Do we think we are free?

I know we do. We hear it all the time! “This is a free country!”. But is it? In short: NO!

First, what IS freedom? Well, freedom is the ability to behave in a particular way without the interference of government, provided you do not infringe on the freedom of others. Simple, right? Maybe not, the definition of freedom at the free dictionary by farlex states:

“affranchisement, arbitrium, autonomy, civil liberty, decontrol, deliverance, discharge, disenthrallment, emancipation, empowerment, enfranchisement, entitlement, exemption, exemption from external control, exemption from restraint, extrication, franchise, franchisement, independence, leave, leeway, legal right, liberation, libertas, liberty, licentia, noninterference, permit, political independdnce, prerogative, privilege, redemption, relaxation of control, release, right to decide, room, self-determination, self-government, self-rule, unconstraint, unfettering, unrestraint” (from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/freedom)

Not exactly easy to understand…but it IS clear that freedom means the ability to act the way you want to…always assuming you are not infringing on anyone else’s rights.

So, clearly we believe we are free, but a better way to decide might be to have a look at what it is like NOT to be free. If an individual is restricted from a particular action under the threat of fine or imprisonment, then it can be said that the person is not “free” to perform that action. Sound reasonable? I think so.

In short, we might not be “free” to do something that is illegal. Fair enough…but what is illegal? Again, from the free dictionary by farlex:

“illegal 1) adj. in violation of statute, regulation or ordinance, which may be criminal or merely not in conformity. Thus, an armed robbery is illegal, and so is an access road which is narrower than the county allows, but the violation is not criminal. 2) a person residing in a country of which he/she is not a citizen and who has no official permission to be there” (from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/illegal)

Well, that’s not very clear either, because by this definition, illegal is anything that is in violation of a law. Of course, a law may be legal, but not lawful (a point for another topic), but let’s assume that a given law is lawful, therefore not adhering to that law is, by definition above, illegal.
So to sum up what we have so far: We are free if we are able to decide what behavior we want to have, providing we are not infringing the rights of someone else in the performance of that behavior. We are not free to chose a behavior that is against some statute or regulation.

So what type of behavior is illegal? Is it legal to get married? Is it legal to start and run a business? Is it legal to operate your vehicle? Is it legal to build a house? You might be shaking your head yes at this point, because these are common things that any people do every day.

To that I say…you are shaking your head in the wrong direction! Believe it or not, ALL of these actions are currently illegal in the United States. I know, you disagree, however, I am about to prove my point. In order to do any ONE of these things, it is necessary in the United States to obtain a license. The legal definition of a license, again from the free dictionary by farlex is:

“The permission granted by competent authority to exercise a certain privilege that, without such authorization, would constitute an illegal act, a Trespass or a tort. The certificate or the document itself that confers permission to engage in otherwise proscribed conduct.” (from http://legal-dictionary.thefreedictionary.com/license) (Emphasis added)

If you need a license to do it, it is because without a license, the action would be illegal! I do not believe this is what the framers of our constitution had in mind when they wrote:

“We the People of the United States, in Order to form a more perfect Union, establish Justice, insure domestic Tranquility, provide for the common defence, promote the general Welfare, and secure the Blessings of Liberty to ourselves and our Posterity, do ordain and establish this Constitution for the United States of America.” (Emphasis added)

So how do they do it?

Anybody ever wonder how the Federal Government is able to inject itself so far into our lives? I have, so I went looking. This will be a fairly short post, but let’s look at it for just a moment.

The Constitution of the United States is very clear about the powers vested in both the federal government, and the state. It states, in part:

The President shall…have Power, by and with the Advice and Consent of the Senate, to make Treaties, provided two thirds of the Senators present concur;

The Congress shall have Power To exercise exclusive Legislation in all Cases whatsoever, over such District (not exceeding ten Miles square) as may, by Cession of particular States, and the acceptance of Congress, become the Seat of the Government of the United States, and to exercise like Authority over all Places purchased by the Consent of the Legislature of the State in which the Same shall be, for the Erection of Forts, Magazines, Arsenals, dock-Yards, and other needful Buildings; And

To make all Laws which shall be necessary and proper for carrying into Execution the foregoing Powers, and all other Powers vested by this Constitution in the Government of the United States, or in any Department or Officer thereof.

OK, clearly not the entire Constitution, but the important parts for this discussion. To sum up the foregoing: The President, with the consent of congress can make treaties, and the congress can ONLY make laws pertaining to the District of Columbia, federal enclaves ceded by states and US help territories that are not states. Congress can ALSO make any laws needed for carrying out all the powers granted by the Constitution.

At first glance, we see that within a given state, the federal government has little or no power to make laws governing the citizens of that state. So how can the federal government have laws pertaining to things like wetlands, wildlife, fish and game and all the other federal laws that restrict our freedoms and liberties? It’s simple, but not obvious (this is what happens when lawyers run the government). Since the President can make treaties that are ratified by the Congress, and Congress can make laws to carry out the treaties, then all the government needs to do is make a treaty with some nation concerning, for example, some environmental issue, and suddenly the federal government has jurisdiction, and can make and enforce laws within a state, concerning that environmental issue.

If you weren’t worried about a gun control treaty with the members of the United Nations before, now might be a good time to worry. If a treaty is signed by the President and ratified by Congress concerning the ownership, sale or transportation of fire arms, suddenly the federal government will be empowered to make federal laws concerning just those things.

Where there is a will, there is a way…and when a group of people seeks absolute power, they will find a way to do it. In this underhanded way the United States is headed toward a “one world order” type of government through a back door method of treaties with other nations.

As I understand it today

The Federal Government has and continues to perpetrate a huge fraud on the American people. State governments participate willingly and are complicit in the fraud. This fraud is complex and intentionally confusing, so that ordinary Americans (those who do not hold a degree in law) have a difficult time finding and understanding that fraud (I know I am having a difficult time understanding it in detail). The government that is SUPPOSED to (Constitutionally)protect our rights, routinely tramples them underfoot, and leaves it to each individual to “belligerently” defend their rights alone, in a maze of legal jargon and without the knowledge or understanding of court procedure and rules. The lawyers we hire to represent us to the courts are officers OF that court and do not, in general, have an interest or motivation to truly represent us at all.

Once an individual becomes aware of this fraud, and attempts to assert their God given, INALIABLE rights identified in the Declarationof Independence and ostensibly protected by our Constitution, that individual suddenly has a new hobby: Belligerently protecting his own rights in a battle with the government and its court system.

The fraud, in a nutshell is this: The lawful currency of the United States has been transferred to what amounts to an offshore bank, owned by foreign bankers and other legal entities, who then issue a fiat currency, based on debt that we unsuspectingly use as “legal tender”thinking it is backed by something with intrinsic value, which it is not. The collateral of this debt is the entire land-mass of these several United States and the productivity of every individual thereof. In order to pay the interest on this debt, the Congress has established a municipal entity (corporation) and overlaid it across all of the States, which has then fraudulently contracted with us to effectively rob us of at least part of our productivity, using the Internal Revenue Service as a collection agent and misleading everyone of us to believe that payment of “income” tax is not only“patriotic” but mandatory as well.

Furthermore, we are continually compelled to contract with both Federal and State & Local corporations (municipalities) to “willingly”relinquish the rights guaranteed to us in the Constitution by way of licensing for activities that are guaranteed by the Constitution such as operating our vehicles, marrying and starting/maintaining a business.

I think, at a very high level, this captures what is being done to us, with our “willing” participation each and every day. At least this is how I understand it, and I welcome correction.

I am sure this is not precisely true, but in essence is very close.