Liberty Begins with the Individual

A recent blog posting by conservative political writer Michelle Malkin echoed the sentiment of a good many conservative voters in America. She wrote that her wish for 2010 is for some actual strong conservative Republicans in Washington. I say she echoes the sentiment of conservative voters, both because I hear this from people who call themselves conservatives, and from what's been happening in elections.

In other words there are frustrated individuals who feel that, for some real change to take place in America, we need to take it out at the top. This is a common view because, for one thing, quick, cosmetic fixes seem to be the American way. Secondly, many of us seem to believe that liberty is something bestowed upon us by a godlike almighty government. In reality, change doesn't begin at the top. Lasting, sincere change begins at the individual. Oddly, I am sure that Malkin and other conservatives will agree. Yet, many individualist conservatives will still point at the thug at the top and say "we need to swap that guy with someone more palatable, and things will be better." The assumption being, of course, that the next guy would be a kinder, gentler thug.

Perhaps this all comes from growing up in a land where we are told that every vote counts. Government schools fill the minds of children with such language as "civic duty" affixed along side the words "vote" and "taxes." We tend to be conditioned to think that the ship isn't sinking anymore if we simply change-out the deck chairs. But if we stop and remember that change begins in the home, and when we realize that the Political Class is a class of thugs, we will clearly see that the very principle of seeking to change things by taking it out at the top is a waste of time and energy.

Fortunately not everyone is a Michelle Malkin. There are many Americans who have realized that it's a waste of time and money to seek to swap-out the guys in Versailles DC. We change the system by walking away from the Federal State. This is change that is taking place already. We know that going along with the system, including voting and paying taxes, only serves to legitimize the system. Fighting against the system with force only serves to legitimize the system. But to peacefully disengage from the system? That renders the machine we call the State entirely powerless.

The machine doesn't work properly unless everyone is plugged in, so-to-speak. When people unplug, it starts to fall apart. Our Founding Fathers knew this. The very first thing they did when they had enough of the government was to stop paying taxes. A great recent example of that is in the Soviet Union. When the people grew tired enough of the Soviet State's management of the markets, they began to move their economic activity outside of the official state-managed markets. In time, the entire system fell apart.

This is Counter-economics. It's a peaceful fight for liberty that half of America has already taken up. Didi you know that half of America doesn't bother to file taxes? Did you know that half of America doesn't bother to vote? Did you know that very year more and more economic activity moves from the so-called legitimate market (the White Market) into the alternative market (the Black Market)? This is a massive revolutionary shift taking place in America right now. Direct democracy doesn't happen at the voting booth, it happens in the Market. And We The People are voting the entire Federal State out of our lives.

This anarchist spirit, this contempt for government, suspicion of those in power, and condemnation of those who try and tell us that they are the gatekeepers of our liberty -- it is all embedded within our culture. It's what our culture was founded upon. We The People have not forgotten that spirit.

Half of America has realized that in order to live out our lives freely, it is necessary to avoid the State. And we are. And the more that happens, the weaker the State will become. And it is. This is a large reason why the Political Class is having more and more trouble keeping a handle on things. This is a major reason that the Political Class has become so shrill in its overtures, trying to give us reasons to need them.

We are implementing the New Great Experiment: the State is being replaced with the Market. The Tax Foundation in 2004 issued a warning titled: "Number of People Outside the Tax System Continues to Grow." Economists in 2009 have noted that the growth of the Black Market has further expanded. As the government sector continues its rapid expansion, expect the private sector's economic activity to continue shifting to the underground, into the Black Market.

We learned long ago that liberty begins with the individual first, and family. From there, liberty moves throughout the community. And a great part about today's community is that it is not limited by geographic boundaries. We have many social networking sites, micro-blogging tools, and news travelling at the speed of the Internet -- all connecting our community. Thus Michelle Malkin can sit in Washington, wishing for better party politicians up top to send some more liberty to us down below ... and I can sit here in Michigan, saying "Liberty begins with We The People, not them!"

Sources:

"Conservatives Abandoned McCain, Lost Soul to Bush." NewsMax, 9 Nov 2008.
Hodge, Scott A. "Number of People Outside the Tax System Continues to Grow." The Tax Foundation, 9 June 2005.

LaPonsie, Dan. "Time For America's New Great Experiment." Associated Content, 23 Dec 2009.

Malkin, Michelle. "Old GOP message: 'We're going to fight to the finish line;' New GOP message: 'Let's go home'." MichelleMalkin.com, 22 Dec 2009.

Rahn, Richard W. "New Underground Economy." Washington Times, 9 Dec 2009.