I cannot even begin to tell you how frustrating it has been over the last 15 years as an average, American citizen to sit at home and wonder, What can I do to make my country a better place? How can I actually protect my family and work to preserve our freedoms? Frankly, it seems like something that only the rich can do. Most Americans are so busy working to provide for their families that there is simply no feasible way for them to get involved in the civic process.
And trust me, it's designed to be that way. When you are burdened down by the cost of living, chained to paying bills, none of us have much of a choice. Gone are the days of staking claims in the Oklahoma wilderness and surviving off your own crops and livestock. Today, we survive by making money, so that we can take that money to a corporate grocery store, buy what we need, and hopefully make our monthly mortgage payment. We exist to be taxed. Rather than our lifestyle belonging to us - to our labor, to our land - our lifestyle belongs to the dollar. It begs the question: are we really a free people? I would argue that we are freer than other countries, but we have not been truly free for a long time. I talk often on this website about the two things that have killed our individual liberty (corporations and federal banking), and you can see that we are slowly but surely losing our rights every day. So what can we do about it?
When in the course of Human Events
The question that has been begging to be answered by every American lately is what can we do to save our country? I have asked the same thing. Repeatedly. When I was in high school (before my life was temporarily interrupted by believing neutrality was somehow safe), I also desperately wanted to do something for the good of my country. But how? Where does the average person start? What can one person do alone that could possibly make a difference in the country?
The trap that most Americans have fallen into (and this included myself for a long time!) is that it's "easier" to be neutral. We've discussed this here at Writing Belle before. Neutrality is a dangerous myth. Neutrality is often an invisible ally to an enemy force. It's impossible to be neutral - especially when it comes to issues of morality. Neutrality allows people to walk all over you. Even worse, neutrality is like leaving the front door unlocked. Hello, tyranny. I didn't see ya there. For most Americans, standing up for what they believe in is something that is done behind closed doors. How many of you can relate to remaining silent at work on an issue because you just don't want to "rock the boat?" Have you ever remained quiet because you know that your opinion will likely be mocked? Are you afraid of being humiliated in front of your progressive friends because you dared to utilize critical thinking skills? Are you afraid of losing your job by speaking out against something that you know is wrong? Most people have faced some kind of situation like this at least once in their life.
For myself, I came to this critical moment where I realized that I was living in a meaningless, endless loop of I don't have an opinion. Not because I didn't have one - but because if my opinion wasn't celebrated by social media gurus or progressive college thinkers, I would be socially shunned. I was afraid of being disowned by my liberal peers. At the root of it all, my inability to stand up for anything was because I was afraid of the consequences of doing so. I remember seeing a quote by Winston Churchill at one point that really hit deep: "You have enemies? Good. That means you stood up for something sometime in your life." That really affected me! I thought about what I wanted to be known for. What did I want to represent? Did I want to be remembered as a perfectly pleasant person who did perfectly pleasant things without unpleasantly rocking the boat? Or did I want to be remembered as having stood up for something? Anything? This, among many other things, was one big driving factor behind growing out of my early-twenties stupor of playing it safe. Trust me, I get it. It's easier to play it safe. It's way more comfortable to bury your head in the sand and pretend that no bad things are happening. The only issue with this approach is that it's imaginary. Sooner or later, those bad things that you've been ignoring are going to affect your day-to-day living, and we can see how that is panning out right now in America. It falls on us, then; the people of this fragile republic, to find the strength and the resolve within ourselves to fight the good fight and run the good race.
Power in Numbers
The truth is, standing up for yourself in the workplace is not likely to get you anywhere. When it comes to saying no to tyranny, corporate entities, government employers, and bureaucratic supervisors with a chip on their shoulder will use any excuse they can to make your life miserable. Standing up alone will probably get you fired. You have to be prepared for that - and it's happening, everywhere. But standing up with a group is far more effective. Lone wolves, unfortunately, tend to get picked off one at a time. By contrast, the strength of the pack is a force to be reckoned with. When the Founding Fathers were in the thick of the Revolutionary War, having just signed the Declaration of Independence (which was essentially like signing their own death warrants if they were to be crushed by Britain), Benjamin Franklin keenly made this observation: "We must all hang together, or most assuredly, we will all hang separately." He meant, of course, that if they did not stick together, united against their enemy, they would surely end up dead...and separated. Unity is very important when facing down tyranny. As they say, a single ant can drive a big dog crazy. Imagine what a group of them might do. Remember this when it comes to your workplace. Don't face situations alone. There are probably more like-minded people in your workplace than you think. Find them and stick together. If you choose to peacefully push back against unjust and unconstitutional regulations or mandates in the workplace, don't do it alone. Do it in cohesion with a group of people. There is power in numbers.
Find Your Support Group
The American Revolution wasn't won by quarantining and isolation. Isolation is a powerful weapon that has been unleashed on the American public, and what better excuse than a pandemic to keep people at home? Here's another harsh reality: humans were made to be social. Find your group of like-minded individuals, patriots who love their country and are well-equipped to go to bat to defend their Constitutionally-protected rights. Get involved in the civic process together. Remember: a wolf is really only as strong as his pack. It's important to invest in like-minded friendships and relationships on a local level. Plug into those networks. It's a great reminder: you are not alone! Despite what you might see on social media, you are not in a minority when it comes to believing that individual liberty is an essential part of American society. Do not, under any circumstances, allow yourself to believe that you are the last person on earth who cares about America. Many, many people do. You are not alone.
Independent Thinkers Have Quarrels
Interestingly enough, I think it's a fair observation to say that progressive ideological movements are very well organized and very effective in this country. I also think it's a fair observation to say that conservative movements are usually not very well organized. I think this can be attributed to two things. First, most conservatives are busy working and feeding their families, and they just don't want to get involved in (or commit to organizing) anything like that. And second, conservatives tend to be very independent people. They are so independent, in fact, that they tend to split off into too many different methods of approaching legislative reform. Conservatives tend to unite behind one or two organizations. There simply is not a national, organized push to utilize the power of the people in its entirety (which is enormous) to fight tyranny in this country. This is the weakness, I believe, of the conservative side of the aisle.
And I'm not talking about the GOP here. I personally have no use for the GOP. The majority of Republicans are feckless, spineless members of an obvious Uniparty. They run for office so that they can play the part of a conservative, giving their constituency a soft illusion of towing the party line. Most of them do not live up to their promises. Most of them, when it comes down to it, will unabashedly bow down to their lords and masters, the elitist puppeteers who control both the GOP and the DNC. Don't believe me? Check out this list of the 135 Republicans who voted to advance red flag gun confiscation laws: READ THE NAMES. How very American of them. Remember, when it comes down to it..they have their marching orders. There are very few exceptions. If you are trusting in the GOP or the Republican Party to fight for you, don't. They don't care about you. They never have, and they never will. It's time to put our noses to the grindstone and do the work that we were intended to do at our founding: we the people, taking control of the legislative direction of this country. The time has come.
Realistic Rebellion
Right now in America, what does realistic rebellion look like? Rebellion is sometimes a quiet, firm no when someone tries to bully you into agreeing with something that you know is wrong. Other times, rebellion is making a phone call to your state representatives to urge them to vote yes or no on certain bills. Rebellion can be getting involved in local constitutional watchdog groups and advocating for your rights. It can mean getting involved at school board meetings and fighting for the humane treatment of children. It can mean partaking in what I like to call the Information War - countering the communistic narrative that is dogmatically regurgitated by mainstream news sources and combating it with good, truthful, factual information. It can mean organizing a group of people at your workplace to firmly and gently push back against tyrannical corporate edicts. It means standing up for yourself, realizing that your rights come from God (not from the government), and that it is always better to be free than to be safe.
"Those who would give up essential Liberty, to purchase a little temporary Safety, deserve neither Liberty nor Safety."
Benjamin Franklin
This is an opinion/editorial commentary. I am not endorsing any type of legal approach or action. I am simply sharing my personal thoughts. Thank you for reading!
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