July 4th is *NOT* celebrating the US Constitution. It is a celebration of the Declaration of Independence.
The mainstream media falsely lumps the Declaration of Independence together with the Constitution. Compared to the Declaration of Independence, the Constitution is a counter-revolutionary document. The Constitution established a strong central government, after people had fought for freedom from another strong central government.
The Constitution was the result of a criminal conspiracy. The delegates to the "Constitutional Convention" were only authorized to fix minor flaws in the Articles of Confederation. Instead, they came up with a plan for a strong central government. Some delegates walked out, when they saw what was happening. The "Constitutional Convention" was held in secret, because a lot of people would have been very angry if they knew what was happening.
The Constitution was written by a bunch of insider lawyers, which is one strike against it right away. The Constitution is not a valid contract. The State doesn't recognize that I have an individual right to consent or not consent. Statists assume the Constitution is valid forever, because a small group of insiders voted for it more than 200 years ago.
The Constitution has no provision for individuals to vote on ratification or amendments. Only members of state legislatures (insiders) may vote.
The is no provision to un-ratify the Constitution or secede. In a fair election, one of the choices should always be "I don't consent to the current form of government." Then, the State would have a hard time claiming authority over those who don't consent.
The Declaration of Independence had an important new idea. It says that people have the right to get rid of a government and replace it with something better. The current government has decayed to the point that revolting is necessary.
A pro-State troll says "The current system is the best one that's been tried so far. What's your alternative?" My proposed alternative is market anarchism. All services currently provided by government should be provided by multiple competing vendors in a really free market.
Until the Declaration of Independence, rulers could do pretty much whatever they wanted. The Declaration of Independence says that people have a right to revolt, when government gets too corrupt. No matter what corrupt laws a government passes, the right to revolt always exists.
As a concession to the Anti-Federalist faction, the Constitution had many checks and balances to prevent abuse of State power. The Bill of Rights was added to ease the concerns of many Anti-Federalists. They were tricked into supporting the Constitution. Insiders knew that, once a government is in place, its evil power only grows over time.
At the time, something like the Constitution had never been tried before. As the Constitution was originally written and interpreted, there were many checks and balances to prevent abuse of State power. Over time, almost all of those protections have been repealed.
In the present, freedom is gradually eroded. No single abuse is enough to revolt over, if you hadn't revolted over previous abuses. However, if you look at everything, it's clearly time to revolt.
I predict that market anarchism would be better than the current system. Unfortunately, it's illegal to conduct an experiment. All land is claimed by some government; there's no unoccupied space to colonize and experiment. Any people who organized a market anarchist group would be treated as criminals by the current State. The resistance to freedom comes from the current crumbling system, and not because freedom is inherently evil.
If you actually read the original Declaration of Independence, most of the abuses described apply to the current government. Some things don't have an exact analogy, but it's pretty close. You aren't forced to quarter troops in your home. With high taxes and high military spending, the net effect is almost the same.
I've seen several people ask for an updated version of the Declaration of Independence. It's an interesting exercise, to rewrite it in a more modern context. Also, I cleaned up some of the language to more current English.
Here is my updated "Declaration of Independence".
In the course of human events, it is sometimes necessary for people to dissolve the political chains which have enslaved them. It is necessary to return to Natural Law, and forget all the corrupt laws that insiders created for their own benefit. Before taking the drastic step of revolting against a corrupt government, it is necessary to write down your grievances and reasons.
There are certain universal unalienable rights. These include life, liberty, and the pursuit of happiness. These include the right to work, the right to property, and the right to free exchange of goods and ideas.
People mistakenly believed that the best way to secure these rights was to create a government monopoly. A small group of insiders were given the power to make, enforce, and interpret laws. Succumbing to the inevitable temptation, insiders used their power to steal rather than to protect individual freedom.
In the abstract ideal, honest and intelligent people work in government to help everyone else. In practice, the most dishonest and corrupt people control the government. They use "color of law" to provide cover for their crimes. Once a government is firmly controlled by corrupt people, revolt and collapse is the only solution. Once evil people are in control, reform becomes impossible, because those evil people will always block real reform to protect their gravy train and iron rice bowl.
When a form of government is mostly corrupt, and stops protecting freedom, then it's time to get rid of it and replace it with something better. When a government steals freedom much more than it protects freedom, then it's time to try something else.
Direct tax rates are over 50%. They are much higher if you include all indirect and hidden taxes. The current government is severely overcharging me. It is risky to not revolt, because then I'm surrendering more than half my life to taxation and corruption.
It is a very serious decision, to stop supporting a corrupt government. You must be sure that the abuses and corruption are severe enough to justify the risk. There is always a risk associated with change. There is a risk to revolt, even when justified, because you will be in the minority initially. Other people would rather defend the status quo, instead of progressing. Everyone who earns a living from corruption will actively resist change. Unfortunately, we have reached the point where drastic change is necessary.
Here is a list of all the abuses committed by the political class. These grievances are directed at politicians, judges, insiders, police, and all people who earn a living from a corrupt government.
They have refused to obey their own laws. Police and government employees flagrantly disregard laws, with no negative consequences. When a non-insider is accused of a crime, prosecutors insist on zero tolerance. When insiders commit crimes, there are always excuses. For example,
Lehman Brothers committed Repo 105 accounting fraud, but nobody was prosecuted.
They have committed massive mortgage fraud. Bank executives forged mortgage foreclosure paperwork, and were not prosecuted. This is clearcut perjury. Meanwhile, Barry Bonds and Roger Clemens are prosecuted for lying about steriods. There are plenty of examples where insiders get away with crime, while innocent people are prosecuted for things that aren't really crimes.
They have created a permanent state of emergency, as an excuse for taking away freedom. With an emergency and the "War on Terrorism", they have claimed unlimited power to spy on people and detain people without trial and execute people without trial.
They have made representative democracy a farce, where only insiders can get elected. With ballot access laws, large voting districts, corrupt electronic voting machines, a corrupt mainstream media, and various regulations, they have ensured that only insiders may get elected. Even with fairer elections, few politicians would be able to resist the temptation to line their pockets at the expense of taxpayers.
They have made the judicial system inefficient. Trials are expensive and take a long time. This guarantees that criminal defendants can be broken and coerced into plea-bargaining. This guarantees that non-insiders will rarely prevail in a dispute with well-financed insiders.
They have created a government completely controlled by lawyers. Most Congressmen are lawyers. Most judges are lawyers. The President and his advisers are almost all lawyers.
They have written unreasonably complicated laws, thousands of pages or longer.
They have abused sovereign immunity. When policemen or State employees commit crimes, they are generally immune from personal responsibility.
They have created a massive bureaucracy, and sent out swarms of bureaucrats to harass us and eat out our substance.
They have created a complex system of laws and regulations. Many innocent-seeming activities are falsely treated as crimes.
They have created a military-industrial complex. High military spending and high taxes drain our productivity.
They have created a judicial-prison complex. Too many economic activities are falsely classified as crimes. Many people earn a living from falsely imprisoning people. The USA leads the world in per-capita prison population.
They have created a Welfare State, supported by high taxes.
The police behave more like a hostile occupying army, and less like people who are protecting freedom.
They have conducted no-knock raids for nonviolent offenses, behaviors that are falsely classified as crimes. It is a crime to conduct a no-knock raid, when there is no danger to someone's life. During no-knock raids, police sometimes murder people, and are immune from prosecution.
They have conducted pointless wasteful wars in Iraq, Afghanistan, and other places, even though many people disapprove. They have picked new leaders who promised to end these wars, but then they ignored their promise.
They have passed and enforced laws that flagrantly disregard the Constitution.
They have protected, via a mock trial, any policeman who murders someone. Police are nearly absolute immune from crimes they commit while working. When a policeman murders someone, there is usually a "wrongful death" settlement, which is paid by other taxpayers and not by the murderer.
They have tariffs and import quotas, restricting trade with the rest of the world.
They have established unreasonably high taxes. People pay direct income taxes of nearly 50%, plus a greater amount via indirect taxes. For almost everything you do, a tax must be paid.
They have created a system of monopolies and oligopolies. Most industries are controlled by a handful of large corporations, supported by regulations that restrict competition.
They have created a corrupt and dishonest monetary system. Fiat debt-based money is inherently fraudulent. The Federal Reserve is one big price-fixing cartel.
Their corrupt monetary system has regular booms and busts.
They wasted trillions of dollars in a housing bubble and bust. Then, they gave trillions of dollars in bailouts to the same people who wrecked the economy.
They have established a high income tax, a severe violation of Natural Law. The right to work is a natural right, and should not be taxed.
They have gradually eroded individual freedom via the corrupt principle of stare decisis. Once the Supreme Court approves a law that takes away freedom, that decision becomes permanent and non-revocable. Via unfavorable decisions, the Supreme Court has gradually amended the Constitution and removed the protections of individual freedom.
They falsely believe that a majority vote can approve taxes. The majority does not have the right to steal from the minority. As an individual, you do not have the right to steal from me. Therefore, you cannot authorize others to steal from me on your behalf, via voting.
They have restricted people's ability to choose their career, via State licensing requirements for various occupations. It takes $400k+ and 10+ years to get a doctor's license. It takes $200k+ and 3+ years to get a lawyer license. These licensing cartels artificially reduce supply, reduce quality, and raise prices. These licensing cartels restrict people's ability to earn a living in whatever career they choose.
They have, in most cases, eliminated the right to a jury trial.
They coerce most criminal defendants into accepting plea bargains. The penalty for going to trial and losing is usually much more harsh than the plea bargain. Besides, the prosecutor usually wins at trial. Also, a defendant does not recover his legal expenses if acquitted.
They have severely restricted the right to a lawyer, via the State licensing cartel. A lawyer must act for the State first and his client second, because he will lose his law license and career if he says something that the judge doesn't like. For example, a defense lawyer who mentioned "jury nullification" would forfeit his law license and lose his career. By restricting the supply of lawyers, lawyer fees are unreasonably high.
They have repealed the right of jury nullification. A proper jury has the power both to judge the facts and the morality of the law. Defendants and their lawyers are barred from mentioning jury nullification.
They have repealed the right to a speedy trial. A criminal trial takes months or years, extracting a toll from the defendant while racking up legal expenses. Many defendants spend a long time in pre-trial detention, then accept a plea-bargain to end their ordeal.
They made the "justice" system slow, confusing, and cumbersome. The justice system is controlled by lawyers. They made the legal system inefficient, to maximize their profits and to make it easier to intimidate people.
In civil trials, they frequently deny people the right to a jury trial. Many laws explicitly exempt insiders from civil liability. Insiders bought favorable laws regarding vaccines, the Oil Pollution Act, the Halliburton Loophole for fracking, and many others.
They have denied people the right to a jury trial in tax disputes.
They have repealed the system of common law, and replaced it with corrupt statutory law.
They have restricted our ability to own and carry weapons. The right to own a gun is valuable protection from criminals, both ordinary criminals and criminals operating under color of law.
They have sent spies to infiltrate any group where people organize, even for nonviolent political protest.
They are still eroding our freedom. They keep raising taxes, increasing inflation, and creating more burdensome regulations.
People have tried to raise these concerns. Their concerns were ignored.
People have tried to elect less corrupt politicians. That has proven to be a waste of time.
Many people will support the current corrupt system. Many of them are people who earn a living by supporting evil. Many of them are fools. They are not important.
The people who really matter are the most skilled and productive workers. Fortunately, they can be most easily convinced. If they are convinced, then the corrupt system will collapse, even if the clueless majority doesn't understand.
A revolt does not have to lead to violence and bloodshed. If enough people start ignoring evil laws, then they will be free. It is difficult, because a lot of resources are currently devoted to promoting and supporting evil. A lot of resources are devoted to identifying, kidnapping, or murdering people who want to be free.
The violence and bloodshed will come from people who want to preserve a corrupt system. If you start ignoring evil laws, then there are spies who will try to identify you and police who will come to kidnap or kill you.
Some people will say "You don't have the right to revolt." The correct response is "Go ahead and try to stop me." There are enough people who know the truth now, that it isn't feasible to kidnap or kill all of them.
All the people who want freedom will use whatever tricks they can imagine, to try and recover their freedom. All the people who want to preserve a corrupt system, can use every dirty trick to try and stop them. Let's see who wins.
I am a free individual. I don't recognize that other people have a right to steal from me via taxes under the color of law. All monopolies are evil. The most evil monopoly is the monopoly of police, lawmaking, and justice. Fortunately, the more corrupt and inefficient a monopoly is, the more profit there is to be gained by competing with it and resisting.
That was interesting. If you really think about it, the abuses of the present are just as bad or worse, than in 1776.
I do have a proposed alternative to the current corrupt system. That is market anarchism, where nobody has a monopoly for making laws or enforcing laws.
Unfortunately, Thomas Jefferson is dead. I can't ask him what he thinks. If he were alive today, he'd probably be saying "OK, everybody! It's time to revolt!"
