In 2017, I wrote a lot about how dangerously centralized our political system in the U.S. has become, and how we need to decentralize governance in order to restore power, liberty and policy experimentation to the local level. This notion that a sprawling and culturally diverse nation of 325 million individuals should constantly battle to the death over the ring of political power in Washington D.C. so as to impose their view on the other half of the country which completely disagrees is patently ludicrous. States, and even metro areas themselves, should be making most of the important decisions that impact their citizens’ lives on a day to day basis.
This isn’t complicated. People who live in Boulder, Colorado such as myself have a very distinct worldview on most things from the average resident of let’s say Houston, Texas. This isn’t to say one is superior to the other, we’re just talking generally different mindsets and cultures. The residents of these distinct places should be able to express themselves via policy in a way that most fits the desires and values reflective of these particular regions. While this does happen to some degree, all U.S. citizens are still beholden to the whims of centralized political power in Washington D.C. to a very unhealthy and dysfunctional degree.
One of the worst side effects of centralized power in Washington D.C. is most Americans waste all their political energy speculating on, or rooting for, who will be elected the next supreme ruler (President) every four years. This is such a gigantic waste of time and energy, but one reason it happens is because the U.S. has an imperial Presidency these days. The executive simply acts in a manner that the founders had never intended, and the other branches of government (legislative and judiciary) permit it.
Congress deserves a huge part of the blame, as its members intentionally refuse to exercise their Constitutional duty to handle war. Our so-called “representatives” consistently just allow the President to do whatever they want when it comes to the exercise of state violence abroad, whether that President is George W. Bush, Barrack Obama, or Donald Trump.
It’s absolutely pathetic that less than two weeks into the new year, all I heard about yesterday was how Oprah might run for President two years from now. Think about how insane a society has to be (in light of all of our enormous current problems), to start already manically obsessing about who could be our savior if we just vote properly in 2020. Didn’t the Presidency of Barrack Obama, who said all the right things but coddled the plutocracy for 8 years straight teach you anything?
It’s not just Oprah though. Last summer we learned Hamptons oligarchs had already decided Kamala Harris (more than three years before the next Presidential election) would be their pick for the Democratic nominee in 2020. Primary voters need not apply.
Naturally, Mark Cuban chatter never goes away either, as I pointed out the other day.
Meanwhile, what do Oprah and Cuban have in common? Both billionaires, just like Trump. Is that the future the plutocrats have planned for us? Groveling for a new billionaire dear leader every four years? Sorry, but I have too much respect for myself to ever do that. I’m done playing this childish game.
The spark that inspired this post was actually a tweet I sent out this past weekend. Its reception was very encouraging and told me that a lot of people around the world are coming to a very similar conclusion. This is really important because we can’t change things until we realize how completely ridiculous our current paradigm is.
People who crave power are always trying to convince you we need a leader.
We don’t need a leader. We need billions of leaders. We need decentralized networks, not hierarchies.
— Michael Krieger (@LibertyBlitz) January 6, 2018
Here’s the big secret. Human beings create the world we live in. Nothing about our governments or economy are provided to us by nature or the divine. The insufferable centralized hierarchies we live under were created by other humans that came before us, and are aggressively propagated by those currently in power. There’s absolutely no reason we need to accept these systems as permanent or perfect.
Looking for a savior in a President is a slave mentality. We need to stop being slaves. Oprah, Trump, Mark Cuban, it doesn’t matter. Nobody is coming to save you. It’s time to grow up. The real power resides in ourselves.
The world of the future will be the world we create. If we want that world to be vastly better we need to stop looking outside of ourselves for the answer. We need to look inward, find our strength and get to work. If you expect someone else to come in and fix things you’ve already lost.
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In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
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This is not the land I was born in anymore. It has become insane.
Spread the word. Stop voting.
That’s the one thing that will get the power junkies attention very quickly. As long as you continue to vote you’re just handing them the guns and ammunition they need to maintain the status quo.
I agree Genaro. In 24 years I have never not voted. I won’t be voting anymore. If there are local laws I feel I need to weigh in on, I’ll only vote for those. I also want to stay registered in hopes of getting selected for a jury so I can invoke jury nullification.
Not enough! The problem is a cancer in your central authority. The authority invested in the Federal experiment by some old dudes hundreds of years ago has long been usurped by powerful bankers and dynasties. Forget Russia, your enemy is already here, and it has metastasized across the entire world.
Spread the word: Stop paying taxes.
It is the only way to kill the cancer.
People will say: “but what about the poor?” or “what about the roads?”. These challenges can be solved with today’s technology. Decentralized peer-to-peer technology like #blockchain allows for the “separation of power” while enabling a vast number of untrusted participants to reach consensus about common interests.
This may not have all the razzle-dazzle of Oprah’s speech at a global Awards ceremony, but then again, how idiotic is it to think we should ask people who spend their lives learning how to pretend, to find solutions to the complex problems that face humanity.
#taxationistheft #voluntaryism
Michael,
I could not agree more:
1- I’m done playing this childish game.
2- We don’t need a leader. We need billions of leaders. We need decentralized networks, not hierarchies.
3- Looking for a savior in a President is a slave mentality. We need to stop being slaves. Oprah, Trump, Mark Cuban, it doesn’t matter. Nobody is coming to save you. It’s time to grow up. The real power resides in ourselves.
4- If we want that world to be vastly better we need to stop looking outside of ourselves for the answer. We need to look inward, find our strength and get to work. If you expect someone else to come in and fix things you’ve already lost.
We absolutely need to decentralize, get local, and totally break apart everything which is BIG.
The only real leaders are each of us leading with our dreams, our expertise, and our passions.
We need to rapidly move toward Open Source Government and all that it implies.
Handled in the right way, real cryptos/tokens (i.e. decentralized not centralized) can be a very effective tool toward all of this.
Thanks for your thoughts.
Richard Pack (bamboo-water)
Yes, Mike, I realized that the establishment’s never one fear is that people realize their individual power also. The establishment has gone to extraordinary lengths to induce a state of learned helplessness in everyone!
Cults and Group-Think Have Destroyed America and Americans – Andrea Iravani
https://rebel0007com.wordpress.com/2018/01/09/cults-and-group-think-have-destroyed-america-and-americans/
Ok., Mike , found it.
The only way to deal with an unfree world is to become so absolutely free that your very existence is an act of rebellion. Albert Camus
Read more at: https://www.brainyquote.com/quotes/albert_camus_391590
Nice!
Sorry spell check changed it. Establishment’s number one fear.
Very good post.
But how can one talk about downsizing gov to aid “democracy”, and leave out big biz and big money?
Can we seriously ignore that which actually runs government?
Charles Hughes Smith, in his book “An Unconventional Guide to Investing in Troubled Times”, explains why localism has begun to and will continue to replace globalism. An since the economic landscape shapes the political landscape, big government will eventually disappear.
In many respects we are still un-evolved apes, hence the chest thumpin’ baboon in the oval orifice … not that I believe that revolting Hitlery Clingon character would be any better.
Yes indeed; ‘power corrupts and absolute power corrupts absolutely’ – always has and always will do – thus sticking to this retarded fault-ridden system (that most still mistakingly label ‘democracy’) is an ever more perilous mine-ridden path to the cliff face…
May we spiritually evolve (and pronto!) rather than obediently and blindly follow these war-mongering gluttonous lying pied-piper psychopaths that infestate Washington.
Camile, yes there’s no reason not to vote for things like local referendums and issues that affect you at a local level. But as you said, just stop voting for anyone and everyone who runs for office as a member of any political Party.
More importantly, spread the word. Let other people know that if they continue to vote for the lesser of two evils they’re still contributing to the problem instead of contributing to the solution.
CryptoTech, the problem with the tax revolt tactic is it allows the Federal, State, and local governments an immediate easy legal solution where certain people can be used as public examples and thrown in jail.
Whereas, there is nothing illegal about not voting. Nor is there anything illegal about telling the powers that be and everyone you know why you refuse to vote for any “politician” who is a member of any political Party.
They fear that far more because the foundation of everything they have and everything they want to keep is based on the “illusion of choice” created by people voting.
Genaro/CryptoTech….I don’t think I will go so far as to not pay my taxes. I have actually done quite a bit of research on it and while some might get away with it, I feel I can do more good out in the world than in jail.
I agree not voting will give the middle finger to the establishment but so will getting out of debt and stop being a consumer. Those are the three biggest things we can do. When all is said and done with all the bs taxes we pay, we give them 50% of our money.
Stop buying crap and reduce THAT tax bill. Our economy is debt based, they will freak out if people aren’t in debt and buying things we really don’t need. Start trading with people, grow a damn garden and build a community. And if you get selected for a jury, invoke nullification. We shouldn’t be sending our people to jail when the real criminals are the bankers and politicians.
Very good piece, I guess that’s perhaps the reason for “Alien visitations” .. they come they watch our pathetic system of ” control” , return to whence they came with the message . This cake is far from done ” !!
No. They’re here, Zulu.
Just like us, some of them have good intentions, and some of them have bad intentions.
Forget about John Galt. The really important question is, Who is Val Thor?
Well said.
Very good. Couldn’t agree more.
The founders intended this. One can read the Constitution or one can read and think about the Constitution, as Howard Zinn has done. The American Constitution was awful.