This Saturday is the Fourth of July, American Independence Day. It is the first in the life of the Latter-day Liberator and it dawns dismally. Instead of a celebration of revolution and liberty, we find the creeping Fascism of the past few decades has suddenly become a raging torrent as the officers of the State have begun to openly wage war directly upon American citizens and the actions of those in power threaten hundreds of millions of people with absolute poverty, starvation, devastation, and death. But there is hope. By recovering the ideas and truths of the past that gave birth to the original Independence Day we can renew and reestablish our rights as never before for this Independence Day and every one after it.
Tag: Liberty
How We Win Part 2: Changing the Government
Last week, I began a series of articles explaining how we triumph over the government and its willingness to use violence and brutality to terrorize people into obedience. There we explored how you use effectively use the power of protesting to win the day. Here we continue that series by exploring the ways that we create lasting, meaningful, social change for today, tomorrow, and forever.
We Have Being Saying To Defund The Police For Decades Now
Voluntaryists have been calling for the defunding of the police for decades now. This is because we understand that incentives matter. The police will do what you pay them to do. When the State uses government power to incentive the militarization of the police then that is what we will get- police who who see their cities as battlefields and everyone in them as a threat to beaten or killed. If you want to change this you have to change not only the relationship of the police to the government, you have to sever it altogether.
How We Win: Part 1- The Protests
As people blanch at the ongoing riots and the breakdown of society that is the final outcome of the actions of the government, many are asking hard questions about the future. They want to know where we go from here and how we get there. In the “How We Win” series of articles, starting with this one, we will look at the immediate and long term tactics that will not only help the protests in the streets bring about change but will also help create the better tomorrow for all people that we all long for.
The US Government Has Declared War On Us
In response to the challenge that mass protests against police violence all across the nation pose to the position and influence of those in power, the governments of the cities, states, and nation itself have declared war against the people of the USA. Million of people are being placed under house arrests as if they were criminals, the military is being sent in to occupy various American cities, and the US President is threatening to us the US Army to forcibly invade and occupy American cities directly. In response to these acts of war against themselves, how should the people respond? What is the best way forward? Here we explore just those issues.
The Most Terrible Form of Idolatry is The Government
In 1854, William Lloyd Garrison stood up in the Broadway Tabernacle in New York City and delivered one of the most powerful anti-slavery speeches ever given. The value of this speech goes beyond its historical setting though. In this speech Garrison lays down the basic cause of liberty for all men and outlines exactly why any government that oppresses human liberty stands condemned and should be disobeyed. The principles herein are universal, especially for those seeking peace, liberty, and equality today. In a world riven by racist and nationalist violence -as is currently happening in America right now- Garrison’s words and his remedies especially apply more than ever:
“Show me the government which can be maintained only by destroying the rights of a portion of the people, and you will indicate the duty of openly revolting against it.”
“Obeying and Honoring the Law” During A Pandemic
Recently, the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints released a document underlining its policies on how to administer essential ordinances during this time of pandemics and state-mandated lockdowns. It encouraged us to “sustain and uphold the law. But what does that mean?