Tag: Freedom

The Individual Sovereign

“A well regulated militia being necessary to security of a free state, the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed.”

The power to bring death is the assurance of individual sovereignty. The ability to control that power is what makes civility. From hunting food, to defending self, family and community, the ability and skills necessary to kill provide an individual not only with the means to survive, but to thrive and make decisions about polity within the civil society.

Without the power of death, the individual is not really sovereign at all. With that, the individual is vested with a great deal of responsibility to be ethical, morally guided by strong principles to protect his family and community. How can I be assured that my choices are honored if I have not the power to threaten, to depose tyrants, if I have not the power they have assumed to themselves?

Yet, if I abuse that power, I do not deserve that power. In essence this is the definition of crime. Killing and murdering are two distinct things, though the act may look very similar. It is the individual abuse of powers vested in the individual by natural law. The right must be exercised only for defensive or survival purposes, or be lost. The community being threatened by such abuse, now has the responsibility to remove the sovereignty from such an individual. Indeed, one who demonstrates inability to control power over life and death, must not be allowed to have that power any longer.

This is also why those who have demonstrated no disposition to crime, be vested with the right, the authority to keep and to bear arms. This right must not be infringed lest it be lost. It is the responsible person who is the “well regulated.” The mature man, free and strong must protect these values from his position of strength, his position of having the power of lethality. For if the responsible person is infringed upon, then he is vulnerable to the unscrupulous, victim to the irresponsible, and eviscerated by any who abuses the power over life and death, be it scoundrel or force of government. But if he remains free, without infringement, then he can protect and preserve and encourage the civil society.

Choosing to participate in the civil society is an act of the individual sovereign. It is an act of one with the power over life and death. But if that participation is to remain in force, there is the need to freely, but responsibly exercise the use of deadly force. Herein lies the rub with modern society in the United States. It is as though the individual no longer has the choice of participation. This is the offense of “political correctness.” I may not agree with the apparent choices presented by pop culture or media or government. My choices are not honored in the social contract. My choices not being honored, how then am I to remain sovereign?

“When in the course of human events, it becomes necessary for one people to dissolve the political bands which have connected them with another, …” (Declaration of Independence).
I do not know whether this necessity has come upon us just yet. Yet! Yet, it seems to fast approach! The time has certainly come to declare the causes which impel us toward possible separation. I’ll keep that for later.

First, to address our options. The second amendment must stand unfettered. I mean all the current infringements operating against it must fall down. Spurious laws infringing it must be repealed. The arguments as to which those are will be too many to cover here, but to suffice it to say, the federal government has become too powerful when it blocks us from enjoying the freedoms of natural law.

The second option is to exercise the 5th article of the constitution. This means the states must regain their original powers of censure over the federal government. A convention of the states may bring amendments, or repeal amendments as seen fit to reduce the power of the federal government from this posture of threatening both individual sovereignty and state sovereignty.

Simply voting is not an option, unless preceded by a massive spiritual awakening, thereby voting in the properly moral people to offices across the land. The federal government is currently operating out of sync with the people. Expecting the federal government to reform itself is laughable at this point.

If the United States of America is to thrive on, individual sovereignty must be addressed at all levels. The rights of the individual have been abrogated at nearly all levels. Currently, across the nation, anti second amendment forces are gathering momentum to infringe upon this most sacred and powerful authority granted to individuals by natural law. The more they succeed, the closer we are driven to the inevitable, the collapse of the civil society, the fall of the social contract, that course of human events in which we must chart a new course. In that course, we will “…appeal to the Supreme Judge of the world for the rectitude of our intentions.” (Declaration of Independence). For it is with our individual sovereignty that we must forge ahead.

PROTECTING THE SECOND AMENDMENT

I want to protect and defend the entire constitution of the United States of America. I pledge to do so. In particular, though, the 2nd Amendment stands out to me as preeminent. It demands responsibility of all who enjoy it. It condemns those who abuse it.

Throughout history, tyrants have first sought to separate their subjects from this right to self defense for obvious reasons. After all, it is difficult to abuse those who can and will fight back. That is what makes the USA so very unique, indeed, exceptional in world history. Our founding principle was to protect citizens, so that we would never become subjects.

Yet, in the state of Oregon, history has brought us to a culmination of hatred for the freedoms and obligations that I’m addressing. In the following link, let the reader peruse Democrat proposals in our new legislative session. I’ll place the link at the bottom of my remarks, in order that my reader might actually finish reading my thoughts here.

My criticism of these several bills may be generally summed up in that they have one common theme, that is not mentioned. Everyone of them has an underlying strategy. That is to reveal to the government exactly who owns what weapon. The real goal of each bill is to discreetly encase in law the registration of firearms. Grandpa’s old gun, sitting quietly in some safe now, will be insured…and that process alone will suffice to register it with the government. And registration, history teaches us, leads to confiscation. It is already happening in CA, NY and CT. These schemes, if passed, are going to paralyze the exercise of freedom, of the 2nd Amendment in Oregon. Full of toxic, paralyzing, infringing, entangling rules and regulations, they will have their intended effect: the ban on the free exercise of the right to self defense. Yes, every tyrant’s wet dream.

Do you doubt me? I would urge you to research the regulations already in effect in many other states. CA, NJ, NY IL, and on and on. In other words, the enemies of freedom know they can’t get an outright ban or repeal of the 2nd Amendment. But with the funding of billionaires like Paul Allen, Bill Gates, and Michael Bloomberg to name a few, they know that states where citizens are lulled into a false sense of security, will be ensnared by these laws before even knowing of their passage.

The 2nd Amendment stands out among our God given freedoms. The 2nd Amendment is there to protect the other enumerated rights in the constitution. The 2nd Amendment is the only one that demands, “…shall not be infringed.” This is a categorical imperative ruling out feckless encroachments upon the right to keep and to bear arms by individual citizens.

So wake up, my fellow Oregonians! Wake up, before it is too late. The crime rates have gone down in the last 20 years or so, even though gun ownership has risen dramatically. We don’t need these draconian, freedom killing, unconstitutional laws. We need responsible citizens, and we need responsible politicians too. Let’s do this!

Ignorant and Free?

Ignorant and Free?

“If a nation expects to be ignorant and free . . . it expects what never was and never will be” (Thomas Jefferson)

So what are the means by which we could be knowledgeable enough to maintain our freedom? Certainly the media is one vehicle for this function, yet for many years now the media has sided with one rather ugly movement in our culture, namely progressivism. This has hampered the general knowledge base of our people.

Our schools, certainly should help us avoid the pitfalls of ignorance. Yet, sadly they have also fallen into the progressive ideology. They are supporting the big government narrative of Saul Alinsky. Enter “common core,” essentially sold on the notion that all children will learn the same or similar things in school, thereby making standardized testing for example, more doable. Yeah. While the method could be useful in some ways, I have another word for what’s really going on, it’s called propaganda.

So, if the media and education are failing the country, and I contend they are by propagandizing rather than informing us of our history, our exceptionality, our current standing in the world, and our dreams for the future, what is left as a means to recreate and maintain our freedom. Yes, I said recreate. We have lost vast dimensions of freedom since our founding. We are losing the value of self-reliance, intuition, honest research, and personal integrity.

There are those who seem to pin hopes on our bloated, bureaucratic Washington, DC government to fix itself. I see no hope there. The rewards of cronyism have set into both political parties to a point of no return. Integrity has been reduced to not getting caught, or lying when they do get caught. It has been and can be said that the gluttonous grab for power and the corruption that accompanies it produces resume enhancement rather than the end of careers.

To begin with, I’m not ready to give up on media, schools, government, etc.. Things have a way of going full circle. Circumstances can change dramatically to force change on these, even though both seem recalcitrant right now.

There is hope from the impact of high tech on education. As more people place their children in home schooling, or private, or charter schools, there is the hope that the internet, wifi libraries, and the general explosion of creativity will produce forward thinking young people full of zeal for opportunities. The open question here of course, is what are they learning? Is it all future? Or are they going to be advantaged by learning the past too? Failure to learn our past is failure to be guided and safeguarded by the advantage of learning from past mistakes.

There is also a constitutional way out of the current crisis. Article 5 allows not only the congress, but the states to amend the constitution by their own convention, without Federal involvement or interference. While this is a solution perhaps requiring years, it could provide corrections to our federal government, that has become unresponsive to the people. So be on the lookout for the COS, the Convention Of the States.

I am optimistic that the real solutions will come from the people. Freedom is, I believe, inherent to the condition of the human heart. We were created with a yearning to be self-reliant, self-governing, self-supporting to the end of helping one another. Of what good am I, if I have none of my own power to assist my family, my neighbor, and my community?

People don’t naturally like to be ignorant either. Ignorance places the individual at the mercy of the evil doer and the merely oportunistic. Ignorance turns a citizen into a serf. The people, with their natural thirst for freedom and knowledge, respect themselves enough to stand up to tyrants. And tyrants seem to be plentiful these days. So we have lots of practice ahead in standing up to them.

Never, ever give up on freedom!

Lawlessness Is Not Leadership

“A prince, whose character is thus marked by every act which may define a tyrant, is unfit to be the ruler of a free people.” United States Declaration of Independence

If William Jefferson Clinton’s presidency is remembered for sexual deviancy, and George W. Bush’s presidency is remembered for an inability to stand up for traditional republican principles, Barack Hussein Obama’s presidency will be remembered for executive branch lawlessness. He has after all been called an imperial president for good reason. His repeated encroachments on the limits of the office he holds (in session appointments or recess appointments), his contempt for a “negative” bill of rights, and his lack of regard for the gravity of the office (hundreds of golf outings, lavish vacations, and willful sidestepping of the most serious of the duties of this office: defending American lives, even to the point of allowing an ambassador and others to be tortured and murdered).

Perhaps the most egregious violation in his oath to uphold our constitution is his blatant refusal to uphold all our laws. As bad as was his open refusal to defend the DOMA (Defense of Marriage Act), the obstinate destabilization of our nation through illegal entry into our nation is in my opinion, criminal. Illegal entry is just that: illegal. On the face of it, he pledged to uphold our sovereignty, but now constantly threatens our sovereignty by appealing to the sympathies of citizens on behalf of the hapless who illegally cross our borders. With this he insults the dignity, intellect, and individual sovereignty of the citizenry. We know that adult criminals, gang members, and terrorists are crossing the border illegally amidst the government induced chaos. They indeed are victimizing those hapless with whom our president seeks to distract us. And there lies the insult with a sharp edge, he does not respect the individual citizen of this country by whom and for whom this government exists. Nor does he respect the “immigrant.” If he did, he would enforce the laws uniformly as required by law, so that all could have that fair shake he brags about so frequently. We are a nation of laws, not of charismatic speechifiers.

But that is characteristic of this man. What he accuses his enemies of is indeed what he is doing in secret. That will be exposed in time. What he brags as his accomplishments are not accomplishments but really things he renders impossible. There can be no “fair shake,” when that pathetic, dark cloud of lawlessness hangs like death over our once great land. Obama willfully destroys this government and culture in hopes of recreating it in the image of Marx and Alinsky. This compares favorably with and can only be done by the acts which may define a tyrant.

If not criminal, these offenses are certainly impeachable, though I believe also morally reprehensible. He is not doing the job, he is redefining the job. Unfortunately, the redefinition looks very little like the original. He adds authority where there is none, “I have a pen and a phone,” and reduces authority where there is plenty, by slashing our military, and opening the border. In neither case is this appropriate, nor effective leadership of a free people.

I believe the sovereignty of the individual trumps the sovereignty of any human government. For the individual not only pre existed any government, it follows that no government could exist without individuals. Individuals however can exist without central governance. Many might not like such an existence, but it is so nevertheless. Because of this belief in individuals, I believe in time, Obama’s plan will fail, the human spirit is rising even under this disastrous rule he has promoted. People will see the truth prevail, for truth, like magnetic power or gravity, will rise within the hearts of citizens, overwhelming the lies, the lawlessness, the poverty of leadership, the immaturity of ideologically steamrolling over individuals. The truth will rise, the majesty of creation will upend the dictatorial dreams of any tyrant. For tyranny is seen impoverished as against the voluntary, enlightened efforts of people working together to secure their liberty, lives, and satisfaction in personal accomplishment. Governmental transfers of wealth created by one to anyone who did not earn it is not grace, it is theft guided by feudalism. We however are a nation enlightened. We together have tasted true leadership many times in our short national history and we will see excellent leadership rise again. Vote for it. Believe it, hope for it, love it!