What is Freedom?

by James P. Harvey

The word “Freedom,” applied to the interaction of human beings, is a misnomer. There can be no absolute individual freedom to do things that hurt other people and expect peaceful interaction. Even if groups separate into clans of like-minded people, there is no peaceful freedom if one clan adopts a practice amongst themselves that incites hatred from their neighbors. Retribution is sure to follow if my neighbor decides he is free to injure, kill or rape any person that crosses his property. This is only one example out of many hundreds of reasonable demands that society must consider if peaceful co-existence is the goal. If my neighbor claims the right to do anything he pleases, let him never be without the means to kill me. For when his actions hurt my loved ones, or make it impossible for me to live with my conscience, I will surely kill him.

These are the things that humanity has had to deal with from the beginning, and I see no end in sight. If human beings are going to live together, or even in close proximity to one another, they must conform to an agreed set of principals. Certain geographical boundaries that are designated as States have the same responsibilities to other States, as they are nothing more than groups of people.

Remove this requirement and pandemonium will result. Make no mistake about it. I will not let my neighbor be a monster, and I will not live among people who will. One does not have to be a tyrant to co-exist, but one must respect his neighbor.

These are the reasons governments disintegrate, and why the most powerful try to control everyone else. Differing opinions on what is and is not acceptable behavior will never end as long as humans live in THIS life. Since human beings will not accept God as their sovereign, they will be subjected to this calamity. That statement identifies me in most peoples mind as one who believes the Christian Bible is the only acceptable standard for humans to co-exist; not so. Humans will never co-exist in peace in THIS life, but we are required to try.

If God’s requirements are not acceptable to any man, then let him consider the problem of trying to survive in a society where no restrictions exist.

Now let us consider the ever present problem at hand. How do we, who mistakenly assume we are in agreement with the majority of other humans in America, get control of our future? Do we continue to participate in the present system of government that has left us with over a hundred years of evidence that it is not following the wishes of the majority of citizens? Do you still believe the election process is legitimately working? That is the first set of propositions to consider. If you believe it works as designed in the Constitution, please prove it! The absence of that possibility is enough proof for me.

Next, let us consider the possibility of getting the attention of our government, and elucidating our concerns and solutions. Is anyone reading this that naïve? How about getting the majority of voters to agree on changes that need to be made…do you think that will work? I’m beginning to think we’re too many to agree!

Does anyone agree with that? If not, do you have a better solution than separating from the central government, and retracting into smaller State governments that assume the responsibility of negotiating a working agreement among each other?

Seriously folks, consider the possibility of every State agreeing on just one thing for starters, and that being that every State has the authority to secede without recourse from the federal government. A show of unity to the monster in DC is a sure way to discover if I’m right. I believe that they would rather kill us than part with their power.

How much more evidence do you need than seeing one seceding State attacked by the feds? And may I remind you of the civil war? How much more proof does one need, than to recall the atrocities committed by Lincoln and his supporters? Do you believe that every State was intended to be a permanent part of the whole? If so, you are ignorant of the history of our country. The perpetuity of the States union was dependent on the States legislatures. And, if you believe all we need is for Congress to follow the Constitution, then tell me why the highest law of the land cannot be enforced.

“Just throw the bums out,” you say! Please tell me how that’s possible. And how would we manufacture that much unity in the first place?

The tea party folks are trying to resurrect the dead. They still hold a fool’s dream that the Federal Government is fixable.

If this article, the history of lost rights, and the present state of the Union does not convince you we need to do something drastic before it’s too late, I fear you desperately need to become more informed about the future existence of anything resembling a republic, or even a democracy, surreptitiously called the UNITED States of America.

By placing a requirement on men of higher intellect to write a dissertation on how to reconstruct a homogeneous system of governance, we could begin to form separate States that agreed on the necessary principals to co-exist in peace. In the intervening period we could all study the history of man’s attempt to co-exist in peace by a system of governance, and a plebiscite of our future attempt could be organized.

James P. Harvey
wethepeople@anationbeguiled.com