Excerpts from “This Bloodless Liberty”

Posted by Amphictyon | May 10, 2010 at 12:54PM CST

Before the god of politics consumed us, American life was risk, work, procreation, and raising one’s children before the face of God. Life in America was about the pain, sweat, and much prayer of leadership; it was about raising children, crops, and animals with only an occasional glimpse of glory. It was making something out of cloth, steel, wood, glass, wire, or words that changed lives and made the effort worthwhile. Life in America was making hard choices and letting your children see you do it; trusting God for another sunrise, another rain, and the strength to provide for your own – not trusting government or insurance companies to take life’s risks away. We once knew what it was to be an American; it was good in our eyes and in the eyes of the world.

The political machine would have you dismiss all this; it would strip away the soul of civilization to gather us, witless and charmed, under festooned bunting for an unending string of political campaigns -- and the Tea Party movement may be doing the same, every third weekend or so.

This Jacobin political activity cannot last. After years of emails, blast-faxes, mob rallies, pink slips and caravans, the political activist will feel that he lacks constitutional recourse; will abandon hope and be more deflated and inert than before, with a layer of cynicism added; the attitude of Europeans and Latin Americans.

The original Boston Tea Party lasted a few hours, after which the colonists moved on to war planning; not to money bombs to elect some of their number to British parliament.

The Tea Party movement has shown us the strength we have in numbers and the internet. Now it’s time for duties beyond rallies; even beyond voting for statesmen. Our founders taught that citizen oversight alone will keep this republic. Elections are only a small fraction of our duty; elections have often brought change, but have never ushered in a lasting, positive change in American life.

As free citizens, our most important, most forgotten duty is to begin enforcing the Ninth and Tenth Amendments; bring criminals to justice publicly and often, just as when we vote. Being a law-abiding Nontaxpayer is only defense; our duty includes tactical offense. If we adopt this sovereign citizen attitude [as AmericaAgain! members] it will re-shape our way of life regarding our employees, which will improve their attitudes toward us.

As Thomas Jefferson suggested, liberty exists wherever government fears its citizens.