A wise and frugal Government, which shall restrain men from injuring one another, which shall leave them otherwise free to regulate their own pursuits of industry and improvement, and shall not take from the mouth of labor the bread it has earned. This is the sum of good government, and this is necessary to close the circle of our felicities. ~ Thomas Jefferson [emphasis added by K]
In recent years, and especially since the most recent anti-2A push began, more and more people who once looked upon the III with disdain as fringe have begun moving more toward our positions regarding Rights. This is a good thing, so long as we take the time to help accelerate their Awakening by challenging some of the assumptions they are bringing with them from their "Law & Order" Republican past.
Here's one that many Law & Order types cling to when discussing 2A: All law-abiding Americans are entitled to 2A.
Most of us immediately red-flag that law-abiding part of the statement.
What laws must we abide to remain in good graces for retaining 2A? Does it mean that anyone who has commited "crimes" in the past, or served time, is no longer entitled to 2A? Does the guy smoking pot, or dealing pot or heroin surrender his 2A because dealing in pot or heroin is against the law? What about the poor slobs who have done 20 years for dealing pot, only to be released into a new America where it is now legalized? Is he still a criminal to be debarred 2A?
No freeman shall be debarred the use of arms. ~ Thomas Jefferson
Once again I find it is Jefferson who articulates the premise properly.
If you are not in prison you may not morally be debarred the use of Arms. And if you are in prison, it must only be for having infringed the Rightful Liberty of another person. Any law that falls outside Rightful Liberty is an immoral law and should be killed by moral Americans - and the people trying to impose immoral laws held to answer for their Treason. Anyone who has ever been sent to prison for drug or 2A crimes has been mistreated by his Countrymen.
No man has a natural right to commit aggression on the equal rights of another, and this is all from which the laws ought to restrain him. ~ Thomas Jefferson [emphasis added by K]
So, when you come across a person who is generally in agreement with Liberty positions, but you see that law-abiding language in their writings or hear it in their conversations (because it is still in their rationale - old habits are hard to break, and they haven't yet connected those final dots), challenge them on the fallacy and help them break through to a genuine understanding of Liberty.
Two final thoughts from Jefferson, which demonstrate my point that all of the answers we need to return to a proper society can be found in the writings of our Founders & Framers:
The majority, oppressing an individual, is guilty of a crime, abuses its strength, and by acting on the law of the strongest breaks up the foundations of society.
and
Our country is now taking so steady a course as to show by what road it will pass to destruction, to wit: by consolidation of power first, and then corruption, its necessary consequence. (He wrote this in 1821 - he knew then that we were on a road to ruin. Many of us would argue that destruction happened just a few decades later, under Lincoln. - K)
Kerodin
III
"Any law that falls outside Rightful Liberty is an immoral law..."
ReplyDeleteI call those false "laws" counterfeit "laws".
"And if you are in prison, it must only be for having infringed the Rightful Liberty of another person."
ReplyDeleteWell put, at least as well as Jefferson. This may be THE most important principle in all of law, for it's THE point at which conceptual legal theory meets actual (social) morality. IOW it's where thought turns into action and something gets done. "The law" is conceptual; imprisoning people is action.
THERE CAN BE NO CRIME WITHOUT A COMPLAINANT.
That is, there MUST be an actual individual (or proxy) whose liberty was actually encroached. "The People" or "The State" or "society" are not individuals; hence there can be no crime against them. The pretense that there could be, is itself technically a crime insofar as it uses coercion against any individual's rightful liberty to accomplish some whacked-out dreams.
Plus, it's worth noting that an individual's rightful liberty can ONLY be abridged with the use of PHYSICAL force or its threat. I can insult you, mock you, degrade you, protest you, whatever...but NONE of that actually interferes with your rightful liberty. ONLY physical action can do that; therefore only physical action or its threat can be a crime.
There's plenty of crime these days, but the vast majority of it is done by those to whom we pay enormous sums of money and benefits to prevent it. Something's backwards, huh?
I am not generally law-abiding. How could I possibly know all of the laws? Is law the same as justice?
ReplyDeleteIf someone has committed a crime, been sentenced to serve time or provide restitution, and satisfied their sentence, are they not then returned whole to society with all natural rights restored?
If not, why not?
Many of us would argue that destruction happened just a few decades later, under Lincoln. - K)
ReplyDeleteNo ifs, ands or buts, as my mother would say.
Great post, in my mind "law-abiding", has changed to "Constitution Supporting" citizen. It is simple, easy to understand and universal in it's boundaries.
ReplyDeleteI know some small few in the Liberty Movement have a disdain for it, but as for me and my tribe, it is all the Law we need.
Excellent essay! It's very interesting that you
ReplyDeletebrought up the topic of Cannabis sale/possession
and 2A.
You may or may not know that several of our Founders grew Cannabis and considered it
not only a worthy cash crop but also essential
to the Republic.
What would Jefferson, Washington or John Adams make of the current fanatical drive by tptb to attempt to eradicate that which they proudly grew,
not to mention the utterly insane treatment
of those who continue to grow and use it today?
Washington, Jefferson and Adams ALL Cultivated Cannabis
www.cannabissearch.com/.../washington-adams-jefferson-all-grew-cannabis/
Here's another warning from Jefferson regarding tptb's despotic over-reach into our Rightful Liberty:
"If people let government decide which foods they eat and medicines they take, their bodies will soon be in as sorry a state as are the souls of those who live under tyranny."
-Thomas Jefferson
It's been said that those who value/defend 2A have
much more in common with informed Cannabis activists as Rightful Liberty definitely encompasses both issues.
I bet you didn't even learn in school that The War
of 1812 was over Cannabis...this is just one aspaect
of how complete the propaganda war has been over the subject.
Cannabis and The War of 1812
www.cannabisculture.com/blogs/2012/07/.../
Cannabis-and-War-1812
If you haven't had a chance to see the
documentary, "Guns And Weed: The Road
to Freedom it's definitely worth the view here at Youtube:
Guns And Weed: The Road To Freedom
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ICWQ6AGWb_M
(the video is in 16 parts due to length)
Rightful Liberty isn't a 'Chinese Menu' that we get
to 'pick from column A' or 'column B'...Freedom doesn't work like that.
Yours In Liberty!
Northgunner III