All Humans(people), by nature, have the same rights; not dependent on when, where, how, or what gender they are born. These Rights supersede all national affiliations and national laws. These are natural laws. They existed before there were governments and will remain after.
First and foremost, All people own themselves.
All people are entitled to the fruits of their own labor.
All associations, transactions, contracts, agreements, sales, etc. of Any kind, for Any reason must be voluntary.
Non-Aggression Principle or NAP - Aggression/Coercion should not be used to force anyone to do, say, or agree to Anything.
The ONLY time aggression may be used is in the defense of the life and rights of yourself (or others) from another party initiating aggression.
Theft of any kind is wrong.
I understand that this model of society does not exist on any large scale today and may not come to exist in my lifetime, but this is something to strive towards.
So, what does this mean and how did I come to these beliefs?
Nobody else can decide for you how you should live your life. Only You can decide what's best for you. There is no other person, no human authority, higher than yourself in your life. If you own yourself, then every other human being also has that same Self-Ownership. Therefore, You have No right to act as an authority on someone else's life without their consent. You can not tell someone else how to live their life without their consent. You can not use force or coercion on another person in any way, except in the defense of the life or property of another.
THINK HARD HERE
IF You have no RIGHT to dictate to the life of another person,
THEN you have no ability to convey that right to somebody else (e.g. through an election, etc.)
For Example:
You have no RIGHT to take something that is mine.
Since you don't have the RIGHT to take my stuff, you can not give that right to someone else to use on your behalf.
So, you can not bestow the RIGHT (which we have already decided you don't have) on the government and call it a Tax.
The concept of governance is that the people being governed confer their rights upon authority figures to act on their behalf VOLUNTARILY. But, you can only give what you already have. You CAN NOT confer to another person a right that you do not already have to use/exercise on your behalf.
If you are NOT a voluntary participant in a nation, an agent of the government (tax collector, police officer, etc.) can not legitimately come to your house and have the RIGHT to take your stuff because nobody who voted for this person or put that person in charge had the authority to grant that right to begin with.
No person should be forced to participate in anything that they do not want to be a part of.
That includes but is not limited to:
Governments
Religions
Marriages
Armed Forces
Businesses
Clubs
or ANY OTHER group or activity for any reason.
You can be proud of the people in your country, proud of the accomplishments and advances her people have made, and at the same time recognize that there are flaws inherent to the system.
I think that our country was founded on good principles, but, over the years, these principles have been sidelined by the corporate and political interests of this world. At the time this country was conceived there were a great many difficulties to be overcome but there were fewer rules and laws. We believed in individual liberty and created a nation to protect that liberty. The founders did their best, but just as with all other things in this world, advances have been made and new ways of thinking have emerged. The founders did what they thought necessary at the time, but I highly doubt that they would be pleased at what their creation has become.
Now, instead of listing the things we are Not allowed to do, it seems we list the things we Are allowed to do. The laws and regulations in place today are oppressive, tyrannical, and unnecessary. The "taxes" the government steals from us are excessive. The "taxes" collected from us are not put to good or even effective use. The use of our armed forces to promote our ECONOMIC interests is deplorable. Our whole system is CORRUPT.
IN SHORT, we have turned into the very monster we fought so hard to escape.
This Country is in dire need of a MAJOR shift in the way we do things. It is inevitable. If we don't fix the problem, the whole system is going to burn down on its own. And on its way down we will lose more and more of our liberty until it gets to the point where ANYTHING that the powers-that-be offer us will be better than our current situation.
I believe that it is still possible to make a difference from within the system, but that it will not happen, so I prepare for the worst.
The average American is blind to the problem. The average person cares less about freedom and more about security. Most people these days won't complain unless there is some major shift from their comfort zone. The average person would rather be told what to do than take control of their own fate, make their own decisions, and live with the consequences.
They are Sheep.
I am a Christian, not because my family is Christian or because all the cool people are Christian, but because I made that choice for myself after deep thought and study on the subject. Nobody forced me to make this decision. It is not POSSIBLE to force someone to be Christian/Muslim/Buddhist/etc. It is a belief one has.
Ethically, insofar as it does not involve anyone else or their property then No. As a Christian then yes there are some behaviors that I would be OK with punishing.
Speaking specifically about the United States:
I think that the foundation of this country is and always has been Christian. The writers of our Declaration of Independence, our Constitution, our Bill of Rights, and all the corresponding individual State documents knew this. They felt that they did not need to explicitly state it because it was so obvious. I think that they did us a disservice. They should have explicitly stated that our ethics, our laws, and our way of life are all bound by and a consequence of belief in Jesus the Christ, the Son of YHWH God Almighty. They should have forbade the substitution of any other religion or lack thereof for the basis of our laws and societal structure. It may have helped mitigate some of the corruption, decadence, and evil that now pervades every aspect of our nation. Any serious examination of the history of our founding and those involved can come to no other reasonable conclusion. Our country has Christian roots.
I have changed my views over time. The words below reflect a position of accepting the status quo. I have decided that is not good enough. It's not good enough because it concedes defeat. It compromises where there should be no compromise. Government has few legitimate responsibilities:
Protect Life, Liberty, & Property
Prevent Evil and promote Good where possible.
If you can not define Evil and Good objectively then you can not fulfill the second responsibility. If our country is to have any hope of survival, this is the only path I can see...
There is a very clear doctrine from the very beginning of the country that there shall be no officially sanctioned and endorsed religion in the USA. This creates a problem for the enacting and enforcing of laws that are based on moral principles based upon religious teachings and context. Which religion is to be the model for governmental morality? Christianity? Islam? Buddhism? To base a law on "Morality" is in direct conflict with our founding principles. There are many behaviors that I find morally wrong and think are ultimately damaging to the individual and society at large. But as long as those behaviors, decisions, and actions are confined to oneself and other voluntary participants then I do not think the government should be able to declare them legal or illegal.
If you allow the government to base it's laws on a particular religious understanding of morality, then that same government could later use a different religion as the model. We must base our laws on protection of life, liberty, and property only. Limit the government and attempt to prevent it's overreach.
I pay my taxes. I don't want government thugs breaking down my door and hauling me off to a cage because I didn't want to let them steal the fruits of my labor. As long as the situation remains the same here I will continue to pay my taxes.
WHAT IS THE ROLE/RESPONSIBILITY OF A NATION STATE?
The role of a nation state is the protection of
the Life, Liberty, and Property of it’s citizens.
Period.
FULL STOP.
What does that entail?
Definition and protection of national borders.
Providing impartial enforcement of voluntarily agreed upon rules within the boundaries of said nation state.
Providing voluntarily agreed upon essential services to the citizens of said country (i.e. fire, ems, law enforcement, infrastructure maint, etc…)
Notice something missing?
It does not include non-defensive armed conflict abroad or threat thereof.
The same rules that govern individual conduct within a nation should be applied to the conduct of a nation on the world stage. The desires/rights of one nation do not supercede the desires/rights of another nation. What gives “Nation A” the right to dictate the actions, laws, policies, culture, etc. of “Nation B”?
Is it the acceptance of the international community?
Is it the length of time that the territory in question has been "ruled" by a local body?
How much time is required for the territory to be considered a legitimate Nation State?
What is considered local?
If the people who live in that geographical location do not wish to be a part of the internationally accepted nation state, then is it legitimate?
These are all questions that need to be answered before a person starts taking sides in arguments about the legitimacy of Nation States and the actions they take throughout the world.
How long has the United States been a recognized nation?
How long has Israel been a recognized nation?
How long has Ukraine been a recognized nation?
The list goes on and on.
The vast majority of Nations have been created by war, displacement, migration, colonization, genocide, and various other means that we can generalize with one word: Brutality. How is that any different from what we see happening in the world today? We in the west are no better than those in the east when it comes to imposing our will upon others. Nations are controlled by those best able to impose their will on others. The American people have subjugated many peoples and seized their lands for our own. So have the British, the French, the Saudi's, the Russians, the Chinese, and EVERY OTHER NATION in the world. This is the nature of the birth and continuance of a nation.
This reality does not make the brutal actions of any nation justified, but it does help explain them.
Should we strive towards peace and harmony as a species? I believe that we should. There are many peoples around the world that are within nations that oppress them. What should we do to fix this problem? To be fair, it must be consistent throughout the world.
If a people no longer wants to be a part of the nation that claims geographical sovereignty over their area then what should the world do?
Do we support the people who refuse to be ruled, or do we affirm the existing national sovereignty?
We see these questions raised in Ukraine and Israel right now?
How do we determine which side of the conflict, if any, is in the right and which is in the wrong?
What is our responsibility in these cases?
There are more questions than answers. There are more lies than truths. There are more entanglements and barbs than benefits. We, as a nation, have plenty of our own problems to deal with here at home. We don't need to go looking for more somewhere else. Let's get our own affairs in order before we involve ourselves in the problems of another nation.
"...it is proper you should understand what I deem the essential principles of our Government, and consequently those which ought to shape its Administration. I will compress them within the narrowest compass they will bear, stating the general principle, but not all its limitations. Equal and exact justice to all men, of whatever state or persuasion, religious or political; peace, commerce, and honest friendship with all nations, entangling alliances with none..."
--Thomas Jefferson, First Inaugural Address, 4 March 1801
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