PRINCIPLES OF LIBERTY
16 AFFIRMATIONS FOR THOSE WHO WOULD LIVE FREE
By: Kevin Tuma
I. I was born free. No government can sanction my freedom, or take it away.
II. I believe the government should be as small as possible, and its laws
should be as minimal as possible.
III. I acknowledge that free speech is a fundamental human right; any
controls upon speech or ideas represent tyranny. There is absolutely no such
thing
as "treasonous" or "politically correct" speech. No one has a right not to be
offended by ideas.
IV. I understand that the government's only legitimate use of military force
is to protect its citizens from foreign invasion.
V. I understand that the government's only legitimate use of police force is
to protect citizens from crimes of violence or theft.
VI. I understand that the government exists to serve the people---not the
other way around.
VII. I believe that free people may worship by whatever means they like,
wherever they like, however they like. The government has no right to meddle
with religion, nor to license, tax, or fund churches, nor to censor any public
displays of religion.
VIII. I understand that the progressive income tax is a manifestation of
Tyranny, not Liberty. The Founding Fathers opposed direct taxation, and so do
I.
IX. I believe that the right to secede from any larger government state is a
basic right of self-government. Civilized nations allow secession. Tyrants
and barbarians do not.
X. I understand that a constitution is a social contract between a
government and its citizens. The people have the right to abolish any
government if
the government fails to serve them, to protect their individual rights,
or---worst of all--fails to obey the restrictions of its own constitutional
laws.
XI. I believe the individual's right to keep and bear arms is fundamental to
Liberty and must not be infringed upon in any circumstances. Any government
that restricts the possession and use of arms from its citizens is a
dictatorship.
XII. I take responsibility for my own life, and I expect others to do the
same. I am a free individual, not part of a hive, collective, or animal herd.
XIII. I am intelligent enough to understand the difference between charity
and redistribution of wealth. Charity is voluntary; government theft of one's
income at the barrel of a gun is not.
XIV. I understand economics well enough to know that government involvement
in business is not only intrusive and illegitimate-XIV. I understand economics
well
XV. I grasp the basic truth that the more centralized the state, the more
tyrannical the state.
XVI. I understand that a man who has no private property rights is a slave.
"_Published originally at EtherZone.com_ (http://www.etherzone.com/) :
republication allowed with this notice and hyperlink intact."
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____________________________________
Kevin Tuma is an editorial cartoonist for _CNSNews.com_
(http://www.cnsnews.com/) and a regular columnist for Ether Zone.
Kevin Tuma can be reached at [EMAIL PROTECTED]
(mailto:[EMAIL PROTECTED])
Published in the June 27, 2005 issue of Ether Zone.
"You are a member of government. And one of that majority which has doomed
my country to destruction. You've begun to burn our towns and murder our
people. Look upon you hands. They are stained with the blood of your
relations.
You and I were long friends.You are now my enemy and I am yours."....."You are
"You are "You are a member of governmen
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