A Choice of Conscience

I've really been struggling internally with all the attention the Presidential and Vice Presidential debates are generating. It makes me angry that Americans can't see that they are like little pawns being used in a game. The social networks are a buzz with all the latest debate gossip and people are just glued to their television sets. I'm glad I cancelled our TV reception a couple of years ago, so I don't have the option. I suppose people are wanting to educate themselves about these two candidates they've been presented with by the ruling parties. And I suppose that's a good thing, I guess. But if you're going to spend your time participating in this wicked, no rules system of usurpation, wouldn't it have been a much better idea to put some attention to politics back when there was a viable candidate running who actually spent his entire political career on a foundation which fully supported and upheld the Constitution?

Americans today resemble a frog in a hot pot of water. Not only are they slow to react to the increasing heat, they just don't seem to care enough to get the heck out of the pot! Not only this, but they're actually kind of entertained by the bubbles and steam which slowly envelop their fat little bodies!

Many of you know that I don't really care about the political races going on right now. To me, it's just more of the same. And the debates, though I appreciate a good Jerry Springer episode as much as the next guy (not), are just a big joke. It's kind of like that movie, "The Hunger Games", where that guy asks, "What if no one watched?" That movie left me with a sickened feeling after watching it, but in the end, I think there is a lesson that some of us could take from it. What if we didn't watch? What if, rather than parking our rear ends in front of the television for these debates, political nonsense, and watching our own destruction in progress, we instead spent this valuable time to educate ourselves a bit on what lawful government is really supposed to look like, and what laws we're actually responsible to obey?

Look, Ron Paul isn't the answer. In fact, in a country founded on the ideals of limited government, subject to the people, NO president should be the answer. Ever. But this is my point. The level of freedom that Americans are currently satisfied with is so incredibly low, that we can't even get enough fire under us to get a guy like Ron Paul elected to this de facto government.

The founders didn't need permission to exercise their rights. They wrote a Constitution, which, if not upheld by those elected, was to be a general guideline of resistance and possible "butt kicking" by the people. People today don't even want to kill trees, much less kick any butts. We are weak, slow, lazy, and we deserve the government that we have, because, well, bubbles, steam, and melting flesh are kinda cool, right? "It's all good." We can walk around all day long complaining about the way the system is, the corruption of the politicians. But in the end, flapping our gums and checking boxes is about all we're capable of. So what if our children inherit this mess of a country? So what if God's laws are thrown by the wayside in exchange for a system that supports and promotes immorality, irresponsibility, and lawlessness? Oh, and God's still on the throne. Forgot about that.

Indeed He is. And so this should be our fire so that we will not be lukewarm in our efforts. The founders sacrificed their lives, their fortunes and their sacred honor for liberty. A checkbox in a voting booth just ain't gonna cut it. My rights come from God, not a president or vice president. In this country, a president should be my servant, regardless of which person holds this office. In a lawful system, his power would be limited, restrained by the chains of the Constitution. I no longer vote for candidates in these offices. They represent an overthrow of law. But rather, I vote in my mind, a choice of conscience, that I will exercise my rights and obey lawful forms of government. It is my belief that IF this personal effort, along with its potential sacrifices, was made by all; then surely, surely, we the people could restore this Constitutional Republic for ourselves and our posterity.

Government Shutdowns? Great!

For good reason, my wife and I don't have cable, dish, or over-the-air television. We don't watch the news and we don't take the newspaper. Usually when something major goes down, we hear about it from friends, or we may see it on the internet or sometimes on Facebook.

Here recently we've been seeing posts about that recent fear of a government shutdown. People are worried about the government delaying various social programs and of course we've seen plenty about military payment delays and pay cuts. Now, don't get me wrong. I feel for those people. A slow decline of government services would be far preferable to an immediate halt. However, the fact that this country's "cancer" has grown so large that we are finally forced to recognize it? That's fantastic!

There are gobs of posts on Facebook with people who are just furious that the military might not get paid to fight all these wars the government has decided to engage in. Again, I feel for the families who have this fear. And I also don't believe you should just cut someone's pay 'cold turkey' without some sort of extended notice. But has anyone actually stopped to consider what we're doing in these other countries anyway??

We have now been in a permanent state of national emergency for over 140 years. Today we have standing armies. Rather than protecting our borders, the de facto government has decided to use military power to police the world. Eisenhower warned about the Military Industrial Complex back in the 60's. Our motto today is "to spread Democracy", even though we were originally founded as a Constitutional Republic. Our own country has been overthrown, is totally broke, in debt, and is ruled by tyrants, thieves, and perverts -- and we want to use our "power" to "help" our neighboring countries? Are we even listening to ourselves here?

Yes, I DO feel for these military families. I feel for them because they have all been duped. They've been duped into believing that their beloved husbands, brothers, and sisters have been hired by an honest and upright employer who has their best interests in mind. They have been told by propaganda left and right that military jobs are "cool". So many I see signing up with this military machine are young guys, with little drive, who just don't know what else to do with their lives. The government sees these boys as fodder to brainwash with the "coolness factor" and then puts them into a situation that requires self-sacrifice, all for the purpose of building a global empire, ruled by the elite.

This de facto government will eventually shut down for good. It may not be soon. But it will happen. And when it does, we don't want anarchy. We need to already be exercising our rights to lawful, provable state governments. Remember, we as state citizens created the Federal government to be an entity limited and bound by the chains of the Constitution! By its very design, it is to be our servant, not our master.

Shutdown Defined

Just for fun, I looked up "government shutdown" in Wikipedia. It defines it as,

"a government shutdown is when the government stops providing all but 'essential' services."

This begs the question, "what is essential?" Well, based upon what I just stated about the origins of lawful government, the Federal government has certain tasks delegated to it, by the states, through the Constitution. The responsibilities and limitations as defined by the Constitution are indeed the "essentials". And yet, it is the very return to these essentials that we fear??

Government de facto: A government of fact. A government actually exercising power and control, as opposed to the true and lawful government; a government not established according to the constitution of the nation, or not lawfully entitled to recognition or supremacy, but which has nevertheless supplanted or displaced the government de jure. A government deemed unlawful, or deemed wrongful or unjust, which, nevertheless, receives presently habitual obedience from the bulk of the community.

--Black's Law Dictionary, Sixth Edition

This government is NOT my lawful government. But many people in this country recognize it as their own. That is the very definition of 'de facto.' For those people feeding at the Federal trough, a shutdown would be quite painful. So what is the solution?

The solution is NOT provided to us by "our representatives" or "our congressmen". The solution can only be provided by the fourth branch of government -- THE PEOPLE! We feed this monster by depending on its services and giving it allegiance. Self-reliance, independence, freedom, liberty, creativity, personal responsibility, morality, honesty, and sacred honor. These words have been so far removed from our American vocabulary. But getting back to these ideals is the fix to our problems. We should all stop suckling at the teat of this overgrown beast, start exercising our right to lawful, provable state governments, and allow the beast to fall away like a rotting organ. If a shutdown involves getting back to the "essentials", then by all means, pull the plug.