http://www.planettimes.com/features/cw_patriot/2000/january/resistance.shtml
Resistance Mode
Joanie - aka cwpatriot, January 5, 2000
If America Is Brought To Her Knees, It Is The American People Themselves Who Will Bring Her There!
I work as an elected government official in my township, and in that capacity I come into contact with scores of residents of my township (as well as residents of nearby townships and cities) every week. I am not a crusader in that I do not perch myself on a soapbox at every opportunity (such behavior, IMHO, is counterproductive, and a turn-off to most average Americans). But, by the same token, during the course of a week, if the conversation allows it, I will bring up the subject of the state of our nation with as many people as seem willing to listen to my thoughts on the subject.
I also write a(n approximately) monthly opinion column for our small local newspaper.
As a result of both my township job, and my writing, I have developed something of a following (and lest you think that a singularly positive, ego-boosting group, let me dispel that myth immediately! There are, among my following, some who follow just for the satisfaction of being able to make note of any mis-statements on my part, or miscalculations, or predictions which do not come to pass. And, believe me, they possess a bucketful!)
As a result of being candid, and resolute, about me feelings regarding the direction in which our nation is headed, I have received a myriad of responses from the people with whom I have shared those views, running the gamut from "Why don't you stay at home and in the kitchen where you probably do your best?" (several years ago, from a man who no longer lives in our township. Don't know where he moved to, but I can safely say it isn't far enough....) to very kind and supportive people who share my concerns, but do not normally, for whatever reason, express those concerns to others.
[I need to mention that I live in a very conservative part of America, which tends to require a lot less courage on my part to initiate this kind of political give-and-take than it would in, say, an urban area. The people in my area are honest, God-fearing, hardworking people. They are not necessarily politically well-informed, but they are open-minded and willing to listen].
Lately the things I find myself discussing with people have taken on an entirely new, and more urgent, air. People here are wondering, simply, what to do. Although they do not always seem to understand why, they are sensing that something is terribly wrong. They know that China is our enemy and that our President appears to be if not in bed with, at least courting, China. They know that goodness and decency are no longer held in as high regard in America as they once were, and that our President is at least partly to blame. They know that they are finding it increasingly difficult to live their lives without some sort of government interference.
These are, for the most part, the feelings of hardworking Americans who get most of their news from their daily half-hour listen to the skim-the-surface, make sure it has a socialist slant, and don't give them too much to think about television media. Yet, despite the fact that the news they are receiving is filtered through an agenda-laden filter, they are still coming away with the sense that something is wrong. For the most part, they haven't taken the time to thoroughly understand why they are feeling this way. But their feelings are accurate nonetheless.
Like the rest of you, I don't have any concrete, foolproof answers. But I do share what I have decided to do with those who seem to be looking for some sort of game plan. And this is basically what I tell them:
(1) The opportunity for civil recourse in America has all but dried up. We have attempted, time and again, to elect leaders who would set America back on the track that our forefathers so painstakingly built and maintained for us. And, time and again, they have either lost their vision, or they have caved in to pressure of one form or another. As a result, the corrupt status quo remains virtually intact.
(2) Violence may, in (perhaps a short) time, be our only recourse to take America back. But, until that point is reached, resistance is our most powerful weapon. And stubborn, "look-'em-in-the-eye" resistance is the only kind worth having. The Declaration of Independence states that the people, if they find that their basic rights are being systematically attacked by the state, have a duty to try to change that government, and if they cannot do so, to abolish it. The time for abolition has not (yet) arrived, but the time for change is long overdue. And, civil recourse having proved ineffective, change will only come about through resistance on the part of the American people. That resistance might well entail breaking some unconstitutional laws. Such resistance might include (among many other possibilities):
(a) telling some paper-pusher that social security numbers were not created to be a national identification card.
(b) telling some bureaucrat that you have no intention of becoming part of a gun registration database.
(c) telling some school official that you have the final say as to what is taught to, or dispensed to, your children.
(d) telling some meddlesome official that the color you paint your house, or the length of your driveway, is no business of his.
(e) refusing to apply for a license for something that is a
Constitutionally-guaranteed right.
"If there is no final place for civil disobedience, then the government has been made autonomous, and as such, it has been put in the place of the living God." ....Francis Schaeffer
IMHO, the time for resistance is here. I have personally decided that, as soon as my resistance mode has reached the appropriate level (i.e., as soon as I have the courage to practice what I preach!), I intend to refuse to divulge my social security number as a personal identifier, and I intend not to renew my driver's license, or my permit to carry. I have a patriot friend who did these things several years ago. He has been to court (and in jail, for short periods) several times. But, in the process, he has become something of a Constitutional scholar, and has successfully defended himself from their unconstitutional demands on several occasions. I have elicited his help with my resistance plans, and hope to be as successful as he has been in remaining free on my own term (as defined by the Constitution).
But it will take more than a handful of Americans deciding to resist to get their attention, and make them sit up and take notice that the rugged individualism, and dedication to freedom, that were once the cornerstone of this nation, are still alive and well in the hearts of its people. The sooner Americans realize the fact that the time for resistance is here, the less is the chance that we will have to resort to violence to reclaim our republic from the scoundrels who would subject her to the dark cloud of tyranny. The question is: Are we too afraid? Have we become too compliant? Too accepting of government as our master rather than our servant? Have we decided to ignore Benjamin Franklin's prophetic warning: They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
I have become a pessimist where the future of our republic is concerned. I don't really believe that we, as a people, anymore have what it takes to reclaim our rightful freedom inheritance. But at least those of us who feel that we do have what it takes -- that love of liberty, and that willingness to lay down our very lives to preserve it -- can do our level best to make the task harder for those who want to control us. And, even if that is all we accomplish, at least we'll be able to live with ourselves -- or die in peace -- knowing that we fought the good fight for the heart of America, and for the future of her children.
It all boils down to freedom. They would take it from us. We have to see to it that they don't. I truly believe, in the end, that if our beloved republic is brought to her knees, it is the American people themselves who will bring her there. We were established as a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people," and, for a long time, that remarkably-conceived, and carefully-implemented system worked. That is, until the people decided that safeguarding their imperial role in that government was far too big a burden. They had better things to do. So they began handing over their rightful inheritance, piece by piece, to their governmental benefactor, who became bloated and overbearing, and began dictating rather than serving.
And what has the American public done in response? Nothing! The average American might complain occasionally about his taxes, or a regulation or two. But when it comes to re-thinking his lazy abdication of the hard-won liberties that once were his to enjoy, he once again has better things to do.
John Kennedy (not on my list of favorite Presidents, but sometimes he got it right!) observed: "No nation can remain free unless its people cherish their freedoms, understand the responsibilities they entail, and nurture the will to preserve them."
It's time for a little nurturing of the will to preserve our liberties, or the opportunity to do so will have vanished forever....and it's better to be a year early, than one day late.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.
Resistance Mode
Joanie - aka cwpatriot, January 5, 2000
If America Is Brought To Her Knees, It Is The American People Themselves Who Will Bring Her There!
I work as an elected government official in my township, and in that capacity I come into contact with scores of residents of my township (as well as residents of nearby townships and cities) every week. I am not a crusader in that I do not perch myself on a soapbox at every opportunity (such behavior, IMHO, is counterproductive, and a turn-off to most average Americans). But, by the same token, during the course of a week, if the conversation allows it, I will bring up the subject of the state of our nation with as many people as seem willing to listen to my thoughts on the subject.
I also write a(n approximately) monthly opinion column for our small local newspaper.
As a result of both my township job, and my writing, I have developed something of a following (and lest you think that a singularly positive, ego-boosting group, let me dispel that myth immediately! There are, among my following, some who follow just for the satisfaction of being able to make note of any mis-statements on my part, or miscalculations, or predictions which do not come to pass. And, believe me, they possess a bucketful!)
As a result of being candid, and resolute, about me feelings regarding the direction in which our nation is headed, I have received a myriad of responses from the people with whom I have shared those views, running the gamut from "Why don't you stay at home and in the kitchen where you probably do your best?" (several years ago, from a man who no longer lives in our township. Don't know where he moved to, but I can safely say it isn't far enough....) to very kind and supportive people who share my concerns, but do not normally, for whatever reason, express those concerns to others.
[I need to mention that I live in a very conservative part of America, which tends to require a lot less courage on my part to initiate this kind of political give-and-take than it would in, say, an urban area. The people in my area are honest, God-fearing, hardworking people. They are not necessarily politically well-informed, but they are open-minded and willing to listen].
Lately the things I find myself discussing with people have taken on an entirely new, and more urgent, air. People here are wondering, simply, what to do. Although they do not always seem to understand why, they are sensing that something is terribly wrong. They know that China is our enemy and that our President appears to be if not in bed with, at least courting, China. They know that goodness and decency are no longer held in as high regard in America as they once were, and that our President is at least partly to blame. They know that they are finding it increasingly difficult to live their lives without some sort of government interference.
These are, for the most part, the feelings of hardworking Americans who get most of their news from their daily half-hour listen to the skim-the-surface, make sure it has a socialist slant, and don't give them too much to think about television media. Yet, despite the fact that the news they are receiving is filtered through an agenda-laden filter, they are still coming away with the sense that something is wrong. For the most part, they haven't taken the time to thoroughly understand why they are feeling this way. But their feelings are accurate nonetheless.
Like the rest of you, I don't have any concrete, foolproof answers. But I do share what I have decided to do with those who seem to be looking for some sort of game plan. And this is basically what I tell them:
(1) The opportunity for civil recourse in America has all but dried up. We have attempted, time and again, to elect leaders who would set America back on the track that our forefathers so painstakingly built and maintained for us. And, time and again, they have either lost their vision, or they have caved in to pressure of one form or another. As a result, the corrupt status quo remains virtually intact.
(2) Violence may, in (perhaps a short) time, be our only recourse to take America back. But, until that point is reached, resistance is our most powerful weapon. And stubborn, "look-'em-in-the-eye" resistance is the only kind worth having. The Declaration of Independence states that the people, if they find that their basic rights are being systematically attacked by the state, have a duty to try to change that government, and if they cannot do so, to abolish it. The time for abolition has not (yet) arrived, but the time for change is long overdue. And, civil recourse having proved ineffective, change will only come about through resistance on the part of the American people. That resistance might well entail breaking some unconstitutional laws. Such resistance might include (among many other possibilities):
(a) telling some paper-pusher that social security numbers were not created to be a national identification card.
(b) telling some bureaucrat that you have no intention of becoming part of a gun registration database.
(c) telling some school official that you have the final say as to what is taught to, or dispensed to, your children.
(d) telling some meddlesome official that the color you paint your house, or the length of your driveway, is no business of his.
(e) refusing to apply for a license for something that is a
Constitutionally-guaranteed right.
"If there is no final place for civil disobedience, then the government has been made autonomous, and as such, it has been put in the place of the living God." ....Francis Schaeffer
IMHO, the time for resistance is here. I have personally decided that, as soon as my resistance mode has reached the appropriate level (i.e., as soon as I have the courage to practice what I preach!), I intend to refuse to divulge my social security number as a personal identifier, and I intend not to renew my driver's license, or my permit to carry. I have a patriot friend who did these things several years ago. He has been to court (and in jail, for short periods) several times. But, in the process, he has become something of a Constitutional scholar, and has successfully defended himself from their unconstitutional demands on several occasions. I have elicited his help with my resistance plans, and hope to be as successful as he has been in remaining free on my own term (as defined by the Constitution).
But it will take more than a handful of Americans deciding to resist to get their attention, and make them sit up and take notice that the rugged individualism, and dedication to freedom, that were once the cornerstone of this nation, are still alive and well in the hearts of its people. The sooner Americans realize the fact that the time for resistance is here, the less is the chance that we will have to resort to violence to reclaim our republic from the scoundrels who would subject her to the dark cloud of tyranny. The question is: Are we too afraid? Have we become too compliant? Too accepting of government as our master rather than our servant? Have we decided to ignore Benjamin Franklin's prophetic warning: They who can give up essential liberty to obtain a little temporary safety deserve neither liberty nor safety.
I have become a pessimist where the future of our republic is concerned. I don't really believe that we, as a people, anymore have what it takes to reclaim our rightful freedom inheritance. But at least those of us who feel that we do have what it takes -- that love of liberty, and that willingness to lay down our very lives to preserve it -- can do our level best to make the task harder for those who want to control us. And, even if that is all we accomplish, at least we'll be able to live with ourselves -- or die in peace -- knowing that we fought the good fight for the heart of America, and for the future of her children.
It all boils down to freedom. They would take it from us. We have to see to it that they don't. I truly believe, in the end, that if our beloved republic is brought to her knees, it is the American people themselves who will bring her there. We were established as a government "of the people, by the people, and for the people," and, for a long time, that remarkably-conceived, and carefully-implemented system worked. That is, until the people decided that safeguarding their imperial role in that government was far too big a burden. They had better things to do. So they began handing over their rightful inheritance, piece by piece, to their governmental benefactor, who became bloated and overbearing, and began dictating rather than serving.
And what has the American public done in response? Nothing! The average American might complain occasionally about his taxes, or a regulation or two. But when it comes to re-thinking his lazy abdication of the hard-won liberties that once were his to enjoy, he once again has better things to do.
John Kennedy (not on my list of favorite Presidents, but sometimes he got it right!) observed: "No nation can remain free unless its people cherish their freedoms, understand the responsibilities they entail, and nurture the will to preserve them."
It's time for a little nurturing of the will to preserve our liberties, or the opportunity to do so will have vanished forever....and it's better to be a year early, than one day late.
------------------
The New World Order has a Third Reich odor.