Posted on 06/18/2011 6:08:38 AM PDT by tenger
Sovereign Man Notes from the Field
Date: June 17, 2011 Reporting From: London
Before leaving New York, I was enjoying a perfectly nice afternoon yesterday walking around the Upper West side. When I got to Lincoln center, roughly at the corner of Broadway and W 62nd Street, reality set in.
No fewer than ten NYPD storm troopers were 'patrolling' the sidewalk outside in full combat gear: Kevlar helmet, flak vest, semi-automatic 9mm sidearm, and Colt model 933 with M900 foregrip and M68 aimpoint. A few of them had M203 variety grenade launchers fitting snugly underneath the barrel.
And to what did we owe the deployment of such unnecessary firepower? An invasion of the Canadian hordes? Terrorists on the loose? No. Some visiting politician... clearly an individual who feels important enough to merit an intimidating death squad in his vicinity.
This is the nature of the system. Police are armed to the teeth... and while their official marketing slogan may be to 'keep people safe', their real function is to be the protectors and enforcers for the political class, all while keeping the people in check so that the know who's boss.
On this note, we received a lot of comments this week from readers who reject the idea of considering greener pastures overseas and instead choose to "stay and fight."
Reader Jay K, for instance, wrote that "sooner or later you're going to have to fight. It might as well be in your own home, city, neighborhood, and country."
This 'stay and fight' mentality does seem incredibly noble. It invokes images of Paul Revere and the original patriots standing their ground in battle against the red coat British forces. Unfortunately, the world just doesn't work that way anymore.
There is no real enemy to fight... no clearly defined opposing force conveniently dressed in a different color like the rival baseball team. The battle is one of ideas.
At its simplest, the conflict comes down between those who believe that government is the problem, and those who believe that government is the solution. Most people are brainwashed statists who unquestioningly hold the latter as their ethos.
And then there is the big faceless void of government itself... politicians, bureaucrats, low-level workers, regulatory agencies, etc. We're not talking about a single individual here, but an entire institution.
It begs the question-- for all the 'stay and fight' people, who exactly are you fighting? And more importantly, how?
Of all the hundreds of similar notes we've received from people who claim they are going to 'stay and fight', I am still waiting for one... just one single email... from someone telling me exactly how they plan on doing that.
Are you going to go to the polls and kick the bums out? Go right ahead. If you can convince the majority of other voters (most of whom probably don't share your ideology), then you're just going to vote in another set of bums.
Politicians are politicians because they either (a) are attracted to power, and/or (b) think that government is the solution, not the problem. Replacing one set with another is hardly a credible course of action.
What else is the plan-- armed conflict in the streets? I don't understand this fantasy. The people are going to arm themselves and join together for an Old West style shootout against the police, the people will win, and then a new nation will be rebuilt espousing limited government principles?
It sounds like a great movie... but pinning your hopes on being able to win a revolutionary style victory against a military police state that has superior tactics, firepower, and combat experience is simply unrealistic.
Besides, real turmoil in the west is just getting started. Right now the conflict is in Greece and Spain. It will spread to Italy, Belgium, UK, etc., and then finally to the US.
When it does, people will find out first hand that the police have absolutely no problems turning into violent thugs... and this police state grows stronger every day.
Truthfully, there is no way to fight a faceless enemy. The government is essentially the same as your credit card company-- no single individual or front, just a collection of various departments and bureaucracies.
What do you do when your credit card company raises your fees, takes your money, provides you with poor service? Do you petition for change? Do you try and convince fellow credit card holders to demand new management? Do you stalk the customer service center in Sioux City, Iowa? No, of course not. You simply get a new card.
This is ultimately the solution that I'm advocating, and I'm here to tell you that there are a lot of great cards out there in the world.
If you recognize that the trend is bad, at least have a plan to safeguard yourself, your family, your livelihood, and your assets... something that extends beyond the unrealistic (voting the bums out) and the mythical (doing battle in the streets).
It's time to reject bombastic fantasies and check in to reality. Make a grounded appraisal of the situation, and if you decide to stick around, great. Just make sure you have strong safeguards in place, a plan to execute if you ever deem it necessary, and most of all, a clear idea of your breaking point.
After all, the boiling frog only survives when it senses danger and jumps out.
Have a great weekend.
Simon Black Senior Editor, SovereignMan.com
“I am a permanent traveler,” says Simon. “That means I have no home, and I am free to move about the world at my discretion. I believe that my capability to make money and enjoy a fulfilling lifestyle is not constrained by my geography. It’s not 1984 anymore.
“I’m a student of the world, and I believe that travel is the greatest teacher. My knowledge is practical and hopefully of significant use to you. Off the top of my head I could quote you the price of beachfront property in Croatia, where to bank in Dubai, the best place to store gold in Singapore, which cities in Mexico are the safest, which hospitals in Asia are the most cost effective, and how to find condo foreclosure listings in Panama.
“I believe that in order to achieve true freedom, you have to make money independently, control your time, and eliminate the mindset that you are subject to a corrupt government that is bent on degrading your personal liberty.”
I thought they were doing it to protect Penn Station.
Ping for the list?
Perhaps I missed something. What does a “permanent traveler” do for a living?
He’s an international entrepreneur and investor.
Investor, I get. International entrepreneur, not so much. Can you be a bit more specific? Honest question here.
My loving people. we have been persuaded by some that are careful of our safety, to take heed how we commit ourselves to armed multitudes for fear of treachery; but, I do assure you, I do not desire to live to distrust my faithful and loving people.
Let tyrants fear.
I have always so behaved myself, that under God I have placed my chiefest strength and safeguard in the loyal hearts and goodwill of my subjects; and, therefore, I am come amongst you as you see at this time.
We can only have that sort of de-militarized home front when we are determined to fight our enemies to the death overseas. For the last half century we have lacked that determination.
Where will the safe and free hiding place be found?
If America falls to tyranny, what place on earth will be safe and free?
Storm troopers? Oh really.
Only ten? With but ten, they are Gun shops on the hoof. Did they learn nothing from the 70's?
I can’t help but think of these lines from the movie ‘Open Range’:
Mack: Shame what this town’s come to.
Charley Waite: You could do something about it.
Mack: What? We’re freighters. Ralph here’s a shopkeeper.
Charley Waite: You’re men, ain’t you?
Mack: I didn’t raise my boys just to see ‘em killed.
Charley Waite: Well you may not know this, but there’s things that gnaw at a man worse than dying.
Even on a good day it's a corrupt, dirty, nasty place overloaded with human trash.
Paranoid delusion.
Nobody can win a war against the American people.
“There would be a rifle behind every blade of grass.”
Well said.
No people on earth have a better chance of defeating their own government in a shooting war than the American people.
That’s the whole idea behind global governance.There will be no place to go to regroup and fight against the corruption.
That’s why we have to stay and fight for freedom here.
We all swear upon the Constitution. A suspension of elections and declaration of “President for Life” the disbanding of Congress the orders to disperse disrupt and/or kill American citizens. I don't see American servicemen driving tanks over protesting college students as a likely scenario.
Battlestar Galactica summed up the idea pretty well.....
Roslin: You have committed me to holding elections within the year.
Apollo: Madam President, with respect. You are serving out the remainder of President Adar's term. When that term is up, in seven months, the law says, there is an election. I only committed you to obeying the law.
Adama: You sound like some kind of lawyer.
Roslin: This is unacceptable.
Apollo: I swore an oath. To defend the articles. The articles say there is an election in seven months. Now, if you are telling me we are throwing out the law, then I am not a captain, you are not a commander, and you are not the president. And I don't owe either of you a damned explanation for anything.
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