There’s a lot of talk about slavery reparations these days. Seems like a lot of people are bent on making whites, none of whom have ever owned a slave pay blacks, none of whom have ever been a slave for deeds done over century ago. The concept gets even more ridiculous when one considers most whites are not even related to anyone who ever owned slaves and there are many blacks whose ancestors were never slaves in this country. That said, this essay is not about any of this. For the record, I’ll call this Slavery 1.0 Why Slavery 1.0?
If you think about it, this nation is now embroiled in Slavery 2.0. Wait a minute! Slavery in the United States of America? Here? Now!? Indeed. Think about it. Or better yet, test it out. Refuse to pay your income taxes. Refuse to pay FICA. Do not pay your car tax – “registration” in most states. Return your property tax bill back to the sender with “REFUSED” written on it. Do you really have to sit and wait to see what happens? Okay so maybe you can justify paying to earn a living and paying to spending while owning “renting” your house, your car and most everything else. What about your permission slips?
You know, you need to get permission – a building permit, to do just about anything on “your” property. In at least one county here in Virginia, a property “owner” must obtain stamped permission to CAMP on their own property. You remember way back? When your Dad and Mom set up a tent for you kids to “camp out”… right? Well, you better make sure your controllers approve of such nonsense before setting up that tent buddy!
Want to cut hair for a living? You need a license – permission. Sell houses? Write a contract for someone? Paint fingernails for dollars? Go fishing? Hunting? Drive a car? You need written permission. Oh, yeah, and you need to pay for your permission slips too.
Face it. Nearly everything we “citizens” do these days is regulated in one way or another – at least. I don’t know about you, but I do not call this liberty. I have another word for it… slavery. Slavery 2.0 to be exact.
The controllers have gone rogue. The “limited” government we grew up believing in is a sham. In reality we are no longer citizens but subjects or rather… slaves. We can either accept the hand we are dealt with or shrug off the chains we’ve allowed the controllers to burden us with. What is the alternative? I call it Slavery 3.0.
Slavery 3.0
This is the next step – the end game the controllers are vying for now. It is so close now they can almost taste victory. What does it look like? Total ownership with all pretense washed away. Already they are positioned to watch our every move. Current technology makes “1984” look like a Kindergarten primer. The push now is to strip citizens of our First and Second Amendment rights, allowing them to place us under total subjection. Already they stifle our words right down to the pronouns they dictate we use. Once our ability to defend ourselves is stripped, it will be game over.
Here in Virginia, the move is on. Virginians are not taking this lying down. As of right now, a massive majority of counties and cities passed resolutions declaring ourselves 2nd Amendment Sanctuaries. Citizens are sending a message to those threatening to pass unconstitutional legislation. That message is a simple NO! We will not stand for it. While citizens gather at hearings and meetings, the controllers are watching, wringing their hands and planning their moves. Whether they will come to their senses and realize the error of their ways remains to be seen. The ball is in their court. Should they choose to run with it, it will not bode well.
Note the controllers here in Virginia are not the only ones with eyes on the commonwealth. Surely controllers all over the nation and the world are watching, as are citizens in other states and, yes, even other nations. For one, citizens of the Republic of China – Taiwan are engaged in their own battle with controllers. They fly US flags and wish for a constitution with a bill of rights such as ours. I am certain many over there wonder just how our constitutional guarantees will come into play. Will we simply surrender them in the end? Will our conflict turn bloody? Or will the controllers here back off and capitulate? Only time will tell.
Any regular readers of this site are sure to know my own take on this. For those who do not, I maintain our rights are God-given. Any attempt to strip us citizens of them defies God Himself. As Christians are first duty is to appeal to our Heavenly Father. Ask Him for protection and guidance. Invoke the power of Almighty God in this conflict. Our trust should first and foremost be in Him. We have been endowed with a God-given right to self-defense for a reason. While we are not aggressors here, we are duty-bound to defend ourselves, our families and our communities. This was historically the reason for militias when our nation was in infancy. This reason still remains. Those in the military and law enforcement all take an oath, as to those taking public office.
The Code of Virginia states:
§ 49-1. Form of general oath required of officers.
Every person before entering upon the discharge of any function as an officer of this Commonwealth shall take and subscribe the following oath: “I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support the Constitution of the United States, and the Constitution of the Commonwealth of Virginia, and that I will faithfully and impartially discharge all the duties incumbent upon me as ____________________ according to the best of my ability, (so help me God).”
Any person reappointed to any office filled by gubernatorial appointment for a subsequent term to begin immediately upon expiration of an existing term shall not be required to renew the oath set out in this section; however, the original oath taken shall continue in effect with respect to the subsequent term.
Const., § 34; Code 1919, § 269; 1936, p. 49; 1971, Ex. Sess., c. 16; 1980, c. 320; 1988, c. 255.
Additionally those who serve in the military also swear:
I, (NAME), do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic;
Yes there is more, however as the above is first and foremost, it is the foundation for the rest. It should be clear: every public officer, law enforcement officer as well as anyone in military service is sworn to uphold the Constitution of the United States above all else. I further maintain none of these men and women are required to wade through mountains of case law and legal opinion to decide what is constitutional and what is not. The words are simple enough. Armies of lawyers are not needed to take the words “shall not be infringed” at face value.
As for myself, having never served in public office or in the military, nor in law enforcement, I’ve never taken such an oath. Even so I take the words seriously. I take the constitution seriously. It is my birthright and I hold it as such in high regard. In closing, I will hold to the words of Joshua:
Joshua 24:15 …but as for me and my house, we will serve the LORD.
May God bless you and keep you,
Andy Havens