Illuminate Liberty

A growing concern in today’s society is the accepted paradigm of the people’s relationship to their government.  For the past couple of centuries, Americans have experienced a vastly different mode of societal operation than those of prior centuries.  This country was founded on a Constitution that guarantees liberty to every citizen and a government that will protect that liberty rather than infringe upon it.  What are the people to do when the government enacts legislation that goes against their sovereign humanity and their inherent freedom?  Are Americans morally obligated to obey all laws, whether just or not?  The people have come to believe that patriotism means blind loyalty to the state but our founders believed otherwise.

It is of paramount importance for the correct concept of personal identity to be established before unleashing an argument of this nature.  One’s identity is ultimately that of an individual human being; separate of class or nationality.  In other words, we are classified as individuals before we are classified as Americans because our human identity is more important than our national identity.  If one attends to the belief that all humans are inherently born free, equal, and self-determined to decide their own destiny, then it must also be believed that Americans are not morally obligated to obey all laws.  To say that we are obligated to obey all laws is to say that we are acknowledging that those in power have a privileged place above us to decide what is best for our personal lives.  If that were true then we are acknowledging that we are subordinate to the state and that those in positions of leadership have control over our personhood.  This subordination makes an overwhelming percentage of Americans inferior to a privileged minority, a statistic that is far from just.

Many argue against civil disobedience, deeming it a form of “moral anarchism” and accusing it of being incompatible with today’s “organized” society.  They cry “chaos!” as part of their fear mongering.  However, their argument dwindles in validity once examined beside the founding principles of the United States of America.  In America, every citizen accepts the Constitution as his or her law and understands that it should be applied equally among all persons.  It is understood that the very Constitution that provides citizens with a system of laws was enacted to keep its government within its bounds and not outside of those laws.  Therefore, as long as the Constitution is being followed, then the personal liberties of every human being should be granted and protected equally and logically, there can be no chaos.

To understand its magnitude, one must recall that this country was birthed on civil disobedience.  Not only did its founding rely on revolution, but the ways of nonviolent resistance were at the forefront of our country’s defining moments of progress.  Without civil disobedience we would have never reaped the benefits of the Boston Tea Party which retaliated against excessive taxation without representation, the Women’s Suffrage Movement which brought forth the right of women to vote, and the Civil Rights Movement lead by Martin Luther King, Jr. who fought to end segregation.  Had it not been for civil disobedience, slavery might not have been abolished, and disagreeable wars would have never been protested.  Protest is not only a constitutional right granted to we the people; it is the best tool for the people to bring about change in their country.  Civil disobedience that stems from exerting self-determination has always been our most precious and, consequentially, most threatened form of protest.

There are many reasons why an American would want or even need to disobey a law they deemed unjust.  For instance, when an American realizes that the prohibition of a natural plant, like marijuana, is unjust, it is their right to disobey the law in order for them to use the plant as they see fit and have true control over their life.  Perhaps someone is in dire need of the medical benefits of marijuana—what place is it of the government to punish that person for exercising their liberty and seeking to improve their quality of life?  How can severe imprisonment ever be justified as a result of deciding what to do with one’s own body and assuming responsibility for one’s own actions?  This premise should apply for all unjust laws so long as no individual harms another or infringes on their natural rights, whether through force or fraud.  Suppose a young man educates himself about the true nature of modern warfare— the real reasons why we unconstitutionally attack and occupy other countries, and decides that he refuses to risk his life to participate as a tool of corruption overseas and thus refuses to participate in the mandatory Selective Service System of our country.  Perhaps a young man is restricted by his religion from military action: it is his absolute right and duty to dissent from the draft without penalty, judgment, or difficulty.

Unfortunately, we now live in a society that has gotten far too accustomed to government intervention.  The establishmentarian government has lost its way from the limiting power of the Constitution.  The notion that a citizen should obey every law is an erroneous one and is representative of a tyrannical government.  Our founders revolted from their nation because of a tyrannical government and founded a nation that would ensure freedom and peace.  The most noble of deeds left for us to do is to declare our own independence and disobey the laws that impede our sovereignty—the work of true patriots.  Recognizing that we the people control our government and not the other way around is essentially asserting the principles that our nation was founded upon and is a phenomenon that benefits all of humanity.

Tags: America, civil disobedience, freedom, government, liberty, patriotism, politics, protest