TREASON

In my last message, I commented (sarcastically) that Thomas Jefferson should be revived, and then hung for treason, for his rebellious, anti-government rhetoric. So I thought I should add a word about treason.

To be blunt, "treason" is an insane, authoritarian concept. It rests on the notion that one has some obligation to be loyal to one's "country," which usually means loyalty to a "government." Trouble is, "betraying" a nasty "government" is, by definition, just as treasonous as betraying a good "government" (pretending for a moment that there can be such a thing).

Though the Founders got lots of things right, they got a lot wrong, too. Perhaps the most blatant example of their hypocrisy comes from the Constitution itself, which says that Congress shall have the power to, among other things, call forth the militia to "suppress insurrections" (Article I, Section 8, Clause 15). This from a bunch of guys who had just orchestrated and carried out an illegal, treasonous INSURRECTION.

Once they were in control, however, rebellion became a bad thing. This hypocrisy, however, was not unique to the founders. In fact, it can be found in ANYONE who believes in "government." To state the obvious, any authoritarian control mechanism gives and enforces "laws." Disobeying it is illegal, and so the state uses violence to achieve "compliance." However, everyone can imagine a situation in which "the law" is so dang evil that resisting it, even forcibly, becomes GOOD.

Statists want it both ways: on the one hand, they want some righteous, legitimate "authority" that makes good laws, and enforces them, and which the people have an obligation to obey; on the other hand, they want the people to be able to resist unjust and tyrannical governments. How can it be both? Either we're all obligated to obey "the law," or we're not. If we get to choose WHICH "laws" we are obligated to follow, then we are each ABOVE the law, rendering the imagined "authority" completely illegitimate. And that is anarchy!!

And that's exactly how it should be. I have no obligation to be loyal and obedient to any country, to any law, to any government, to any authority. The ONLY obligation I can possibly have is the obligation to do what I believe to be right. The insane belief in "authority," on the other hand, leads to the conclusion that we're all morally OBLIGATED to do what we think is morally WRONG--and it's hard to get any more loony than that.

But statists don't recognize the glaringly obvious hypocrisy in their beliefs. Every July 4th, millions of Americans loudly celebrate a treasonous, illegal act of rebellion. But if you suggest to those same people that the tyrants oppressing us today are just as evil and deserve to be forcibly dethroned, they will view you as a terrorist criminal, and an enemy of "their" country. (This despite the fact that the current politicians are taxing and regulating the populace to a degree King George III could never have dreamed of.)

Breaking "the law" is not inherently bad, nor is obeying it inherently good. Doing what you're told to do, and being loyal to tyrants, is nothing to be proud of. Doing what is RIGHT is what matters, and most of the time, that is the opposite of doing what politicians want you to do. Sometimes it's even treasonous. I, for one, am very thankful to the traitorous criminals of the past. Almost all of the improvements in human society came from their efforts.

Sincerely,
--Larken Rose

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