Sons of Liberty: Manifesto [Intro]
“Remember, democracy never lasts long. It soon wastes, exhausts, and murders itself. There never was a democracy yet that did not commit suicide.”
Today, the problems concerning the social landscape are vast and various, such as they have always been. Though the modern issues possess their own nuance, they retain the same ancient elements; man versus woman, the powerful few versus the meager mass, the orthodoxy against the revolutionary, tradition in conflict with progression, the collective over the individual, etc. These battles rage eternally, and time and place ascribe new names to the battlefields. But as the warriors fight-on, those who observe the feud from a distance and are familiar with its history, discover that not only are these tribes destined to never-ending conflict, but the conflict itself is one of necessity.
The armies of these opposing forces are driven by ideas, desires, dreams, morals, virtues, and motivations that stem from their own perspective of the Truth. Paradoxically, perspectives of the Truth, as it concerns the human condition – that is, the condition of his soul – are often contradictory. When one discovers a piece of it, they are rightfully convinced of its superiority to all other perspectives. This phenomenon is intrinsically bound to conflict. But this is no cause for concern, for these forces, fighting for the Truth, must do battle with each other, not for the sake of extinguishing their foe, but for keeping all aspects of the Truth alive and powerful.
No man is capable of possessing the whole of Truth; many will claim it, few are believed, and none have triumphed. So it is the tragedy of mankind to embrace only a part of it, and fight to preserve it, manifest it, and proliferate it. But there nevertheless remains a silver lining within this tragedy; that is, when everyone stands up for their piece of the Truth, the whole of it survives. This alone is our salvation.
We have witnessed the result of ideologies that rid themselves of all opposition; be it Stalin’s Russia or Hitler’s Germany. The horror that plagued these nations and their victims was not a result of their foundational ideas, rather, the extermination and passive silence of all ideas to the contrary. If only our species took a more enthusiastic interest in our collective history, could we avoid our impending doom. For today, we are witnessing the same hostile takeover that darkened the 20th century. The social structures, built through democratic institutions, are now the greatest threat to their own constituents.
“Conceived as the foundation of liberty, modern democracy paves the way for tyranny. Born for the purpose of standing as a bulwark against Power, it ends by providing Power with the finest soil it has ever had in which to spread itself over the social field.”
Democracy, though imperfect, is the best that man has been able to muster throughout his existence. There may be other theories of social order that claim to be superior, but until manifested, the idea that the common people should be permitted to actively rule over themselves and each other remains at the crest of social order. But as it concerns our current state of affairs, let us focus here and now on its dangers.
Democracy attempts to place its destiny in the hands of the mass-man, believing this to be an impediment to tyranny. But if a single man can become a tyrant, how much more so can the masses of men?
Benjamin Franklin:
“Democracy is two wolves and a lamb voting on what they are going to have for lunch.”
Various mechanisms can and have been put in place to mitigate such tyranny, but they are only as virtuous as the men that comprise them. The Constitution of the United States is perhaps the most holy idea that the race of men has ever conjured, but it remains just that, an idea; impotent without the force of its propagators.
As the tyranny of the mass-man takes over, those ideas embraced by the masses gain more and more power over their counterparts, and when the scales tip in their favor, they seek obliteration. The West today is infatuated with the aspect of equality, and what greater visionary of equality than Karl Marx. Say what you will about the man, but his genius regarding the weaponizing of class-distinctions was nothing short of extraordinary. The class-warfare perspective has mobilized the masses against all things that separate one man from the next. In democratic societies, this ideology acts as an insidious disease. It seeks to infect all less-fortunate and downtrodden peoples and inspires hope - albeit false hope - of moral victories over those in positions of higher-standing, by burning down their ivory towers and lowering its tenants to the ground, where all are equal.
“Americans are so enamored of equality that they would rather be equal in slavery than unequal in freedom.”
When viewed properly – as a weapon – those seeking to harness the power of the masses will never hesitate to wield such a potent instrument.
Furthermore, this Marxist contagion comes at a time when people are most susceptible to its influence. Contrary to popular belief, it isn’t the poor and starving that are most driven to subscribe to the ideas of equality, rather, it’s the wealthy and satiated that are most vulnerable. For those in-need can be cured of this disease by simply being provided with what it is they seek; opportunity and security. However, as the civilization culminates, and all are well-fed and content, the lack of struggle and necessity deprives them of something far more valuable than food; it deprives them of meaning.
Viktor Frankl:
“The truth is that as the struggle for survival has subsided, the question has emerged: survival for what? Even more people today have the means to live but no meaning to live for.”
As their needs and desires are more easily satisfied, life becomes more trivial and the worth of their own self becomes trivial. Because their own actions don’t appear to have any significant meaning, they look outside themselves; they turn to the power of the masses to affect change. They are no longer inclined to self-improvement, self-actualization, or even setting their own house in order; they now look to their neighbor and judge their worth on how effectively they can change them. The most effective weapon to achieve this power has always been found in the Marxist narrative and its “public welfare.” From Carl Jung:
“Instead of the concrete individual, you have the names of organizations and, at the highest point, the abstract idea of the State as the principle of political reality. The moral responsibility of the individual is then inevitably replaced by the policy of the State. Instead of the moral and mental differentiation of the individual, you have the public welfare and the raising of the living standard. The goal and meaning of individual life (which is the only real life) no longer lie in individual development but in the policy of the State, which is thrust upon the individual from the outside. The individual is increasingly deprived of the moral decision as to how he should live his own life, and instead is ruled, fed, clothed, and educated as a social unit, and amused in accordance with the standards that give pleasure and satisfaction to the masses.”
But the collective tyrants and their institutions are not the only parties at fault; those who hold other perspectives of the Truth but remain silent or passive are just as guilty. For they have shirked their duty to fight for their Truth. There are several reasons for this cowardice and neglect. For instance, many abstain from the political realm as a result of dissolution and sensations of impotence. The more one’s ideas and virtues travel toward the fringes of society, the more they realize how powerless they are as an individual and how oppressive the system they live under has become. Under such circumstances, many will drift into nihilistic apathy or distract themselves with hedonistic pastimes.
Others may take shelter under the umbrella of their moral piety. “Non-aggression” and the axiomatic laws that follow from it, while honorable and worth consideration, have oftentimes led its monks into a holy sabbatical from the Coliseum where their ideas are most needed. Their unrelenting adherence to its dogma and purity-of-action leaves them little room for the compromise necessary to affect change within the social landscape.
Among all the excuses and reasons for inaction, chief among them rests with man’s unique psychological condition: his unwillingness to accept risk, even to maintain something they know is well worth it, and already possess. For, little-by-little, the powers that be chip away at their possessions and their individuality. Immediately and instinctively, the man feels compelled to resist, but knowing that his submission to a minor infringement is, at the moment, a safer and more secure act than a violent defense, he remains docile. Again and again he chooses the path of least resistance. This dilemma is further exacerbated by the opinion of those around him, constantly assuring him that he does, “in fact,” possess that which he fears to lose. And that if he resists, he should lose it all; that being, whatever is left.
“One of the rules that emerges from a consideration of the factors that promote self-sacrifice is that we are less ready to die for what we have or are than for what we wish to have and to be. It is a perplexing and unpleasant truth that when men already have ‘something worth fighting for,’ they do not feel like fighting. People who live full, worth-while lives are not usually ready to die for their own interests nor for their country nor for a holy cause. Craving, not having, is the mother of a reckless giving of oneself.”
Those liberty-minded “radicals” who do choose to resist and speak out are confounded by one final hurdle; that the message of freedom is inherently individualistic. As such, their energy is focused on individuals and their tactics are aimed at people that possess some semblance of self-worth. Though I would never suggest that this noble endeavor is a waste of time, it is nonetheless apparent that the tides of collective force move much more rapidly and with exponentially greater effect than the movements produced by individuals; in particular those individuals considered to be “fringe” within the society.
In the face of all this, what does one do to fight against the Hydra of tyranny? If the masses are pitted against you, and the remaining masses cannot be effectively mobilized to your cause, and the strategies and mechanisms employed thus far have been deemed worthless in preserving your liberty, is the battle not already lost?
I say, we are not the first generation to experience this loss, and we won’t be the last. There have been others like us, in the near and distant past, who stood against the same odds and persevered. Our ancestors have succeeded in protecting the flame of liberty; I believe it to be my destiny to join their order. Take courage.
One man, not all that long ago, entered the fray of freedom when he decided to form an organization which would take up the cause of liberty. This man proclaimed:
“Nil desperandum, — Never Despair. That is a motto for you and me. All are not dead; and where there is a spark of patriotic fire, we will rekindle it.”
~ Samuel Adams
In 1765, Samuel Adams founded the Sons of Liberty. Overwhelming odds and an unsupportive populace did not deter the Sons from acting out their Truth. They took to the papers and the streets. They engaged in civil argument and violent protest. They recruited the statesman and the outlaw. Theirs was a singular mission; resistance to tyranny, by any and all means. Samuel Adams and the Sons of Liberty were an instrumental and successful force in resisting British authority. Therefore, it is my proposal to revive this organization in the spirit of continuing this eternal struggle.
We must stop waiting for a savior. There are no politicians coming to rescue us. There is no logic persuasive enough to overcome the tyranny of the masses. Our faith in Freedom, though grand, is ineffectual, absent the mechanism of action.
Alfred Whitehead:
“The vitality of thought is in adventure. Ideas won’t keep – something must be done with them.”
Too long have we allowed the leviathan of the State and its cronies to trample us, unchecked and unchallenged. There must be men of action, willing to push back against the forces of tyranny. This is not a call to abolition, overthrow, or revolution; merely resistance. The aim is not to rid the world of those who believe differently, rather, to ensure the world does not rid itself of us. If my words resonate with the Truth you carry inside, then I call upon you now to join this order of resistance – the Sons of Liberty.