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restoring our biblical and constitutional foundations
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If At First You Don’t Secede…
If this were a dictatorship, it’d be a heck of a lot easier, just so long as I’m the dictator.
Our enemies are innovative and resourceful, and so are we. They never stop thinking about new ways to harm our country and our people, and neither do we.
George W. Bush
Many have asked for my opinion regarding the restoration of liberty throughout the United States. My typical response is that it is nearly impossible to remedy our corrupted, corporate/special-interest-driven, godless, secular, globalist federal leviathan located in Babylon on the Potomac, DC. Our government is so centralized and so large that any attempt to conform it and our leaders (both Republicans and Democrats) to the United States Constitution is doubtful at best.
It is arguable that constitutional law died in April of 1865 at Appomattox with the surrender of the Army of Northern Virginia. Shortly after the surrender, General Robert E. Lee correctly foreshadowed how this nation would proceed longitudinally. In response to a letter that Lord Acton wrote to him on November 4, 1866, Mr. Lee wrote:
I can only say that while I have considered the preservation of the constitutional power of the General Government to be the foundation of our peace and safety at home and abroad, I yet believe that the maintenance of the rights and authority reserved to the states and to the people, not only essential to the adjustment and balance of the general system, but the safeguard to the continuance of a free government. I consider it as the chief source of stability to our political system, whereas the consolidation of the states into one vast republic, sure to be aggressive abroad and despotic at home, will be the certain precursor of that ruin which has overwhelmed all those that have preceded it.
Mr. Lee accurately gave a description of our current foreign policy, which is nothing more than massive political and military imperialism to expand the godless Empire and preserve the New World Order. Likewise, our current domestic policy daily strips law-abiding citizens of their constitutional rights in the name of “security” and almost always tends to favor special and corporate interest. There are absolutely no morals in our corrupted leaders and consequently, our laws have been maligned and perverted in the name of diversity, pluralism, and multiculturalism.
Although I am apt to conclude that the situation will not improve, I certainly do not believe it is impossible for God to change the hearts of many here in America. Yet I’m not too confident that He plans on doing this anytime soon for the simple reason that, according to the Scriptures, He has already given countless individuals over to a reprobate mind to do those things which are not “fitting,” as the King James Version puts it. Christians today are often concerned about God’s coming judgment yet few seem to ponder the judgment that is already here. The fact that our Creator has given the minds of this once great nation over to perversion, corruption, and greed is a sign that we are being judged now. The people have desired not to worship the one true living God and have replaced that with Yankee materialism, pragmatism, the satanic Do as Thou Wilt philosophy of Alistair Crowley, and secular humanism. Because of this, our God has sovereignly left individuals to their own destruction.
Because liberty can never exist when there is no responsibility and morality among the people, it is doubtful that we will ever, as a whole, see liberty in this nation again. Charles Spurgeon referred to the act of a church embracing the modernist philosophy of his day as entering what he called the “down-grade” and commented that once a church embarked on such a path, it is doubtful that it will again return to healthy doctrine. I believe that this same principle might be applied to our government as well; ironically, most of our churches today have embarked on the “down grade” by embracing erroneous teachings and worldly philosophies. Consequently, there is no one in the church holding our government accountable and preaching the truth about current events from the pulpits, and so our government naturally tends to move in that same direction.
Thomas DiLorenzo argues (and I believe rightly) that America began to slip down this “point-of-no-return” during the War of Northern Aggression, which is evidenced when one observes that the blatant usurpations of the Empire continue to worsen as the years go by. This unconstitutional war was merely a symptom of what was occurring; the Radical Republicans and Lincoln with his Whig ideology never intended to constrain themselves to the Constitution. Lincoln simply set a precedent that has never been reversed. In fact, our would-be dictators continue to stretch the limits of the already unconstitutional power they continue to usurp.
Question: what is worse than a godless despotic Empire similar to the one we have here? Well, quite frankly, a godless despotic Empire whose citizenry has been propagandized into believing that they are actually free. To call whatever it is we have here “freedom” is to make a mockery of law and order, our Constitution, our founding principles, and the men who risked their lives to secure true liberty, not some totalitarian Empire.
So what is the solution to the problem?
I believe that the only remaining solution is for a confederation of likeminded states to withdraw their consent from the Empire and to peacefully secede. The best place to start concerning the restoration of the Republic that I long to see again is to completely reform the republic among a new confederation of states that sovereignly consent to cede to this new confederation (which would imply secession should the new confederation turn sour). I am aware that this is a dirty word in the minds of many but am confident that this word will be appearing more and more in the near future. There are already movements that span the political spectrum in Alaska, Hawaii, Vermont, South Carolina (and just about every state the League of the South has a presence in), and New Hampshire, just to name a few. I have even come across several liberals who have suggested similar measures as well.
While I don’t intend to discuss the legality of secession as it relates to the Jeffersonian theory of politics (this is an entire doctorial dissertation in itself), I will quickly pose a serious question to those who might not be convinced that such is or should be a viable option. The Empire will obviously contend that such an act is illegal and will paradoxically mutter that such an act is in violation of the Constitution (while at the same time failing to give any convincing legal argument, just like Lincoln and his goonies). Yet, how can one trust an institution concerning matters of legality relating to constitutional law when such an institution operates illegally daily and fails to constrain itself to its own Constitution? I suppose this situation might be likened to a student who has flunked out of medical school giving advice to a world-renowned physician. To take the advice of the student over the physician would be ludicrous. Likewise, it’s absolutely ludicrous that the Empire should dictate what is constitutional and what is not when it clearly violates the plain text of the constitution daily, contending that it is a “living, breathing document.” This essentially means that the document is dead because it is arbitrary, for the Empire can read whatever it wants to into the plain text of the Constitution.
One might then ask: how would secession ever be brought about? I submit that the answer lies in two phases: cultural secession, and political secession. Cultural secession is nothing more than withdrawing one’s self from this narcissistic Yankee garbage culture that festers itself all over the fruited plain. Mr. Daniel New of the Texas League of the South refers to this as “abjuring the realm.” This can be accomplished by withdrawing one’s consent from every form of dependence on the Empire. Allow me to suggest the following:
Take your television out to the shooting range. This is quite symbolic of the refusal to further let the establishment elites tell you what to think while at the same time facilitating a perfect means to sharpen your accuracy with your pistol/rifle of choice.
Pull your children from the government propaganda mills guised as “public schools.” Public education is a communist goal and has served two basic purposes ever since their proliferation in Prussia in the mid-1700s: political indoctrination, and social engineering. Home schooling is preferential but just about anything is preferential to these government whorehouses masquerading as institutions of learning.
Support only local and community owned businesses. Withdraw your consent from the Yankee mega-corporations and only give them your patronage if there is absolutely no other alternative. Do your research here – be careful not to give your business to any corporation that gives portions of profit to special interest groups (good luck finding such a company). A good example would be the Home Depot, as it donates portions of profit to gay and lesbian organizations. The only drawback is that these mega-corporations usually drive out the little man by offering better prices. However, these are the same corporations that control everything; by giving them your business you are demonstrating that you are dependent upon them and, as stated, the goal here is independence. It is better to pay a little more and support your local businesses that are more apt to be owned and operated by common folk like you and me than it is to give your business to these corporate conglomerates who control our government, exploit their workers, exploit free trade by usurping American jobs, and exploit the perversities of global “capitalism.” Besides, if independence is the goal, it is better to keep money in the local community than to give it to these Yankee mega-corporations who take their profits back to New York City and away from our rural areas and small towns.
If possible, get at least 50 acres of land. This serves several purposes. One, it prevents these mega-corporations from expanding their corporate empires into our rural areas; basically, it keeps our rural areas rural. Second, it gives individuals an opportunity to grow their own food and to do things that cannot normally be done in these Yankee urban wastelands, which in turn makes us less dependent on the Empire. Third, it gives families a commodity. Land is something that typically does not depreciate in value, and I anticipate that land prices will continue to rise in the future.
Although this is difficult and not something I have been able to do just yet, try to remove your dependence from the Federal Reserve Note as much as possible. Our monetary and economic system facilitates the moral chaos of our day because it is dishonest, serves only to benefit the elite, and keeps us dependent on the Empire and its corporate conglomerates. Remember that the name “Federal Reserve” is a double paradox; it is neither a federal institution, nor is it any kind of reserve. Rather, it is a private corporation that is operated solely for profit. Try using honest alternatives such as the Liberty Dollar, which is 100% backed and redeemable in gold or silver. Moreover, try to give your patronage to those businesses that accept alternatives such as the Liberty Dollar.
If you are in debt, make it your first priority to get out of it. This is one of the ways I have become dependent on the Empire (those darned teenage years and days as an undergraduate). Never, and I repeat NEVER use credit. Credit is dishonest and is the direct cause of inflation because credit is inflation; you have to realize that with credit, you are paying off a debt with a hierarchy of more debt. Credit assumes the nonexistent value of the Federal Reserve Note by culminating nonexistent arbitrary amounts of Federal Reserve Notes in one’s name. It is purely a philosophical abstraction – wealth is not something that is psychological or philosophical; it is physical.
Avoid giving any kind of business to federal agencies. For example, if you must ship a package, do not do so through the Imperial post office. Instead of sending a written letter, make a phone call or, even better, send an email. Check out and consider joining the League of the South or the John Birch Society.
Most important, realize that you or I cannot do anything without Christ Jesus. It is He who is our strength, and if independence is ever achieved it will be He who graciously grants it to us.
This is merely a sampling of suggestions, and I am not pretending that any of this will by any means be either trivial or easy. I am still working through many of the basic ones I listed, and some obviously don’t apply to me yet because I don’t have children. But if the second phase is ever to occur, we must demonstrate that we are capable of willingly withdrawing ourselves from the current system.
The second phase is that of political secession and is brought about by the people of a state through statewide and local elections. The people elect constitutionalists and God-fearing men into office who vow to uphold and keep the federal and state constitution and to be servants of the people who elected them into office. Secession is not an edict of any one person – rather it is to be enacted by the people with cooperation from the governor and state legislature.
Contrary to popular opinion, secession does not involve the use of violent force and is not any type of overthrowing of the federal government. I am against the violent overthrow of any government (ironically though, the Empire thinks it can violently overthrow any regime that the UN and it does not approve). It is simply withdrawing from the already existing federal government through the existing political means of a state. Some consider secession rebellion, but we must remember that rebellion can only occur against lawful authority. Resistance to tyranny cannot be rebellion because there is usually no lawful authority to rebel against!
I believe that a legal case can be easily made for secession, but even if this were not the case we as Christians are never to submit to a law or edict that directly contradicts the Law of God. Just about everything the Empire does, has done, and will continue to do is dishonest, wicked, and almost always unbiblical. As John Weaver puts it, we have been so brainwashed that we don’t realize that civil rulers can rebel against the rule of law as well. Also, it might help to remember that the first century church was not persecuted because they blindly submitted to every edict that came from the mouth of Caesar.
The important thing to keep in mind here is that we cannot have political secession without cultural secession. I suppose it could occur pragmatically but I do not believe that it would have the desired effect. It would be analogous to jumping into an incredibly cold pool without first gradually entering into the water one step at a time. We must begin to withdraw our families and ourselves from this evil culture that pervades us. In fact, Biblically we are called not to be of this world, and it would be an awesome demonstration to the unbelieving world if Christians would simply refuse to consent to this Yankee materialism and this garbage culture. All it takes is for the people of God to draw a line in the sand.
We are not called to be Christian pacifists; as I mentioned, the first century church was not persecuted because they casually sat around. They were persecuted because they refused to consent to the unlawful and unbiblical rulings of an unjust Empire. In fact, in the first War for Independence in 1776, it was the preachers that the British hated more than the common soldier because they were the ones who were the most vocal about the war and were in favor of it. We have lost this mentality and, unfortunately, the church seems to believe that our only role to the civil government is undying, blind submission.
Fortunately for us, there is still time to change this, but we ought to stop sitting around saying that it doesn’t matter because it does. God is ultimately in control but He always works through His people. David defeated Goliath against all odds not because David said, “Well, I have no chance of winning and God will send lightning from heaven to smite Goliath if He desires.” I must, however, concede that there are times when pragmatism can offer some new insights. What to do if at first we don’t secede? Well, my friends, we must try, try again.
Endnote
I believe that the “Bushism” quoted at the beginning of this essay is probably one of the most truthful things to come out of the President’s mouth. He said this when he signed HR 4613 into law. A transcript may be found at:
http://www.whitehouse.gov/news/releases/2004/08/20040805-3.html
August 30, 2004
Matt Gamel is a graduate student at Texas A&M and eventually desires to go to seminary to study to be a biblical scholar. He may be reached for comment here.