As we have just celebrated the Fourth of July and the secession from all of the things that we have now allowed to creep back into our country, we must consider the things that we the people can do to push back against the tyranny of democracy, bureaucracy, authoritarianism, underrepresentation, excessive taxation, regulations, surveillance, the militarization of police, corruption, and partnerships between governments and corporations. President Joe Biden and Governors Kathy Hochul, Gavin Newsome, and others have more power than King George III had in 1776, especially when considering the technology available to monitor us, collect taxes, and enforce regulations. Our legislatures simply pass generalized blank checks and delegate power to the bureaucracy to create the rules that affect society, and the executive branch has the ability and precedent to issue his or her own legislation in the form of executive orders, thus bypassing the legislatures completely. Presidents and governors are nothing more than elected monarchs, with our legislative bodies being a formal organization that rarely does its job of preventing poor policies from being forced on the people.
As individuals, there is little that we can do to change the course of society and governance. After all, if we write to our so-called representatives, they will not respond, or if they do, they will write back a generic reply to blow us off and pretend that they care. If we choose to stop purchasing a product because a government-connected corporation does not uphold our values, corporate leaders will just laugh in our faces, unless there is a unified effort that can actually affect the monetary bottom line. Our state governments have become so corrupt and accepting of federal policies and civil liberties violations that hopes of federalism saving us from government overreach seem unlikely.
Perhaps we can look to our founding fathers for inspiration, especially those in colonial Boston. When protesting taxation without representation, the dissolution of legislatures, writs of assistance, militarization of cities, and enforcement of laws; many people (but by no means a majority) took to the streets to show their dissatisfaction with British rule. Although some of the protests turned violent and destructive, there were many peaceful demonstrations, boycotts of British products, and letters and pamphlets that circulated around the colonies.
In the aftermath of the George Floyd protests, there were many rallies against police brutality, the militarization of police, and racial discrimination in law enforcement. Outside of the official George Soros-funded Black Lives Matter movement and the unwarranted destruction of private businesses that had nothing to do with the oppression of anyone, there were many peaceful protests that got the attention of the mainstream media and politicians alike. Even the demonstrators not causing harm were rounded up for “violating curfew.”
Just like with the George Floyd protests, the January 6th, 2021 incident caused fear in Washington. This event was condemned by most, from Republicans to Democrats, and Vice President Kamala Harris even listed that day as one to be remembered in outrage, alongside Pearl Harbor and the 9-11 attacks. Even if the so-called Make America Great Again (MAGA) crowd were protesting simply because they wanted their favorite politician to remain in office and believed that they were robbed (clearly the 2020 election was rigged, at least considering the amount of effort put in by the FBI and CIA to manipulate the narrative in favor of Joe Biden and against Donald Trump), the storming of the Capitol left an impression that will likely never fade.
The patriots who trespassed on the grounds of the building and walked through the halls, often escorted by the police themselves, were largely nonviolent (those who broke windows or wrestled with police should be prosecuted accordingly). Militarized police units rounded up the violators in the subsequent weeks, and some of the rioters were put in solitary confinement. The maximum sentence has been issued for many of the prisoners in what seems like political targeting to send a signal to anyone thinking of engaging in such events in the future.
Overall, this event, which was encouraged and perhaps planned by the FBI and Capitol Police to have justification for more police powers and surveillance, put fear in our overlords, just as Thomas Jefferson and others would have preferred it. In this way, the January 6th protests were a success for Americans who are sick of the corruption and want to demonstrate their grievances with the government. This was child’s play compared to what our founding fathers did, but if we want to have our voices heard in today’s world, perhaps more of these types of events are needed.
When Anheuser-Busch decided to follow the corporate agendas of BlackRock, Vanguard, and Human Rights Campaign and acquiesce to the Environmental, Social, and Governance (ESG) and Corporate Equality Index (CEI) social credit scores and select transgender figure Dylan Mulvaney for its own political and financial gains; boycotts of the company’s beer brands ensued. Although the corporation has not gone completely out of business, it has felt a decline in its stock price and the reduction of Bud Light from the top selling beer in the country. As of this writing, Anheuser-Busch is still suffering financial losses, as many continue to boycott the beer (including myself). Because of the success of an organized effort to take on Anheuser-Busch, there is hope that we can do this in other areas and peacefully challenge the corporate and governing status quo.
Boycotting the products of government-connected corporations is not the only way that we can fight back. In fact, we can collectively choose to disobey unjust and burdensome laws and regulations. With thousands of pages of rules to follow just to run a business or live life, we are trapped at the federal and state levels by what seems like an inescapable web of intrusions; but if we simply ignore those rules, we can have some success at forcing the hand of our politicians. It will certainly be risky, and some could end up in jail, but what could result is inspiration for thousands, or even millions, more to rise out of the ashes and follow suit. We could create a culture of civil disobedience, much like Bostonians did prior to the American Revolution, and to do this, it would have to start small and gradually grow to mass defiance. Small businesses resisting environmental regulations could be a place to start (like in the Netherlands), and even during the COVID-19 pandemic, there were some examples of gym and restaurant owners who decided that they would stay open, despite the tyrannical shutdowns. We can free ourselves from the chains that have been put on us, but it is up to us to take necessary actions.
Lawsuits have had some success in recent years, and this is something that can be done to work within our legal framework. However, the process is slow and expensive, and the executive and legislative branches can pump out policies much quicker than the courts can decide matters. You also need to rely on fallible human beings to side with liberty, and court cases can get appealed and overturned. Still, this is an option that should be utilized as much as possible. What is the worst that can happen: a bad policy ends up staying in place?
President Biden’s obviously unconstitutional vaccine mandate on companies with over one hundred employees was reversed. New York State’s concealed carry restrictions were cancelled (but replaced by something worse), and a state court overturned an executive order that allowed bureaucrats to lock people up in concentration camps if they were deemed to be sick. More recently, a federal court decided that the Biden administration exceeded its power in pressuring social media companies to eliminate speech, and as it stands currently, the federal government is no longer allowed to censor information through third parties. However, the Biden administration is appealing the case, and things may revert to allowing the government to violate the First Amendment. Suing governments for usurping powers that it should not have can allow for some temporary refuge from tyranny, but we cannot rely on the whim of a few judges to secure our rights.
So, what actions can we take to ensure our freedom? One thing that we can do is to appeal to the Declaration of Independence and “to alter or to abolish” the existing government structure, or to secede. Constitutional amendments are impractical, as governments strive for more power and restrictions, and ceding rights to citizens is not in the cards for politicians. Demanding change from existing conditions would require a large number of individuals to march on Washington and pressure or force politicians to grant us our rights, and we do not have nearly enough people who are willing to do that. Most Americans are complacent and comfortable living as nine-to-five slaves of the system, with their sports and entertainment to keep them satisfied. Our system is so broken, corrupt, and full of tyranny that there is no reforming it at this point. If peacefully fixing the system is not an option, what about secession or nullification?
Nullification can work in some cases, if the state governments remain principled on issues, but as soon as the federal government starts to yank cash (especially highway funds), most states will cave in a matter of time (see the alcohol drinking age and speed limit restrictions for examples of this). New Hampshire (assisted by the Free State Project) has had some success in ignoring federal firearm laws, for example. Florida has enacted laws in defiance of federal and corporate agendas (particularly in regard to transgenderism and children), and it successfully led the way in allowing businesses to operate during the COVID-19 pandemic (DeathSantis did not end up killing enough people to live up to his nickname, as Florida was no worse off than any of the states with the harshest lockdowns). Unfortunately, all it takes is a swing in a state’s political environment to turn things for the worse (like mass numbers of people with differing political views moving to the state).
Many people are leaving liberal states, such as New York, Illinois, Massachusetts, and California, and moving to freer states, such as Florida, Tennessee, South Carolina, and Texas. Divide New York State Caucus, Inc. is currently working to amend the state governing structure (bills are in the legislature) to allow for autonomy for New Amsterdam (Upstate New York), and this would prevent New York City (44% of the state’s population lives within the city limits, and about two-thirds of the population lives within the metropolitan area that makes up only 5% of the land area) from dictating to the roughly fifty upstate counties what they can and cannot do. Several counties (currently twelve) in rural eastern Oregon have decided to secede from that state and join neighboring Idaho, and although this is a long shot, it does appear that some people are taking freedom seriously. Altering the existing boundaries of states and allowing regional autonomy are good options for people to remain in their homes and still have more freedom than they have under their current political arrangements. Since freedom is our birthright and governments should not be able to steal our rights from us, we can fight back against tyranny, instead of being forced from our homes for greener pastures. However, it takes work and dedication.
States seceding from the Union, and perhaps joining smaller federations or confederations, is another option to combat the tyranny of the federal government. The original thirteen colonies seceded from Great Britain and formed a confederation of thirteen states (independent countries in the minds of our founding fathers), and as easily as the states joined the Union, they have every right to leave it (including others outside of the original thirteen).
One difficulty is that large cities often differ politically and culturally from the rural areas of the state, so even under secessionist movements, you would still have people who are unhappy with the new governing structures. Perhaps the best scenario would be for hundreds of smaller states to form. For example, Austin and Houston could secede from Texas, while the rural areas of the state could continue as a single political entity (and secede from the United States). We should not be locked into our current boundaries for the sake of historical status quo, and instead, we should strive to allow the people of local areas to decide who governs over them (if anyone). And as discussed, state governments can be just as corrupt as the federal government, so even if states seceded from the Union, what would prevent them from becoming the tyrannies that they withdrew from?
The ultimate option is to create alternative and parallel systems of government, economics, and culture. If people of like mind begin living and working together independently and ignore the existing structures and laws, true freedom can be achieved. People can declare their own independence and live how they want, without corrupt politicians determining how they must subsist. However, this can be risky, as governments may compel these “communes” to pay taxes and abide by laws (look at Waco), so people must be willing to defend themselves if such a scenario arises (they want to strip us of our firearms so that we cannot do so). Just as our founding fathers created a parallel governing structure to the British system, we can do the same in our local areas, and eventually, these may develop into larger confederations that challenge the power of the federal government. Until we get to this point, however, we must do what we can to resist tyranny and take steps toward freeing ourselves from the system.
Thank you for reading, and please check out my book, The Global Bully, and website.