Previous

Contents

Next

US Government Abdicates
by Jim Davidson
jim@vertoro.com

Special to The Libertarian Enterprise

Yes, it has suddenly occurred to me that there is a current and complete abdication of government. The United States of America has abdicated government, placing us outside its protection, and is making war against us.

Anarchists, anarcho-capitalists, voluntaryists, agorists, libertarians should all rejoice. There's no need to overthrow the government, the government has abdicated power over us.

Here's how Paul Craig Roberts explains it: "Indeed, on February 3 Dennis Blair, director of National Intelligence told the House Intelligence Committee that it was now "defined policy" that the U.S. government can murder its own citizens on the sole basis of someone in the government's judgment that an American is a threat. No arrest, no trial, no conviction, just execution on suspicion of being a threat."

Now, admittedly, the war on Americans goes back much further. Richard Nixon declared war on drugs, which meant spying on Americans, sending undercover agents into the streets to lie and entrap, and which made illegal to possess herbs bearing seed and trees bearing fruit which God gave us to be as meat (Genesis 1:29). Reagan expanded the war on drugs and fed it more money. At the same time, Reagan's guy Ed Meese declared war on pornography and other forms of free speech.

The international trafficking in arms regulations made it illegal for Americans to own encryption software, or sell it overseas. Many Americans did so, anyway, and some went to prison. Prohibitions in these arms regulations have limited American access to rocket propelled grenades, interfered with space tourism companies, and done much other real damage.

The war on terror began with the USAPATRIOT act and continues with the military commissions act eliminating habeas corpus. It advanced to the point where both Bush and Obama were detaining persons indefinitely without trial, without any recourse, and eagerly, enthusiastically having them tortured. At least four dozen under Bush, probably over a hundred, and an estimated six dozen under Obama have died while being tortured. The government won't even punish the attorneys who came up with feeble minded arguments to justify such behaviour.

Here are some words from the Declaration of Independence.

"He has made Judges dependent on his Will alone, for the tenure of their offices, and the amount and payment of their salaries. He has erected a multitude of New Offices, and sent hither swarms of Officers to harrass our people, and eat out their substance. He has kept among us, in times of peace, Standing Armies without the Consent of our legislatures. He has affected to render the Military independent of and superior to the Civil power. He has combined with others to subject us to a jurisdiction foreign to our constitution, and unacknowledged by our laws; giving his Assent to their Acts of pretended Legislation: For Quartering large bodies of armed troops among us: For protecting them, by a mock Trial, from punishment for any Murders which they should commit on the Inhabitants of these States: For cutting off our Trade with all parts of the world: For imposing Taxes on us without our Consent: For depriving us in many cases, of the benefits of Trial by Jury: For transporting us beyond Seas to be tried for pretended offences For abolishing the free System of English Laws in a neighbouring Province, establishing therein an Arbitrary government, and enlarging its Boundaries so as to render it at once an example and fit instrument for introducing the same absolute rule into these Colonies: For taking away our Charters, abolishing our most valuable Laws, and altering fundamentally the Forms of our Governments: For suspending our own Legislatures, and declaring themselves invested with power to legislate for us in all cases whatsoever. He has abdicated Government here, by declaring us out of his Protection and waging War against us."

Does any of that sound familiar? If a free and sovereign people once declared independence over these issues, should any one of us do less?

Make no mistake, the war on drugs and the war on terror, by making war on the people who purportedly did "ordain and establish" the constitution function as making war on the United States. Under the rules set forth in the constitution, making war on the United States is treason. The Obama administration, like Bush, Clinton, Bush, Reagan, Carter, Ford, Nixon, Johnson, and every president all the way back to Lincoln, is making war on the United States by making war on the American people.

But, of course, no one will ever convict them of treason, let alone have them stand trial. The government is beyond the point where treason shall ever prosper—for it prospers so much that few dare call it treason.

Nevertheless, I'm very pleased by this abdication of government, by being placed beyond the power of the government. The government is making war on me, which makes it unnecessary for me to take any action with respect to the government. I don't need to overthrow my government of myself—that would be silly. Nor would I need to overthrow the United States government—it has abdicated.

The war on drugs was a mistake, was evil, and has destroyed millions of lives. The war on terror is deliberate, is evil, and is destroying millions of lives. The Mencken enthusiast within me wants to raise the black flag, spit on my hands, and start slitting throats.

But the agorist in me disagrees. I don't need to raise the black flag, and I prefer mine of gold and black, anyway. I don't need to slit any throats. The government has given up governing me.

After all, if they were going to govern according to the treaties they've signed and the constitution they've sworn to uphold, those in power would put forth charges against anyone they detain, allow the great Writ of habeas corpus to be used in defence of those illegally detained, provide for speedy and public trials, and stop trying to hide all their evidence, all their guilt, and all their wrongdoing. Not only have they made no effort to do so, those in power have deliberately placed every American beyond the protection of the government.

What Dennis Blair says is that we are all beyond the protection of the constitution, the bill of rights, the system of laws, the judiciary, any appeal to anyone at all. Every American is now subject to summary justice. The government has placed us beyond its protection, beyond the safeguards for the rights of the accused meant to protect each one of us from outrage.

And I say it is a good thing, a welcome and happy development. The United States government has abdicated. All hail the government of me, by me, for me.

Jim Davidson is an author, entrepreneur, and anti-war activist. His 1990 venture to offer a sweepstakes trip into space was destroyed by government action as was his free port and prospective space port in Somalia in 2001. His 2002-2007 venture in free market money and private stock exchange was destroyed by government action in 2007. He's going to Mars if he has to walk. His second book, Being Sovereign is now availble from Lulu and is expected within a few weeks to be available at Amazon. His third book Sovereign Self-Defense will be released for Kindle next week. His fourth book Being Libertarian will be available for free download as a .pdf, being a compilation of all his essays and letters in "The Libertarian Enterprise" since 1995. Contact him at indomitus.net or houstonspacesociety.org.

Help Support TLE by patronizing our advertisers and affiliates.
We cheerfully accept donations!