers to no one. The right to property extends from the right to life based on the individual having ownership over his or her biological property, their body. The right to liberty also extends from the right to life; it is logical that an individual that owns him or herself is free from subjugation.
Now to get back to the questions previously posed. Have the people been silent? While there have been a few men and women that have spoken out about the encroachment on inalienable rights by governments, most people have endured these encroachments as necessary to ensure the safety of everyone. Have the people allowed tyranny to take a foothold in the United States of America? No individual has the right to delegate a right they do not possess to others. Is this not what voting is accomplishing? By voting, the majority is able to exert its will on the minority; rights that they do not possess are being granted to other individuals who also do not prevent those rights. There is no right to take from the fruit of the labor of others, yet there is heavy taxation in the land of the free. “Taxation is the price we pay for a civilized society” is an illogical and uneducated cliché. Instead of allowing the extortion that is taxation the people endure. Yes, the people have been silent. Did the people revolt when Lincoln ordered men from the northern states to murder men from the southern states? No. Did the people revolt when the Federal Reserve Act was signed into law, thereby granting the issuance of currency to a private bank? No. Did the people revolt when presidents lied in order to send men to war? No. Did the people revolt when the right to bear arms was incrementally turned into a privilege? No.
People have taken to the ballot box with the idea of “voting the bums out” of office. How did those bums take office in the first place? Voting. The ballot box is nothing more than a revolution of ideas; people vote for a candidate whose ideas align with theirs, and when those candidates take office, more laws are signed into law in order to appease their constituents. What happens when those laws violate the rights to life, liberty, and property? The angry mob takes to the ballot box to once again vote the bums out. It’s a cycle that allowed the tyranny to take hold and has since enabled the tyrant to escalate.
The current situation with the covid-19 “pandemic” is a perfect example of the people remaining silent in the name of tyranny. With a few exceptions, most people have obeyed the shelter in place decrees. Businesses have been closed for the greater good. Millions have become unemployed as a result. The tyranny will continue until the people finally learn the value of the two-letter word no. The belief that an elected official, or oftentimes an unelected official appointed by one of the electorates, has authority over others is the cause of the tyranny. Thomas Jefferson is quoted as saying “Experience hath shewn, that even under the best forms of government those entrusted with power have, in time, and by slow operations, perverted it into tyranny”. This quote from over 200 years ago has proven to be true time and time again, yet the people remain silent. Unless action is taken those in government accept your silence as consent to be ruled.
The United States of America was formed after a violent revolution that was fought over attempted gun confiscation by the British. These were farmers, men with families, who risked everything they had for the cause of liberty. These men were no different than the men of today, except for one thing: the desire to be free. While it can be argued these men made a mistake of forming a new government to replace the old, these men did what they thought was necessary. These were men who wanted future generations to preserve their freedom. “The spirit of resistance to government is so valuable on certain occasions that I wish it to be always kept alive” – Thomas Jefferson.
French political thinker Montesquieu once stated “there is no greater tyranny than that which is perpetrated under the shield of the law and in the name of justice”. This is evident today by taxes being levied under the guise of providing infrastructure, police, courts, welfare programs, etc. This is legalized plunder, extortion that is enforced at the barrel of a gun. No, elected officials are not sending men and women with guns to force you to pay taxes, but that does not mean these laws are not enforced by the threat of violence. Laws that criminalize normal every day activity serve no other purpose than to generate revenue for the state.
When will the people reach their limit? Norman Vincent Peale once said “Once we roared like lions for liberty; now we bleat like sheep for security!”. Sadly, this is true. Instead of having a spirit of rebellion, there is a spirit of compliance. I for one cannot tolerate the idea that my children will inherit a world less free than the one they currently know. How can any father look his sons and daughters in the eyes when asked what he did to stop the tyranny? How embarrassing would it be to say “I posted memes online and went to a second amendment rally armed”. That’s it? Is that how the tyrants will relinquish their grip on power? Of course not. The legal fiction that is government and those who are in control of said legal fiction only know force. The force of the State must be repelled by the force of the people. There are over 300 million Americans, if one third of that number is armed, why is the State not afraid of the people? Because the people are afraid of the State. The State only exists in your mind. The authority of elected officials exists in your mind. The people of the world are prisoners of their own mind by believing in these fictitious entities.
What is the solution? Peaceful resistance for starters. Stop complying with unjust laws. Disobey edicts from elected officials that violate your inalienable rights. Teach your children to value liberty over security. Live outside of the State. You do not require a license to operate a motor vehicle on the roadways, you do not require a license to carry a weapon on your person. Taxation is extortion, and you do not have any obligation to give away the fruits of your labor. Engage in voluntary association with your neighbors; trade and barter to avoid using currency. Repel agents of the State when they encroach on your right to life, liberty, or property. Only when enough people are willing to live outside of the State can liberty be achieved. Only when people are willing to die for the cause of liberty can liberty be achieved. Don’t do it for you, do it for your children, for your grandchildren, give them a gift more valuable than gold. Give them liberty.
