(originally launched into cyberspace on 08/20/2007)Dear Subscriber,
If one accepts the fundamental truth that each of us owns himself,
and ponders all the things which logically follow from that simple
concept, the way the world looks suddenly changes drastically.
Concepts like "government," "law," "authority," "countries," and so
on, fall apart like a house of cards. Because that scares the heck
out of people, however, many go to great lengths to DENY that they
own themselves. The ramifications are just too weird, and too
scary, for most people to even think about.
Here is just one example:
I own me. Imagine that the me I own is standing ten feet south of
the border between Montana and Canada, looking at the nifty
scenery. While I stand there, some people way over in Washington
think they have the RIGHT to rule me: to impose taxes, regulations,
commands, requirements, prohibitions, and so on, which (they think)
I am obligated to obey. But I own me, and they don't, so I have
exactly ZERO obligation to obey any of their proclamations and
legislation.
(I do, however, have an obligation to refrain from doing anything
which would impinge upon someone ELSE'S self-ownership, such as
robbing, defrauding, murdering, vandalizing, assaulting, and so on.
But that obligation does not come from any "legislation," nor could
any "law" or "rule" alter that obligation one bit.)
Now, if I step over that imaginary line, into Canada, then a
DIFFERENT set of megalomaniacs imagine themselves to have the right
to tax me, regulate me, command me, control me, and so on. (In
fact, they also think they have the right to prohibit me from
stepping over the line in the first place.) Their claim is equally
bogus: I own me no matter where I am. What I am obligated to do
doesn't depend one bit upon who thinks they have the right to rule
me. None of them do.
That being the case, what is the significance of that border to me?
What difference is there between one "country" and the next, if I
actually own myself? Yes, what might HAPPEN to me in different
places will be different (many foreign megalomaniacs are a lot more
overtly vicious to the noncompliant than the ones here), and what
the people there will think, and how they will behave, will be
different, but what I am OBLIGATED to do, and obligated to REFRAIN
from doing, doesn't change one bit.
Some people have asked me, without borders, how could we have a
country? I gave them the disturbing answer: we shouldn't have a
country. No one should. (Please don't be so silly as to read that
as an agreement with the "New World Order" fascists.) Today,
"countries" are defined solely by WHICH group of megalomaniacs
claim the right to rule a certain piece of dirt. Sure, cultures and
places are real, and I can see feeling a loyalty or attachment to
that. But imaginary lines drawn by people who believe they own me?
Why on earth should I care about that?
When I walk from the place in Montana, to the place that looks
exactly the same in Canada, what did I leave behind? Why should I
feel any differently? What actually changed? Did morality CHANGE,
because a different set of tyrants claim to be in charge here?
Unless you think that politicians outrank nature, the universe, or
God (or whatever you believe to be the origin of right and wrong),
the "law" cannot possibly ALTER morality. If I still own me, what
difference does a "border" make?
Again, people often go flying off to all sorts of tangents when
faced with these concepts. They start pontificating about what we
need, what works for society, all the nasty things that will happen
if we don't all bow to an authority, and so on. But again, I'm just
talking about what IS. If I own myself--and I do--what possible
meaning can "countries" have to me? I might like a group of people,
or a place, or a culture, but that is NOT what a "country" is. (I
bet everyone on this list can think of a LOT of places in the U.S.,
and a LOT of people in the U.S., who they feel no attachment to and
no comradery with.)
The path to accepting freedom is really disturbing to almost
everyone (it sure was to me), which is why most people desperately
fish for an excuse for NOT going down that path. "THERE WOULD BE
CHAOS! WE NEED GOVERNMENT! DEATH, MAYHEM, ANARCHY!" But no such
dire predictions or emotional tantrums can alter the painfully
simple logic involved: either I own me, or I am the property of
someone else. And if I simply accept that I own me, the world looks
like a VERY different place.
The feeling is exactly like that of an animal that has been in a
small cage all its life, suddenly being shown a vast expanse of
open wilderness (like Montana, for example). Unfortunately, most
caged animals, when they catch a glimpse of freedom, cower into the
back corner of their cage, and snarl and whimper until the door is
shut again.
How about you?
Sincerely,
Larken Rose
www.larkenrose.com(P.S. If you're wondering why I chose Montana, I have no idea. I
haven't been there for about 20 years, but as I recall, it's pretty
darn cool.)
