MESSING WITH THE MACHINE

“We hold these truths to be self-evident, that all men are created equal, that they are endowed by their Creator with certain unalienable Rights, that among these are Life, Liberty and the pursuit of Happiness. That to secure these rights, Governments are instituted among Men, deriving their just powers from the consent of the governed, That whenever any Form of Government becomes destructive of these ends, it is the Right of the People to alter or to abolish it, and to institute new Government,” Thomas Jefferson.

“If the injustice is part of the necessary friction of the machine of government, let it go, let it go; perchance it will wear smooth — certainly the machine will wear out. If the injustice has a spring, or a pulley, or a rope, or a crank, exclusively for itself, then perhaps you may consider whether the remedy will not be worse than the evil; but if it is of such a nature that it requires you to be the agent of injustice to another, then, I say, break the law. Let your life be a counter friction to stop the machine. What I have to do is to see, at any rate, that I do not lend myself to the wrong which I condemn.” From Civil Disobedience by Henry David Thoreau.

I stand humbled by the language of these two men. There is a time honored tradition in this country that when the government inflicts on the people a law, rule or tax that is unjust and goes against the will of the people then it should be resisted and then rescinded. Government can only rule with the consent of the governed and we have seen that part of our heritage trampled and disregarded too many times. The government is setting itself up as our overseers and not as our servants and the time have come for the people to reassert the individual sovereignty that is ours. After all it is not the government that is in control here. This is a Republic and we the people employ the government to serve our wishes and they serve at our pleasure. They have forgotten this. I believe that the people’s sovereignty has been lost of late and those who imagine themselves in power are operating under the delusion that we serve them. This has to stop or be stopped.

We have 7 months to wait before we have the opportunity to express our displeasure and send them packing. I fear that they can do a lot of damage in that length of time. I further believe we must make some immediate effort to keep them busy lest they do permanent damage to our country. We all know they are inefficient, slow and bureaucratic so let’s prove it. Let us put them to the test and take their alleged minds off messing with the principles of our nation. Help me help the government prove their inefficiencies.

Call them every day. Ask your Senators and Representative for a flag that has flown over the Capitol. Ask what new laws they are considering and ask for paper copies, if you can have them faxed some place do that. Ask for speaking schedules, ask to speak to your Senator personally, and agree to hold. Ask to speak to your Congressman, agree to hold. Just call and ask the receptionist about the weather in Washington. Prepare by having what you want to ask clear in your mind.

Tie them up in any way you can. Be polite but firm. They work for you and they are well paid for the privilege. Ask them who they work for and if the answer given is anything other than you, be sure and correct them. If we can't stop them from screwing us, let's screw with them a little. Send the Treasury a penny in the mail. Say in a letter that it is for the national debt. Then call and demand a receipt. Write them checks for 31 cents. Get on the Internet and look up all the different Departments and Agencies and call them or write them and ask for any information they might be offering and any they aren’t. Apply for jobs with them and then call them back every hour to see if they have made their decision yet. If you feel particularly patient fill out Freedom of Information forms about UFO’s, bigfoot, who killed Jimmy Hoffa, etc…

Call the White House, ask for Sasha. See if she wants to come over and play with your daughter or granddaughter. Send her a toy. Civil disobedience can bring them to their knees. Don't forget to order your copy of the budget and a copy for all your kids. Send them those paint samples from the hardware store and suggest they paint the White House that color – I suggest red. You all have magazines around the house fill out those little cards with 1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC 20500, on it so that companies will send them free samples of stuff. Copy them on all your commercial emails. Sign them up for a visit from the Army or Navy recruiters. Enter them in raffles. Send them gift subscriptions to magazines. Force them to notice that there are people out here and we expect a little action for our hard earned money.

Go to the Post Office and mail your letters one at a time. Stand in line and buy a stamp, mail the letter and then get back in line for the next one. Apply for grants. There are lots of grants. If you get one use the money to continue the pressure or convert it to individual checks for 31 cents and start paying down the national debt with it. Always get a receipt. Write letters, send emails, make phone calls, send faxes, knock on the doors of the local offices…if you can get a fax number give it to every sandwich and pizza shop in the United States. Get a name, share it on Facebook.

This may all sound silly to some, but it isn’t about the individual act, it is about the volume of little acts. These are just small things that I thought of in a couple of minutes. We are a creative people. Think of new things, legal things, annoying things. Share them with those who believe the government has overstepped its Constitutional mandate. Expect retaliation. Publicize it when it comes. Ignore the criticism from those who support the government. These are people who express a desire to be ruled and have a need for someone to run their lives, why would anyone listen to the helpless about anything?