Let me just start out with a short disclaimer: I’m prone to speak my mind.
Sometimes tactfully, sometimes diplomatically, sometimes gently, other times forcefully—but I’m prone to speak my mind. There are certain times when I’ll refrain from speaking, on account of it provides no value to conversation or it doesn’t really help the situation. But most of the time, I’m prone to speak my mind.
Other times I’ll hold back for the sake of discretion.
I mention that this morning because my wife indicated I may have “said too much” in yesterday’s report, TR 406 - The Future is In Our Hands. I told her I was not afraid, and that the day we cannot speak the truth for fear of state retaliation, that’s the day we’ve got nothing else to lose. Just like the whole “sir you’ve gotta mask up” thing—and people telling me it wasn’t the hill to die on—I strongly disagree with the notion than anybody has the right to restrict my breathing, steal my smile, or stifle my voice.
Such restrictions are a heinous violation of basic human rights.
Hence the constitutionally protected right to free speech, among others, and the precedent of life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness that shall not be infringed by government overreach, abuse, and corruption. As it is written:
“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness.--That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.” —The Declaration of Independence, July 4th, 1776
The truth is self-evident…
We are born with certain unalienable Rights, and among them are life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness—though we certainly have more rights than just those three.
We’re going to break this down in a bit, but let’s skip ahead to the fun part:
“…whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it…”
It does not say: “Only when the government gives you permission, once every four years or so, you can vote to change some things—but only what the rules and regulations dictated by the government say you can change.”
It says quite clearly, whenever the government “becomes destructive” to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, it is the Right of the People to ABOLISH it.
To abolish means to “destroy completely” according to the dictionary, just FYI:
Sticking with plain speak, We The People have the right to completely destroy the government anytime the government “becomes destructive” to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Note that our right to DESTROY the government comes before the government completely destroys life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness.
Does the government give us the right to destroy the government? No.
We are endowed by our Creator. That means we’re BORN with this right, and therefore, it cannot be taken away. It is inherent and innate in human nature, this right to rise up and completely destroy those who “become destructive” to our way of life, restricting our liberty, impinging upon our happiness and trying to rule by force.
Only tyrants try to restrict liberty, destroy happiness, and rule by force.
Now then, let me ask you: do you think this is “extremist” rhetoric?
Did I just conjure up the idea that we are born with the right to destroy the government? Did I just pull this concept out of my a… hat? No.
These are the prescient, powerful, and inspiring words of America’s founding document, and they have been well-respected throughout history. The Declaration of Independence spells out truths that are as timeless as Nature itself.
And just to reiterate, the Truth is, we are born with the right to destroy any form of government that tramples our liberties and becomes destructive to our way of life.
I want to point something else out here: these natural born rights are “unalienable.” We’ve all heard the word plenty of times, but what does it really mean? If you think about it, when else do you ever hear or use that word, unless you’re reading or quoting the Declaration of Independence, right? Here’s the definition:
Unalienable means “not to be separated” or “not to be taken away.” So, our natural right to destroy the government whenever it becomes destructive isn’t something that can be separated from human nature, nor can it be taken away. But that’s not all, take note of the third definition, that this right is “not alienable.” What does that mean?
It means “not transferrable” ownership. This right is ours, and it can never be anyone else’s. This right is not capable of being transferred to, say for instance, to a tyrannical government that is actively destroying every aspect of American society.
Another way of reading “unalienable” is to say that our rights are not for sale. In fact, the word implies that these rights cannot be sold, even if one were woefully inclined to attempt trading these rights for the illusion of safety.
Okay, enough word play. Moving on.
Zoom out.
Remember this lady:
That screenshot comes from TR 316 - It's a "Free-for-All Hellscape"—which points out this lady is a congressional representative from Orange County, California, she has three kids and no husband, and she busted out that cute little whiteboard in a congressional hearing, spelling out insanity for all the world to see.
To claim that free speech is a “free-for-all hellscape” is not only utterly absurd, completely un-American, and in gross violation of the 1st Amendment, it is a insidious ploy to shut people up and shutdown political dissent. And just to be clear, this crazy lady is not alone in her convictions. She has been carefully groomed and conditioned to believe this insanity, and she no doubt accepts that the only solution to this perceived problem is for the government to clamp down and control public discourse by censoring free speech, and punishing anyone who says otherwise.
This is tyranny at its finest.
However, what I really want to focus on here are the mechanics of human interaction. Can you imagine the natural reaction of someone trying to forcibly cover your face with a cloth? You’d fight back, instinctively, right? Same could be said for someone who tried to grab you and detain you against your will (i.e. kidnapping), you’d instinctively fight back, right? These instincts are innate in our human nature, and they form the basis of our natural born rights.
It’s not just that we have a right not to be kidnapped or suffocated, it’s that we have a right to be left alone, to go where we want to go and do what we want to do. And, whenever someone tries to interfere or stop us from going and doing what it is that we want to do, we instinctively rebel. This is the “pursuit of happiness” that our Declaration of Independence reminds us of, and whenever the government becomes destructive to this pursuit, we have the right to alter or abolish it.
It’s really just that simple. Thomas Jefferson was eloquently spelling out the natural expression of human instinct, telling the whole world what’s really worth fighting for.
There are a couple more points I want to make from the following passage:
“That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, --That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government, laying its foundation on such principles and organizing its powers in such form, as to them shall seem most likely to effect their Safety and Happiness.”
First, governments are instituted to secure our basic human rights to life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. Think about how broad those terms are. Our government was formed to protect our lives and our liberties, so that we could go about our lives in pursuit of happiness. How do we pursue happiness? By going and doing what we want to go and do, by speaking our minds, by spending time with our loved ones, etc.
The point is, everyone has different preferences and pleasures. We like to do different things, go different places, and even love different people—and it is a basic human right to do so. This right extends to all people, whether we agree with them or not—not because it is legal or moral or just or right, but because this right to go and do and love is inherent in human nature, inseparable from the expression of our being.
The second point from this passage, and the last point I want to emphasize today, is that “just power” only comes through consent. “Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed,” is how it reads. What power does the government have? NONE if we do not consent. If the government tries to force us into compliance—say with radical environmental policies or outrageous and arbitrary taxes—that is not just. That’s tyranny.
Tyranny is unjust or oppressive governmental power.
If the government forces us against our will and we do not consent, it has become unjust. If the government restricts life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness, it has become oppressive. It’s not rocket science.
That is the exact definition of tyranny, and the prescription has been made clear.
We are in an existential battle of wills and we have every right in the world to defend ourselves. The truth is self-evident. Don’t be afraid to speak it.
TR 407 - The Existential Battle of Wills