Forum: Authors Jim Lord and James T. Stevens have a new newsletter. It is called the Journal of Personal Freedom. A friend stopped by yesterday and gave it to me. This post is a summary of what it's about using excerpts from the newsletter, which is six pages long. I have tried to just post the main ideas. A lot is left out here in this post, but I think you will get the gist of it. On this historic day of our independence, I hope you will find it of special interest. Since I spend so little time here on the Forum these days, apologies if it has already been discussed. Excerpts follow, with my comments (not opinions) in italics.

America is broken. Where there once was liberty and personal responsibility, there is now subservience and dependency. Today, most people depend on government and big business to take care of them and make their decisions for them. Most people are apathetic about this situation because times are good. This newsletter has been created to solve this problem. The basic weapon needed to fix America is already available. The secret weapon that will be used to restore Liberty is The Internet.

The authors then introduce a philosophical framework that produces the conclusion liberty produces abundance, and then quote Thomas Jeffersons definition of liberty : unobstructed action according to our will within limits drawn around us by the equal rights of others. They then continue with the following excerpt:

Simply put, each of us can do what we want as long as our actions do not encroach on the equal rights of others. Obviously, if you and I are to have liberty, I cannot steal your property. Also, (and this is a key point, folks) neither can I elect some politician to do the dirty deed for me. And this is where weve gone wrong. To hide our greed and laziness in a mantle of respectability, we elect or appoint leaders, let them do the stealing for us and then give us some of the loot. Under other names, this theft is called taxation or even contributions. Our part of the take is known as government benefits, entitlements or programs. Well, whats the alternative? How can one avoid participating in this thievery? The answer is simple. Get out of the system. Stop accepting the loot from the politicians. Break the golden handcuffs. Take personal responsibility for yourself and your family. In short, practice self-reliance.

The authors then go on to define their context of self-reliance, and identify that self-reliance is risky and can be scary. They then suggest that the answer to this problem is to be prepared for adversity and disaster by building your own safety net (which is exactly what people preparing for Y2K are doing). The authors then continue with a discussion of how to motivate society to embrace change and restore liberty.

Social change of this magnitude will happen only one person at a time. If you accept personal responsibility for yourself by practicing preparedness and self-reliance, you will increase your own liberty and acquire greater abundance. You then will become a beacon of liberty to your family and friends. They will desire what you have and will, in turn, be inspired to do the same.

The authors then propose that liberty can be restored by targeting five specific areas which all suffer greatly from government encroachment. The areas are Money, Education, Justice, Healthcare, and Nutrition. Each area is discussed in some detail. After this, the authors open a discussion about how the founding fathers saw government as a dangerous beast, always to be feared and distrusted. They quote George Washington: Government---like fire, it is a dangerous servant and fearful master. The authors continue with the following excerpt:

To protect us against this great beast, the Founders forged a mighty set of chains  the strongest ever devised  the Constitution and the Bill of Rights. These chains were intended to bind up government, to restrain its malevolent urges. After time, the beast of government grumbled about the constraints. In the passion of the moment and in the panic of various emergencies the chains were loosened under the guise of preventing disorder or ensuring fairness. Slowly and a single link at a time we allowed the chains to first slacken and then fall away. Today, they lay empty on the ground and the ravenous beast of government roams the land robbing and ravaging the citizens. Justice and liberty are gone. We are no longer the stewards of our lives, our property, our children. From pre-cradle to post-grave, government confiscates our property and dictates our behavior. Is there hope? In spite of the reach and power of government, we believe there is. Can the chains be made secure once again? We think they can even though government will struggle against the effort. Can liberty be restored? We say yes, resoundingly. America can be fixed.

The authors then suggest that the way to fix America and overcome the great beast--- is to starve it to death--- by depriving it of property, of income, of our children. They then state that their newsletter will provide operational guidelines for undertaking this stealth revolution and will show how the Internet is creating weapons for this struggle. The authors stated objective is to use these weapons to create self-reliant individuals  indeed  sovereign individuals,  with hard-core, practical steps to take to increase your preparedness, your self-reliance, and your liberty. They continue with The Internet is the primary means by which we will starve to death the great and destructive beast of government. In conclusion, the authors relate Y2K to the above as follows:

Y2K could also play a major role in bringing about the stealth revolution. Millions of people have learned about and begun to practice preparedness and self-reliance because of Y2K. Many of these have learned to distrust government because of Y2K. It is likely that hundreds of millions in this and other nations will lose their faith and trust in government because of Y2K. The Year 2000 Computing Crisis has heightened public awareness of the fragility of the fractionally reserved global banking system, and of the ineffectiveness of federal and local governments in protecting citizens against technical and economic dangers. Y2K threatens to reveal that the emperor is wearing no clothes. Indeed, Y2K could be the greatest blow for freedom since the Declaration of Independence.

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), July 04, 1999

Answers

So a key question becomes: Is a "stealth revolution" at all realistic? Why or why not? And if you think that it is, do you see Y2K playing a "major role" in bringing it about? What do you think?

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), July 04, 1999.

robbie,

i have some very strong opinions on this stealthy thingy but if i share them with you would they still be stealthy? if you don't reply i'll understand.

secret kisses.

-- corrine l (corrine@iwaynet.net), July 04, 1999.

Independence:

Free from influence or bias from others, not relying on others.

Are we truly Independent like the foundering fathers wantes us to be? Seems to me that King George and Britain have been replaced by King Clinton and the Federal Government.

Second Amendment:

"...the right of the people to keep and bear arms shall not be infringed"

The Lessons Of History The Soviet Union established gun control in 1929. From 1929 to 1953, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated. Turkey established gun control in 1911. From 1915 to 1917, 1.5 million Armenians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated. Germany established gun control in 1938. From 1939 to 1945, 13 million Jews, Gypsies, homosexuals, mentally ill people, and other "mongrelized peoples," unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated. China established gun control in 1935. From 1948 to 1952, 20 million political dissidents, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated. Guatemala established gun control in 1964. From 1964 to 1981, 100,000 Mayan Indians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated. Uganda established gun control in 1970. From 1971 to 1979, 300,000 Christians, unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated. Cambodia established gun control in 1956. From 1975 to 1977, 1 million "educated people", unable to defend themselves, were rounded up and exterminated.

56 MILLION DEAD FOR WANT OF A METHOD TO DEFEND THEMSELVES EFFECTIVELY YET THERE ARE THOSE WHO INSIST "IT CAN'T HAPPEN HERE"

-- Jack Gordon (TrnityTest@aol.com), July 04, 1999.

It sounds good , but is it pragmatic ? In a resurrected government, how do we keep the professional politicians from re-forming their own constitution under the guise of "for the good of the people". How do we keep the lawyers and government employed leeches from re- establishing themselves ? How do we close the loopholes and write stronger amendments to the constitution ? In summary, if it can be done, how do we assure that the professionals won't do it again? I'm not in the least against the idea. Its just that it raises many questions. I suppose that the conditions in my lifetime have made me into somewhat of a skeptic and maybe a defeatist. I would love to see it happen.

-- HERB (HERB87@JUNO.COM), July 04, 1999.

In order for people to be free, they must fear slavery more than they fear the responsibilities that come with true freedom.

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), July 04, 1999.

Herb: I don't know either, that's one reason I asked the question, to see what others think. Certainly, having it happen "one person at a time" comes into play here.

The great American authoress Taylor Caldwell once wrote: "In order for people to be free, they must fear slavery more than they fear the responsibilities that come with true freedom."

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), July 04, 1999.

It is altruism that has put us in this box, and that is where we will stay until the idea of altruism is destroyed. The dirty phrase is "you are your brother's keeper".

-- dave (wootendave@hotmail.com), July 04, 1999.

Real freedom is not political. It is the ability to be objective about yourself and your situation. It is the ability to stand back from your primal and impulsive reactivity and observe yourself. Freedom is a one-on-one affair. No degree of political adjusting of the world is going to make is free. Only personal maturity grants freedom. When we are free as individuals, our society will be free.

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWAyne@aol.com), July 04, 1999.

" ... the world's great civilizations averaged a cycle of 200 years. Those societies progressed through this sequence:

" From bondage to spiritual faith.
" From spiritual faith to great courage.
" From great courage to liberty.
" From liberty to abundance.
" From abundance to selfishness.
" From selfishness to complacency.
" From complacency to apathy.
" From apathy to dependency.
" From dependency back again into bondage.

"As the United States has passed its 200th birthday, and in view of the recent epidemic of immorality, I wonder how your readers would assess America's current position."

-- William W. Quinn, Lt. Gen., U.S. Army (retired)
to Ann Landers, Oregonian, August 21, 1998

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-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), July 04, 1999.

I believe they must apply some kind of torture at our mililtary colleges so as to warp and rot the brain.

-- dave (wootendave@hotmail.com), July 04, 1999.

Rob: That could be the way it will work. I doubt it though. I expect Y2K will be a huge blow against freedom. Too many people are too dependent. I expect the call for the government to "help" next year will over-ride any concerns about what the government's rightful role should be and what it should be allowed to do. I certainly could be wrong. Let's hope I am.

Mara: Real freedom is the ability to be objective about yourself and your situation? I won't throw stones at that type of freedom. I certainly would like more of it in my life. However, I do wonder where you have spent your life. Have you ever been anywhere that lacks this "political" freedom you dismiss as not being real? I think if you would experience life without it for awhile you might value it more highly, regardless of the level of personal maturity you might be at.

-- Gus (y2kk@usa.net), July 04, 1999.

In 1959 I became self employed. I resented the fact that I had to ask our government for permission to work in the form of a License. I haver never applied for a license to work. I'm a free American!

In 1986 I learned that there is no law that requires Americans to file income tax. I then also learned that all my taxes I paid in the past (including social security taxes) went to pay of the Federal Debt. This is the biggest fraud in American history!

I noticed that all my tax payments to the IRS were endorsed to the Federal Reserve to pay of that phony debt. Just check the stamp on the back of your checks to the IRS! 1985 is the last year I paid income tax. I took precautions first and put all my assets into irrevokable trusts! Because of that I was able to tell the IRS to go to hell! The IRS code title 26 only applies to tax payers and not to non tax payers! This is the biggest tax loophole of all!

Since 1985 I invested the equivalent of my tax payments and I'm 66 years old now and have not bothered to collect social security, because I have no need for it! Because I paid no income tax, I'm now self reliant!

-- @nonymous (@nonymous@aol.com), July 04, 1999.

How can the government "help" when they aren't remediated? Military also not remediated. How flexible will the burrowrats be with marauding mobs and power & phones out? Will the cityzzzzzns be angry? YES!! Will weeples wake up and see the error of current ways? Depends on how bad & how long it goes.

-- Ashton & Leska in Cascadia (allaha@earthlink.net), July 04, 1999.

What the government takes from your paycheck in taxes is only a small percent of what your employer takes out of the total wealth you produce in a week. If you want to be free, join with your fellow workers in the fight to bring democracy to the workplaces. You do not have to feed off of the crumbs/ wages of your employer. Nor do you have to employ your own wage slaves in order to be free. What you need is your fellow worker and an organization to deal with your employer.

-- Brian McNeill (brian.mcneill@cwix.com), July 04, 1999.

Herb: Very perceptive of you. Your point is one I usually make to those who, in exasperation, tell me that if I don't like the politicians in power, then I should simply vote them out. Right.

But what if there's no decent choice in the ranks of the replacements? What if the kinds of people who are attracted to politics (and do best at it, such as our scumbag prez), are the people with the least personal integrity of all?

That's one reason why I'm a firm believer in term limits.

I've been waiting for years for some bright graduate student to do a study of the types of people who go into politics and succeed at it. I suspect it would be very interesting...and the author would probably quickly be discredited.

There's something rotten at the core of this American "apple". I don't know what it is, and I don't know that anything can be done about it. And I have little hope that "the great unwashed" will wake up in time to do something about it.

"Experience should teach us to be most on our guard to protect liberty when the government's purposes are beneficent. Men born to freedom are naturally alert to repel invasion of their liberty by evil-minded rulers. The greatest dangers to liberty lurk in insidious encroachment by men of zeal, well-meaning but without understanding." Louis D. Brandeis (1856-1941) - Supreme Court Justice

-- Norm Harrold (nharrold@tymewyse.com), July 04, 1999.

If we want freedom, we must be willing to give up some of our luxuries and even everyday comforts. Y2K may, or may not, see to that. If Y2K is just a bump in the road, then don't get back on the treadmill. Subscribe to Countryside Magazine, Organice Gardening, Backwoods Home, if you feel you need help, and begin cutting your ties with corporate America. Everytime you buy a big Mac, a new car, sofa, washer/dryer, loaf of bread, pair of socks, or fill up a car, you're contributing to corporate wealth. I realize we are dependent on a lot of things, but there's an awful lot you can do without.

Y2K, whether it's a 10 or a nothing, has been my personal wake-up call to get off the corporate tit. I'm not on the government tit; they just siphon money from us every April to pay for more health insurance, pensions and perks for our illustrious congressmen and government workers.

This is what Thomas Macauley said about America: "Your Constitution is all sail and no anchor. Either some Caesar or Napoleon will seize the reins of government with a strong hand, or your republic will be laid waste by internal barbarians in the 20th century as the Roman Empire was in the 5th." Macauley wrote this in 1857. Prophetic huh?

Good article Rob.

-- gilda (jess@listbot.com), July 04, 1999.

This country is dead, Y2K or not. Because the vast majority of people are crap. This would not be a problem, except that in a democracy (which this country now is, rather than a republic as the signers of the Declaration of Independence envisioned) their crap views prevail.

Today, in an article in the "USA Weekend" magazine supplement to Sunday newspapers, it states that "Our exclusive July Fourth poll finds Americans ready to trade some cherished freedoms for greater safety for themselves -- and their children." The figures they cite bear this out, from questions about the second ammendment and gun control to search and seizure.

My comments:

Oh the children (sob, sniff, boohoo -- barf, gag)
Ever hear of the Sally Struthers car alarm? Sally Struthers portreyed a ditz on a sitcom many years ago. The reason she could do the part so well is that she is a ditz in real life. After that one shot at fame and fortune, she was never heard from again, except in public service announcements guilt-tripping TV viewers to send money to feed the starving children in wog-land. (Yeah, right, feed the starving children so they can grow up to breed 5 or 10 more starving children each.) Anyway, the Sally Struthers car alarm -- touch the car and it blares, instead of the horn/siren, one of her tearful, catch-in-the-throat, sob, entreaties to "save the children."

"Democracy is the theory that the common folk deserve to get what they want -- good and hard!" (paraphrase of H.L. Mencken quote)

"Those that give up essential liberty for temporary safety will end up with neither." (paraphrase of Thomas Jefferson quote)

If you are to be your brother's keeper, doesn't that mean you are your brother's controller?

Sheeple: "The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want.." "Big Brother is my shepherd; I shall not want.."

The government uses the resources they extract from you to finance controlling you. "Cut the thievin' hands off the IRS"
http://goodbiz.com/tbks

-- A (A@AisA.com), July 04, 1999.

Rob: Thanks for starting this one. We all could go on indefinitely about lack of values and intelligence in the general public. Long ago I decided to cut my own path, make my own decisions, keep a low profile, and not screw anyone else. Not easy. With a limited and unknown number of years, and not wanting to waste any, I acted for myself, and did not waste a lot of time and energy on trying to convince the world. Many of the controls we struggle against are in part a result of living in an anthill society. Only cataclysmic change will cause a radical and rapid restructuring. We will see if Y2K will be such a cause and if it will be for better or worse.

-- curtis schalek (schale1@ibm.net), July 04, 1999.

There's the border folks. Don't let the door hit you in the behind on your way out.

-- Likes It Here, If You Don't (to bad@get.out), July 04, 1999.

I appreciate the efforts that these fine men are making. It has been done many times. Here is the bottom line. People will not work together. They are independent. In the end it is about individual freedom, not collective freedom. NO collective effort will succeed in aligning a significant number of resisters. No kidding folks, this has been tried by many groups over the last 40-50 years. If y2k is a rough ride, this country is headed for a breakup; a splintering such as we cannot imagine.

As for restoring the constitution, it is a bad idea unless some significant changes are made to it. STOP allowing the government to borrow. This is the source of our monetary enslavement. STOP appointing judges for life by biased administrations. This will end the continuing interpretation of the constitution, when it is the individual case that should be interpreted by the courts. STOP treating corporations like people. They do NOT have rights and must be regulated. And so on...

It's great to talk about it, but it really is a personal thing. Make the decision to be free and throw off the chains. Either take the risk or continue talking about it as you shuffle along through your serfdom.

Gunner

-- Gunner (tailgunner@hotmail.com), July 04, 1999.

You know, there is one thing I am 100% positive that tax money pays for that I know each and everyone one of you uses. So speaking as a tax payer, please stay off the roads I paid for. I don't appreciate you putting more wear & tear on what *I* paid for. Now I realize there are a very few roads in this country paved by private indviduals, I happen to live on one, but as soon as I turn off it onto a town street, or a highway, I am on paved road paid for by tax dollars. As are you.

-- Paved Roads (are@our.friend), July 04, 1999.

"People will not work together. They are independent. In the end it is about individual freedom, not collective freedom." -Gunner

Gunner has a point. I live outside a city of 4 million people. "Rush hour" is a nightmare! We have separate lanes for carpools and buses. They are much faster and help cut down on pollution. I realize that due to their schedules, some people can't use mass transit, but I'm constantly amazed by how many people are willing to sit for hours in traffic just because they want to be "independent."

-- Gayla (privacy@please.com), July 05, 1999.

Gunner says, "People will not work together. They are independent." That's mighty generous of him....he's a nice person. I tend to see a slightly different view for a large majority. Selfish? Lazy? Frightened? DEpendent? Clueless? Apathetic? If required to rebuild....I believe most patriots concerned with the current state of our government WILL work together. gilda and I are a fine example of that. We may share different view points in a political sense, but can agree there is good and 'clueless' on BOTH ends of the spectrum. We MUST work together even in disagreement....for the sake of the conditions our grandchildren will be living in. It CAN be done, it MUST be done....it WILL be done. It will NOT be done by any of the current worms dependently living in the worm farm.

Excellent thread Rob....what an incredible 'calling' we have had on this forum in the last 48 hours...too bad so many aren't available as a result of the long weekend. I'm most proud to have had the opportunity to participate with those who ARE here. We have begun a new direction and a new reason to continue our preparations. This forum is my retreat from "the worm farm". Many thanks to all!

-- Will continue (farming@home.com), July 05, 1999.

Thanks to all for your thoughtful responses.

One way or the other, regardless of if it is Y2K or not, I sense that there is a growing urgency for change, for endings as well as beginings, both on a personal level and on a societal level. It isn't going to happen by choice. It will be forced upon us. So many folks think they are "living the dream", when in fact they are doing so not only figuratively, but also literally. We all have to wake up sometime I guess.

Y2K has enabled many of us to see just how fragile the balance is, and as a result some of us are working towards self-reliance. This is one of the keys that will lead people to liberty, and possibly, if enough folks become self-reliant, we will be able to move towards a new beginning - the beginning of the world as we build it.

Only time for reading this one thread and doing this one post. Hope to be back online late tonight. BFN, Rob.

-- Rob Michaels (sonofdust@net.com), July 05, 1999.

Gus,

Have I lived under a totalitarian system? Everyone has. The family system and the working environment--both are traditionally totalitarian, which is why many of us rebel. As for the US government--I don't think people in general hate it at all, guys. You can speak your mind, can't you? What more do you want? You want what-- the right to run things your way? No system will grant you that. THe right to not pay taxes? Okay, then how will you contribute to the common good? Or is it all for you and you don't want to hand anything over? I don't exactly understand what it is about the government that bugs you all specifically. I have plenty of quibbles myself, but so what. Our real struggles are with ourselves and anything else is displacement.

-- Mara Wayne (MaraWAyne@aol.com), July 05, 1999.

Liberty is so rare in the history of the human race as to be regarded as an aberration more than an achievement. The Greeks, the Romans, the Egyptians, the Chinese, the Persians never gave it a thought. John Locke and his followers became its delineators as recently as the 18th century. The idea that a free man could do what he pleased as long as he did not injure or deprive other free men was a cornerstone of American political thought, and it inspires our Constitution. For the first time in the long, grim story of mankind, today only Americans venerate liberty, and by no means all Americans at that. That is why we must not submit our sovereignty to any such thing as a League of Nations or the United Nations Organization. The other members of such groupings have no real interest in the things that we hold most dear. This is not a matter for majority rule.

At this time, we may be able to defend our liberty - our unique historical achievement. This may no longer be taken for granted, however. There are too many American citizens who will not fight for their liberties - or for anything else for that matter. There is a mood afoot in our education establishment, as well as in the media, which holds that fighting, for any reason, is bad, and that "violence never settles anything." It is interesting to speculate upon whether these people are wicked or just catastrophically ignorant. Fighting in a just cause is not only permissible, it is admirable, and our examples can take us back to Moses and beyond.

But we have to understand just where we do stand, and this congressional battle with the Schumers and the Feinsteins and the Lautenbergs, and the Clintons, must establish that they are the declared foes of that lady who stands there holding the lamp above the golden door. Change one letter and we have her proper title - "The Statute of Liberty" - The Second Amendment of the U.S. Constitution.

Is the America of George Washington, John Adams, Ben Franklin, Abraham Lincoln, Theodore Roosevelt, and George Patton truly worth fighting for? Are you prepared to fight for it? Patrick Henry was.

-- Hardliner (searcher@internet.com), July 05, 1999.

The above post was to have been preceded by the first paragraph following and followed by the second. Sorry for the screw up.

This seemed appropriate for this thread. You can read the rest of Colonel Cooper's column here.

- Lientenant Colonel Jeff Cooper, U.S. Marine Corps (Retired)

-- Hardliner (searcher@internet.com), July 05, 1999.

hey there, "likes it here",not everyone chooses to run from problems.some choose to stand and fight.

-- zoobie (zoobiezoob@yahoo.com), July 05, 1999.