8 February 2012

A Question of Sovereignty: Why all the violence?

After a recent article was brought to my attention, I feel the need to clear things up for those of you how are uncertain about the value of Freedemption. Highlighted in the article are concerns from the FBI who label 'sovereign citizens' as a group of violent individuals that do not recognize the authority of the government or its agencies. Though I would not entirely disagree with the second part of that statement, sovereignty within the context of Freedemption is not defined by violence.


Generalizing "sovereign citizens" as "sovereign killers" is a vain attempt by the 'authorities' to try and get it into our heads that anyone sovereign-minded besides themselves is a dangerous psychopath. You can see their desperation when they need to demonize an entire movement, regardless of its potential value to society, by making a billboard of the wrongdoings of these select cop killers. More of a nightmare offshoot of the Patriot Movement, this father and son may have been on the right track for their critical view of the government but it is obvious that their hearts were not in the right place.
Perhaps some possibility of improved relations could come about from this unfortunate incident if politicians and police reached out to their communities to talk about some of these issues. They could address what happened, discuss why 'sovereign citizens' like the father and son are so critical of government, and collaborate on ways to alleviate the tension between law enforcement and society. Then again, it is probably better to keep the police and public separate. Otherwise, the order of our status quo might be jeopardized.


When first researching this movement, I came across this video relating to the same "sovereign killers". At the time of writing this, the video is still in the top two Youtube search results when looking up "sovereign citizen":
As I have said before, one of the principal factors drawing me to freedemption is its peaceful nature. Despite mass anger at government and its agencies around the globe, I've found these "sovereign citizens" to be something unique to the United States. The Sovereign Citizen Movement and others like it touch on many key aspects of understanding freedemption. Only in America, where guns have played such a part in life and history, maintaining equality and freedom before the law while bearing arms can end up in a bloody mess far too easily, even with the best-intentioned of people.


This 60 Minutes clip on the Sovereign Citizen Movement gives a biased version of the same story but allows a respectable amount of time for Alfred Adask, who some call a sovereign icon, to get his point across:
One thing worth clarifying is that when the Mrs. J.J Macnab, says (@ 4:44) that "sovereign citizens think they are above the law", it can be very misleading. In my opinion, framing it in such a way makes all those seeking greater sovereignty in their lives look like vigilantes out for blood. It also suggests that there is only one law - that which is commonly expressed. 

I should point out that there are many forms of law. If you do not consent to statutory or contract law, then you are above that law because the rules for that society have nothing to do with you! Being intimately linked to a certain government's rules and affairs is rarely considered a given but ultimately such is the jurisdiction we've allowed ourselves to fall under. 


I have never condoned violence yet I can see how some, like the reported father-son duo, would come to the point of striking out against those trying to impose on the sovereignty they've come to understand - however misconstrued it may be. I hope most people see the United States as a country falling further into the grips of a police state and that it's not hard to imagine how some people are driven to such lengths as to lash out in these horrific ways. 

Certainly compared to Canada, the United States seems to exhibit  much more police brutality, abuse of power and ignorance of the law. Maybe that is just because there are ten times as many people in America and more people 'Copwatching'. Personally, I'd like to think it's because everyone drinks too much alcohol and smokes too little marijuana.


Regardless, from the best people in this global movement I see a trend of peaceful freedemption, which I like. As the police state encroaches north of the border and starts affecting our individual sovereignty, I hope Canadians see not the need to resort to such violent measures.


Til next time, here is a musical maestro who also claims to be above the law. Is he? You decide.

2 comments:

  1. So well thought out and paced. You are so fantastic.
    It is so very easy for opposition/authority to throw some words on something - create propaganda - and shove it down the mouths of sheeple.
    I love the calm collected response that this is.
    Stay true.
    x

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  2. "...being sovereign and being a citizen are two completely different things and as such it is my opinion that you can be one or the other but not both. Being a ‘sovereign citizen’ is a paradox. How can you live with the supreme authority of a sovereign when you give up some of that authority to be a citiz en? A citizen is no longer the supreme authority at that point as one must give up, grant or gift some authority to the state in order to gain some benefits or privileges of being a citizen, usually in the form of protection."

    - rob in the pagé family, from this weeks newsletter: Constructs of Freedom, Feb 13, 2012: News

    http://consciousselfgovernance.ca/

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