William Lloyd Garrison - Unalienable rights come from our Creator, not the Bill of Rights.
Interesting character who actually publically burned copies of the Constitution, for reasons many of us would agree. Unalieanable rights come from our Creator, not the Bill of Rights.
grant
"DECLARATION OF SENTIMENTS ADOPTED BY PEACE CONVENTION. "Boston, 1838.
"We the undersigned, regard it as due to ourselves, to the cause which we love, to the country in which we live, to publish a declaration expressive of the purposes we aim to accomplish and the measures we shall adopt to carry forward the work of peaceful universal reformation.
"We do not acknowledge allegiance to any human government. We recognize but one King and Lawgiver, one Judge and Ruler of mankind. Our country is the world, our countrymen are all mankind. We love the land of our nativity only as we love all other lands. The interests and rights of American citizens are not dearer to us than those of the whole human race. Hence we can allow no appeal to patriotism to revenge any national insult or injury...
"We conceive that a nation has no right to defend itself against foreign enemies or to punish its invaders, and no individual possesses that right in his own case, and the unit cannot be of greater importance than the aggregate. If soldiers thronging from abroad with intent to commit rapine and destroy life may not be resisted by the people or the magistracy, then ought no resistance to be offered to domestic troublers of the public peace or of private security.
"The dogma that all the governments of the world are approvingly ordained of God, and that the powers that be in the United States, in Russia, in Turkey, are in accordance with his will, is no less absurd than impious. It makes the impartial Author of our existence unequal and tyrannical. It cannot be affirmed that the powers that be in any nation are actuated by the spirit or guided by the example of Christ in the treatment of enemies; therefore they cannot be agreeable to the will of God, and therefore their overthrow by a spiritual regeneration of their subjects is inevitable.
"We regard as unchristian and unlawful not only all wars, whether offensive or defensive, but all preparations for war; every naval ship, every arsenal, every fortification, we regard as unchristian and unlawful; the existence of any kind of standing army, all military chieftains, all monuments commemorative of victory over a fallen foe, all trophies won in battle, all celebrations in honor of military exploits, all appropriations for defense by arms; we regard as unchristian and unlawful every edict of government requiring of its subjects military service.
"Hence we deem it unlawful to bear arms, and we cannot hold any office which imposes on its incumbent the obligation to compel men to do right on pain of imprisonment or death. We therefore voluntarily exclude ourselves from every legislative and judicial body, and repudiate all human politics, worldly honors, and stations of authority. If we cannot occupy a seat in the legislature or on the bench, neither can we elect others to act as our substitutes in any such capacity. It follows that we cannot sue any man at law to force him to return anything he may have wrongly taken from us; if he has seized our coat, we shall surrender him our cloak also rather than subject him to punishment.
"We believe that the penal code of the old covenant--an eye for an eye, and a tooth for a tooth--has been abrogated by Jesus Christ, and that under the new covenant the forgiveness instead of the punishment of enemies has been enjoined on all his disciples in all cases whatsoever. To extort money from enemies, cast them into prison, exile or execute them, is obviously not to forgive but to take retribution.
"The history of mankind is crowded with evidences proving that physical coercion is not adapted to moral regeneration, and that the sinful dispositions of men can be subdued only by love; that evil can be exterminated only by good; that it is not safe to rely upon the strength of an arm to preserve us from harm; that there is great security in being gentle, long- suffering, and abundant in mercy; that it is only the meek who shall inherit the earth; for those who take up the sword shall perish by the sword.
"Hence as a measure of sound policy--of safety to property, life, and liberty--of public quietude and private enjoyment--as well as on the ground of allegiance to Him who is King of kings and Lord of lords, we cordially adopt the non-resistance principle, being confident that it provides for all possible consequences, is armed with omnipotent power, and must ultimately triumph over every assailing force.
"We advocate no Jacobinical doctrines. The spirit of Jacobinism is the spirit of retaliation, violence, and murder. It neither fears God nor regards man. We would be filled with the spirit of Christ. If we abide evil by our fundamental principle of not opposing evil by evil we cannot participate in sedition, treason, or violence. We shall submit to every ordinance and every requirement of government, except such as are contrary to the commands of the Gospel, and in no case resist the operation of law, except by meekly submitting to the penalty of disobedience.
"But while we shall adhere to the doctrine of non-resistance and passive submission to enemies, we purpose, in a moral and spiritual sense, to assail iniquity in high places and in low places, to apply our principles to all existing evil, political, legal, and ecclesiastical institutions, and to hasten the time when the kingdoms of this world will have become the kingdom of our Lord Jesus Christ. It appears to us a self-evident truth that whatever the Gospel is designed to destroy at any period of the world, being contrary to it, ought now to be abandoned. If, then, the time is predicted when swords shall be beaten into plowshares and spears into pruning hooks, and men shall not learn the art of war any more, it follows that all who manufacture, sell, or wield these deadly weapons do thus array themselves against the peaceful dominion of the Son of God on earth.
"Having thus stated our principles, we proceed to specify the measures we propose to adopt in carrying our object into effect.
"We expect to prevail through the Foolishness of Preaching. We shall endeavor to promulgate our views among all persons, to whatever nation, sect, or grade of society they may belong. Hence we shall organize public lectures, circulate tracts and publications, form societies, and petition every governing body. It will be our leading object to devise ways and means for effecting a radical change in the views, feelings, and practices of society respecting the sinfulness of war and the treatment of enemies.
"In entering upon the great work before us, we are not unmindful that in its prosecution we may be called to test our sincerity even as in a fiery ordeal. It may subject us to insult, outrage, suffering, yea, even death itself. We anticipate no small amount of misconception, misrepresentation, and calumny. Tumults may arise against us. The proud and pharisaical, the ambitious and tyrannical, principalities and powers, may combine to crush us. So they treated the Messiah whose example we are humbly striving to imitate. We shall not be afraid of their terror. Our confidence is in the Lord Almighty and not in man. Having withdrawn from human protection, what can sustain us but that faith which overcomes the world? We shall not think it strange concerning the fiery trial which is to try us, but rejoice inasmuch as we are partakers of Christ's sufferings.
"Wherefore we commit the keeping of our souls to God. For every one that forsakes houses, or brethren, or sisters, or father, or mother, or wife, or children, or lands for Christ's sake, shall receive a hundredfold, and shall inherit everlasting life.
"Firmly relying upon the certain and universal triumph of the sentiments contained in this declaration, however formidable may be the opposition arrayed against them, we hereby affix our signatures to it; commending it to the reason and conscience of mankind, and resolving, in the strength of the Lord God, to calmly and meekly abide the issue."
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No doubt anarchism is much more efficient.
I think many people confuse Anarchy with lawlessness. This is not true since individuals can obviously retain law without a government imposing it upon them. Look at the example of Christian anarchists. Christian anarchists are not lawless. And in terms of caring for widows and orphans Chrisian anarchists as individuals do a lot more with a lot less money. It is just a matter of priorities. If we consider that Churches (institutional) are really governments who in many cases raise money from their followers to provide the service of caring for widows and orphans, when what we see with these governments many times is corruption and inefficiency. It is a fact that most of the money raised by churches goes to maintain the properties of the church and not for the care of widows and orphans. Christian anarchists provide care directly to widows and orphans, while institutions spend a lot of time with ceremonies.
I agree with minarchism as well.
Minarchism surely is necessary to some extent, as Ayn Rand writings point to this system as being superior to total anarchism. But people would still need to guard against government corruption. Whenever you give authority to people to make rules, they will almost guarenteed make laws to their benefit.
When the citizens no longer know the role of government
or understand the rules that contain that government, all is lost.
That is why the collectivists took over the schools. I think religious leaders helped heard families toward collectivism -- not necessarily religion, but the leadership.
Education is the key to our survival as a Constitutional Republic and is why public schools must be abolished.
___________
Lisa C.
http://www.women4ronpaul....
Anarchism isn't all bad.
Christian anarchism is any of several traditions which combine anarchism with Christianity. Christian anarchists believe that freedom is justified spiritually through the teachings of Jesus. This has caused them to be critical of government and Church authority. Some believe all individuals can directly communicate with God, which negates the need for a system of clergy. Leo Tolstoy's The Kingdom of God Is Within You is a key text in modern Christian anarchism. (Wikipedia)
Anarchism leads to dictatorship.
People are so busy protecting their family and property that productive work ceases. Hunger and desperation ensue and a "savior" appears -- like Hitler.
Minarchism is a better alternative, in my opinion.
___________
Lisa C.
http://www.women4ronpaul....
You confuse anarchy with unsocial behavior
A society needs not necessarily a goverment to work. All things the state does can be solved by free association for those people who want it. In history most societies hadn't any government and you may argue that not much more than 180 years ago most people, even in western countries, had hardly any government involvement in their lives. Then schooling, taxation and the national draft became regular in nearly all countries. As an interim arrangement minarchism is fine and a good change from the ruling statism, but on the long run anarchy should be the goal for humanity.
Dr. Paul cured my apathy
I confuse nothing.
I never said a society needs government to work.
People do need to have some semblance of Maslow's hierarchy in order to enjoy life and participate in a free market. If we have crime now, what is the likelihood of criminal activity increasing in an anarchical situation? An increase or decrease?
You can say that we could have our own private police protection rather than local law enforcement but how will you work to pay for this if you are busy protecting your family and food store? How many police will you need to hire if a marauding gang loots your neighborhood? Can you afford that?
Law and order (such that exists in a Constitutional Republic!) gives individual's the feeling of security they need to leave their home and pursue other interests and activities.
The US was set up to be a minarchist society and that is what I'm fighting to restore.
You can fight for an anarchists paradise if you wish. My goal is to restore the Constitution and return the government to its original "job description".
Have a watch: http://www.youtube.com/wa...
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Lisa C.
http://www.women4ronpaul....
Thank you for posting this !
Christian anarchism is unknown to most people. For me it is the only consequence of Christ's teachings.
Dr. Paul cured my apathy
We must change first.
If all people do is complain, but don't change their habits, then the war machine will only get bigger.
Not true.
Local minarchistic governments can easily provide safety for individuals against fascism or hierarchistic communist governments.
One of my personal heros
Absolutely, without a doubt, one of the finest examples of humanity that this country has ever produced! A fine example of how one man can stand alone against vast public opinion and virtually force society to look into a mirror. By pointing out that they shouldn't like what they see, he eventually changed that public opinion.
Much of what he wrote, including the newsletter The Liberator, is applicable to today and modern morality.
Dr Paul is our modern day equivalent, IMHO.
George Carlin agrees with you
http://www.youtube.com/wa...
The problem is we have to have something to defend in a court-otherwise anarchy (which, believe it or not, is a collectivist system). The end product of anarchy is the same as communism or fascism-the rich, powerful govern the weak by force.
As long as you pay taxes to Caesar the system will continue.
Civil Disobedience...can come in many forms and we don't necessarily have to protest publically. By modifying our lifestyles we can hurt special interests who gain power from governments. Just think about how Jesus handled this question when he was asked if taxes should be paid to Caesar. As long as we continue using the Federal Reserve Notes, they will have value. What many of us can do is stop using FRNs, Credit Cards, electronic debit accounts and instead; trade in coins, silver, gold or barter between each other. This is what the Romans most feared about the early Christians, since they separated themselves from the Roman Empire didn't use or depend on Roman coinage since the freely traded between each other. We need to do the same, cut out the middleman.
June 5th
Take all your money out of the bank. www.june5th.com.
a good book: Rules for Radicals by Saul alinsky. He advocates going to proxy voting (shareholders meetings) for corporations in masses of 1000's to protest their colusion with government.
May we rise to our Duty of Civil Disobedience...
before others subject us to Civil War.
See:
http://www.dailypaul.com/...
vs.
http://www.dailypaul.com/...
Food for thought.
I know it is a long article, but worth reading. Leo Tolstoy sites Garrison in his book "The Kingdom of God is Within You".
grant
I bookmarked this
to read later. Thanks for posting.