It is six o'clock in the morning,
and my eyes feel like they have sand in them. I went to bed around midnight
after a long day, thinking I'd sleep late on a Sunday morning. Instead, I
tossed and turned like a storm at sea while composing an essay. I
think it started with a dream... a dream where I was hunting with a large group
of men... I had put my rifle in the foyer of the cabin, next to everyone else,
but the next morning they were all gone... Even the boxes of ammunition had
disappeared...
I remember our reaction to it, pure
rage, and we could not believe that could happen in our camp... so well
guarded. We were planning to check all of the cars when I woke up inside of the
dream in a kind of semi-consciousness. And there, with that nightmare still
swimming in my brain, I found myself contemplating the Liberty Movement,
and the virtual nightmare of Washington... They say that dreams are metaphors,
and used to put order in our catatonic world, for sanity, but that same felling
of loss filled my mind, and the two became one...
I saw myself standing in the middle
of the Liberty movement with men of like mind... Men who complemented me as I
them, who promoted ideals and gave validation to principle... but suddenly that
same feeling of loss filled me... and I knew sleep would no longer come. And as
the crickets chirp through my office door, open to the dawn... I'll try to put
these thoughts to paper...
Just before Obama
got elected for the first time, he
said emphatically that he would stop the crony Capitalism that sucks the middle
class dry, the beltway lobbying of Congress, and agreed with his party when it
was stated that they would "drain the swamp." They promised to change
the system, and got voted into office not for some specific measure the average
man might grasp, or even a truthful depiction of the possible good that might
come of it, but by the primary thought for change, seemingly any change. And
isn't that a universal nightmare of a society who sees themselves in desperate
need? A society without a cohesive unity, without the education or an
understanding of the value of self worth
and the responsibility for self determination that creates? It is a society
grown dependent on a force greater than themselves, a force that gives both
direction and personal fulfillment, where decisions are made for them... where
direction is not found by hard work and a self-made standard, but by the trust
in an all powerful government system. A trust so profound, they would put their
lives, and the lives of all of America in the hands of a man and philosophy
they knew nothing about. They voted for his black boyish face, and smooth
meaningless words...
Few know they have been played; that
it was all a grand lie, an illusion, and that what is called Progressive and
Neocon are just a dog and pony show... new and viable ways to make money on the
backs of the American middle class. Yes, it was all a lie, and yet, they voted
him in again. Voted him in with the justification, the argument,,, that there
was so much opposition to his programs for change in the first term, all of the
promises would take place in his second term, as history attested other presidents
have done... and they were right. Profound change has manifested itself in
America.
And now the time is 6:15, and in the
flurry to get this down before forgetting, a singular question comes to mind:
"Has the Liberty Movement
been hijacked?" And yes, that is indeed a amazing question, another
question worth an answer by the law of attraction, and the thought of the
possible answer stabbed me in the heart with fear. You see...
We talk about pork, and how we need
to abolish last-minute add-ons to laws, thousands of unread words that not only
change the complexion of a bill, but increment by increment, our Republic as
well... And it is done, by a heinous and secret pact, by a group of Congressman
and their masters in the dead of night... They conspire and vie to push an
agenda through, an inspired playbook written by a third party. You see, he was
caught in the web long long ago, and his heart and soul no longer belongs to
him. And as he is now bought and paid for, he knows there is no turning back...
With a smile he knows that the promises he makes to America means little to
nothing, but that his very life depends on fulfilling his promises, to his
puppet masters...
It is said that during the American
revolution, only a small portion of the population originally wanted, or
thought to need such a nebulous thought such as liberty from tyranny. Most
didn't want to jeopardize what they had, and fearfully complied to the
tyrannical mandates of England. They did not want to risk losing what they had
worked so hard to make. They did not want to put their lives and fortunes, and
the lives of their family in jeopardy, and it was only when that tyranny came
to their front door did they think otherwise, and finally found the volition to
respell it...
Maddy's insight...
As I move inside of the Liberty
movement I see that there are many reasons each man finds to fill the ranks,
and I have wondered often if some are compatible to my own?
It wasn't until my second cup of
coffee, during a morning conversion with my wife Maddy, that, with her help, I
got a viable answer... Thank you Maddy, for being so lucid, at 7 o'clock in the
morning...
"I think some men create
liberty for themselves, without regard for others, and others create Liberty
for others, without regard for consequence."
Each man, every man and woman on the
planet, has their own reason for wanting Liberty from tyranny, and each man
will fight for that in his own special way. They move together, arm and arm,
and back to back, and fight for the same universal need found in the hearts of
all.
Out of frustration, out of fear,
some men can not see or understand how to make the world a better place without
destroying the good and the bad all at once, and some even promote a biblical
Apocalypse, and prep for that. Some hunker inside of their own ecosystem and
manifest liberty in the teaching of their children, and in that process, accept
responsibility for their own actions, while others think that liberty means a
government assistance check. Some think corporations destroy liberty, and
others see that as free enterprise, and revel in it. Some see bankers making
money on both sides of war, and resist that, while another will enlist. Some
want to curb the Federal Reserve's abilities to print money out of
thin air for an unplayable debt, while others ride the waves making fortunes.
Some want to build a new utopia on the ashes of the old, and others are safe
and secure in a world they have created in that very system... and all of them,
to the last man, wants Liberty. Yes, for some the concept of Liberty eludes
them, but none-the-less the will to possess it remains.
Some concepts of liberty I hold as
truth...
1.) As our Constitution erodes,
Liberty is threatened.
3.) The concept of Liberty affects
every decision we make. Every decision can lead you toward greater Liberty, or
greater bondage.
4.) Liberty is the opportunity to
make a responsible choice, and accept the consequences for it.
5.) Liberty is not granted. It is a
God-given idea placed into the hearts and minds of men at the birth of
consciousness.
6.) Liberty and dependance exclude
each other.
7.) Mandatory redistribution of
wealth, without free enterprise, is Communism, and not a principle of Liberty.
8.) Give up our Constitution, and
Liberty, for safety and protection, is an illusion, and all is compromised.
9.) The more Liberty a society
demands, the more advanced it becomes, where competition is embraced, and free
enterprise is sacred. When Liberty is not of primary value , motivation's
productivity slips and is ultimately destroyed.
10.) If the concept of Liberty is
not passed on to our children as a primary need, it will be lost, and once lost
is hard in the extreme to regain. When an idea, even a lie, is repeated often
enough, and for a long time, the listener will think it true. Men embrace familiar
ideas as truth, and thoughts like government dependency, redistribution of
wealth, and a lower lifestyle become the norm, and is taking its toll around
the world. Liberty must be safeguarded, and so valued that it is thought and
taught to require eternal vigilance.
Ten Books to pump you up...
- There Ought NOT to Be a Law, by John Stossel
- Libertarianism as Radical Centrism, by Clark Ruper
- The History and Structure of Libertarian Thought, by Tom Palmer
- “The Times, They Are A-Changin’”: Libertarianism as Abolitionism, by James Padilioni, Jr.
- The Political Principle of Liberty, by Alexander McCobin
- No Liberty, No Art: No Art, No Liberty, by Sarah Skwire
- The Humble Case for Liberty, by Aaron Ross Powell
- Africa’s Promise of Liberty, by Olumayowa Okediran
- The Tangled Dynamics of State Interventionism: The Case of Health Care, by Sloane Frost
- How Do You Know? Knowledge and the Presumption of Liberty, by Lode Cossaer and Maarten Wegge
1776 July 4. (Declaration of Independence) "We hold these
truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are
endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are
Life, Liberty, and the pursuit of Happiness."
1787 Nov. 13. (to W. S. Smith) "The tree of liberty must be refreshed from time to time with the blood of
patriots and tyrants. It is it's natural manure."
-Thomas Jefferson
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