Libertas

“Obviously there is no need of fighting to overcome this single tyrant, for he is automatically defeated if the country refuses consent to its own enslavement: it is not necessary to deprive him of anything, but simply to give him nothing; there is no need that the country make an effort to do anything for itself provided it does nothing against itself.” ~Etienne de la Boëtie

Étienne de La Boëtie 1530 – 1563 "There are always a few, better endowed than others, who feel the weight of the yoke and cannot restrain themselves from attempting to shake it off: these are the men who never become tamed under subjection and who always, like Ulysses on land and sea constantly seeking the smoke of his chimney, cannot prevent themselves from peering about for their natural privileges and from remembering their ancestors and their former ways. These are in fact the men who, possessed of clear minds and far-sighted spirit, are not satisfied, like the brutish mass, to see only what is at their feet, but rather look about them, behind and before, and even recall the things of the past in order to judge those of the future, and compare both with their present condition. These are the ones who, having good minds of their own, have further trained them by study and learning. Even if liberty had entirely perished from the earth, such men would invent it. For them slavery has no satisfactions, no matter how well disguised."

Yesterday’s article by Carlo Ungaro makes it all the more difficult for me to remain in the US. I can complain, write, even vote, but what good is it if the Federal Government still takes my money to support it’s incessant wars, wars designed to never end, to increase State power, and destroy our liberties. How can I in good conscience write against the State while staying and paying taxes to support it?

Segnor Ungaro, asks an obvious question with a painfully obvious answer: are the Afghanistan insurgents acting like terrorist or typical Afghans rejecting foreign occupation?  Would Americans do any less to fight foreign occupation? Al-Qaeda is gone but the US military is still there. Why?

In another article, a US solder said that the difference between an Iraqi civilian and an insurgent is whether or not he’s alive or dead, meaning that once dead, a civilian is called an insurgent. How many innocents has the US government killed in its War on Terror? How does designating them as collateral damage in the War on Terror clear the US government of guilt? How can telling a mother who lost her children in a raid that their deaths were an accident make her feel better? The American soldiers were going after a terrorist and her children just got in the way? How does that win friends? How does that NOT create more enemies?

Since Obama has moved into the White House, the American military has dropped more bombs by drones than the whole eight years of the Bush administration. Are more bombs in Afghanistan and Pakistan going to give us more friends or more enemies? How is this making the American people safer? For every bomb dropped and terrorist killed, how many more terrorists are created? For every bomb dropped and innocent civilian killed, how many more terrorists are created? For every bomb dropped and child killed, how many more terrorists are created? For every bomb dropped, how are we made safer?

Henry David Thoreau (1817 - 1862) “There are thousands hacking at the branches of evil to one who is striking at the root.”

Henry David Thoreau wrote, that in an unjust state the only place to be for men of good character would be prison. I’m not that good a character. I still like my freedom, so I’m leaving. I’m even thinking the unthinkable, renouncing US citizenship.

The US government acts as if it owns its citizen. It even wants to control them outside its jurisdiction. Now, in the War on Terror, the president thinks he should have the power to kill US citizens anywhere in the world. Of course, he thinks he should be able to kill non-citizens too, so why would leaving and renouncing make me safer?

The American military actually have stronger rules of engagement than domestic police. That’s a scary thought. You see, we have collateral damage in the US too. In May 2010, the Detroit police burned and killed seven year old Aiyana Stanley-Jones. They had a warrant and could have arrested the man earlier in the day, but reality TV was also part of the equation, and an attack on a house with all their fire power and toys would be more exciting TV.

An informant can tell the police some nonsense, and a judge issues a no knock warrant. Around one hundred and fifty raids take place each day. Sometimes dogs are killed; sometimes innocent adults are killed, sometimes children. The police are exonerated, and the War on Drugs continues.

Just because I’m innocent and have never used illegal drugs (I haven’t even puffed a cigarette!) doesn’t mean I’m not at risk of some botched raid taking place in my own home. Just ask Mayor Cheye Calvo of Berwyn Heights, Maryland. They killed his dogs too.

At least overseas as a PT (perpetual tourists), with a new passport, new residence, and while traveling, I’ll be treated with more respect than I would be in my own country. A tourists is wanted, especially one with money. Unlike America, I won’t be taxed on income made outside of my country of citizenship or residence. Just think of the time saved during April besides the money.

Aside from the practical advantages of expatriation, my real reasons are two. One is moral. I cannot support US policies. By remaining a US citizen I can’t help but feel I share in the guilt of the US government’s crimes. Most would say I don’t, but when I learn of more atrocities, I feel more than sick. I feel dirty. I feel ashamed. I want no part of it. The other is a matter of safety. I resent the US government acting as if it owns me and can do with me whatever it pleases. I will not submit to that. Renouncing US citizenship is the strongest way I can withdraw consent. It is not the only way or the best way, it’s just my way.

I’m not going to wait for the American people to wake up and set things right. While I have not completely lost hope in them, I see no reason to wait for them. There’s a better way to live, with greater freedom, responsibility, and fulfillment. I refuse to be a victim or slave – of others or of circumstances.

How about you?

Recommended Reading:

The Discourse of Voluntary Servitude By Etienne de la Boëtie

The Sovereign Individual: Mastering the Transition to the Information Age By James Dale Davidson and William Rees-Mogg